philip lelyveld The world of entertainment technology

Cloudhead Games’ ‘Blink’ to Bring Nausea-free VR to HTC Vive this Holiday

[Philip Lelyveld comment: they avoid simsickness by teleporting you.  Essentially, they use jump cuts to avoid simsickness.  The truly valuable solutions involve addressing latency, persistence, focus/vergence conflict, and other visual system issues.]

VR hardware is improving and the display techniques such as low persistence of vision, pioneered by Oculus and Valve over just the last couple of years mean perceiving VR imagery inside VR headsets is a whole lot more comfortable these days.

The Oculus Rift DK2 brought us optical positional tracking, freeing our heads and bodies from a purely rotationally tracked virtual world. The system allowed free movement within the confines of the tracking camera’s FOV, which when positioned correctly was relatively generous. The HTC Vive and its Lighthouse laser tracking system expanded upon that freedom, introducing what they termed ‘room scale’ tracking – pitching their VR system as one you could explore both physical and virtual spaces with.

Essentially, your inner ear disagrees with your brain – you’re moving in virtual space but not in physical.

Subtitled ‘Elastic VR Playspace’ the solution comprises a number of techniques (as outlined in the video above, presented by Cloudhead Games’ Denny Unger) which, when combined tackles all of the above issues: Cinematic Blink, Precision Blink and Volume Blink – a “locomotion mechanic which ensures player safety, deep traversal and complete spacial awareness in both the virtual and real world.”

Essentially, Blink employs a point, click and teleport system which removes the uncomfortable elements of virtual travel by snapping you to a position and orientation defined by you instantly thereby essentially sidestepping the issue. 

See the full story here: http://www.roadtovr.com/cloudhead-games-blink-to-debut-nausea-free-vr-on-htc-vive-this-holiday/

Unity Technologies Unveils Vision Virtual and Augmented Reality Summit

Unity Technologies announced Vision Virtual and Augmented Reality Summit, a new conference focusing on the development of Virtual and Augmented Reality products across industries with the mission of bringing together artists, engineers, programmers, designers, musicians, directors and producers, hardware manufacturers, researchers and other innovators from around the world to meet, discuss, and explore the potential of these emerging platforms. The event will take place at the Loews Hotel in Hollywood from February 10-11, 2016.

Unity Technologies will be joined at Vision Summit by the industry's most important contributors to the spheres of Virtual and Augmented Reality hardware and software development such as Oculus, Qualcomm Connected Experiences Inc., Sony Computer Entertainment, and Valve where they will demonstrate their technologies.

See the full story here: http://news.sys-con.com/node/3412386

What Are We Looking For?

Engaging content relating to virtual and augmented reality! Think about what you would like to see.

Here are some ideas:

Postmortems – Discuss your VR/AR project from start to finish. What went well? What would you have done differently, given what you know now? What was challenging? These are best presented by two speakers who represent different facets of development, such as art and programming.

Specific Workflow – Have you perfected one aspect of development, such as music and sound integration or heads-up user interface? Take the audience through the process of implementing your solution. The best workflow talks demonstrate both the need and the solution – why is this important, and how can it be accomplished? A session attendee should be able to walk away from the talk with the ability to implement your solution in their own project.

Best Practices – Are you the authority on one aspect of VR/AR technology or development? Share your specific expertise in a broader format than a workflow session. A good talk will briefly introduce the topic, then present solutions to known issues and complications. Come prepared with specific, concrete examples.

Advanced Technical – Good high-level advanced talks are difficult to pull off. It's OK to give very advanced talks for experienced users, but be clear about your audience requirements. Advanced talks are usually "did you know?" material backed up by practical examples. Did you know you can stream content to create endless worlds? Did you know you can write your own inspectors? Did you know you can modify the Maya exporter pipeline?

Showcase – Are you on the cutting edge of VR/AR content or technology? Inspire the audience with a demo that pushes the boundaries of what we thought was possible. Expect these to appear as a series of short presentations in one session, unless you have a very compelling reason to need more time.

Visuals – You have a gorgeous-looking project. How did it get there? What tools and techniques did your team utilize to achieve your look?

Inside Industrial Light & Magic’s secret Star Wars VR lab

The group is a collaboration between all arms of the Lucasfilm empire, taking the visual effects expertise of ILM, the latest in real-time computer graphics from the Advanced Development Group, and the audio prowess of Skywalker Sound, and mixing it all together under the incomparable appeal of the Star Wars franchise. It’s a unique effort; while other movie studios are teaming with tech companies to dabble in VR, and VR companies are spinning up their own mini production houses to dip their toes into film, ILM already has the necessary departments integrated under one roof — not to mention a highly-anticipated slate of films in production to play off of. It allows Bredow’s team to experiment with multiple types of experiences simultaneously, in a kind of next-generation entertainment sandbox.

See the full story here: http://www.theverge.com/2015/8/13/9131805/ilm-ilmxlab-interview-virtual-reality-star-wars-movies

Drone Racing League, a New York startup, is planning its first public race later this year

[Philip Lelyveld comment: There is a great opportunity now for micro drone performance pieces in movie theaters and other venues.  Think touring laserium-style shows!]

RSE Ventures, a venture-capital firm co-founded by Mr. Ross, is providing $1 million to the first round of funding for the Drone Racing League, a New York startup that is planning its first public race later this year. The League intends to make money through sponsorships, media and ticket sales.

The Drone Racing League is targeting a growing audience: videogame players and other technology-oriented types. The venture hopes to re-create the success of live videogame competitions, which lately have been packing arenas like Madison Square Garden.

Hobbyists typically race the so-called “250 Class” of drones, which cost $300 to $500 and can hit speeds of 70 miles an hour, and racers through the Drone Racing League will pilot similar drones. The machines are nimble enough to navigate the old factories and other interior spaces in which the Drone Racing League is planning its races.

See the full story here: http://www.wsj.com/articles/developer-stephen-rosss-rse-ventures-invests-in-drone-racing-1439327632

Group offers virtual reality tour of war-torn Syria

The three-minute film, "Welcome To Aleppo," features 360-degree views of abandoned areas in Syria's former commercial center. In one scene, bullets can be heard whizzing past the device used to film the VR footage, while another catches a glimpse of four Syrians on a motorbike traveling down a ruined street. The film can be watched and controlled on a computer screen, or with a mobile VR headset, such as Google Cardboard.

For many, VR might not only reshape entertainment but also journalism.

"VR will definitely be used for entertainment, porn, video games, all of that," said Christian Stephen, Ryot's London-based global editor who filmed the video in Syria. "It can also be used to genuinely communicate stories around the world in desperate need of reaching people. The fatigue that has come with photos and videos of explosions and people crying has numbed people to the reality of the world, especially in Syria."

Three months ago, Ryot released its first foray into VR journalism with footage captured in Nepal after an April 25 earthquake devastated the country. Ryot co-founder Bryn Mooser said the organization is currently working on VR projects in five countries, including the Congo, Uganda, Haiti and Iraq.

"For us, we want to distribute on every single platform," said Mooser. "We just want this story to get out there. It's not about creating a revenue opportunity for people to pay to download this footage. It's about seeing how many people can watch this as soon as possible. As the technology progresses, it'll become easier and easier for people to experience it."

Mooser noted that "Welcome to Aleppo" marks the first VR video footage to be shot within Syria's war zone. Last year, the Emblematic Group debuted "Project Syria," an animated VR experience that recreated an attack on an Aleppo street and transported viewers to a refugee camp.

See the full story here: http://www.cbsnews.com/news/group-offers-virtual-reality-tour-of-war-torn-syria/

‘Old age suit’ reveals what it’s like to be a PENSIONER: Futuristic exoskeleton mimics arthritis, hearing loss and blindness

There cannot be many people who would wish to hasten the onset of the frailty and difficulty moving that comes with old age.

But robotics experts have developed an 'ageing suit' to replicate the wasted muscles, weak bones, poor eyesight and hearing loss that often accompanies getting older.

Using sensors, augmented reality and adjustable controls, the R70i Ageing device allows the wearer to experience the effects of arthritis, glaucoma, muscle loss and more.

See the full story here: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-3194823/Old-age-suit-reveals-s-like-PENSIONER-Futuristic-exoskeleton-mimics-arthritis-hearing-loss-blindness.html

Ad-Blocking Results in $22B in Lost Ad Revenue, Says Report

According to The New York Times, the report notes that the loss of $22 billion in revenues this year “represents a 41 percent rise compared to the previous 12 months.” The websites most impacted by ad-blocking are gaming, social networks and technology-related.

Ad-blocking is even more commonly used in Europe than the U.S. The report notes that 77 million people use it in Europe; more than one-third of people in Poland have and use the software. German startup Eyeo, which sells the popular Adblock Plus browser plug-in, says it has about 60 million active users.

See full story here: http://www.etcentric.org/ad-blocking-results-in-22b-in-lost-ad-revenue-says-report/#more-95016

Eyeglasses with Face Un-Recognition Function to Debut in Japan

Dr. Isao Echizen at Japan's National Institute of Informatics has spent the better part of two years cooking up a pair of specs that render people's faces undetectable to autofocusing cameras and (with any luck) the facial recognition tech that power the web's social services.

The Privacy Visor, created by the government-affiliated institute and an eyeglass maker in Japan’s Fukui prefecture, uses unique angles and patterns on its lens that reflect or absorb light. This prevents the recognition systems in digital cameras and smartphones from spotting a human face in a shot and focusing on it.

Tests with cameras on smartphones showed that the eyeglasses were able to trick the facial-recognition system 90% of the time.

See the full story here: http://blogs.wsj.com/digits/2015/08/08/eyeglasses-with-face-un-recognition-function-to-debut-in-japan/?mod=ST1

The Great UHD debate – 4K vs HDR

It is hard to say which will win the marketing buzz war. Probably both will eventually become part of the UHD standard, together with other UHD features such as WCG (Wide Color Gamut) and HFR (Higher Frame Rates). The challenge of standardizing is complicated by the fact that OEMs aren’t completely on-board yet with 4K, and current TVs are mostly not HDR-ready.  

See the full story here: http://www.streamingmedia.com/Articles/Editorial/Featured-Articles/The-Great-UHD-Debate-4K-Battles-HDR-for-the-Future-of-TV-105670.aspx

VR porn: the ins and outs of virtual reality’s XXX future

This is a long, in-depth story! - http://www.thememo.com/2015/08/10/virtual-reality-vr-porn-ela-darling-james-deen-sugardvd/