philip lelyveld The world of entertainment technology

VESA Forms Special Interest Group Focused on Emergent Virtual and Augmented Reality Markets

The Video Electronics Standards Association (VESA^®) today announced it has formed a Special Interest Group (SIG) that addresses standardization for the fast-growing augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) markets. Well known for developing the ubiquitous DisplayPort™ and Embedded DisplayPort (eDP) standards, VESA also previously defined the long-standing Extended Display Identification Data (EDID) standard—which works with VGA, HDMI, DisplayPort and other established interconnect standards to enable plug-and-play monitor functionality—as well as the subsequent DisplayID extension to define displays with 4K and higher resolution. Its portfolio of display standards makes VESA well positioned to investigate AR/VR compatibility-related issues.

The VESA AR/VR SIG will be charged with several key missions:

• Establish the hierarchical structure for AR/VR services, including physical connections, data transfer protocols, software drivers and application layers
• Define the basic communication data structure and communication channel between the source and sink devices
• Study the related technologies and algorithms, and standardize them to enable economic and efficient implementation
• Suggest any changes to existing VESA standards that may be needed for better AR/VR support
• Work with other standards bodies to merge suggested changes into related standards

See the full story here: https://www.vesa.org/featured-articles/vesa-forms-special-interest-group-focused-on-emergent-virtual-and-augmented-reality-markets/

2017 Global Digital IQ Survey: Augmented reality

See the full story here: http://usblogs.pwc.com/emerging-technology/2017-digital-iq-ar/

A ‘fake news’ crackdown could follow Macron’s election win in France

Last month, Facebook illustrated the wide-ranging effects of “fake news” throughout the grueling French presidential election. In a report studying online misinformation, the company’s security researchers admitted that they had to take action against roughly 30,000 pages that spread misinformation.

Taken together, the steady stream of politically motivated, fact-challenged content shared widely on social media led the president of the European Council to slam the “tyranny of fake news” on Sunday.

See the full story here: https://www.recode.net/2017/5/7/15573826/macron-france-election-win-fake-news-crackdown-social-media-misinformation

Finger Food organises IoT augmented reality project – in a brewery

Finger Food’s Mixed Reality (MR) application features life-size holographic brewery equipment with live streaming data, offering context and insights from the PI Integrator for Microsoft Azure and Microsoft Cortana Intelligence, ready to be viewed and analysed.

The application uses a combination of OSIsoft’s PI System and Cortana Intelligence, which Finger Food then combined with holographic technology. The result is a framework for visualising real-time IoT data. Now, Deschutes employees can see and interact with IoT data overlayed on specific parts of brewing equipment, in order to eliminate production time losses and increase productivity.

“Mixed reality will significantly impact manufacturing environments over the next decade and we’re very excited to be collaborating with Finger Food as our first Red Carpet Incubation Program MR partner,” said Prabal Acharyya, worldwide director IoT Analytics at OSIsoft.

See the full story here: https://internetofbusiness.com/finger-food-organises-iot-augmented-reality-iot-data-brewery/

Next Reality’s 50 People to Watch in Augmented & Mixed Reality

See the full list here: https://next.reality.news/news/nr50-next-realitys-50-people-watch-augmented-mixed-reality-0177454/

Augmented Reality Is Coming To Banner Ads

London-based startup Blippar thinks the answer lies in advertising.

It’s been working with several automotive brands to launch mobile banner ads with augmented reality built into them. In one demonstration seen by Forbes, a smartphone user taps a banner ad which then swaps their screen out for an image of the inside of the car. The user can then move their phone around to see different parts of the car's interior. If they give it permission to access their camera, they can see their real-life surroundings through the virtual windshield and windows of the car too.

See the full story here; https://www.forbes.com/sites/parmyolson/2017/05/08/augmented-reality-banner-ads-blippar/#15412e045d9b

VR isn’t a content business yet, but Hollywood is looking for a way in

Even at this stage, a few things seem clear:

LA is the center of the world for the new VR content ecosystem. While much of VR’s tech and software are in the Bay Area, content comes from LA. More than ever, LA is ground zero for the new VR content ecosystem. Last year, it was small studios, writers, and filmmakers seeking to learn how to tell VR stories and gear up for VR. This year, Academy Award winning editors, writers, and major league producers are speaking to their plans to create immersive features for the new medium. Major studios are staffing up, too, creating divisions for “What’s Next” and are setting up alongside LA upstarts like Jaunt VR. They want to avoid ceding too much territory to the upstarts as the new medium develops.

The asset supply chain is not a sexy frontline topic for studios, but eventually studios need to position and prep their assets for the VR and 3D future. This is an investment consideration they will balance against revenue potential and long-term strategy. In 50 years, a studio’s digital catalog will likely look extremely different from today. Whether films are delivered via a mixed reality platform or theaters will still exist, all of the majors will need to prepare for new delivery channels for their assets; VR and 3D objects are just two considerations. Any major studio is unquestionably looking at future investment for its assets.

See the full story here: https://venturebeat.com/2017/05/06/vr-isnt-a-content-business-yet-but-hollywood-is-looking-for-a-way-in/

It’s time to stop doubting virtual reality

A growing comprehension of the psychology of virtual reality, or how we can fool the human brain into believing that the virtual is actually the real, combined with technical acumen has finally produced a healthy slate of games for VR. Burgeoning mastery of the VR space has made critical successes like Fantastic Contraption (from Northway Games), Job Simulator (from Owlchemy Labs), and Raw Data (from Servios) possible.

These are the games from which VR developers can learn best practices. The fate of virtual reality depends on how quickly developers can learn and apply those lessons, and continue to release software compelling enough to warrant early adoption of the technology. Taken collectively, the VR-related panels at GDC 2017 suggest that developers are on the case, and the future of VR feels less nebulous as a result.

See the full post here: https://venturebeat.com/2017/05/07/its-time-to-stop-doubting-virtual-reality/

Pokemon GO To Foster Civic Engagement With New Initiative

Niantic and the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation announced a new community initiative aimed at fostering civic engagement throughout the United States with the help of the San Francisco-based studio’s games Pokemon GO and Ingress, as revealed by a press release sent to media outlets earlier this week. The program will be focused on augmented reality (AR) experiences as it will seek to explore ways in which this emerging technology can promote and facilitate public engagement, the new partners revealed, adding that Niantic’s location tracking solutions and games will serve as the backbone of all community events that will be organized as part of the initiative.

The first product of this collaboration will be the Open Streets 704 event that’s taking place in Charlotte, North Carolina tomorrow, May 7. The event will allow players to follow a 2.5-mile route with 16 Poke Stops and two Poke Gyms that will be physically marked in the city in an effort to create a more immersive experience. Niantic Chief Executive Officer John Hanke said that the studio was initially founded with the ambition to drive community change, implying that its new partnership with the Knight Foundation is a natural extension of that endeavor. The initiative is currently set to last for at least a year, though it’s possible that Niantic and the Florida nonprofit will extend it in the future, provided that the initial feedback they receive is a positive one.

See the full story here: https://www.androidheadlines.com/2017/05/pokemon-go-to-foster-civic-engagement-with-new-initiative.html

Snapchat’s future Spectacles will have augmented reality, patent reveals

...a patent published Thursday reveals an augmented future for Spectacles and other wearables and gadgets made by Snap Inc., the camera company.

Snap Inc., in this patent, also reveals that the future of gadgets from the company isn't just glasses. Future products could include "glasses, visors, watches, or other network enabled items," the patent reads.

Another sentence reads: "an augmented reality helmet, an augmented reality visor, glasses, and an augmented reality glasses attachment."

See the full story here: http://mashable.com/2017/05/04/snapchat-spectacles-augmented-reality/#IIYZD2A23PqX