philip lelyveld The world of entertainment technology

Intel’s new Project Alloy is a wireless VR headset for ‘merged reality’

[Philip Lelyveld comment: This is a really good development, but it is VR in my view.  Rather than transport you in space, these pass-thru HMD approaches transport you in time - to 15ms or more in the past as it processes the video of the world in front of you and blends in virtual objects.  15ms doesn't sound like much until someone throws a ball at you and you try to catch it.]

...the headset contains the computational and graphics power necessary to create the virtual images and an internal battery for power, as well as 3D cameras and sensors powered by Intel's RealSense motion tracking tech. CEO Brian Krzanich says the device is capable of "merged reality," which blends images from the real world like handheld objects into virtual environments.

Intel says this type of merged reality technology should alleviate some concerns about VR headsets blocking out the real world and creating a potentially dangerous situation for users and other people in the room. This type of tech also removes the need for complex sensor setups or hand controllers, Intel says.

See the full story here: http://www.theverge.com/2016/8/16/12503948/intel-project-allow-vr-headset-cordless-mixed-reality

Virtual world meets virtual reality as Minecraft heads to Oculus Rift

"Minecraft: Xbox 360 Edition" offers a streamlined version of the original and it works well, making the game accessible to more people.

Microsoft-owned Mojang announced Monday that it has updated its Lego-like virtual world game to support the new virtual reality headset from Facebook's Oculus unit. Mojang customized the game in numerous ways, including changing what happens when users turn around in their worlds, to better the experience for Rift users.

They can immerse themselves in the virtual world they are building. Alternatively, they can shift to something Mojang calls the "Virtual Living Room," which allows them to play Minecraft as they would in the real world, by viewing it on a screen in a room in their house -- in this case, a virtual screen in a computer-generated house. The mode was designed to "give players a break" from being fully immersed in their Minecraft worlds, Persson said.

See the full story here: http://www.mercurynews.com/troy-wolverton/ci_30250002/virtual-world-meets-virtual-reality-minecraft-heads-oculus

Making the wildly successful dystopian augmented reality short, “Hyper-Reality”

The Kickstarter-backed project combines live-action footage with motion-tracked visual elements “to present a provocative and kaleidoscopic new vision of the future, where physical and virtual realities have merged, and the city is saturated in media,” according the the video description.

See the full story here: http://motionographer.com/2016/08/15/making-the-wildly-successful-dystopian-augmented-reality-short-hyper-reality/

Israeli army developing augmented reality tech for battlefield

The Israeli army has purchased two Microsoft HoloLens glasses and plans to use the augmented reality device on active duty within months, Bloomberg reported on Tuesday.

In less than a month, Bashi's team developed software that superimposes battlefield maps on the terrain and creates an interactive overlay that can be controlled via sight, voice, and hand gestures, according to Bloomberg.

The department is also developing methods for medics to use the device for operating on wounded troops while receiving real-time instructions and for soldiers to use it to help fix equipment problems.

It is also looking to develop software that would transmit readings of a soldier's physiology in the field to headquarters.

Instead of completing a lengthy development process before deploying new technology, the unit is now starting to use a "minimal viable product" that can be upgraded along the way, thus avoiding a situation in which technology is almost obsolete by the time it is ready for use.

See the full story here: http://www.i24news.tv/en/news/israel/diplomacy-defense/122811-160816-israeli-army-developing-augmented-reality-tech-for-battlefield

Can VR save Reality?

“One of the greatest challenges to staving off irrevocable climate change isn’t simply getting buy-in from skeptical politicians—it’s getting people to visualize how driving a gas-guzzling car or living in an energy inefficient home is contributing to a problem that may only manifest itself completely in future decades.” Earlier this year the lab unveiled a short VR documentary and interactive VR game to help explain ocean acidification, a slow-motion and hard-to-explain process whereby excess carbon dioxide in the atmosphere dissolves in the ocean, upping acidity levels and altering marine habitats accordingly.

See the full story here: http://earthtalk.org/virtual-reality-save-environment/

Top 10 Lessons Learned Using Virtual Reality in Hospitalized Patients

Over the past year our team has studied over 150 diverse patients using a range of VR visualizations. We published our initial experiences in a peer-reviewed study and are now initiating the largest controlled trial to date of VR, testing its impact on pain management, narcotic usage, length of stay, and satisfaction with care among hospitalized patients.

We’ve been fortunate to work with AppliedVR, a cutting-edge VR company focused on creating and disseminating the technology for healthcare applications. Most recently, we partnered with Samsung Healthcare to test their Samsung Gear and Galaxy smartphone in our upcoming clinical trial.

1. You can literally see two distinct moments that prove when VR is working its magic

Moment of Cognitive Immersion, typically comes within 20 seconds of use ... when the patient becomes aware they are within a broader, more expansive environment than initially recognized. The patient almost always smiles, laughs, or says something like “that’s amazing!” It’s at that very moment the user recognizes that VR is special and different. It’s pretty magical.

Moment of Physiologic Immersion, typically arrives about 3-5 minutes after initiating VR ... more of a brainstem phenomenon, where the body automatically adjusts in rhythm with the experience. This is most evident when we use relaxing environments... We can actually see the moment the patient takes his or her first, deep, purposeful breath.

2. VR can significantly reduce pain without the need of narcotics or other medications,  VR seems to work on all types of pain with seemingly equal efficacy (with notable exceptions, described later). This doesn’t mean that VR works for everyone, but when it works, it really works
3. Even a negative response to VR can be clinically useful ...about 1 in 5 patients who report little to no therapeutic benefit.  ...The failure was so absolute – so complete – that it caused us to re-think the cause of her pain [and develop a completely different diagnosis.]
4. Many patients are medically ineligible to use VR in the hospital [because of bans of subjects with] presence of motion sickness, stroke, seizure, dementia, nausea, and isolation status for infection control.  If we loosened our criteria...
5. Many patients still do not want to use VR in the hospital, we cannot lose track of the very human element of healthcare. What may sound like a fantastical voyage to the well may seem like an unwelcome intrusion to someone with advanced illness
6. The headsets are getting better, but there is still room for improvement,  most patients requested enhancements in fit, form, and weight, while others indicated it was hard to achieve focused images. Since staring to use newer headsets we’ve heard fewer complaints, although some patients still feel the device is obtrusive.
7. If VR is a therapy, then we need an evidence-based “VR Pharmacy”, It would also help to have a formal way to match patient knowledge, attitudes, beliefs, and preferences with specific off-the-shelf visualizations.  We imagine that a new type of provider, called The Virtualist will determine the best combination of experiences, dosages, frequency, intensity, and outcome measures to evaluate treatment response.
8. We need to compare VR against an appropriate “sham” control to really test its benefits, against different types of controls, such as watching the same experience on a TV set, or even projecting the image in the VR goggles but without the immersive, 360-degree panorama (like watching a movie in the goggles with head tracking).
9. VR has potential to be cost-effective,  if VR can reduce LOS, then the return on investment will be substantial
10. Doctors, nurses, and other hospital staff are absolutely intrigued by VR

For more information about our VR program at Cedars-Sinai, please watch this brief video or visit our lab’s website here. We are always happy to discuss our experiences with VR to enable other hospitals to begin exploring whether and how to use VR in their own clinical environments.

See the full story here: http://mygihealth.io/expert-opinions/top-10-lessons-learned-using-virtual-reality-hospitalized-patients/

Project uses augmented reality to showcase Schoharie

The interactive app and website would use GPS coordinates to present users with video or audio commentary that matches their current location, like a museum audio tour but for an entire county.

For example, when someone walking along the Schoharie County Quilt Barn Trail comes across a large green turtle quilt, a pop-up on the person's phone would give more info on what the quilt is about. In this case, it would be a short video of the quilt's designer, Carla Hemlock, who is from the Kahnawake Mohawk Nation Territory near Montreal, explaining that "the turtle signifies two things: the Turtle Clan family ... and it also signifies the land, we call this place Turtle Island."

Since 2013, Spina-Caza and a dozen other interviewers gathered more than 50 hours of oral histories about residents and their experiences during the flood. "From there, the idea was, 'What to do with the interviews?'" Spina-Caza said. "How do we get them into the world?"

These videos and audio narratives are being edited into 30- to 90-second clips that match locations on the Schoharie County Quilt Barn Trail, the Schoharie County Beverage Trail and the Schoharie County Farm Trail.

The project has been in development in collaboration with Schoharie Area Long Term Inc., and received a $90,000 grant from the New York State Council of the Arts.

See the full story here: http://www.timesunion.com/local/article/Project-uses-augmented-reality-to-showcase-9142337.php

Xperiel raises $7 million to connect the digital and real worlds with mixed reality

They want to enable brands to deliver memorable, interactive experiences that increase fan engagement, reward brand loyalty and participation, and improve sales. The idea is similar to a scene in the film Minority Report in which actor Tom Cruise walks into a store, and the store display recognizes him and recommends something for him to buy.

The Xperiel platform features a graphical programming language, dubbed the Xperiel pebbling language, that offers real-time user feedback and analytics. It is aimed at reducing the cost of making physical-digital applications.

The platform also has device-agnostic apps in the cloud. Applications developed with Xperiel are entirely cloud-based without sacrificing native performance. This means they can be programmed once and work seamlessly on any device, regardless of operating system or platform.

Triggers can be anything, such as when an RWW logo comes into view of a smartphone camera, or when the microphone on a smartphone hears a sequence of words spoken in a television commercial.

Virtual reality comedians: Just humor us

Leila Carrillo stood in the middle of a comedy sketch involving a yoga session between a disingenuous guru and a naive student, then smiled as she turned her head to see the sketch play out all around her.

But Carrillo wasn’t physically present in the sketch. Instead, she was experiencing a new form of comedy staged inside the experimental medium of virtual reality.

They’re using the festival to debut “Meditation in Virtual Reality,” a two-minute video that gives the viewer a series of audio and visual cues to look around a living room where a shady yoga teacher is trying to persuade her student to ignore the fact that he’s being ripped off. (They’ve also posted a 360-degree version on Facebook.)

AltspaceVR plans to host more virtual reality comedy events, said Bruce Wooden, the company’s head of developer and community relations. “At this point, we’re just figuring out the technical ways to make it more accessible and ways to keep it rolling.”

Nadkarni, 33, who kept his day job at Dolby Laboratories, believes virtual reality could provide a more sustainable income for stand-up comics by giving audiences a way to experience a club show from home.

See the full story here: http://www.sfchronicle.com/business/article/Virtual-reality-comedians-Just-humor-us-9140097.php

Pokémon Go’s augmented reality is augmenting the reality of this small town

And Occoquan, it seems, is an almost-perfect real-world setting for Pokémon, benefiting — or suffering, depending on whom you ask — from a confluence of factors that affect the game.

Because the town is on the banks of the Occoquan River, it is home to both land and water creatures in the game. Occoquan is filled with restaurants and shops, and by virtue of its centuries of history, it is lined with historical markers; these are spots conducive to housing lots of Pokémon, something that is a rarity in most suburban and rural areas. And it’s just 11 miles south of the Capital Beltway along I-95, making it central to many commutes and a short drive from the District.

See the full story here: https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/pokemon-gos-augmented-reality-is-augmenting-the-reality-of-this-small-town/2016/08/13/b39cd6f2-5e1d-11e6-8e45-477372e89d78_story.html

See another story here: http://helenair.com/business/technology-column-understanding-the-pok-mon-go-phenomenon-around-town/article_247227de-fc49-5944-9556-b59a68b185a3.html