The Guardian launches Sea Prayer, a new virtual reality experience written by acclaimed author Khaled Hosseini
To commemorate the second anniversary of the tragic death of Alan Kurdi, the three-year-old Syrian boy who drowned whilst attempting to reach Greece in 2015, UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador and acclaimed author Khaled Hosseini (The Kite Runner; A Thousand Splendid Suns; And the Mountains Echoed) has written Sea Prayer, an imagined letter in the form of a monologue, from a Syrian father to his son lying asleep on his lap, on the eve of making the sea crossing to Europe to seek refuge and safety.
Sea Prayer is the first narrative animated virtual reality film created using Tilt Brush, a tool for painting in a 3D space with virtual reality. Using this tool, the Guardian’s in-house VR team, in collaboration with acclaimed VR artist Liz Edwards and post production studio SoWhen?, have brought Hosseini’s sensitive imagining of this letter to life.
See the full story with a link to the VR piece here: https://www.theguardian.com/gnm-press-office/2017/sep/01/the-guardian-launches-sea-prayer-a-new-virtual-reality-experience-written-by-acclaimed-author-khaled-hosseini
HypeVR Uses ARKit as a Portal Into Volumetric Video Content
HypeVR is developing volumetric video tech which we called “a glimpse at the future of VR video,” when we got to see it back in January. Now the company has adapted their system for Apple’s ARKit, showing how phone-based augmented reality can be used to view volumetric footage, and allow users to step through a portal into the footage.
The video above shows a volumetric video scene from HypeVR being played back on an iPhone SE (which is of the ‘6S’ generation) The company is employing a ‘portal’ as a way of navigating from the real-world into the volumetric space...the phone is actually relaying its movements to a cloud server which then renders the appropriate video frame and sends it back to the phone, all fast enough for a hand-held AR experience.
Tran says that the ultimate vision for HypeVR revolves around distribution and monetization of volumetric video. The company is in the process of raising a Series A investment...
Otoy Wants to Make Light-field Rendering Affordable with a Supercomputing Cluster You Get Paid to Be Part Of
Introducing the Render Token from Render Token on Vimeo.
Otoy has announced the Render Token, a blockchain-based currency that underpins a distributed GPU rendering network.
One problem with the practical application of light-fields is that they’re expensive to render, both computationally and temporally. If you want to farm your render out to the cloud to get it done in a reasonable amount of time, you can expect to pay a hefty fee.
And so on a quest to make GPU rendering dramatically more affordable, Otoy is mashing up the ideas of distributed supercomputing clusters and the blockchain with the hopes of creating a decentralized cloud rendering network that runs rendering tasks on idle GPUs in exchange for payment in the form of a cryptocurrency.
The result is what Otoy calls the Render Token (RNDR). It’s a cryptocurrency coin based on the Ethereum blockchain, and the company says it’s the payment that will be used to incentivize and compensate participants in the rendering network for the use of their GPU power.
Urbach says, the fundamental mining work that underpins crytocurenies could be used to produce valuable output in the form of rendered imagery.
Otoy plans to make an ‘Initial Coin Offering’, which is a sale of the first Render Tokens. It’s both a way for Otoy to raise capital for their initiative and to establish the initial value of each Render Token. The company will offer a limited number of tokens, and, according to the Render Token White Paper, hopes to sell $134 million to support the project, presumably cutting off the supply after that amount is raised. That wouldn’t be the largest ICO to date (that would be Filecoin at $250M+, according to The Cointelegraph), but it’s not far off. Here’s how Otoy says they’ll spend the funds:
40% – will go to future development of each expansion phase (I-IV) and will support the team dedicated to the operations and engineering of the Render Token platform.
25% – running, maintaining, and scaling the network – this will include developing and creating new and more efficient solutions for rendering through custom built GPU solutions, effectively lowering the price of rendering across the network and the world.
20% – will be allocated to marketing and expanding the applications and reach and use-cases of the network.
10% – for third party services and contractors providing guidance and efficiencies to the project.
5% – for unforeseen roadblocks and circumstances.
See the full story with video here: https://www.roadtovr.com/otoy-render-token-rndr-light-field-vr-ar/
‘Sparc’ Is A Virtual Reality Sport And It May Be Just What The PSVR Needs
It's essentially an elaborate spin on one-on-on dodge ball with a Tron aesthetic. You have a shield that you can block your opponents ball with, but you can't block your own (yes, there are two balls in play at all times.) It's a pretty straightforward concept, and given that it uses motion controls it actually makes you move---almost like a real sport. Using VR to get in shape is one of those lofty Utopian ideals, but Sparc sounds like it could do just that.
See the full story here: https://www.forbes.com/sites/erikkain/2017/08/30/sparc-is-a-virtual-reality-sport-and-it-may-be-just-what-the-psvr-needs/#73f56eb34f1c
The VR dating show makes me want to never date again
You know those gimmick-based dating shows about people going on dates naked, or in the dark, or with some other twist? Someone is doing this for virtual reality now, and while that already may not sound great, I promise that it is worse than it sounds. It’s not that Virtually Dating is dumb about VR, or that it sensationalizes it. It’s just a dating show that’s so boring it tarnishes the concept of dating itself.
See the full story with video here: https://www.theverge.com/2017/8/30/16227238/virtually-dating-conde-nast-facebook-vr-dating-show
Neuroscientist harnesses the power of virtual reality to unlock the mysteries of memory
At UCLA, Nanthia Suthana is one of the first neuroscientists in the world to harness the power of VR to unravel how someone’s brain encodes and retrieves memories while the person explores a new virtual setting on foot.
Her work recently captured the attention of the popular digital network, Mashable, which profiled her in its “How She Works” video series.
“At UCLA, we are the first to blend virtual reality with a surgically implanted prosthesis to reveal what happens inside the brain when we create memories.”
In 2015, Suthana recruited a crack team of experts in bioengineering, neuroscience, computer science and physics to help design a virtual-reality lab at UCLA. She crafted a study that correlates electrical activity from the neuro-prosthesis deep inside the brain with a patient’s physical movement in the virtual environment.
See the full story here: https://www.uclahealth.org/neuroscientist-harnesses-the-power-of-virtual-reality-to-unlock-the-mysteries-of-memory
Diageo to Reignite Virtual Reality Efforts with Experience Focused on Dangers of Binge Drinking
In time for Labor Day – one of the most popular days for alcohol consumption in the U.S. – and back-to-school season, Diageo, a global leader in beverage alcohol, today announced plans for a new virtual reality (VR) experience that will immerse consumers of legal drinking age in a first-person, multi-perspective story about the dangers of binge drinking.
...the new program follows Diageo's successful October 2016 launch of "Decisions," a first-of-its-kind 360° experience that placed consumers in the front seat of a fatal drunk driving crash. In the four months after its introduction, "Decisions" accumulated almost 14 million views. The experience made a significant impact on consumer perceptions with 73% of viewers surveyed after watching the film saying they are now more likely to stop other people from drinking and driving. In addition, 75% of viewers said they will prevent drinking and driving by planning ahead with a designated driver.
See the full story here: http://www.crossroadstoday.com/story/36260983/diageo-to-reignite-virtual-reality-efforts-with-experience-focused-on-dangers-of-binge-drinking
Loto-Quebec to use virtual reality to counsel winners on coping with windfall
Lotto spokesman Brian LeCompte says it involves wearing a headset that immerses the user in various scenarios they will likely face at a house party or in the workplace.
The eight-minute experience is meant to compliment existing counselling services, available to the roughly 1,500 people a year who win prizes of $25,000 or more.
There's no obligation to use the headset, adds LeCompte, and winners of lesser amounts can request VR if they feel they need it.
He says their Montreal and Quebec City offices have a dozen headsets, and that the project cost $100,000 for work that included casting and shooting the VR footage.
See the full story here: http://www.pentictonherald.ca/life/national_life/article_f0ab4861-2548-5894-82fb-5d89c3f0690f.html
Invisible Highway – Google AR experiment
Invisible Highway is an experiment in controlling physical things in the real world by drawing in Augmented Reality. Simply make a pathway along the floor on your phone and the robot car will follow that path on the actual floor in your room. A custom highway with scenery is generated along the path to make the robots a little more scenic on your phone screen.
See the full story here: https://boingboing.net/2017/08/30/augmented-reality-project-adds.html
https://boingboing.net/2017/08/30/augmented-reality-project-adds.html
Star Wars Has Turned Global Landmarks Into Augmented Reality Locations
To enjoy the AR scene, all you have to do is plant yourself within a mile of any one of 20 global landmarks, boot up the Star Wars app and point your phone to the sky.
If you do that, you'll get to watch a short scene unfold above that real world location. You'll also be able to take photos of your encounter. According to the announcement, the scene is a 10-second clip that shows a Star Destroyer and a pair of TIE Fighters flying over whatever landmark you've chosen to visit. You'll be able to enjoy this AR experience through Sept. 3 at any of the following locations:
Hollywood Sign, USA
See the full list here: http://www.cinemablend.com/games/1697989/star-wars-has-turned-global-landmarks-into-augmented-reality-locations
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