‘Holo’ Is a Dumb New Augmented Reality App That You Should Get
I should preface this "consumer tech" post by saying I generally do not give a shit about consumer tech. However, I love things that are A) dumb, and B) fun. If I can't explain why—even better.
That's why if you've downloaded the lastest version of Apple's iPhone operating system, iOS 11, there's really only one app that you need to enjoy its shiny new augmented reality features, and it is also the dumbest one. It's called Holo and it's a lot of fun if you don't care about using AR in an even remotely practical way. With Holo, you point your phone at whatever's in front of you and drop a little character in the frame. It might be a cop, or a soccer ref, or a guy who's fallen into a trash can, or Jon Hamm (yes there are a couple celebrity avatars, but they're the lamest part.)
You can then export the clips to serve up Twitter burns, or make dumb jokes, or whatever. I don't know, it's pretty self-explanatory. And it works properly, unlike other augmented reality apps that try to do practical things like measure objects in the real-world.
See the full story here: https://motherboard.vice.com/en_us/article/evpz3a/holo-is-a-dumb-new-augmented-reality-app-that-you-should-get
Stereographs Were the Original Virtual Reality
The shocking power of immersing oneself in another world was all the buzz once before—about 150 years ago.
In June 1838, the British scientist Charles Wheatstone published a paper describing a curious illusion he’d discovered. If you drew two pictures of something—say, a cube, or a tree—from two slightly different perspectives, and then viewed each one through a different eye, your brain would assemble them into a three-dimensional view. This was, he noted, precisely how our vision works; each eye sees a slightly different perspective. Wheatstone created a table-size device to demonstrate the effect, with a viewer that sent a unique image to each eye: the world’s first stereoscope.
A decade later, the scientist David Brewster refined the design, crafting a hand-held device you could raise to your eyes. Insert a card with stereo images —a “view”—and presto! A scene came alive. Better yet, the photograph had recently been invented, which meant Brewster’s stereoscope could display not just crude hand drawings, but vivid images captured from real life.
“All these inventions just dovetailed perfectly by mid-century,” notes Douglas Heil, a professor and author of The Art of Stereography.
See the full story here: http://www.smithsonianmag.com/innovation/sterographs-original-virtual-reality-180964771/
Leonardo DiCaprio Joins Virtual Reality Company MindMaze as Investor and Advisor
HOLLYWOOD, CA - FEBRUARY 28: Actor Leonardo DiCaprio attends the 88th Annual Academy Awards at Hollywood & Highland Center on February 28, 2016 in Hollywood, California. (Photo by Dan MacMedan/WireImage)
MindMaze focuses on bringing “next-generation mind-machine interactions through neuro-virtual and augmented reality technology,” according to statement from the company, which officially unveiled DiCaprio’s partnership on Friday.
“We are already seeing immense potential for the application of our technology outside of healthcare, specifically in entertainment, sports and social VR,” said Dr. Tej Tadi, CEO and founder of MindMaze. “As we continue to gain traction in these industries, the addition of Leo to our advisory board is a vote of confidence in our technology and road map for ushering in a new age of interaction between humans and machines.”
Not only does DiCaprio fit into the company’s plans to expand their presence in the entertainment space, the actor has a proven track record as an investor.
See the full story here: http://people.com/movies/leonardo-dicaprio-joins-virtual-reality-company-mindmaze-as-investor-and-advisor/
Mobile augmented reality startup Mira raises $1M for cheaper headsets
This funding round, led by led by Greylock Partners, Founders Fund Angel and Macro Ventures, brings Mira’s total funding raised to date to $2.5 million.
The company first made waves in the augmented reality ecosystem when it announced its affordable — with a price tag of $99 — AR headset called the Prism in July that would work with the iPhone.
The Mira Prism comes with its own remote control accessory using the Bluetooth Low Energy profile. The remote includes touchpad support, two programmable buttons and a mechanical trigger. Additional features, along with tips and best practices for getting started with Mira’s SDK can be found at mirareality.com/developers.
The Prism is currently compatible with iPhone 6, 6S, 7 and 8 with support for additional iPhone models and manufacturers coming soon.
See the full story here: https://siliconangle.com/blog/2017/09/21/mobile-augmented-reality-company-mira-raises-1m-funding/
AI RESEARCH IS IN DESPERATE NEED OF AN ETHICAL WATCHDOG
Right now, if government-funded scientists want to research humans for a study, the law requires them to get the approval of an ethics committee known as an institutional review board, or IRB. Stanford’s review board approved Kosinski and Wang’s study. But these boards use rules developed 40 years ago for protecting people during real-life interactions, such as drawing blood or conducting interviews.
For example, if you merely use a database without interacting with real humans for a study, it’s not clear that you have to consult a review board at all. Review boards aren’t allowed to evaluate a study based on its potential social consequences. “The vast, vast, vast majority of what we call ‘big data’ research does not fall under the purview of federal regulations,” says Metcalf.
But ultimately, NamePrism is just a tool, and it’s up to users how they wield it. “You can use a hammer to build a house or break a house,” says sociologist Matthew Salganik of Princeton University and the author of Bit by Bit: Social Research In The Digital Age.
Instead, the problem is the broken ethical system around it. AI researchers—sometimes with the noblest of intentions—don’t have clear standards for preventing potential harms. “It’s not very sexy,” says Metcalf. “There’s no Skynet or Terminator in that narrative.”
Pervade ... they received a three million dollar grant from the National Science Foundation, and over the next four years, Pervade wants to put together a clearer ethical process for big data research that both universities and companies could use. “Our goal is to figure out, what regulations are actually helpful?” he says. But before then, we’ll be relying on the kindness—and foresight—of strangers.
See the full story here: https://www.wired.com/story/ai-research-is-in-desperate-need-of-an-ethical-watchdog/
WHEN VR TRAINING MAKES THE JOB LOOK BETTER THAN IT IS
Jason Jerald, co-founder of VR consultants NextGen Interactions, says virtual reality’s immersive experiences could especially help in recruiting millennials, who reportedly are less interested in routine workthan previous generations. “By utilizing VR, what many perceive as a low-level boring job can now be viewed as working for a cutting-edge technology company,” Jerald says.
Some companies say incorporating VR into training is reducing turnover.
Walmart, the US’s largest private employer, is equipping all 200 of its Walmart Academies with a VR training program that immerses mostly mid-level employees in rare scenarios that would be costly to recreate, such as holiday rushes, spills and other disruptions. Senior Director of Central Operations Brock McKeel says employee engagement increased as a result of the training, even among employees who merely watched co-workers participate in the simulation.
When the military adopts similar practices, though, it can raise questions. In May, USA Today reported that the US Navy had begun using VR as part of its recruitment efforts, contributing to a 126% increase in leads. The British Army recently reported a similar effect. The carefully curated VR scenarios may give recruits an unrealistic view of their future jobs. As USA Today put it, the training allows the military to "downplay the very real dangers and risks that members of the armed forces face." A Navy spokesperson did not comment.
To be sure, all recruiting and training materials, including traditional video, tend to accentuate the positive. But the immersive nature of VR means that it can make a stronger, more lasting impression on recruits and employees.
See the full story here: https://www.wired.com/story/when-vr-training-makes-the-job-look-better-than-it-is/
Experience the border in virtual reality. Here’s how, and why.
"We have created a groundbreaking, immersive experience that allows the audience to place themselves in the story, offering a view of the people, places, issues and habitats along our southern border many would not otherwise be able to experience firsthand.”
The three on-the-ground experiences for "The Wall" allow you to immerse yourself into a virtual representation of three locations along the border:
- Near Tecate, where a steel border fence marks the line through rocky hillsides between California and Mexico.
- In the middle of a canyon in Big Bend National Park in southwest Texas, where thousand-foot cliffs soar higher than any border wall could be built.
- At the foot of Mount Cristo Rey, home of a religious shrine near El Paso, which serves as a pilgrimage site for people in both the U.S. and Mexico.
In addition to the virtual reality, you can also experience a dozen videos and accompanying slideshows that capture stories along the border. One is the story of U.S. citizen Selene Ramirez as she searches for her brother, who went missing days after he crossed the border illegally into the U.S.
See the full story here: http://www.azcentral.com/story/news/politics/border-issues/2017/09/19/border-wall-virtual-reality/618982001/
Ikea set to debut an augmented reality app (AI)
Ikea is rolling out a new augmented reality (AR) application, called Ikea Place, according to Retail Dive.
Ikea Place will be available at the end of September in Apple's App Store, and customers with Apple devices running iOS 11 will be able to use it to view how items would look in their home.
The app scales products with 98% accuracy, and shoppers can move them virtually around a room. More than 2,000 products will be available in AR on the launch date, and the selection will be primarily focused on larger furniture, such as sofas, arm chairs, and coffee tables.
One of retailers' top priorities is to figure out how to gain an edge over Amazon. To do this, many retailers are attempting to differentiate themselves by creating highly curated experiences that combine the personal feel of in-store shopping with the convenience of online portals.
These personalized online experiences are powered by artificial intelligence (AI). This is the technology that enables e-commerce websites to recommend products uniquely suited to shoppers, and enables people to search for products using conversational language, or just images, as though they were interacting with a person.
Using AI to personalize the customer journey could be a huge value-add to retailers. Retailers that have implemented personalization strategies see sales gains of 6-10%, a rate two to three times faster than other retailers, according to a report by Boston Consulting Group (BCG). It could also boost profitability rates 59% in the wholesale and retail industries by 2035, according to Accenture.
See the full story here: http://www.businessinsider.com/ikea-set-to-debut-an-augmented-reality-app-2017-9