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/
Bungee jump off the Space Needle in ExpediaLabs’ first virtual reality release
If visiting Seattle’s Space Needle and even bungee jumping from the top of the iconic structure was on your must-see list, the first release from ExpediaLabs could help in that (partially unrealistic) endeavor.
“Space Needle VR” is available to experience via HTC Vive on Steam. It is a collaboration between Expedia, the Bellevue, Wash.-based travel company, and the Space Needle Group.
Users can tour the iconic 605-foot structure and ride an elevator to the top — pretty standard fare for any tourist visiting the Emerald City. But access to the roof is where things turn into more than just sightseeing, as the option to bungee jump from a platform is included in the tour.
See the full story here: https://www.geekwire.com/2017/bungee-jump-off-space-needle-expedialabs-first-virtual-reality-release/
Take a wild ride down the world’s first virtual reality waterslide
[Philip Lelyveld comment; so this is a suitable PhD topic now?]
The Finance & Investment People to Watch in Augmented & Mixed Reality
Ori Inbar
Like his business partner, Tom Emrich, Ori Inbar's influence in augmented and mixed reality touches the finance world and the development community. In 2016, he founded of Super Ventures, the first incubator and venture fund dedicated to augmented reality, where he serves as general manager. The firm's initial investments went to Fringefy, an image recognition platform for mobile devices and wearables, and Waygo, a visual translation app focused on Asian languages. Inbar has been a participant and leader in the community since 2007.
Inbar is also the co-founder and CEO of AugmentedReality.org, a worldwide non-profit organization purposed with evangelizing augmented reality and catalyzing innovation in the industry. In 2009, Inbar co-founder Ogmento, one of the first venture-backed augmented reality game development and publishing companies. In 2010, he and Emrich co-founded the Augmented World Expo (AWE), billed as "the world's largest and most influential conference for AR." He also started Games Alfresco, an influential augmented reality blog. Inbar was a double major in Computer Science and Cinema at Tel Aviv University and graduated from INSEAD University business leadership program. You can learn more about him on the Superventures website.
Tipatat Chennavasin
General partner and founder at The Venture Reality Fund, Tipatat Chennavasin cites virtual reality as the catalyst for curing his fear of heights. Since then, he has established himself as a subject-matter expert for the VR/AR industry, with several publications and presentations at industry events to his credit.
See the full story here: https://next.reality.news/news/nr50-finance-investment-people-watch-augmented-mixed-reality-0176812/
VR Porn – This porn star can do anything you want her to
Contrary to common misconception, true virtual reality is not the same as 360 video. In 360 video, the viewer can look all around them, but they can’t move within the space and they can’t interact with the characters. In virtual reality, both of those things will be possible. And thanks to the team at virtual porn company CamasutraVR — and a hard day’s work by Albrite — it’s looking like that reality isn’t too far in the future. But what does it take to get there? Tucked in a nondescript office building not too far from Los Angeles International Airport, CamasutraVR’s recent virtual reality porn shoot revealed a few key ingredients: some serious technology, a seriously hot porn actress and a whole lot of cameras.
The biggest difference between VR porn and a high-end computer game is that the game can get away with just having a realistic face and sticking the body in a military uniform or other action-ready outfit, but there’s nowhere for the uncanny body to hide in VR porn. It’s realism or bust, and particularly, realism in the bust. Changes in the flesh are crucial — in an intimate setting, boobs and butts have to move, bounce and dimple when squeezed, or it just looks weird.
She stands under fluorescent lighting, posed like the letter T, dotted from breast to bum with tiny white motion capture dots, in the middle of what appears to be a giant white birdcage laced with cameras, 132 of them, to be exact. On cue, there’s a bright flash, actually four synchronized camera flashes to capture every angle. This scanning of full-body poses — the T pose is one of many — is the first stage of the process to generate a realistic face and body in virtual reality. Stage two is for the details of her face, running through all the expressions that will be reconstructed — naughty, nice, oh-so-enticed — and the three Bs of triple-X: boobies, booty and baby-maker.
The third and final stage of the scanning process is motion capture of the full skeleton and the face.
Albrite is liberated from the cage, and “release” is certainly the word that comes to mind to describe the sounds she’s making as she sits on the couch in her monokini with a helmet on her head, imagining double penetration. She’s showing off her versatility, imitating five orgasms in a row, as little sensor dots stuck to her visage capture her facial movements.
See the full, lengthy story here: http://nypost.com/2017/05/01/cybersex-gets-real-on-a-virtual-reality-porn-shoot/