philip lelyveld The world of entertainment technology

Disney to bring mobile technology to more parks

"The folks who are saying the MyMagic+ experience is excellent is the vast, vast majority of folks who are using it, and that, we know, is good for our business," Staggs said on Thursday.

He said it was "possible" the use of the MagicBands will be enabled at parks outside of Walt Disney World. The company also is exploring if other wearable technology could offer some of the same functions as consumers adopt new products such as the Apple Watch.

See the full story here: http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/05/22/us-walt-disney-parks-idUSKBN0O705S20150522

Everything we know about Ultra HD Blu-ray

Will Ultra HD Blu-ray support digital transfers?

Yes. Just as UltraViolet has done for standard Blu-ray, Ultra HD Blu-ray discs will support digital copies, allowing users to access content  “across the range of in-home mobile devices,”  according to the Blu-ray Disc Association.

Read the full story here: http://www.digitaltrends.com/home-theater/ultra-hd-blu-ray-specs-dates-and-titles/

Game For Samsung Virtual Reality Set Makes You Feel Stupid For Texting While Driving

You’re sick of all the campaigns telling you not to text and drive, something that you should have figured on your own, aren’t you?

Well, here’s a video game telling you the same thing, although it is a bit more on the clever side compared to the same “oh, I`m looking down at my device, oh I`ve crashed” ads.

Wittily called SMS Racing, it’s an educational title that's recently been ported to Samsung’s Gear VR virtual reality headset system; it's been available for PC for nearly a year now.

Basically, it’s designed to make you feel stupid for texting and driving; the ridiculously pointless messages you receive in game clearly point to that…

See the full story here: http://www.carscoops.com/2015/05/game-for-samsung-virtual-reality-set.html

Design ambitions for wearable tech showcased at Georgia Tech symposium

As Apple entered the consumer wearable technology market this spring with the Apple Watch, Atlanta-based researchers at Georgia Tech showcased a wearable technology exhibit that brought together designs from around the world and hinted at a vision of what personal technology might look like in the near future.

“Here at Georgia Tech we excel at truly substantive multi-disciplinary research on a large scale, which is required in the wearable space,” says Maribeth Gandy, co-director of the Georgia Tech Wearable Computing Center. “Simply inventing a new underlying technology that can enable wearable systems is is not enough; the design, as well as the psychological, sociological, and public policy aspects require equal attention.” 

See the full story here: http://gvu.gatech.edu/design-wearable-tech-showcase-spring-2015

IEEE Standards Association to Facilitate Collaboration at Augmented World Expo, Toward Advancing Interoperable, Open, Pervasive Augmented Reality (AR)

IEEE, the world's largest professional organization dedicated to advancing technology for humanity, today announced that the IEEE Standards Association (IEEE-SA) will show how it is advancing interoperable, open, pervasive augmented reality (AR), through a variety of activities at Augmented World Expo 2015 (AWE 2015), which is scheduled for 8-10 June 2015 at the Santa Clara (California) Convention Center.

See the full press release here: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20150520005199/en/IEEE-Standards-Association-Facilitate-Collaboration-Augmented-World#.VV--vGBiBrg

8 Eye-Opening Things We Learned About Virtual Reality This Week

3) Samsung is getting better at selling VR.

4) VR’s killer app might not arrive immediately.

6) Yes, there will be ads … eventually.

8) Holy crap, eye tracking kind of works.

See the full story here: http://recode.net/2015/05/20/8-eye-opening-things-we-learned-about-virtual-reality-this-week/

Tinkle turns the page

The popular children’s comic, which debuted in 1980, is keeping up with the times 35 years later. Its latest issue embraces new technology that makes Tinkle the first augmented reality enhanced magazine for children.

From its May 2015 issue onwards, Tinkle will be India’s first augmented reality enhanced magazine for children. Its young subscribers will now be able to not only read the adventures of their favourite characters like Suppandi, but also “click selfies” with him, access games and bonus material and a whole lot more. The “new and improved” Tinkle is the result of a collaboration between publishers Amar Chitra Katha and Blippar India.

“On starting the app and pointing it at the page the extra content pops up on your phone (or tablet) screen, and you can interact with it in different ways. The content actually walks out of the page in a 3D avatar on your phone screen, maybe in the form of a jigsaw puzzle or a walk through the page or maybe a game; very much an extension of the story,” says Arnav Ghosh, regional director of Blippar India.

See the full story here: http://www.asianage.com/ideas/tinkle-turns-page-477

Virtual reality may rule video games. Here’s who will rule VR

Developers, meanwhile, are struggling to decide whose device to build games for because Valve and Oculus use different technologies.

Valve has impressed developers with new wand-like controllers designed to be held in a player's hands to manipulate the game world. Reaching out with the controller and pressing a button in the real world may translate into picking up an object, such as a book, inside a game.

Oculus doesn't have any of that. It relies on a standard video game controller, with joysticks and buttons, designed by Microsoft for the Xbox video game console. The controller is held with two hands, not one like a typical motion controller, and is used more as a way to send commands to a game than to interact with it. While it hasn't publicly shown any motion controllers,  it is developing them. A person familiar with Oculus' plans say they may be unveiled this summer.

In March, Valve also introduced a new technology some developers say could be, pun intended, game changing. It's codenamed Lighthouse and consists of twin lasers set on opposite sides of a room. Lighthouse lasers help HTC's headset sense an entire room, interpreting the light to pinpoint a player's location and movements. HTC and Valve are also hoping Lighthouse will be capable of tracking moving objects, such as another person or a pet. That could help signal to people wearing the goggles of an impending collision.

Some developers have opted to focus on creating programs for HTC's hardware because it's slated to launch this holiday season. Oculus, in contrast, won't release its flagship Rift headset for computers until next year. Oculus has told developers their programs should work with as many devices as possible, even if Oculus' headset won't be the first to arrive on store shelves.

See the full story here: http://www.cnet.com/news/virtual-reality-may-rule-video-games-heres-who-will-rule-vr/

ONR Tests New Glasses for Augmented Reality System with Marines

Marines were able to turn a lush golf course into a hostile battleground complete with tanks, mortar fire and smoke at a demonstration on May 21 using an augmented reality training system from the Office of Naval Research (ONR).

At Marine Corps Base Quantico in Quantico, Va., the Augmented Immersive Team Trainer (AITT) moved one step closer to its ultimate goal of giving warfighters glasses that can be worn to enhance augmented reality training scenarios.

Created through a Small Business Technology Transfer program, [the AR glasses] have a much larger field of view than similar products that are commercially available.

The AITT system could be an important tool in achieving the Marine Corps’ goal — as stated in the Marine Corps Vision & Strategy 2025 — of having training that “accurately reflect[s] the situations, environments and peoples Marines will face” and preparing Marines “realistically for complex conditions” while using resources more efficiently.

See the full story here: http://www.seapowermagazine.org/stories/20150521-aitt.html

Golden State Warriors experiment with VR

The NBA is exploring the idea of harnessing virtual reality technology to improve the game experience for their fans. Commissioner Adam Silver met with Stanford virtual reality expert Jeremy Bailenson this spring to exchange ideas. But the NBA has also experimented with virtual reality on its own.

In February, the league filmed the NBA All-Star Game in virtual reality and made the content available to fans through Samsung’s Milk VR application that allows anyone with a Samsung Gear VR headset and a Samsung Galaxy Note 4 smart phone to download and experience virtual reality content.

In March, the Warriors tried an experiment with Orange County-based Next VR to broadcast a game in virtual reality from cameras mounted on the scorer’s table.

The virtual reality live stream from the Warriors-Mavericks game was available only to a select number of Golden State executives involved in the test, but the experiment was successful enough that Lauer said they’re going to continue testing from a variety of camera angles and viewpoints.

...“One, we have to make sure the technology works, and two, there’s a lot of media rights issues. We’re not allowed to just stream a game,”...

See the full story here: http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2015/may/21/virtual-reality-golden-state-warriors-kenny-lauer/