philip lelyveld The world of entertainment technology

EDTECH: Elite Business Schools Are Betting On Virtual And Augmented Reality

The world’s elite business schools are pouring resources into virtual and augmented reality, as they place bets on the next big innovation in online learning.

Technavio, the consultancy, forecasts that augmented reality, which layers an interactive image directly on top of physical reality (think Pokémon GO), will be one of the most disruptive forces in e-learning over the next four years. Souped-up smartphones have improved access to the latest AR apps, which are cheaper than ever before, notes Jhansi Mary, lead analyst at Technavio.

The most obvious application of VR is in subjects such as engineering, where students can handle virtual structures. Penn State University, for instance, has banked funding for a VR project to bring engineers’ learning to life.

But business schools are exploring the tech too, to provide more immersive distance learning experiences. “We’re keeping a close eye on it,” says Michael Koenig, senior assistant dean at the Darden School of Business. They say VR and AR could be used to better teach so-called soft skills online, such as negotiation. It could also improve student engagement, networking, and replicate the on-campus experience — something currently lacking in digital learning.

...as prices come down as the technology improves, VR “will almost certainly be used in education”, says Patrick Mullane, executive director of HBX, Harvard Business School’s digital learning initiative.

There remain big questions over whether VR can offer the same interaction as being physically present in a classroom.

When Hurricane Sandy struck the Northeast in 2012, executive students couldn’t get to Sloan’s Cambridge campus. So instead, they went virtually, using the AvayaLive Engage technology Sloan had begun testing out a year before.

So Sloan has started thinking about true virtual reality, says Peter Hirst, associate dean of executive education — headsets. “The next generation of VR — that’s going to replace the traditional notion of sitting in front of a computer,” he says.

So Sloan has started thinking about true virtual reality, says Peter Hirst, associate dean of executive education — headsets. “The next generation of VR — that’s going to replace the traditional notion of sitting in front of a computer,” he says.

Sloan’s success with VR caught the eye of Stanford University’s Graduate School of Business. Enticed, the school created a virtual campus of its own. Students on Stanford GSB’s LEAD program can immerse themselves in a 360 degree learning environment, also powered by AvayaLive Engage.

“Jumping into this space, no one knew what to expect,” says Fernando.

The results however, have proved promising. Avatars give students the chance to interact with each other more naturally than video-conferencing. Learning from peers is critical to executive education and simulation can help replicate the on-campus experience. Fernando says: “We want to make sure our participants are forming a community. And that’s as critical as the specific content of the learning.”

See the full story here: http://www.businessbecause.com/news/mba-distance-learning/4140/schools-bet-on-virtual-and-augmented-reality

Penn State Athletics launching virtual reality channel

Penn State Intercollegiate Athletics and EON Sports VR today (Aug. 25) announced a partnership to create a virtual reality (VR) channel — LionVision VR — for the Nittany Lions’ loyal and passionate alumni and fans.

Through EON Sports’ proprietary technology, Penn Staters can view dynamic content via their iOS or Android smartphones. LionVision VR will provide fans with behind-the-scenes views of practice, pre- and postgame locker room coaches talks, and a wide array of iconic Penn State experiences, while immersed inside a customized virtual reality environment. LionVision VR sales will launch Aug. 25.

To access LionVision VR, Penn State fans will have the opportunity to purchase an annual subscription to LionVision VR for $29.95 in this first year.

See the full story here: http://news.psu.edu/story/422698/2016/08/25/athletics/penn-state-athletics-launching-virtual-reality-channel

Oculus is Working on a ‘Chaperone’-like Boundary System for Touch

The idea of a virtual boundary to keep the user inside a real-world safezone isn’t radical, but it’s not something Oculus has talked much about up to this point. With the impending launch of the Touch VR controller coming by year’s end, implementation of such a system is critical.

See the full story here: http://www.roadtovr.com/oculus-touch-chaperone-vr-boundary-wall/

Best Buy Bets Big on Virtual Reality with First Mainstream Test

Best Buy is going all out to promote sales of the Oculus Rift and Sony PlayStation VR, with what’s regarded as the first mainstream test of VR products. The Oculus Rift demonstrations, which began their rollout in May, will be in 500 stores in time for the holiday season, with an added 200 demonstrations for PlayStation VR starting in October. The genesis of the push to VR began with chief executive Hubert Joly, who had a “mind-boggling” VR experience with a man-eating shark. He’s betting the U.S. public will be equally smitten.

Best Buy has priced the Oculus Rift at $600.

The obstacles to mainstream acceptance are the costs required to upgrade or buy computers with the graphics capabilities required to play back VR and the pricey VR headsets. It’s also unproven whether anyone besides hardcore gamers will buy into the technology. According to Deloitte, “about 2.5 million VR headsets will be sold in 2016.”

See the full story here: http://www.etcentric.org/best-buy-bets-big-on-virtual-reality-with-first-mainstream-test/

6 Reasons Why Virtual Reality Will Thrive in Film and Entertainment

IMAX in VR

VR is Better Than 3D

A Stanford study found that people who watched a VR film about the dangers of deforestation used 20% less paper than those who watched a regular movie about the same topic. The study demonstrates that people have a much greater emotional response to VR. By the time virtual reality entertainment loses its initial appeal, more advanced creative content will be available to enhance the VR experience and publicize it a lot more.

Brand New Experiences

VR Arcades

Technology is Always Changing

Mobile VR and 360 Videos

One of the most potentially biggest gains for VR is just how accessible it can be. Smartphones can act as a viewing platform for the ever growing number of headsets around the world. As smartphones become more powerful and VR apps become more adapted towards them, smartphones can eliminate the issues of cables and sweaty foreheads from giant computer processors.

See the full story here: http://uploadvr.com/6-reasons-vr-will-thrive-film-entertainment-industries/

VR in Best Buy

Best Buy has provided in-person demonstrations for Oculus Rift basically since there were real Oculus Rift headsets to demonstrate – the retailer announced back in May it would provide demos at 48 locations in the U.S. Now, it’s doubling down on that bet, with a plan to give customers a taste of VR in 500 locations in time for the holiday shopping season, according to Bloomberg.

Lest you think Best Buy is leaning entirely on Oculus to wow consumers with virtual goodies, the retailer is also going to be running demos of PlayStation VR in 200 locations, on a rotating basis among a number of stores. Sony’s PlayStation-based offering doesn’t come out until October, however, so Oculus could be the only game in Best Buy town for at least a little while.

See the full story here: https://techcrunch.com/2016/08/24/best-buy-bets-on-vr-for-the-holidays-with-500-stores-demoing-oculus-rift/

Virtual reality film to show life through visually-impaired man’s eyes

There was some cutting-edge technology being used at the University of Regina on Tuesday.

A production crew is shooting a virtual reality film about a man who recently arrived in Saskatchewan from Syria.

Hani al Moulia is a visually-impaired photographer who has come to national prominence for his work capturing photos of his experience as a refugee.

The 22-year-old said the virtual reality project will capture the new world of Canada through his eyes.

"You will see the world in a different way," al Moulia said.

See the full story here: http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/saskatchewan/virtual-reality-film-visually-impaired-man-eyes-1.3733340

Augmented Reality Startup Translates Menu Items Into Pictures of Food

Waygo is an augmented reality startup that focuses on visual, real-time translation for Asian countries. All you need to do is point your smartphone’s camera at the words in question and the app will translate into English in seconds. Yes, it’s that simple!  Waygo has added a special menu feature that will not only translate menu items, but will also provide pictures to guide you on your culinary journey.

With 4,000 dishes and 14,000 curated images, Waygo has got you covered no matter where you’re eating. Plus, you’ll be able to order correctly as well, as the translation feature has been used more than 8 million times by many satisfied users.

See the full story here: http://tech.co/startup-translates-menu-items-pictures-2016-08

Johns Hopkins – Can augmented reality help medical students learn human anatomy?

In this project, we will develop and refine a new interactive, augmented reality (AR) learning tool for anatomy education. The tool combines the Magic Mirror system and Balaur Display Wall to produce “in-situ” visualizations of medical information directly on top of the student’s own body. A gesture-based user interface (UI) allows the student to directly interact with medical illustrations.

We will assess students' learning by examining changes in their anatomy knowledge over time using knowledge assessments and course grades. We will examine the usability of the tool (e.g., ease, functionality) by exploring full-body tracking data, system event logs (i.e., learners' interactions in the system), and time required to complete assigned tasks in the system relative to their learning outcomes. Multimodal machine learning methodologies will be applied to analyze the data.

This project will produce a new personalized educational tool for students learning human anatomy and will be the basis for future educational intervention work in this area. Moreover, this work has potential implications for the development of similar AR learning tools in other domains, such as rehabilitation exercise, and for other student populations (e.g., high school).

See the full story here: http://scienceoflearning.jhu.edu/research/can-augmented-reality-help-medical-students-learn-human-anatomy

Apple’s AR technology could stop you getting lost in the mall

...a newly discovered patent reveals technology that would use AR for navigation purposes without requiring a GPS or cellular connection to work.

Called Visual-based inertial navigation, the patent lets a device position itself in a 3D space after interpreting data from the camera and sensors including the gyroscope, accelerometer, and others.

Using images and taking several measurements, the device can determine its orientation and position in real time. A GPS or cell connection isn’t required to calculate a highly accurate location, down to centimeters. Interestingly, the patent does mention that “smart glasses” are the kind of products that could benefit from such technology alongside smartphones and tablets.

Apple’s invention uses a technology called sliding window inverse filter (SWF) to minimize the computational overhead needed to combine data from multiple images and calculate a location.

See the full story here: http://bgr.com/2016/08/23/apple-augmented-reality-navigation/