Gene Munster Thinks Apple’s Augmented Reality Glasses Will Launch in 2020 for $1,300
Munster estimates that "Apple Glasses" will initially be priced at $1,300. That price point might limit early demand, but like all emerging technologies, costs are high initially but come down rapidly over time -- Munster expects average selling prices to decline to $1,000 by 2022 -- spurring adoption in the process.
As far as avoiding the same mistakes, one important step that Apple is taking is releasing ARKit for iOS well in advance of Apple Glasses. This helps Apple build a pipeline of AR content, starting with the iPhone. You can be confident that once Apple Glasses are ready to launch, Apple will make it easy for developers to bring existing AR apps to Apple Glasses (Google Glass was lacking on the content front, as there were only a few dozen third-party apps).
Apple has taken note of the importance of aesthetics when it comes to wearables, which is why it offers such a wide array of Apple Watch configurations to cater to diverse consumer preferences. Additionally, industrial design is one of Apple's greatest strengths. It's not clear what the optimal interface for AR glasses should be, but Apple also has a strong track record in this department; each of Apple's game-changing products were built on revolutionary new interfaces.
See the full story here: https://www.fool.com/investing/2017/06/29/gene-munster-thinks-apples-augmented-reality-glass.aspx
5 Takeaways from VRTO that will Help to Guide VR Forward
The VR Industry’s Unique Culture Will Fuel Innovation
With technology evolving so rapidly, in my own talk at VRTO on how to monetize VR, I warned attendees to steer clear of innovating for VR. We are in an industry that needs to maintain a focus on solving for the jobs to be done, not the technology, and we also have to preserve our culture of people rallying behind changing the world.
It’s Different in Canada
Under Ana Serrano’s leadership as the Chief Digital Officer of the Canadian Film Centre (CFC), her Team is driving Canadian innovation with a blend of government, corporate and private funding, paired with four activities which reinforce each other. First, they are investing in technology and content creating companies for VR, AR, MR and more. Second, they’re running labs on a range of capabilities in the ecosystems. And, they’re working in the space themselves to build expertise and learnings, as well as sharing their own research findings, in their new quarterly Pulse on VR study that is posted free for the industry to access. Serrano highlighted that the study proves Canadian companies are already monetizing VR.
It’s not just the collaboration and support from government-backed groups. Keram Malicki-Sanchez, Founder and Executive Director at VRTO Virtual & Augmented Reality World Conference & Expo, credits an aggregation of three unique factors that are helping to drive the success of VR in Canada. It’s “the combination of multiculturalism, government subsidized arts and technology innovation programs, and in Toronto particularly, this model of artist run coops that make the power tools available to artists.”
Partner Up
Corporate Vice President of Alliances for AMD, Roy Taylor, flew in to speak at VRTO. But one of his main goals of attending was to “listen, and to learn.”
One of AMD’s focuses right now is to better understand the new needs of out-of-home VR businesses, such as allowing for the best playback performance.
And we can learn exponentially faster with AI. AMD’s Taylor was also clear that “ No way can we develop VR, without at the same time develop artificial intelligence and deep neural networks.”
Out-of-Home VR Is Being Monetized, And There Are Ways To Solve for Its Challenges
Canadian-born IMAX, The VOID, and the hundreds of VR arcades popping up world-wide, are proof that out-of-home VR has a range of business models that work.
But moderator Charlie Fink called attention to the labour, through-put and guest count peak and valley challenges that still need to be solved.
Pay Attention to Untapped Markets
A handful of Znaimer’s media innovations engage boomers, and he sees a great opportunity to build VR solutions for them. His message was clear. “I want to dispel this idea that boomers aren’t interested in kicks, they’re not interested in ‘wow moments’, they’re not interested in deeply shallow things…and they are definitely not slow to adapt.”
See the full story here: https://uploadvr.com/5-takeaways-vrto-will-help-guide-vr-forward/
Snapchat bought the AR location intellectual property of startup Drop
In 2013, Drop developed an app that would let you post photos or text to a certain location, like a landmark or business, and your followers would get an alert to check it out when they came nearby. By utilizing Drop’s intellectual property, Snapchat could launch a similar feature allowing users to discover location-based messages with the Snap Map or Snapchat’s AR lenses.
See the full story here: https://techcrunch.com/2017/06/30/snapchat-drop/?ncid=tcdaily&utm_medium=TCnewsletter
Google Is Experimenting With Virtual Reality Advertising
Clay Bavor, VP of Virtual Reality for Google, introduces the Daydream View VR headset during the presentation of new Google hardware in San Francisco, California, U.S. October 4, 2016. REUTERS/Beck Diefenbach - RTSQQSZ
According to an animated GIF created by Google (GOOG, -2.64%), the VR ad prototype resembles a small cube with corporate logos adorned on all sides. By either clicking on the cube or staring at it long enough, people can trigger the cube to generate a small screen above that shows a video ad, sort of like a small clown might burst out of a jack-in-the-box toy.
See the full story here: http://fortune.com/2017/06/28/google-virtual-reality-advertising/
Queen, Adam Lambert team up for virtual reality concert
Queen and Adam Lambert have teamed up with Universal Music Group to bring their show directly into your living room.
The band’s May 2016 concert at Barcelona’s Palau Sant Jordi will now be available in full 360° through VRTGO, Universal Music Group’s virtual reality platform, they announced Wednesday.
“VR the Champions” is available for $9.99 for iPhone and Android devices and accessible through most web browsers.
See the full story here: http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/music/queen-adam-lambert-team-virtual-reality-concert-article-1.3286545
IBM Watson to Serve AI-Driven Content for Wimbledon Fans
Artificial intelligence is coming to the Wimbledon tennis tournament, via IBM’s Watson, which will generate video highlight reels, give tours through the All England Lawn Tennis Club and help fans in numerous other ways. A digital voice assistant, dubbed Fred (after the British tennis star Fred Perry), will provide directions to Wimbledon locations, information on players and where to buy merchandise. IBM also unveiled a technology that analyzes player stats, and a joint IBM-AELTC metric called “competitive margin.”
To spark debate on social media, Watson will also analyze “53.7 million Wimbledon tennis data points since 1990 … [and] more than 11 million words of press coverage of the tournament going back to 1995,” to then judge players by “passion, performance under pressure, serve effectiveness, stamina, how well the player either adapted their normal playing style to an opponent or was able to force an opponent to conform to their tactics, and the ability to return serves.”
See the full story here: http://www.etcentric.org/ibm-watson-to-serve-ai-driven-content-for-wimbledon-fans/
New York City Doubles Down on Tech-Focused Jobs, Plans Launch of Virtual and Augmented Reality Hub
On June 27, officials from the city and various educational institutions announced their plans for a virtual and augmented reality (VR/AR) lab within the New York University Tandon School of Engineering’s MakerSpace. The idea is to provide a space and “repository” for the collective AR and VR knowledge and allow it to blossom into startups, new opportunities and ultimately new jobs.
From entertainment to the medical industry, the deputy mayor said the potential for VR and AR technology to grow out of New York-based businesses and startups is very real. “The applications of this are just really endless,” she said.
The center will also have the core mission of making typically cost-prohibitive hardware and workspace available to the greater community, while providing access to the latest in public and private university research and development resources. By offering below-market rent, city officials are hopeful they will be able to attract innovative companies that might otherwise balk at the idea of New York City-based space.
See the full story here: http://www.govtech.com/dc/articles/NYC-Doubles-Down-on-Tech-Focused-Jobs-Plans-Launch-of-New-Virtual-Augmented-Reality-Hub.html
Universal patent details use of augmented-reality goggles in rides
[Philip Lelyveld comment - this seems pretty generic to me.]
A patent, dubbed systems and methods for generating augmented and virtual reality images, is seeking to add the use of augmented reality or virtual reality goggles to ride systems to help project virtual images that guests may see on rides.
The patent goes on to discuss how the goggles could be used on a ride or even in a exterior theme park setting where guests could wear goggles and see additional superimposed images in an existing real-world themed area.
See the full story here: http://www.bizjournals.com/orlando/news/2017/06/28/universal-patent-details-use-of-augmentedreality.html
The VOID Opens In Canada And Plans For The Future Of Hyper Reality
Hyper-reality has officially landed in Toronto as today marks the opening of the newest VOID Experience Centre in the fourth largest city in North America and a popular tourist destination.
And through a joint venture with Cineplex, The VOID will live in one of their new social venues called The Rec Room, alongside a range of dining, amusement gaming, and live entertainment experiences.
We have a business model that works.” He estimates that about 100,000 individuals have already tried The VOID to date.
Right now, all four of The VOID locations, including their newest in Toronto, are featuring the Ghostbusters: Dimension experience. Expect two new experiences at The VOID in 2017. With the completion of their SDK in late 2016, they’re working with third parties ranging from major studios to local content creators.
Localized Content
As The VOID expands worldwide the Team is eager to integrate storylines curated for their technology from the unique regions where they operate. This goes far beyond localization for language, to “culturally driven content” such as ancestral storylines, that will also engage new audiences in other regions.
The VOID Will Extend Into Homes
The VOID’s own Rapture peripherals may help to extend that experience, and provide an additional mechanism for monetization
And, The VOID plans to take advantage of operating at physical locations. It’s the perfect ground to test new technologies and concepts that could range anywhere from scanning in personalized avatars, to localized sponsorship opportunities.
See the full story here: https://uploadvr.com/void-canada-future-hyper-reality/
China’s Tech Moguls Warn of AI’s Troubling Trajectory
What stuck with me—beyond the growing ambition of China’s researchers and the overall vibrancy of its tech scene—is how much people are starting to talk about the potential for AI to eliminate jobs across the country. Just a few years ago this seemed like much less of a concern. Now the issue of jobs comes up regularly during Q&A sessions and panel discussions at industry conferences.
Speaking at an event organized in Detroit by his company last week, the CEO of Alibaba, Jack Ma, said that artificial intelligence could displace many workers in both China and the U.S., thereby heightening tensions that some fear could lead the two countries toward armed conflict. This prospect is the subject of several new books, although they do not consider a coming technological shift that could further complicate the picture.
The economic and social implications of automation and artificial intelligence are, of course, notoriously hard to predict. But this in and of itself may be a cause for concern, as public perception regarding jobs and economic prospects in both the U.S. and China will be incredibly important in coming years.
See the full story here: https://www.technologyreview.com/s/608183/chinas-tech-moguls-warn-of-ais-troubling-trajectory