philip lelyveld The world of entertainment technology

Augmented Reality for kids is here in the form of the Egger

the Egger claims to be “a safe and friendly way for kids to explore their creativity, imagination, and gain digital literacy in a more interactive manner.”

While staring at a small screen for hours on end can be problematic for young (and old) eyes, the Egger allows characters and lessons to quite literally jump off the screen. The interactive apps loaded on the Egger allow children to actually play with what’s onscreen, helping to develop hand-eye coordination and cognitive learning skills. With apps like Tool2, Magic Painting Game, your kids can create pictures that come to life, dancing and moving on the projection.

Featuring an onboard camera, the Egger can also document the time your family spends together. Or, if parents want to conference in grandma or grandpa for the fun, that’s an option too via the Wi-Fi calling function. And because the Egger is compatible with all common media file formats, you can play movies, music, and show photos simply by plugging in a USB drive.

Achieving its Indiegogo funding goal in just four hours, the Egger has already raised nearly $50,000 from over 100 backers, and still has a month to go in its campaign. While all the early bird packs have already sold out, you can still get your hands on an Egger for the price of $299, with units expected to ship in November.

See the full story with video here; http://www.digitaltrends.com/home/egger-ar-projector/

Roller Coasters Ride Into Dizzying Realm of Virtual Reality

The idea started in early 2014 as a class project to reduce the dizziness that stationary VR users often feel because the brain sees motion but doesn’t feel it. Mr. Wagner approached Michael Mack, a top executive at family-owned Mack Rides who oversees its Europa Park theme park in southwest Germany. Intrigued, Mr. Mack let Mr. Wagner’s team ride coasters before and after park hours through that summer, using laptops and bulky VR goggles to perfect synchronization.

The first rough prototype eliminated VR-induced vertigo thanks to physical motion and wowed everyone involved, but faced problems. “People doubted it would work in the real world,” recalled Mr. Wagner.

Wireless VR technology wasn’t mature and computers couldn’t be mounted on roller coasters because the vibrations would destroy microchips. Wiring headsets to riders’ seats raised safety concerns about snagged cables.

http://www.wsj.com/articles/roller-coasters-ride-into-dizzying-realm-of-virtual-reality-1472571058

78% of AR/VR Developers Not Planning Platform-exclusive Content

While Oculus and Valve/HTC continue to take two different approaches to stoking the development of VR games and applications—Oculus providing funding to developers in exchange for platform-exclusivity; Valve/HTC opting to let devs go it alone—the VR/AR Innovation Report survey published by VRDC suggests that the great majority of developers expect their next AR/VR development projects to be platform agnostic.

http://www.roadtovr.com/survey-78-of-arvr-developers-not-planning-platform-exclusive-content/

Singularity University Global Summit

Kate McCallum recorded my SU talk.  It goes from sideways to normal about 2 minutes in.  SU said that they will be posting their professional recording of it soon.

https://www.facebook.com/katemccallumc3/videos/10154771475833352/

My China TV interview on VR

http://video.87870.com/shipinnr-13034.html

Augmented reality has surgical application

Catherine Chan Po-ling, a surgeon in Hong Kong and co-founder of MedEXO Robotics, says that the use of augmented reality technology in keyhole, or minimally invasive, surgery can solve one of the biggest problems for surgeons performing these procedures.

South China Morning Post

Currently, surgeons in keyhole procedures must create and view two images simultaneously. In Chan’s example, when checking for cancerous cells in the liver, the surgeon operates a regular camera showing a view of the surface of the liver, and at the same time operates an ultrasound probe to check beneath the surface of the liver.

The two images are shown simultaneously on separate screens which the doctor has to monitor and track, while operating the two probes separately. As Chan said, “The doctor has to look at two images on two screens a while maneuvering two probes at the same time. This requires a lot of hand-eye coordination. This has long been the biggest problem regarding minimally invasive surgery.”

The new process pioneered by Chan uses augmented reality technology to layer one view over the other, allowing the surgeon to review both types of images on the same screen at the same time. Images from the regular camera and the ultrasound probe are combined using computer tracking technology.

The augmented reality software was written by engineers at Imperial College, but Chan and her team are the first to provide a medical application for it. The surgical application for augmented reality is still in the testing phase, and requires work on image stability, but Chan believes that it will be implemented for widespread use in keyhole surgeries within two years. “In the future, this AR technology can be applied to all minimally invasive surgeries in the same way as the Da Vinci robot arm surgical system.”

MedEXO, the UK robotics company that Chan co-founded, recently won acclaim and a $2M HK prize for the creation of an exoskeleton glove that minimizes shaking and hand tremors of patients with Parkinson’s disease.

https://thestack.com/world/2016/08/26/augmented-reality-has-surgical-application/

Global VR Cinema Network Launched

VRrOOm Launches World’s First Global VR Cinema Network At BIRTV. Founded by ex-THX executive, VRrOOm officially announced on August 26 an exclusive partnership with CFEC, a China Film Group (CFG) company. The future network of VR cinemas, a key component of the company’s VR ecosystem, was introduced at the Beijing International Radio, TV & Film Exhibition (BIRTV).

Founder and CEO Louis Cacciuttolo, China market veteran and global cinema expert, announced the launch of his new company VRrOOm, a fully dedicated Virtual Reality (VR) ecosystem, today at the Beijing International Radio, TV & Film Exhibition (BIRTV).

The first VRrOOm Sanctum theatres will be installed inside traditional cinemas this fall in Beijing and Shanghai thanks to an exclusive partnership sealed with Chinese film industry leader China Film Group’s affiliated company CFEC. The goal is to expand the network at high speed and have dozens of sites installed across key cities of China by the end of 2017. VRrOOm also reached an agreement with French cinema chain CineMovida and two more VRrOOm Sanctum theatres are due to open in France in November. More projects are also currently under discussion in the US and in Europe.

https://virtualrealityreporter.com/global-vr-cinema-network-launched/

VIRTUAL REALITY FILMMAKING BOOTCAMP SEPT 17 & 18th IN NEVADA CITY.

Sign up to learn about this cutting edge technology at the Connected Communities Academy. Learn how to use a 360 Video camera in the beautiful setting of our very own Yuba River.

Boot Camp dates: Weekend of September 17th and 18th.
Time: Total 12-16 hours based on completion of project.
Cost: $250

https://www.wildandscenicfilmfestival.org/virtual-reality-workshop-opportunity/

Has Samsung perfected the mobile VR headset?

Photo by Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images

“When you first put on the new Gear VR, one of the most obvious changes is that there’s more space inside the mask. This gives the headset a roomier feel, but it also has the unexpected happy byproduct of eliminating lens fog.”
Read more at http://www.inquisitr.com/3456172/gear-vr-has-samsung-perfected-the-mobile-virtual-reality-headset/

How virtual reality pigs could change the justice system forever

Researchers have already been looking into the ways VR can be used in courts, with particular focus on recreating crime scenes. In May, Staffordshire University launched a project that aims to “transport” jurors into virtual crime scenes, whilst in 2014 researchers at the Institute of Forensic Medicine in Switzerland created a 3D reconstruction of a shooting, including the trajectory of a bullet. Although this will help bring to life complex evidence that might be hard to understand or picture in context, the use of VR in this way is not without its flaws.

Then there is the matter of which crimes get the VR treatment. Would courts allow the jury to be immersed in a VR rape? Despite how harrowing and farfetched that sounds, a virtual reality sexual assault was already screened at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival.

For now, legal professionals have time to consider these issues. By October, Kranjc’s lawyers may or may not have been allowed to use VR in court. If they are, they may change legal history. If they’re not, Kranjc may be found guilty, and faces six months in jail or a $5,000 fine.

See the full story here: http://www.newstatesman.com/science-tech/future-proof/2016/08/how-virtual-reality-pigs-could-change-justice-system-forever