philip lelyveld The world of entertainment technology

What carmakers will reveal at CES

CES will be more of a venue for Tier 1 auto suppliers -- the makers of in-vehicle infotainment (IVI) systems, sensors and other electronics-related parts.

There will be about 464 automotive electronics exhibitors at the show -- a record number, according to IHS. The exhibitors will feature technology related to audio, robotics, wearables and telecommunications, among other things.

One area to keep an eye on is human-machine interface technology, which is rapidly changing the way drivers and passengers communicate with their IVI systems.

"The thing is, it's no longer about just having a navigation system or applications on it. It's about which [system] is easier to use and which one is easier to learn," Boyadjis said. "That why HMI is such a core component."

Cloud-based speech recognition technology that uses machine learning skills to identify speech patterns more quickly to accurately identify commands will become commonplace in automobiles.

Interior cameras and sensors will increasingly enable gesture recognition, where a driver can control infotainment functions, such as system volume or contact list scrolling, with a swipe of a hand through the air.

The OTA (Over The Air) market is expected to reach $45 billion by 2022, Juliussen said. The vast majority of it will be related to the money-saving capabilities of OTA, where vehicles won't need to be taken to dealerships for upgrades or software recalls, he said.

Two companies expected to go head to head with traditional Tier 1 automotive suppliers, and win, are Apple and Google.

See the full story here: http://www.computerworld.com/article/3016999/car-tech/what-carmakers-will-reveal-at-ces.html

Virtual reality, esports, connected cars: Top tech trends of 2016

Virtual reality

Just this year, Apple, Nokia, Netflix, the New York Times, GoPro, the Discovery Channel and even toy maker Mattel introduced loads of hardware and content for immersive technology — a burgeoning market segment that includes virtual reality, augmented reality and other means of putting users in an alternate universe, usually with the aid of computer-connected goggles.

Expect 2016 to be even bigger. Right now, Samsung's Gear VR is the only major brand with a headset available to consumers. But come next year, Sony's Playstation VR, Facebook's Oculus Rift and HTC's Vive are expected to be released and rumored to range in price from about $300 to $1,500.

Moviemakers are investing in more sophisticated immersive equipment. Many were rigging cameras together to capture the 360-degree view. Now Nokia is introducing a $60,000 camera called the Ozo specifically for high-quality virtual reality content.

The challenge will be finding enough games, movies, TV shows and other software to make the technology compelling. Remember when 3-D glasses were supposed to be the next big thing?

On that front are game makers like Ubisoft Entertainment, which is developing "Eagle Flight" for Sony Playstation VR, which allows players to control an eagle over an abandoned Paris, overgrown with trees and vegetation.

German software developer Crytek is producing a game for Oculus Rift, "The Climb," a harrowing adventure in which users climb dangerous mountains and rock faces.

And Samsung's Gear VR — the most affordable of the major headsets at $100 apiece — is amping up existing mobile games such as "Temple Run" with the VR treatment.

Beyond games, the New York Times' partnership with Google Cardboard demonstrated the medium's potential in journalistic storytelling. Meanwhile, Apple released a U2 music video in VR.

Kinks remain — namely, dialing-down the vomit factor when getting disoriented wearing one of the headsets. And here's hoping there's a way to one day look less dorky strapping a plastic block to your face.

— David Pierson

See the full post here: http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-agenda-tech-outlook-2016-20151221-story.html

LG To Release A CordZero Vacuum With Augmented Reality At CES

You’ll be able to show to the robot which area of the house you’d like it to clean using the camera sensor on basically any smartphone, which is quite interesting and kind of intuitive. This robot comes equipped with Triple Eye camera sensors which will record surrounding area in order for the robot to know the areas that it has cleaned, and those that he has not. There are some other features built-in this robotic vacuum, like Home-View and Home-Guard. The former will transmit a real-time feed from the robot to your smartphone, and the latter will basically serve as a home security system.

See the full story here: http://www.androidheadlines.com/2015/12/lg-to-release-a-cordzero-vacuum-with-augmented-reality-at-ces.html

The 6 Most Important Things That Happened in Virtual Reality in 2015

[Philip Lelyveld comment; this only covers hardware.  I'll post a 'highlights in experience' list separately]

1. HTC and Valve show off the Vive VR headset

2. Oculus unveils its first consumer headset, Rift, and Oculus Touch hand controllers

3. Microsoft shows off speedy progress with HoloLens, its holographic headset

4. Cameras envision new ways to film virtual reality

5. Google Cardboard goes out to New York Times Sunday print subscribers

6. Samsung starts selling its new Gear VR

See the details here: http://www.technologyreview.com/news/544866/the-6-most-important-things-that-happened-in-virtual-reality-in-2015/?utm_campaign=newsletters&utm_source=newsletter-daily-all&utm_medium=email&utm_content=20151221

​Microsoft HoloLens: What tech, business decision makers need to know

Microsoft is opening a HoloLens experience center in New York City to court developers. Here's a look at what enterprises need to ponder about HoloLens and how it can be used for business.

The upshot is that Microsoft will bring developers to its experience centerto highlight possibilities. The software giant is hoping that it can use Windows 10 and HoloLens to stoke developer interest. In many respects, Microsoft's approach to HoloLens is similar to Google Glass. The aim is to put the HoloLens technology in developer hands in the first quarter and see what happens. As Mary Jo Foley noted, HoloLens is a lot more polished than 11 months ago, but still needs work.

Here's a look at my key takeaways for decision makers pondering HoloLens (CNET review), which isn't ready for production. Note that Microsoft's effort is early and these observations represent a snapshot in time.

There's a learning curve. Microsoft's HoloLens is controlled by eye tracking, gestures and voice. The key gesture is the finger tap where you hold your fist up and click. I found that my finger tap wasn't picked up unless I held it in one position. Microsoft did the finger tap so that HoloLens wouldn't pick up random gestures yet had something that was intuitive. If a person talked with their hands, you can just picture the HoloLens issues. Voice terms such as "magnet" to make changes to a project will also have to be learned. The voice commands were also spotty in areas. Bottom line: You'll need a training budget.

The headsets are heavy, but improving. I tried three headsets and at first they didn't seem to be much of a bother. In a 40 minute collaboration session at work, the HoloLens would feel heavy. ...

See the full story here: http://www.zdnet.com/article/microsoft-hololens-what-tech-business-decision-makers-need-to-know/

Inside the First VR Theme Park – The Void

The guides step away. I stare through my headset at a blue-lined digital abyss. Suddenly, the endless space in front of me opens up with a virtual sizzle of electricity, revealing the entrance to an ancient temple, hidden deep in a lush jungle, where ancient carvings and forgotten treasures await my inspection.

Hesitantly, I step forward, curious to explore but unsure of what will happen. I reach out to touch one of the crumbling stone walls on my left, and while it doesn’t feel quite the way it looks, it’s there, which is reassuring. There appears to be a glowing torch on the wall; I reach out and feel something that could indeed be a torch, so I pick it up and use it to light my way as I wander down the dark passageways, inspecting carvings and statuary along the sides.

I’m entranced, and the dozen pounds of electronics weighing me down seem to melt away.

Led by Ken Bretschneider, a tech entrepreneur who previously created the Internet security company DigiCert, the company is building an eight-acre gaming center in Pleasant Grove, Utah, possibly the first of several around the country. Groups of six to eight headset-clad visitors will pay $34 apiece to explore virtual reality together for 20 minutes at a time, roving 60-by-60-foot stages filled with dense foam walls, replete with effects like water and wind.

Still, he thinks the Void’s success won’t hinge just on making its technology feel interactive. It will also need to give visitors goals to work toward, rather than just handing them guns and commanding them to kill virtual zombies, he says. “You need zombies rushing at you to get your heart going, but you also want a story line behind it—you’re on a quest or you have to solve riddles, be a problem solver, use your brain a little bit.”

See the full story here: http://www.technologyreview.com/featuredstory/544096/inside-the-first-vr-theme-park/?utm_campaign=newsletters&utm_source=newsletter-daily-all&utm_medium=email&utm_content=20151216

NEW VIRTUAL AND AUGMENTED REALITY HUB ANNOUNCED BY DEAKIN UNIVERSITY

THE VR AND AR TECHNOLOGY SPOT WILL BE LAUNCHED TO LET STAFF, STUDENTS AND INDUSTRY PARTNERS USE THE TECH.

Australia’s Deakin University has now announced its intentions to launch what will be an Interactive Digital Centre Hub, located in Melbourne, which will focus on virtual and augmented reality technologies.

THE HUB IS EXPECTED TO OPEN AT SOME POINT IN THE FIRST HALF OF 2016, THOUGH A SPECIFIC DATE HASN’T BEEN RELEASED.

The idea behind this hub is to provide a place where industry partners, students and staff members can come together and get their hands on some of the very latest in virtual and augmented reality technology. The hub is being opened in partnership with EON Reality. In total, more than $10 million (USD) has been invested into the creation of this new facility. Once it is up and running it will be the very first center that is dedicated exclusively to VR and AR tech within the greater Asian region.

See the full story here: http://www.mobilecommercepress.com/new-virtual-and-augmented-reality-hub-announced-by-deakin-university/8520206/

Megadeth to Provide Five ‘Dystopia’ Songs With Virtual Reality Experience

The band has also teamed with Next Galaxy Corp. to create the dystopian universe surrounding the band, allowing fans to virtually enter, engage and explore this parallel world. On Jan. 22, fans will be able to purchase the Dystopia album, including a CEEK Virtual Reality cardbox headset with instructions and a download code to access and unlock the exclusive content. That will allow you then to participate in the virtual reality experience.
See the full story here: http://loudwire.com/megadeth-five-dystopia-songs-virtual-reality-experience/

Virtual reality gets a toehold in Singapore corporates

you can now do a "virtual" walkthrough of the Australian city of Cairns and its surroundings, before deciding whether to spend time and money on an actual physical journey.

Travel agency Flight Centre recently introduced the virtual reality walkthroughs at its store at Cecil Street. It plans to make the system available at its other outlets and use the technology in other areas as well.

“It’s a nice way for customers to try before they buy, to get some inspiration," said Flight Centre Travel Group's managing director for Singapore Suyin Lee.

Other companies that have started using VR include the Shangri-La Group, which has produced immersive 360-degree videos for more than a quarter of its 94 hotels and resorts around the world. Shangri-La said it will use its VR headsets as promotional and educational tools at tradeshows, industry events and sales meetings. There is also great potential for VR use outside travel.

“We have requests to document weddings in 360 degrees," said TaKanto Virtual Reality's managing director Ariel Talbi.

See the full story here: http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/business/singapore/virtual-reality-gets-a/2359196.html

Virtual reality in journalism the focus of new FRONTLINE partnership with Emblematic Group supported by $580,000 from Knight Foundation

FRONTLINE, the acclaimed PBS investigative documentary series, will expand its exploration of virtual reality in journalism, creating new immersive experiences and developing lessons for the emerging field with $580,000 from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation.

Working in collaboration with Emblematic Group, FRONTLINE, produced at WGBH in Boston, will spend 18 months experimenting with and developing best practices for immersive journalism. The team will build at least three virtual reality projects, examining the technical, ethical and procedural issues raised by this rapidly evolving medium.

It is the first collaboration between the documentary powerhouse FRONTLINE, which has been crafting cinematic films on complex issues for more than three decades and recently released the virtual reality documentary “Ebola Outbreak: A Virtual Journey,” and the pioneering Emblematic Group, whose CEO Nonny de la Peña first launched the field of immersive virtual reality storytelling eight years ago. An award-winning documentary filmmaker, de la Peña is a former correspondent for Newsweek magazine and has written for The New York Times and other major news organizations.

See the full story here: http://www.knightfoundation.org/press-room/press-release/virtual-reality-journalism-focus-new-frontline-par/

and here: http://www.knightfoundation.org/blogs/knightblog/2015/12/17/how-knight-helping-frontline-and-emblematic-group-chart-future-virtual-reality-journalism/