ModiFace creates 50 internships for U of T engineering undergrads
Augmented reality startup ModiFace is investing $4 million to create new undergraduate and graduate student internships, and support leading research at U of T's Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering.
The company, founded by Associate Professor Parham Aarabi of the department of electrical & computer engineering, uses augmented reality (AR) and artificial intelligence (AI) to build advanced facial visualization software for the beauty and medical industries. ModiFace technology powers over 100 AR applications by Fortune 500 brands including Sephora, L’Oreal, Allergan, Vichy and Clairol, among others.
See the full story here: https://www.utoronto.ca/news/interested-ai-and-augmented-reality-modiface-creates-50-internships-u-t-engineering-undergrads
Gravity Jack’s PoindextAR tracks objects’ smallest details for augmented reality anywhere
The method is of course proprietary, and the company declined to reveal their patent-pending secrets to me. It’s not extracting a silhouette (my first guess) or using any kind of depth mapping — unlike something like Microsoft’s HoloLens or Google’s Project Tango, it works with ordinary RGB cameras on ordinary smartphones and tablets.
A lot of that covers the usual promises made on behalf of AR, but being able to do it without markers, in a variety of lighting conditions, with very low latency and high accuracy — that’s something plenty of companies could use today in everyday applications like maintenance and training.
That’s why Gravity Jack is focusing on industry to start: plenty of companies have heard about the potential benefits of AR, but those benefits tend to be in the hand-wavy near future.
See the full story here: https://techcrunch.com/2017/04/11/gravity-jacks-poindextar-tracks-objects-smallest-details-for-augmented-reality-anywhere/
Lucasfilm to Bring ‘Star Wars’ Virtual Reality Headsets to Hospitals for Kids
Starlight Virtual Reality, a new VR initiative launching later this year, will put 270 VR headsets into hospitals across the country, and will feature content from the Star Wars universe, as well as from Google Expeditions, Daydream, Google Earth VR and Tilt Brush.
Star Wars: Force for Change is the founding sponsor of the program, which is receiving additional funding from Niagara Cares and VR technology powered by Google.
See the full story here: http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/lucasfilm-bring-star-wars-virtual-reality-headsets-hospitals-kids-992859
John Legend is singing a new tune: virtual reality
In the latest push to make virtual reality an entertainment medium, the startup Baobab Studios is expected to announce on Tuesday a new animated VR series, “Rainbow Crow,” which aims to bring an immersive world of talking-animal animation wherever a user happens to be.
The episodic series — based on a piece of Native American folklore about self-acceptance — stars and is executive-produced by Legend. It is written and directed by “Madagascar” co-writer and director Eric Darnell, chief creative officer and co-founder of Baobab with Silicon Valley executive Maureen Fan, who is the company’s CEO.
The first chapter of "Rainbow Crow" will premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival this month, while a consumer rollout of both it and a second episode will follow later this year. The pieces will be available on a variety of so-called tethered headsets like the HTC Vive as well as mobile-based systems such as Samsung’s Gear VR.
Baobab executives said they didn’t know yet how many episodes would be created. (The finished product, when combined, will run about as long as a featurette.) There is no plan at the moment to charge for “Rainbow Crow”; the idea is to hook consumers so they will be willing to pay later.
“We don’t believe the market is big enough to monetize,” said Fan, who was in Los Angeles last week from Baobab’s Silicon Valley headquarters in Redwood City. “We want to build a pipeline for content that will make eventually make that possible.”
See the full story here: http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/la-et-mn-john-legend-vr-project-20170411-story.html
Disney Tests Prototype, Pursues Patent for Soft-Bodied Robot
Disney recently submitted a patent application for “a robot that will move and physically interact like an animated character.” The prototype sketch with the application shows a round body similar to the soft-robot character in Disney’s 2014 “Big Hero 6.”
Inventors Alexander Alspach, Joohyung Kim and Katsu Yamane have been working on a prototype at Disney Research Pittsburgh since at least 2014. Pittsburgh is also where Carnegie Mellon University developed a soft robotic arm that was the basis of inspiration for the “huggable robot” that became Baymax in “Big Hero 6.”
According to the application, the robot’s body is made of pliable chambers filled with fluid or air, which would sense pressure and adjust to “a child’s hug or to an accidental collision.” Frame and joint components would be made with a 3D printer, and its outer shapes would be “a donut shape, a cylinder, and a cylinder with a round end,” determined by “data obtained from a digital model of an animated (or other) character.”
The patent application notes that the robot’s soft body is “designed for reducing collision impacts during human interaction.”
See the full story here: http://www.etcentric.org/disney-tests-prototype-pursues-patent-for-soft-bodied-robot/
The tiny change that can make AI fail
FRANCE - JANUARY 01: I.A : The birth of machines that think in Vandoeuvre Les Nancy, France in January, 2008- He stayed for 18 months at the team LORIA to validate his artificial intelligence program before moving to the industrialization of a new prototype. If laboratory testing work, he must now have a world premiere: putting in the street an autonomous car with zero risk of accident. (Photo by Pool DEMANGE/DI SILVESTRO/Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images)
long story at http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20170410-how-to-fool-artificial-intelligence
Interactive Media Emmys Redefined, May 1st Entry Deadline
The Emmy Award categories for Interactive Media have been completely redesigned for the 69th Emmy Award season. The Interactive Media Peer Group of the Television Academy announced four Category Awards and one new Juried Award. The four categories are Outstanding Interactive Program, Outstanding Original Interactive Program, Outstanding Creative Achievement in Interactive Media Within a Scripted Program, and Outstanding Creative Achievement in Interactive Media Within an Unscripted Program. The reimagined Juried Award for Innovation in Interactive Programming will recognize pioneering interactive work in emerging uses of interactive media in television.
“Many professionals working in interactive and digital media are not aware that their work may qualify for Emmy consideration,” said IMPG co-governor Marc Johnson.
“We recrafted our Emmy categories to support our commitment to honor the highest quality achievements, and to encourage new talent,” he added. “Interactive media is driving many of the changes in the ways viewers consume, engage with, and enjoy television — from digital extensions of TV shows, to the new frontiers of VR and AR.”
Entries are now being accepted for the 2017 awards. The deadline is May 1st (supporting materials are due by May 12th).
See the full post here: http://www.etcentric.org/interactive-media-emmys-redefined-may-1st-entry-deadline/
This Startup Is Building Tiny Amusement Parks for Grown-Ups
Two Bit Circus Inc. co-founder and onetime clown Brent Bushnell spends his days playing games. In a converted warehouse in East Los Angeles, the 38-year-old races around a 10-foot-tall hexagonal tower, frantically pressing buttons in an attempt to beat the clock. He scores, high-fiving a guest who guesses, correctly, that it’s a giant, multiplayer version of Bop It!, the popular 1990s game that prompts players to twist, crank, spin, and pull knobs and levers.
The bottom line: With backing from Intel and guidance from Atari’s founder, a pair of former clowns are pitching micro amusement parks.
See the full story here: https://www.bloomberg.com/amp/news/articles/2017-03-30/this-startup-is-building-tiny-amusement-parks-for-grown-ups
Shazam nabs a new CTO to help it break into augmented reality
"Internally, we've shown we can predict what’s going to be in the top 40," based on Shazam data, he said.
Sharp is going to be based in London. Shazam has three main engineering offices, one in London, one in Redwood City, California, and one in San Diego, which is close to key partners like Snapchat.
see the full story here: http://www.businessinsider.com/shazam-nabs-a-new-cto-to-help-it-break-into-augmented-reality-2017-4