philip lelyveld The world of entertainment technology

5 Women Changing the Virtual Reality Scene

See the original post here: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/craig-newmark/5-women-changing-the-virt_b_13355254.html

Here are 5 women to watch in the VR field:

1. Nonny de la Peña is the Founder of Emblematic Group. She created a VR Experience called Hunger in Los Angeles that tries to foster empathy by immersing people in the experience of what it feels like to be hungry and on the streets of LA. Her question is, what if you could experience a story with your entire body, not just with your mind? de la Peña is working on a new form of journalism that combines traditional reporting with emerging virtual reality technology to put the audience inside the story. Hunger’s just one example of a problem in this country that doesn’t get nearly enough resources. Using the latest VR technology, Hunger in Los Angeles, puts the participant in the First Unitarian Church, allowing them to become witnesses to the problem first-hand. This is really one way to use tech for social good.
2. Elizabeth L. Reede is the Cofounder and CEO of WoofbertVR, a platform that creates immersive experiences and enriched content to promote art education. Woofbert VR allows people to view art and cultural institutions from anywhere and harnesses the best of VR to promote cross-cultural exchange. Reede’s really got her boots on the ground democratizing access to the arts through virtual reality.
3. Christina Heller is the Cofounder and CEO of VR Playhouse, an LA-based studio and production company that focuses on VR and AR. Heller’s company has worked with brands like Red Bull, Honda, Discovery, Time Inc., and Toyota. In collaboration with cutting-edge artists and thinkers, they’re developing stories and building worlds that capture the tremendous potential of virtual and augmented realities across many verticals.
4. Liv Erickson is a VR Developer at Microsoft, where she helped build the Oculus Rift and Meta Glass. She’s also the Cofounder of the ARVR academy, where she’s working to empower a next generation of VR developers. Erickson’s focused on immersive computing, getting kids interested in programming, and bringing virtual reality to everyone.
5. Alisha Seam is a Robotics Engineer at AT&T Foundry. Seam works with the Silicon Valley startup community. She’s done research on everything from virtual reality to robotics and artificial intelligence. A lot of Seams’s focus is on emerging technologies and their applications in automation and immersive visualization.

Nic Cage Using Virtual Reality To Make A Global Warming Sci-Fi Thriller? Yes Please

Using the new "Barco Escape" format, the filmmakers will be able to implement unprecedented levels of immersion by creating a film that quite literally surrounds the viewer. Beyond that, it has also been revealed that certain scenes in the movie will even be filmed in Virtual Reality. You will be able to see the global warming coming right at you.

Taking place in the American Midwest in 2030, The Humanity Bureau imagines a version of the United States that has been ravaged by the effects of global warming. In order to cope with a devastating economic recession that has plagued the country, a government organization called The Humanity Bureau banishes people that do not contribute to society to a remote colony called New Eden. Enter Nic Cage's character -- a Humanity Bureau employee who cannot bring himself to banish a single mother and her son who do not deserve that type of punishment. What follows is a race against time to rescue these two innocent people and expose the secrets of his shady employer.

See the full story here; http://www.cinemablend.com/news/1591680/nic-cage-using-virtual-reality-to-make-a-global-warming-sci-fi-thriller-yes-please

VR makes strides at annual defense conference

Virtual reality's presence at a defense industry conference in Orlando has grown from year to year.

Once relegated to a corner of the International/Interservice Training and Simulation Education Conference's showroom, virtual and augmented reality has grown to be featured in booths scattered across the room.

"If you are training someone on how to service a pipe, you can't break that pipe to give them something to work on," he said. "With virtual reality, you can go through any of your nightmare scenarios."

See the full story here; http://www.orlandosentinel.com/business/technology/tech_check/os-virtual-reality-iitsec-20161130-story.html

PuttView Aims To Improve Putting Through Augmented Reality Application

Through its Outdoor PuttView system, which is still currently being piloted, players will be able to wear augmented reality glasses on the golf course in order to see their ideal putting line. When it is formally introduced, it will be one of the first, if not the first, applications of augmented reality in golf.

See the full story here: http://www.sporttechie.com/2016/11/29/othersports/golf/puttview-aims-to-improve-putting-through-augmented-reality-application/

Alibaba Leads InfinityAR’s Latest $18M Round—Diversifying Their Augmented Reality Portfolio

It is apparent that Alibaba seems to understand the coming disruptive change this technology will bring with it. They have been investing heavily in both hardware and software.

InfinityAR has developed a new augmented reality solution that works with easy-to-obtain cameras and IMUs. According to the press release "This combination makes InfinityAR's engine the perfect solution for enabling all glasses with the ability to understand their surroundings. InfinityAR's engine enables vendors of AR headsets to reduce their cost, reduce motion to photon latency, and reduce power consumption, by way of using the inside-out SLAM approach."

See the full story here: http://next.reality.news/news/alibaba-leads-infinityars-latest-18m-round-diversifying-their-augmented-reality-portfolio-0175238/

Leap Motion Mobile Platform Embraces Virtual and Augmented Reality

The Leap Motion Mobile Platform, created specifically for untethered devices, promises to meet the next-generation needs of VR and AR users when it comes to tracking hand and finger movements.

"We needed to build a whole new Leap Motion sensor with higher performance and much lower power," he said. "We needed to make the most sophisticated hand-tracking software in the world run at nearly 10 times the speed, all while making it smoother and more accurate than ever before."

Leap Motion currently boasts a PC hand tracking peripheral of the same name with a field of view of 140 by 120 degrees. This new, untethered system will feature the "absolute maximum" range for a single sensor: 180 by 180 degrees.

Leap has also built a reference design (above), made to work on top of the Samsung Gear VR; the system will be on display at major VR events this month.

See the full story here: http://www.pcmag.com/news/350073/leap-motion-mobile-platform-embraces-virtual-and-augmented-r

Top 17 Tech Trends For 2017

Horizontal Realization

The digital revolution is breaking down silos. Cross-pollination between functional roles, products, and industries will hit its stride in 2017. We will see this phenomenon amplified in the automotive space with greater collaboration between tier-one auto manufacturers, automation software developers, and peer-to-peer providers, among a number of other industry players.

The Mainstreaming of Augmented Reality for B2B

2016 ushered in the mainstreaming of augmented reality, epitomized by the runaway success of Pokémon GO. This year, we expect to see that success translate into the mainstreaming of augmented reality for business-to-business applications. Businesses will increasingly take advantage of off-the-shelf products, improvements in industrial accuracy capabilities, and the learnings of early adopting industries. Expect to see the largest scale adoption in organizations with skilled workforces.

IoT Pivots to Sentient Tools

As IoT goes mainstream, companies will turn their focus to sentient tools. Sentient tools are aware of their context, environment, and social interactions. As technologies such as cloud-based AI, collaborative robots, and ever-more sophisticated machine-learning algorithms begin to converge, we will start to see the emergence of these capabilities in smart cars, homes, and manufacturing.

Cognitive is the New Smart

What was once “smart” is now “cognitive.” We are witnessing relatively simple smart devices such as meters, lighting, or machines evolve with artificial intelligence enhancements that provide more sensory, context-aware, and complex capabilities. Cognitive technology is driving this evolution with self-learning abilities modeled on the human brain. Savvy organizations will embed cognitive capabilities into their products and solutions in 2017.

China Becomes a Hyper-robotic Society

China has already positioned itself as the biggest robotic market on the globe, despite lagging far behind industrialized peers in robotic density. With significant gains expected in human-to-robot ratios next year, China may begin to exert its potential as “untouchable” in robotics.

See the full story here: http://www.forbes.com/sites/sarwantsingh/2016/12/05/top-17-trends-for-2017/#28f77bcf5656

Oculus Touch Review: The Best Virtual Reality Controllers So Far

With Touch controllers, the Rift tracks the movement and location of your hands. With triggers, joysticks and easy-to-reach buttons placed on a plastic grip, Touch catches up to the interactivity its rivals, HTC Corp.’s Vive and Sony Corp.’s PlayStation VR, have had for months. But Touch edges ahead, too, with sensors in plastic rings that wrap around your fingers.

These sensors know when you’re pointing your index finger, making a fist or even giving a thumbs-up. Vive and PlayStation’s motion-tracking wands can’t do that—and aren’t as comfortable either. With its ring design, the Touch handsets allow you to move your fingers without feeling like you’ll drop a controller.

Oculus has also fortunately ensured there will be things to do with the Touch controllers—more than 50 games and apps are available now, Oculus says, with dozens more due next year.

However, Sony’s PlayStation VR still offers the best overall VR experience for your living room. It’s got its own fantastic selection of games and a more comfortable headset. It’s also about half the price—and that’s if you don’t already have a PlayStation 4 console.

See the full story here: http://www.wsj.com/articles/oculus-touch-review-the-best-virtual-reality-controllers-so-far-1480950003

Backup Virtual Reality data with vrBackupper

VrBackupper is a free Windows software designed specifically for the Oculus Rift virtual reality device.

It allows you to migrate the Oculus installation to another location, or to back up or restore the Oculus installation directory.

The program is dead easy to use. It detects the Oculus directory automatically on start, and lists the two options migrate or backup/restore in the main interface.

While there is usually no need to back up virtual reality data, the migration option may prove useful.

See the full story here: https://www.ghacks.net/2016/12/05/backup-virtual-reality-data-with-vrbackupper/

Virtual Reality and Dangerous Fantasy in Jerusalem

You never know what you’re going to get on a visit to Jerusalem. The latest addition to the Holy City is -- I kid you not -- a virtual-reality experience at the foot of the Western Wall. Tackiness aside, the virtual tour of an imaginatively reconstructed ancient Israelite temple does carry a worrisome message for the future of peace in the Middle East: The once-radical idea of rebuilding the temple on the site is gradually getting mainstreamed.

I was at first taken aback by the numerous signs advertising the virtual-reality tour near the heavily guarded entrances to the Western Wall plaza. As my VR-consultant (aka my 11-year old son) put it, “Isn’t it a little strange to have virtual reality when you’re actually at the real thing?”

See the full story here: https://www.bloomberg.com/view/articles/2016-12-04/virtual-reality-and-dangerous-fantasy-in-jerusalem