philip lelyveld The world of entertainment technology

Augmented Reality Headsets Gaining Momentum

See the full story here: https://campustechnology.com/articles/2017/10/02/augmented-reality-headsets-gaining-momentum.aspx?admgarea=news

VIRTUAL REALITY SYSTEM FOR ROBOTS DEVELOPED BY MIT ALLOWS HUMANS TO CONTROL THEM REMOTELY

MIT’s system uses off-the-shelf gaming and VR technology to place users in a virtual cockpit, making it more flexible and user-friendly compared to previous systems. Researchers found that users with gaming experience had much more ease with the system than those without.

See the full story here: http://www.newsweek.com/mit-develops-virtual-reality-control-system-robots-676285

CAN A NEW IN-STORE AUGMENTED REALITY GAME HELP SAVE TOYS R US?

...getting lots of people back into its 1,600 or so stores, so executives are hoping a new AR game called Play Chaser — designed especially for use in Toys R Us stores — can play a part.

Developed in partnership with robotics and AI firm PlayFusion, the new mobile game lets players activate a variety of AR games and play experiences as they move around the store. They can do this simply by scanning the many different Play Chaser signs attached to Toys R Us shelves.

Play Chaser, available on both iOS and Android, features a virtual Geoffrey the Giraffe welcoming kids to the store. Geoffrey also explains how the app works before sending them on a quest inside the store.

Play Chaser went live in 23 Toys R Us stores in the U.S. on Monday, and will land at all locations nationwide on October 21.

See the full story here: https://www.digitaltrends.com/mobile/toys-r-us-augmented-reality-game/

Snapchat will put Jeff Koons’ art installations in augmented reality

Snapchat plans to launch a new art initiative tomorrow aimed at using augmented reality to feature art installations around the world. A website, art.snapchat.com, mysteriously spawned a countdown clock this afternoon, and a snippet of javascript underlying the page appears to confirm that the reveal is a collaboration with renowned artist and big Snapchat fan Jeff Koons.

It’s unclear exactly how the art project will manifest in the real world. But it will likely involve digital works designed by Koons that appear in real-world locations, geo-locked to a user’s location in ways similar to Niantic’s AR mobile game Pokémon Go.

Microsoft Dives Deeper Into ‘Mixed Reality’ With VR Devices

Plate tectonics: When we discovered how the Earth really works

I worked at Columbia University's Lamont-Doherty Geologic Observatory during the period after the initial plate tectonic research when the theory was being refined. This is a nice 50th anniversary tribute from the British perspective.  http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-41472281 

Google, Facebook and Microsoft Line Up For VR Standalone Push

Over the next two weeks we are expecting major announcements related to VR from Microsoft, Google and Facebook.

It couldn’t come at a better time for VR developers who spent the summer reading headline after headline about how VR is dead, fulfilling the prediction of Unity CEO John Riccitiello that journalists couldn’t stop themselves from writing negatively about the gap between analyst estimates and actual sales in the first year or so of VR’s mainstream adoption. The so-called “gap of disappointment” was made possible by analysts who model the growth of the industry in a straight line whereas Riccitiello suggested it is far more likely to see more of a curve to adoption — a slow start that suddenly ramps at an accelerated pace.

Microsoft - We know headsets are on the way from Dell, Lenovo, HP, Acer, ASUS and we’ve seen another leaked from Samsung. Pricing starts around $300 and they work with hand controllers which dramatically increase a sense of interactivity and overall immersion. These systems are compatible with Microsoft’s Windows 10 “mixed reality” platform, promising compatibilitywith both the Windows Store and Steam. There is a stellar line up of content on tap.

Google -

On Oct. 4 (Wednesday morning) Google will reveal its product lineup for the holiday season.

Google just acquired a team from HTC responsible for the creation of the Pixel smartphone. Earlier this year the ad giant also acquired Owlchemy Labs, the creator of Job Simulator and Rick & Morty VR. During its developer conference earlier this year, Google revealed its WorldSense tracking technology ideal for VR and AR headsets.

Facebook - What makes Facebook different from the efforts we’re seeing from Microsoft and Google is that the company doesn’t have any of the baggage from Android or Windows to support in developing its new ecosystem of standalone VR headsets. Facebook gets a fresh start. The VR decision makers at the company are theoretically free to make choices that are best for the developers building for these systems and for the people who are buying them. When it comes to standalone VR headsets, Facebook’s teams likely won’t have to decide whether something works well with Android or Windows.

See the full story here: https://uploadvr.com/google-oculus-facebook-standalones/

A Work Of Heart: Owlchemy Labs Rick and Morty: Virtual Rick-ality @VRDC2107

As for a specific proudest moment, showing our first playable demo at San Diego Comic Con has to be up there. The fans were floored by being able to experience their favorite show in VR and to finally feel like they had stepped into the cartoon. Watching people get completely absorbed into the experience and laughing out loud as Rick insulted them to their face was an unforgettable moment."- Alex Schwartz Chief Executive Owl in an interview with the VRDC team.

VR has a ton of problems to solve and in working on Rick and Morty: Virtual Rick-ality the team created many additional problems for themselves. They did this out of true love of Rick And Morty as this was not a cash grab but a true work of heart.

See the full story here: http://www.catsandvr.com/blog/owlvrdc

PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds (PUBG)

An early version was created in a year for less than $5 million by a team of 40 developers....   Bluehole "effectively disrupted the market," Benchmark Co. analyst Mike Hickey said.  ....A tentpole game from a big publisher, meanwhile, often takes hundreds of employees years to make and can cost tens of millions of dollars if not more, plus additional spending for marketing.

See the full story here: http://tinyurl.com/ycw37uah

Smart Companies Are Already Using Apple’s ARkit To Make Cash Registers Ring

CASTORAMA: A French DIY store created 'Magic Wallpaper' - their own wallpaper which utilises AR to tell animated stories at bedtime via a dedicated app. A story appears once you scan a character but scan two characters and the characters interact allowing for hundreds of stories. Beyond a smart and fun app experience, the strategy to get multiple brand mentions and exposures is smart and long-term as parents read along with their kids.

See the full story here: https://www.forbes.com/sites/paularmstrongtech/2017/09/30/smart-companies-are-already-using-apples-arkit-to-make-cash-registers-ring/#760a2dc0253d