philip lelyveld The world of entertainment technology

VR Altering visual perceptions can trick the brains of chronic sufferers

When patients turned their heads just a bit, they sometimes perceived that they were moving much further, or vice versa. If participants moved their heads within a normally non-painful range, they experienced pain when the headset's visuals made them think they'd performed a much greater rotation. Similarly, the volunteers often experienced no pain when the headsets made it appear to them that they'd performed smaller, normally pain-free turns—even if they moved into a normally painful pose. The results suggest that chronic sufferers create an association between movement and pain, so that the mere visual suggestion of motion its own signal of danger to the body. 

Read the full article here: http://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/use-virtual-reality-eliminate-pain-your-neck-180954422/?no-ist

Welcome to the new VR

Philip Lelyveld summary:

The author of this article, Beau Cronin, recognizes that VR is in the process of transforming from a specialty technology where innovation is driven by small groups of experts, to a general-purpose technology that will tap into a huge, broader market of users and hackers.  He postulates that VR today is where the internet was in 1993; just before Netscape.  At that time there was a re-evaluation of all the rules; often done by outsiders.  Some elements were set aside as better solutions emerged (table-based page layouts gave way to CSS), while others were left intact for good reasons but later suffer from unintended consequences (easily spooked “From: addresses” in email).  Simple numbers dictate that most of the innovations will come from newcomers, and not the VR “lifers” who currently dominate the field. He sees the Oculus Rift as the transformative platform; the “Crossing the Chasm” device.  He wonders how standards will evolve; will they be extensions of existing standards, will new standards efforts be initiated, or will major players open up their platforms enough so formal standards will not be necessary.  Finally, he notes that Oculus recently pivoted from supporting VR game app development to funding narrative VR entertainment.  What the killer app for VR will be is anyone’s guess.  “VR is at that thrilling fleeting moment when its imminent arrival seems assured, and yet every important question about the shape and nature of its adoption and socioeconomic impact remains unanswered.”

Read the full article here: http://radar.oreilly.com/2015/03/welcome-to-the-new-vr.html#

Augmented reality in higher education: five tips to get started

The most common reason for AR remaining on the peripheries in higher education is not lack of appetite, but rather a general lack of knowledge about how to get these programmes off the ground.

At Jisc, we’re supporting universities that want to take AR into the lecture theatre. The focus of this work has been to ensure the technology is able to seamlessly integrate with the existing learning environment, rather than users having to spend time adapting to new ways of learning.

Here are five tips to get you started:

1. Consider the application: AR works especially well where it is difficult to expose students to real-life environments. One example where this has been used to good effect is cARe, a Jisc-funded project run by City University London to provide simulated clinical training to nurses, allowing them to enact scenarios based on patient care that mirrors the real world.
2. Simplify the subject material: If you work in a maths or science discipline you might not think AR is applicable to you, but actually it’s an excellent conduit for conveying abstract concepts. Using interactive visual simulations can better articulate complex themes that have no frame of reference in users’ minds. If you’re trying to communicate a topic that might be considered difficult, AR can be an effective route in.
3. Visualise your users: Think about who will be using the app and what learning environments they are used to. AR can be beneficial in very visual subjects, such as architecture, construction and engineering. Students are more likely to embrace technology when it feels natural and transparent, and is aligned to what they are used to doing.
4. Use resources you already have: The first question you should ask is: ‘What assets do I have that could be repurposed for my AR project?’ An app developed by Jisc with Leeds College of Music is a great example from further education that could quite easily be replicated in higher education. The institution was able to reuse existing digital media to help students to become more proficient in the use of music production equipment.
5. Test your ideas: Initial feedback might have told you that your student group is receptive to working with AR, but if you fail to consult them during the development cycle you could deliver something that is a long way removed from what they were expecting. Whatever you are creating, it is hugely important to test with a pilot group, ensuring the students find the solution useful and effective (and hopefully enjoyable too).

See the full story here: http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/news/augmented-reality-in-higher-education-five-tips-to-get-started/2018933.article

USC wins top awards at Independent Games Festival

See the full story here: http://news.usc.edu/77015/usc-wins-top-awards-at-independent-games-festival/

The 17th annual Independent Games Festival handed out its grand prize for best independent game on March 4 and its best student game award to two video games from USC.

Outer Wilds, which was a thesis and advanced games project at USC, won the Seumas McNally Grand Prize for best independent game and its accompanying $30,000 cash prize. The game, which also won the Excellence in Design Award, gives players 20 minutes to explore a mysterious solar system trapped in a time loop at the end of the universe.

Close Your, an undergraduate USC game, won best student game. Eight such games from around the world were selected as finalists for the student showcase this year. Two were from USC: Close Your and a•part•ment.

Close Your, which also won the IndieCade Developer’s Choice Award in 2014, is an interactive experiment in human empathy in which players are immersed in the life of a character suffering from memory loss.

Every time the player blinks in real life — there’s a Webcam watching — the character’s life flashes before the players’ eyes, forcing them to make sense of the world. The experience moved one player to tears

Breakthrough for Augmented Reality? – Route-n-Fuel app

This all sounds highly practical – except for the fact that German law forbids people from operating their cellphones while driving a car. Legally speaking, apps like Route-n-Fuel cannot be used by the driver. And stopping often to check the display is of course out of the question. Inventive minds from across the globe however have come up with a solution – augmented reality (AR), i.e. the use of digital technology to widen our perception of reality. In the automotive scenario this means using a "head-up display", one which projects the relevant information onto the windshield. Among other carmakers, BMW is offering this feature in its latest 3 series and Mercedes in its C series cars.

See the full story here; http://www.cebit.de/en/news-trends/trends/internet-of-things/article/breakthrough-for-augmented-reality.xhtml

Hollywood looks to bring virtual-reality cinema to life

Buried deep inside the postproduction facilities on the 20th Century Fox lot, beyond where executives decide how best to sharpen Wolverine's claw and make Alvin sound like a chipmunk, sits a space with a more mysterious purpose.

Filled with multiple screens and piles of headsets, it is here that a select few executives, including the official Fox "futurist" Ted Schilowitz, are investigating all manner of digital possibilities. The area is called the Fox Innovation Lab, though it's informally known simply as "The Bunker."

Read the full story here: http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/la-et-mn-ca-vr-future-virtual-reality-cinema-20150308-story.html#page=2

With $45 Million In Funding, Augmented Reality Platform Blippar Is Rethinking Search

Blippar, an augmented reality ad platform that uses real-world tags to deliver extra AR content in offline situations, has raised $45 million in new funding from undisclosed investors. This comes on the heels of a big 2014 for UK-based Blippar, wherein the company made its first acquisition by purchasing Layar in June. Combined, the merged companies boast over 50 million global users.

With the new version of Blippar (which doesn’t require real-world markers), users would ideally be able to point their camera at any object (like an apple or a red dress) and instantly see all of the extra information around it, like a purchasing page or a conversation around that object on Twitter or Instagram or videos on YouTube.

Obviously, the system won’t simply change overnight. Blippar is unveiling its latest technology next week at SXSW and will start in a few verticals, including Movies, Music, Books (fiction) and US-based sports teams, and expand into new verticals on a “week-by-week basis.”

See the full story here: http://techcrunch.com/2015/03/06/with-45-million-in-funding-augmented-reality-platform-blippar-is-rethinking-search/#tmhmdj:nUJC

Suddenly, everyone’s making computers you strap to your face. Here’s a rundown of all the big players.

Here is a good brief overview article of Vive VR, Oculus Rift, Gear VR, Hololens, Magic Leap, Project Morpheus, and Google Glass.

How Disney Thinks About Virtual Reality For Its Theme Parks

Yang says that one major advantage to the cave approach is that it cuts down on the number of factors that can lead to motion sickness while you’re in the virtual reality experience. Instead of implementing stereoscopic 3D effects, Disney is able to use motion tracking to draw 2D images that look like they have depth — like the Amazon Fire Phone’s “dynamic perspective,” but at a much larger scale.

...Through years of testing these experiences, the team learned tricks for further reducing motion sickness, like not allowing the ride and screen to simulate the zero-point turns common in first-person shooters (and therefore, most early VR experiences) because most humans aren’t actually comfortable with constantly looking left and right without accommodating the change with a slight movement of the rest of their body.

...in the Q/A session after the main keynote, Yang said that the team is working on a more generalized version of this advanced cave system that could be used for multiple experiences and walk-through attractions.

See the full story here: http://techcrunch.com/2015/03/05/how-disney-thinks-about-virtual-reality-for-its-theme-parks/

Razer updates OSVR virtual reality headset

The OSVR Hacker Development Kit v1.1 will say goodbye to the IPS panel and now boast a full HD OLED display for lower latency and higher contrast.

The optical mechanics have also been improved for easier adjustments which is a relief since the first kit didn't work as well as the Samsung Gear VR's diopter.

New faceplates are now an option as well for the hacker dev kit. Whether it's for branding customization or for functional purposes - like utilizing modules for positional tracking - will be up to you, if you plan on using Razer's tech to develop your own VR headset.

Razer's Chris Mitchell also told us that the price for the OSVR HDK will remain the same at $199 (about £130,AU$246) and should start shipping in June 2015. The hardware might even be updated again before it ships out.

Though still in the alpha stage, the Open Source Virtual Reality platform has been upgraded as well.

There's now an Unreal Engine 4 plugin, imager interface to allow video streams such as those from color cameras, IR cameras and depth sensors to allow functions such as positional tracking, eye tracking, SLAM, face recognition and augmented reality. Also included in the update, a distortionizer tool that allows estimating the optical and chromatic distortion of HMDs and a shader that uses the measured parameters to correct such distortion.

Ubisoft has thrown its hat into the ring and joined the OSVR platform, as well as Vuzix, Stompz, Seven Hills Games, Seebright, Inc., Aesthetic Interactive, ARCortex, castAR, Godhead VR, Homido, Hydra Interactive Entertainment, Mindfield Games Ltd.

See the full story here: http://www.techradar.com/us/news/wearables/razer-updates-osvr-virtual-reality-headset-1286822