PTC AR advances
...while meeting with Michael Campbell, executive vice president of PTC at the IoT Solutions World Congress in Barcelona, I learned about...
The three announcements Campbell referenced at the IoT Solutions World Congress included:
- The addition of Model Targets to Vuforia (PTC’s AR platform). Model Targets is a new feature that allows for attaching content to objects that have not been recognizable using existing computer vision technology. Campbell says that, with Model Targets, content can be attached to objects such as automobiles, appliances, industrial equipment and machinery to enable a new class of AR content that can replace traditional user manuals and technical service instructions. Model Targets enable the recognition and tracking of objects based on shape from pre-existing 3D models and does not require an AR marker. Campbell says this high-fidelity object recognition provides more accurate positioning so that “3D content can be aligned with greater precision for use cases where step-by-step instructions and product data are overlaid onto the physical product.”
- Vuforia now supports Apple’s ARKit and Google’s ARCore (for bringing AR experiences to mobile iOS and Android mobile devices). According to PTC, Vuforia has powered more than 475 million installs of AR apps from the App Store and Google Play.
- The release of the Vuforia Chalk App, which allows people in different locations to share a live view of the same environment and draw simple annotations called Chalk Marks.
See the full story here: https://www.automationworld.com/augmented-reality-continues-its-advance-industry
Magic Leap vets raise $3.5M for new virtual reality prototyping platform Torch
The idea is to make 3D prototyping fast and simple, even for those who aren’t technically advanced with VR and AR software development.
“We are establishing a new space of pre-production workflow for AR and VR applications that we haven’t seen yet,” Torch 3D CEO Paul Reynolds told GeekWire. “Based on several months of research, the most used alternative we see is still pencil and paper.
“Torch 3D’s data-driven approach reduces the prototyping and design phase of 3D app development from days to hours,” Jim McLean, managing partner at Silicon Valley Data Capital, said in a statement.
See the full story here: https://www.geekwire.com/2017/magic-leap-vets-raise-3-5m-new-virtual-reality-prototyping-platform-torch/
Stahlwille brings augmented reality to handtools
German torque tool and handtools specialist STAHLWILLE has introduced augmented reality to handtools.
The innovation has been developed with oculavis, resulting in a smart visor prototype that will safely guide an end user through a wide range of different joints.
The system is capable of reducing training phases and accelerating the fastener-tightening process. At the same time, it ensures a much improved safety level in the case of safety-critical fasteners, the duo said.
See the full story here: http://torque-expo.com/stahlwille-brings-augmented-reality-to-handtools
Laurie Anderson’s Dark VR Art Makes You ‘Fly Through Stories’
Avante-garde performance artist Laurie Anderson has created a VR experience. Her latest work with Taiwanese artist-programmer Hsin-Chien Huang, Chalkroom, lets you float through a virtual world made of letters while the O Superman singer narrates.
“It’s made of words and stories and it’s a big kind of edifice covered with language and drawings,” Anderson said in an interview with Louisiana Channel. “I wanted to see what it would be like to travel through stories.”
“[Chalkroom] is a library of stories, and no one will ever find them all,” Anderson said.
See the full story here: https://vrscout.com/news/laurie-anderson-vr-chalkroom/
These are the App Store’s most popular ARKit apps and games on iOS 11
See the full story here: http://bgr.com/2017/10/13/best-arkit-apps-ios-11-app-store/
The scope of Microsoft’s Windows Mixed Reality efforts is actually awesome
Many Windows 10 and even Microsoft Office apps have added support for 3D and 360-degree video content. Microsoft launched Remix3D to help users share the content they created in Paint3D, and made 3D an important element of their Story Remix feature.
More recently Microsoft introduced their Windows Mixed Reality headset ecosystem, supported by hardware by a wide variety of OEMs, and also by a push with developers to provide content, including a social element with their recent purchase of AltSpace.
Statements by Alex Kipman makes it clear that he sees Windows Mixed Reality as the future of communication and computing, and he already speaks of doing most of his computing in that environment.
L’Oreal UnMasks Next Startups In Beauty Tech Accelerator
Beauty and makeup giant, L’Oreal, launched a beauty tech startup accelerator last year in partnership with Founder’s Factory. The partnership calls for a six month acceleration program that includes workshops, mentoring, introduction to influencers in the health and beauty sector as well as access to resources within the ecosystems of both Founder’s Factory and L’Oreal.
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Riviter is another startup using artificial intelligence and augmented reality in innovative ways. Their technology is designed to recognize products in images and in the real world and match them to products online. It goes beyond that and is able to match precise locations and detailed attributes of the products. The US based company was founded by, Andi Hadisutjipto, Kris Woodbeck and Rachel Chen.
See the full story here: http://www.nibletz.com/accelerators/loreal-accelerator-startups
How Facebook plans to get 1 billion people into virtual reality, according to the VP tasked with doing it
The mission of leading Facebook's virtual reality business now falls on Hugo Barra, who joined Facebook six months ago with the newly-created title "VP of VR."- Despite lackluster consumer interest, early missteps, and a lot of change in leadership, Facebook still has big plans to get a billion people into virtual reality.
- Barra sat down with Business Insider and explained how he intends to accomplish such a lofty goal.
One of Barra's recent announcements is the Oculus for Business Program, which allows enterprise customers to buy bulk orders of Oculus headsets for commercial use.
Meanwhile, Facebook will also try to raise awareness for VR in other ways. Oculus will run ad campaigns for its forthcoming Go headset and the lowered cost of its higher-end Rift system.
In fact, Facebook tested the retail idea a bit last winter, when it showed off its Oculus Rift technology in various short-term pop-up stores around the country.
Barra points to the 2,000 apps, including titles from the likes of Pixar, and over 100 million downloads on the Oculus platform as evidence that VR is already catching on outside of the early-adopter crowd. Zuckerberg has said Facebook plans to spend billions of dollars over the next several years on developing VR along with paying developers to create apps and games.
"Awareness comes with having a wide product portfolio," said Barra. "Amazing things take time to build."
See the full story here: http://www.businessinsider.com/how-facebooks-oculus-go-santa-cruz-headsets-plan-to-make-vr-mainstream-2017-10