Samsung S8 Offers Bigger Screen and Bixby Virtual Assistant
Samsung Galaxy S8, arriving in stores April 21, sports a high-tech look, featuring a screen that goes from edge to edge, with just a hint of metal at the top and bottom. The screen measures 5.8-inches, compared to the S7’s 5.1-inch. The smartphone’s virtual assistant Bixby offers voice control, and Samsung is positioning the phone as capable of doubling as a desktop computer. That’s a lot of phone, but it’s got a price to match, at $720 at Verizon and starting at $750 for AT&T, Sprint and T-Mobile.
S8, it says, “is the first Samsung phone to encrypt facial data,” which “combined with iris and fingerprint scanning [offers] more security for mobile banking and other sensitive applications.”
...the S8 is also “the cornerstone of the excellent Gear VR platform,” powered by Oculus.
Oculus’ upgraded app will appear on the same day, as well as two-dozen controller-optimized titles, with 50 more in development. The handheld controller will also be sold as a standalone unit for $40 and work with the last version of Gear VR.
See the full story here: http://www.etcentric.org/samsung-s8-offers-bigger-screen-and-bixby-virtual-assistant/
Augmented Reality Can Make Good-for-You Food Look More Attractive, Making It Easier to Eat Well
According to Will Chu at Food Navigator, Okajima believes changing the color of certain foods to make them brighter or more appealing could improve the diets of consumers by encouraging the brain to see the augmented healthy foods as more delicious-looking.
In a study by Okajima, published in the journal Brain and Cognition, he calls this "eating with our eyes"—using visually beautiful images of food to satisfy hunger.
See the full story here: https://augmented.reality.news/news/augmented-reality-can-make-good-for-you-food-look-more-attractive-making-easier-eat-well-0176795/
Dancers Instantly Swap Freaky Face Masks Using a Face-Tracking Projector
Japanese studio WOW, led by Technical and Creative Director Nobumichi Asai, used the high-speed, 1,000 frame per second, Dyna-Flash projector developed by the Ishikawa Watanabe Laboratory in Tokyo.
The tiny glowing dots attached to the dancer’s faces allow them to be tracked in real time so that the overlays created by the projector perfectly match their movements and facial expressions. The sensors require just milliseconds to process those movements, and then warp and distort the projected images to perfectly match them, which is fast enough to hide any delays from the human eye.
See the full story here: http://sploid.gizmodo.com/dancers-instantly-swap-freaky-face-masks-using-a-face-t-1793818357
Does the Future of Digital Cinema Mean the End of Motion Picture Projectors?
GDC, the cinema tech company, on Wednesday announced a PLF theater concept that could offer imagery up to 8K resolution using Samsung LED “Cinema Screen” technology. (Yes, consumer tech giant Samsung is also at CinemaCon, doing private offsite demos of a 34-foot screen created with its modular high dynamic range 4K LED panels).
Dubbed Jetreel Cinema, the GDC model also includes an immersive sound system from Samsung-owned Harman that the company claimed could play back a Dolby Atmos version of a film. And it includes some inviting design features, including massage seats that also offer a charging station for mobile devices.
Jetreel also has a unique business model. GDC says it will provide and install the gear — meaning the cinema owner won’t have to make a large up-front investment — as part of a profit-sharing agreement.
Meanwhile, Sony is showing a dazzling demonstration of its Crystal LED 4K panels, forming a 16-foot screen at its CinemaCon exhibit suite (it plans to show a 32-foot configuration next month at the NAB Show in Las Vegas). But the company cautiously said it is “testing the waters” with exhibitors and studios to see if there’s interest for theatrical use.
Like the Samsung system, it is modular — meaning you could choose the size wanted for a theater, and a large-enough screen could result in 8K possibilities, should that be desired.
These LED systems could also accommodate high frame rates. In fact, as part of its demonstration, Sony played a clip from Ang Lee’s Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk in 4K at 120 frames per second format (the demo was in 2D, though the system could also accommodate 4K, 3D at 60fps).
See the full story here: http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/behind-screen/does-future-digital-cinema-mean-end-motion-picture-projectors-989655
Disney just launched the new mobile-only version of Club Penguin
Club Penguin Island, the mobile-only replacement for the original Club Penguin (which shut down last night) has launched.
Started in 2005, Club Penguin was one of the first successful virtual worlds for children and, as they grew up, teens and adults. At its peak the platform had 200M users, and a few months ago was still seeing upwards of 5M visitors to the Club Penguin website each month. The game was bought by Disney in 2007 in a deal valued at $700M.
The version launching today is a total rebuild of the game, featuring 3D graphics, which is a first for the franchise.
It’s also mobile-only, at least for now. This could lead to at least a temporary drop in engagement for Disney, because the old Club Penguin was seeing a 50-50 split in terms of users coming from desktop and mobile.
See the full story here: https://techcrunch.com/2017/03/30/disney-just-launched-the-new-mobile-only-version-of-club-penguin/
I Worked Out In Virtual Reality For A Month And This Is What Happened
The VirZOOM setup:
The bike arrived in a large cardboard box, that contains bike parts, an instruction booklet, and a mini wrench. It took me around thirty minutes to put this together...
It weighs in at 39 pounds and they say it can handle up to 260 pounds.
To connect the bike to your computer and virtual reality setup, there’s a Bluetooth dongle which acts as a controller in terms of calibration. Two AA batteries power the Bluetooth signal on the bike, and flicking the switch under the handlebars turns on the signal — a green light should flash in response. The bike includes a number of free games, accessed through VirZOOM's arcade; as I have a HTC Vive I accessed this through Steam. And that’s it for setup —-
One Month Verdict:
I’ve spent the last month consciously trying to use the VirZOOM as much as possible, using it in place of my normal cardio sessions while keeping up my pilates reformer classes on the side. Overall, I feel I’ve noticed more muscle definition in my legs and my endurance for biking has improved overall. The experience is still entertaining, though the choice of games is starting to feel more limited and I’d welcome some new additions to their library (they do say they’ll add some this year).
See the full story here: https://www.forbes.com/sites/zarastone/2017/03/28/i-worked-out-in-virtual-reality-for-a-month-and-this-is-what-happened/#6e77b44054ef
What is Lightform? A Projected Augmented Reality device for everyone
Lightform is several sorts of device at once. It’s a scanner, first of all – it scans the environment in front of it to make a highly precise mesh. That mesh is then used to compute where surfaces are and what shapes are needed to project light in a precise, targeted way. Lightform sends a video signal to a projector which then projects the light needed to attain the effect.
The folks who made Lightform – a company that also goes by the name Lightform – worked more recently with Microsoft on Illumiroom.
Lightform suggest the device will go on pre-order “this summer.” When we’ll get the real deal, they suggest it’ll cost less than an average laptop.
See the full story here: https://www.slashgear.com/what-is-lightform-a-projected-augmented-reality-device-for-everyone-28480124/
Dreamscape’s Big Dreams for Immersive VR
The two producers were convinced that by combining Hollywood talent and storytelling with Artanim’s technology, they could create something exceptional. “We plan to use the medium to create large scale cinematic experiences”, Parkes explained. They brought their new Swiss partners and the system to LA for a series of demonstrations which created tremendous enthusiasm from creatives, studios, and investors. In just a few months they were able to assemble strategic investors like Westfields Malls, three movie studios, IMAX and Parkes’ former boss Steven Speilberg. “We wanted either three studios or none, because we wanted it to be clear that Dreamscape was “agnostic” with regard to content”, Wall explained.
Relying on Hollywood serendipity and a powerful rolodex, the partners nabbed as CEO the Disney Chief Creative Officer behind the massive Shanghai Disneyland project, Bruce Vaughn, who had planned to take a well deserved sabbatical, until Wall interrupted him with Dreamscape’s ambitious plans. Along with other Disney Imagineers recruited for the effort, Vaughn’s job is to spearhead development of both the experiences and the venue, which is being designed by Yves Behar, who Forbes described as “the most influential designer in the world.”
Dreamscape Immersive is planning to open its flagship at the landmark Century City Mall in Los Angeles this fall.
...there are a dozen programmers and artists collaborating and iterating with them from Geneva, and they are not making a shooter. “That’s the opposite of what we want to do”, said Wall.
See the full story here: https://www.forbes.com/sites/charliefink/2017/03/28/dreamscapes-big-dreams-for-immersive-vr/#5f2b760419a2
IMAX and Warner Bros. to create VR experiences based on Justice League films
The VR project Warner Bros. has planned for Justice League includes a series of original VR experiences, created in partnership with IMAX and with an exclusive first launch window in IMAX’s new VR centers.
VR as an arcade-style entertainment has done well in certain markets, including Asia, but has yet to really get started in earnest in North America.
See the full story here: https://techcrunch.com/2017/03/28/imax-and-warner-bros-to-create-vr-experiences-based-on-justice-league-films/