philip lelyveld The world of entertainment technology

Augmented Reality Art Imagines What Could Be Seattle’s Weird, Bleak Future

Tamiko Thiel

Imagine Seattle street signs strewn with kelp. Or mutated flowers threatening pedestrians near Lake Union with their sharp, sharp teeth. Those visions sound scary, but they could be possible in the Seattle of tomorrow. So warns Gardens of the Anthropocene.

But don’t expect to see Gardens of the Anthropocene in the galleries or even in the museum's Olympic Sculpture Park: It’s only viewable via an app overlay designed by augmented reality artist Tamiko Thiel. Think of it as a post-apocalyptic Pokémon Go—a virtual world that shows just how creepy climate change could be for the Pacific Northwest.

See the full story here: http://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/augmented-reality-art-imagines-what-could-beseattles-weird-bleak-future-180960403/?no-ist

This new augmented reality game turns your home into a real-life horror movie

See the full video here: http://www.businessinsider.com/augmented-reality-game-night-terrors-the-beginning-video-2016-9

Stars of VR: the best and worst virtual reality games on Steam this week

This is a good collection of brief reviews.

See the full story here: http://www.techradar.com/news/computing-components/fresh-vr-meat-the-best-and-worst-virtual-reality-games-on-steam-this-week-1328745

HoloLens: the virtual reality headset for elevator repair

ThyssenKrupp, like Rolls Royce and other manufacturers of machines marketed on their down-to-the-micron engineering, has an advantage that lets it consider deploying expensive technology like the HoloLens all the way down to the level of the individual client: it employs all its technicians in the US, Hussey said.

Schierenbeck told reporters that while “the one-mile tower is being planned”, elevator repair lags far behind such advances.

See the full story here; https://www.theguardian.com/business/2016/sep/19/hololens-the-virtual-reality-headset-for-elevator-repair

Augmented Reality: What Does It Mean for UX?

Benefits of AR

1.The info is right in front of you (Decrease the interaction cost to perform a task)

2.There’s less to remember (Reduce the user’s cognitive load)

3.Combine multiple sources of information and minimizing attention switches

See the full story here: https://www.nngroup.com/articles/augmented-reality-ux/

Deloitte buys Australian group virtual reality firm Kid Neon

Deloitte has purchased virtual reality firm Kid Neon, its seventh technology-related start-up acquisition in the past two years, as the professional services firm continues to beef up its visualisation services.

Kid Neon uses custom technology to allow its clients, which are mainly retailers and include New Balance, Jurlique and property group GPT, to explore conceptual designs as a group in virtual reality.

The move comes as the large consulting firms engage in a gadgets arms race, including augmented and virtual reality tools, to establish "creation spaces" where clients can experience mock-ups of products and services that don't yet exist.

The four-man Kid Neon team will join Deloitte's Melbourne office as part of the Spatial and Brand Experience team.

See the full story here: http://www.afr.com/business/accounting/deloitte-buys-group-virtual-reality-firm-kid-neon-20160918-grj6kq

Former porn star Sasha Grey on virtual reality sex and breaking stereotypes

Award-winning former porn superstar Sasha Grey loves virtual reality (VR), but not when it comes to sex.

"VR porn is too much, too in your face. I watched a trailer once, and that was enough for me," she laughed, speaking to CNBC in Singapore on Saturday.

"I don't think people watch porn to have a real experience, it's for fantasy. VR porn is like watching porn on a big-screen TV...I don't want it to be too real."

See the full story here: http://www.cnbc.com/2016/09/19/former-porn-star-sasha-grey-on-virtual-reality-sex-and-breaking-stereotypes.html

VR Visio Studio – Mixed Reality live capture and streaming

VR VISIO, a Poland-based indie virtual reality studio, has opened a mixed reality studio — the first of its kind in Europe to be able to record live videos in virtual 3D spaces during both standard recording and streaming. It makes it possible to shoot, live stream and record virtual reality promotional videos while the actor is interacting with virtual environments.

The actor can see the virtual environment on a screen and can interact with it during filming, and is then added to the viritual reality video.

“The user sees the environment on a screen in front of him, behind the camera man,” “We also use small screens attached to the camera, so he can see the environment while shooting dynamic shots,”  Szymon Wegner, the studio’s marketing manager told Hypergrid Business.

Unlike with other studios, theirs does not require use of virtual reality headsets to record, live stream or shoot the videos.

See the full story here: http://www.hypergridbusiness.com/2016/09/mixed-reality-studio-with-gesture-recognition-launched-in-europe/

TuringSense, Jinke Entertainment and Smart KungFu Partner to Elevate Augmented Reality Games to a New Level

Jinke Entertainment, which has more than 260 million mobile app users, will lead the development, with all three companies collaborating to launch a next-generation viral AR game, like Pokémon Go, in the martial arts area. The AR game will integrate TuringSense's PIVOT, which enables mobile devices to sense physical motion and space to understand the world around it and to help users engage in a whole new level of augmented reality (AR) gaming. For example, in Pokémon Go, you need to swipe the phone with your finger to capture the monster. With a PIVOT sensor worn on the arm, users can do a throwing motion to capture the monster instead.

"Combining the wearable technology capabilities of TuringSense with Jinke's massive penetration in mobile games and Smart KungFu's expertise in martial arts will be a 'win-win' for all and for the mobile gaming industry," said Chris Lim (aka Taufik Arifin), co-founder and vice president of product and marketing at TuringSense, who is also a martial artist with a third degree black belt in Taekwondo.

see the full story here: http://www.broadwayworld.com/bwwgeeks/article/TuringSense-Jinke-Entertainment-and-Smart-KungFu-Partner-to-Elevate-Augmented-Reality-Games-to-a-New-Level-20160919

Augmented reality coming to the oil and gas sector after project cash boost

An augmented reality system will be developed for use in the oil and gas industry after a cash boost from two Scottish innovation centres.

The project will see engineering design firm Cadherent work with Robert Gordon University to complete the first phase of research into technology which will allow operators to track and identify, classify and recreate 3D models of equipment.

The system will allow tools to be viewed in obscure environments, taking the ambiguity out of high risk procedures.

See the full story here: https://www.energyvoice.com/oilandgas/119598/augmented-reality-coming-oil-gas-sector-project-cash-boost/