How The Coachella Music Festival Embraced Virtual Reality (Vantage.TV)
“Live-action video will translate better for remote audiences than a fully virtual music festival,” says Juan, CEO of vantage.tv, who produces the 360 livestream. “This year we improved the 360 live streaming experience to allow users to easily toggle between 2D video and VR.” Juan’s team had Nokia OZO cameras set-up at both the Coachella Main Stage and Outdoor Stage. The cameras brought viewers on-stage with their favorite performers in VR.
see the full story here: https://uploadvr.com/coachella-embraced-virtual-reality/
Digital customization: Canadian tailor Surmesur threads suits with latest technology
Made-to-measure tailoring is being threaded with augmented reality technology, ...
Clients can choose from 8,000 kinds of fabric and create their own shirt, from collar to cuff, and examine how the elements come together in an interactive setting — rotating 360 degrees to see different angles and zooming in on details.
Prices start at $60 for a shirt and $375 for a suit. Measurements and tailoring are done on site.
The brothers developed the company in their basement. The first shop opened in Quebec City in 2010. Now the company has 14 locations, of which 12 are in Canada — Pittsburgh was the first in the U.S., followed by Chicago — and boasts 100 employees.
See the full story here: http://www.post-gazette.com/business/tech-news/2017/05/04/Surmesur-tailor-augmented-reality-clothing-fitting/stories/201705040045
‘North Korea VR’ is an extraordinary glimpse of the world’s most oppressive country
"Until now it wasn't possible to change camera position, it was up to the director. We're giving a chance for people to walk around and explore at their own pace."
From the top of the Juche Tower in Pyongyang, you can freely roam around Mansu Hill, where 22-metre-tall statues of Kim Il-sung and Kim Jong-il dominate the city, or watch people commuting or kids rollerblading in Kim Il-sung Square, which is usually covered by crowds or military parades.
The transition between one place or the other is made by looking at blue dots that appear on the screen.
Filming in Pyongyang with the equipment — six GoPro cameras lashed to a pole — was surprisingly easy, according to Olsson.
"I didn't have the same restrictions as tourists or journalists because I was there to give a speech and educate North Koreans about the startup mindset," he said.
See the full story here: http://mashable.com/2017/05/04/north-korea-vr-pyongyang/#mmq9kNCNJ5q7
Y&R’s Augmented Reality App Creates Virtual Statues of Women in Public Spaces
Commemorating women's achievements by giving them more equal status in public places is an idea gaining increasing traction in 2017. As well as the huge attention that McCann's Fearless Girl has received, campaigns such as BBDO's "Put Her on the Map" have aimed to inspire young girls and make up for the lack of role models in public areas.
Now, Y&R New York has come up with its own idea around a similar theme; an app that uses augmented reality to add virtual statues of women. The Whole Story, which is free from the Apple App Store and on Google Play, enables users to see, share and add new virtual statues alongside existing public statues. Users can locate and view statues via markers on a map and and share the images on social media.
Abigail Adams, Nina Simone, Marie Curie and Amelia Earhart are just some of the women commemorated so far, and as this video shows, Tina Brown placed the first virtual statue in Dante Park. Statues have been added so far in Washington, DC, at Mount Rushmore, and in London, Prague, Milan and Rome.
See the full story here: http://creativity-online.com/work/yr-new-york-the-whole-story-project/51687
Unity CEO Reframes XR Discussion, Re-Energizes the Flock
Unity Technologies CEO John Riccitiello drew a fresh picture of the XR industry in his keynote address at the Vision VR/AR Summit 2017 in Hollywood this week (extended reality — or XR — is an umbrella term that includes VR, AR and MR). Riccitiello admonished analysts for their overly exuberant prognostications and reactionary pessimism about the VR market. He projected that XR adoption and value calculations will exceed expectations in 2023 if three conditions are met: a price point below $1,000 for all the necessary hardware; truly mobile technology; and content that can be monetized across 100,000,000 devices, at minimum.
He also forecast that behemoth studios with deep IP will not rule the roost, but will be eclipsed by small, creative companies born out an industry to rival the Internet.
See the full story here: http://www.etcentric.org/unity-ceo-reframes-xr-discussion-re-energizes-the-flock/
Microsoft’s ‘View Mixed Reality’ is augmented reality for everyone
Stressed more for education purposes, the 3D mixed reality feature lets a user with just a simple on-device camera or even an external webcam to overlay digital images over the real world. In short, Microsoft is removing the need of a headset to view augmented reality. This new feature is expected to arrive soon on Windows 10 and will be a part of Windows 10 S. At the Microsoft educational event, View Mixed Reality was used to showcase the Mars Curiosity Rover next to one of the speakers to see how big it looks in real life.
See the full story here: http://tech.firstpost.com/news-analysis/microsofts-view-mixed-reality-is-augmented-reality-for-everyone-374535.html
Students Discuss Their Media Habits at ETC Member Meeting
The ETC@USC has produced a 10-minute highlights reel edited from a one-hour discussion with a panel of eight USC students that took place at the ETC’s April 6th All Members Meeting. The panel of undergraduates included students studying business, the arts, journalism and technology. The students discussed what motivates them to go to a movie theater, the role of big screen TVs in their lives, what they think of VR and AR, what they would buy if they were given $3,000 to spend on entertainment, and a number of other interesting topics. Visit the ETC website or YouTube channel to access the video.
See the original post here: http://www.etcentric.org/students-discuss-their-media-habits-at-etc-member-meeting/