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
State of VR (fxGuide)
[Philip Lelyveld comment: this is a lengthy story mentioning recent activities by key players in VR hardware, software, and storytelling.]
"VR - it feels like it is 1993 again - it is like ILM has just done Jurassic Park and the whole world is ready for a new way of seeing things, and I think VR and interactivity is bringing that new way to story tellers and everyone is again trying to work out the new problems and seeing what can be done," EPIC Games CTO and former ILM VFX supervisor Kim Libreri told fxguide.
See the full article here: http://www.fxguide.com/featured/state-of-vr/
Inside DAQRI’s Invite-Only 4D Augmented Reality Expo
[Philip Lelyveld comment: this article describes how AR will be used by Facilities Managers.]
Several years ago Raytheon had a big problem with one of their satellites in production, of which only one is manufactured a year. A line worker had inadvertently used the wrong torque wrench, and the resulting trouble only became clear down the line when the insulation was damaged. Production was halted for three months to locate the source, then another month to be certain there weren’t additional problems. After a meeting with Brian Mullins of DAQRI, chief engineer Andy Lowery saw that augmented reality could prevent costly errors like this. And from his experience in the Navy aboard a nuclear aircraft carrier, he also understood the value AR could have for preventative maintenance and safety.
At the DAQRI 4D Expo held in Los Angeles on February 19-20, demonstrations of their newest smart helmet prototype were provided, including one with thermal sensing. I found it didn’t take long to get the hang of using the helmet. For one demonstration the goal was to replace a canister, which first required rotating a series of valves in front of you. First step: rotate left valve counter-clockwise 180 degrees. The valve is shown with a red arrow around it, identifying the valve and direction of turn. When the task is accomplished you step back and focus your eyes on a virtual target to your right. It recognizes your focus and then moves on to the next step, until as final step you are instructed to remove the canister and replace with a new one.
See the full story here: http://www.sparpointgroup.com/news/vol13no9-inside-daqris-invite-only-4d-expo
HTC And Valve Have Cracked The VR Code
He had just walked me through one of the best demos I had ever seen. It was the HTC Vive, a sensor-studded helmet with dual hand controllers that allowed me to enter almost a dozen alternate universes as real and as exciting as the real world. When I say I was impressed, amused, and excited, trust me. This was one of the best things I’ve seen in a long time and I am thrilled that I got to be part of it.
The Vive, which is in its development stage, is essentially an immersive VR goggle set that ascertains your position using pulsing laser lights. Sensors on the mask triangulate your height and X/Y/Z coordinates based on the position of the lasers and the hand controllers look like a more stylized Wiimote but turn into futuristic ray gun like appendages (or even cartoon hands) in the game. The entire rig ran off of a stock but powerful gaming PC that pumped out the various demos including an undersea adventure complete with whale, a cooking test that looked like a Nintendo game, and a sneak preview of a new Portal game that was so immersive that you get chills when a massive GlaDOS unfurls like a malevolent umbrella.
I have used multiple VR systems, most recently the Oculus, but this was something different entirely. It was smooth, sharp, and the content was perfectly suited for the medium. Everything interacted without a stutter or stitch. A painting demo allowed you to create 3D objects in real space and made me realize that this was the perfect environment for 3D modeling. The tiny tabletop game demo – essentially a sort of tower defense game in miniature – made me forget I was in a featureless room in Barcelona. The closest thing I can compare it to was the vision in William Gibson’s Dogfight where jacked in players controlled tiny 3D fighter planes. It was the first time in years that I smiled at a demo.
Do not misunderstand me: this is cutting edge technology in the way, say the way Macintosh changed computing and the Motorola StarTAC changed telephony.
See the full story here: http://techcrunch.com/2015/03/04/htc-and-valve-have-cracked-the-vr-code/?ncid=tcdaily#tmhmdj:HgKN
Cirque du Soleil, Samsung Teaming for Virtual Reality Show
Samsung wants you to strap a phone to your face to get into the middle of Cirque du Soleil's world of jugglers, gymnasts and stilt-walkers.
Cirque du Soleil Media, a joint venture between the Canada-based circus troupe and broadcaster Bell Media, has pacted with Samsung to produce a liveaction virtual reality aerial show to be viewed on its flagship Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge smartphones.
All that's needed is connecting the Samsung phones to a Gear VR virtual reality headset, powered by Oculus, to view content based on Cirque du Soleil’s most recent touring show, Kurios - Cabinet of Curiosities. Félix & Paul Studios, a Montreal studio that produces 3D 360° VR content, will produce the content that has Cirque du Soleil acrobats tumbling and twirling over the heads of Samsung phone users.
See the full story here: http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/cirque-du-soleil-samsung-teaming-778647
The MindLeap virtual reality game system runs on your brainwaves — no controllers needed
Neurotechnology company MindMaze announces a thought-powered virtual reality game system called MindLeap today. Based on its proprietary system originally developed for use in the medical field, MindLeap detects brain and muscle activity, using mind power along with motion-capture cameras for gameplay in both virtual and augmented reality.The Switzerland-based company rides the towering VR wave led by Facebook’s Oculus with today’s accompanying announcement that it closed an $8.5 million angel-funding round, which it will use to build on its efforts in the medical field, where its technology accelerates recovery in patients with neurological deficits. It plans to bring this brain-powered virtual reality control to gamers for the first time with MindLeap.
MindMaze says that this system introduces a new way for players to experience the games they already know. The head-mounted display that contains the “NeuroGoggles” and 3D motion cameras should be available in the coming months. This controller-free, brain-powered, latency-free VR will be available on multiple game platforms, including the Xbox and PlayStation (though MindLeap wouldn’t say if it meant the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One or older systems), iOS, and Android.
Initially, MindMaze developed the technology for the rehabilitation purposes. Tadi shared a demonstration of a patient that had just lost his left arm and suffered from phantom pain. By tracking the brain signals that would have that missing limb move, and by displaying a corresponding visual representation of the moving missing limb, patients would be relieved of their phantom pains. But this only works in a latency-free experience — one that comes in at 20 milliseconds or less. MindMaze’s work on this front eventually led it to gaming.
The idea behind MindLeap is that it would combine this brain wave-tracking element with existing virtual reality and augmented reality technology to create a gaming platform with a new dimension of control.