Rendever Awarded $2M NIH Grant to Research Impact of Virtual Reality on Aging Population

– Rendever, a Boston-based virtual reality (VR)platform built to help seniors overcome social isolation through shared experiences, announces that it has been awarded a $2M Phase II Grant from the National Institute on Aging (NIA), a division of the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

– This grant will fund a registered multi-site clinical trial, in conjunction with the University of California Santa Barbara, to further Rendever’s continued research on the effects of VR on seniors. The focus of the research is to evaluate the impact of VR-based virtual family engagement for seniors and the differences in effect across various levels of cognitive impairment (MCI, mild to moderate AD/ADRD).

The Phase II Grant builds on Rendever’s previously awarded Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase I Grant to measure the impact of Rendever’s engagement platform. The initial pilot data confirmed the positive impact that virtual family engagement has on both residents and their family members living at a distance. Residents experienced decreased negative emotions and feelings of isolation, increased positive emotions and engagement with their family members, and overall improved quality of life. Family members reported similar mental health benefits along with significant decreases in caregiver guilt after using Rendever’s VR platform with their loved ones.

See the full story here: https://hitconsultant.net/2021/08/18/rendever-virtual-reality-on-aging-population-research/#.YR0uRS1h2t8

What AI researchers can learn from the self-assembling brain

In his book The Self-Assembling Brain, Hiesinger suggests that instead of looking at the brain from an endpoint perspective, we should study how information encoded in the genome is transformed to become the brain as we grow. This line of study might help discover new ideas and directions of research for the AI community.

The Self-Assembling Brain is organized as a series of seminar presentations interspersed with discussions between a robotics engineer, a neuroscientist, a geneticist, and an AI researcher. The thought-provoking conversations help to understand the views and the holes of each field on topics related to the mind, the brain, intelligence, and AI. ...

Therefore, our genome contains the information required to create our brain. That information, however, is not a blueprint that describes the brain, but an algorithm that develops it with time and energy. In the biological brain, growth, organization, and learning happen in tandem. At each new stage of development, our brain gains new learning capabilities (common sense, logic, language, problem-solving, planning, math). And as we grow older, our capacity to learn changes.

See the full story here: https://bdtechtalks.com/2021/08/16/self-assembling-brain-book/

Los Angeles-Based Artificial Intelligence Company Pinscreen Announces the Hiring of Leading Digital Artist Anda Deng

Deng will develop high-fidelity 3D digital assets for the integration with machine learning pipelines for next generation visual effects. Pinscreen’s customers include major Streaming companies, and Adapt Entertainment, which are exploring the use of cutting edge AI for the creation of photorealistic humans in high-end movie production. Novel effects, include language translation of foreign films, as well as photorealistic face replacement of stunt actors with celebrities.

Deng will develop 3D avatar assets for Pinscreen's proprietary AI-based human digitization system as well as neural face rendering solution paGAN to improve the realism of next generation immersive telecommunication systems. Pinscreen's customers include NTT Docomo, and Yahoo! Japan.

Deng's unique skills include his 3D modeling and simulation skills for real-time digital humans and hair, as well as his in-depth knowledge in Unreal Engine and the integration of 3D assets with complex real-time graphics environments.

Contact:

Hao Li

CEO & Co-Founder, Pinscreen, Inc

917-514-6980

316568@email4pr.com

See the full story here: https://www.wfmz.com/news/pr_newswire/pr_newswire_entertainment/los-angeles-based-artificial-intelligence-company-pinscreen-announces-the-hiring-of-leading-digital-artist-anda/article_a4e25172-b8e1-5600-b267-e7bc96116cd0.html

Virtual Reality as an Affirmative Spin-Off to Laparoscopic Training: An Updated Review

After an advanced Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) search, we got 59,532 results, and after the application of filters, 189 results showed up. Out of these, studies that were not exclusively relevant to the use of VR in laparoscopic surgery were manually excluded, and a total of 35 articles were included in the study. VR is found to be an excellent training modality with promising outcomes. It helps the surgeons perform the surgery accurately at a faster pace and improves confidence and multitasking ability in OR. 

See the full story here: https://www.cureus.com/articles/67153-virtual-reality-as-an-affirmative-spin-off-to-laparoscopic-training-an-updated-review

There’s a Blind Spot in Augmented Reality, and the Clarifying Lens of Crypto Is the Prescription, Here’s Why

Back in 2018, when I met face-to-face with then Magic Leap chief content officer Rio Caraeff, I really had only one truly burning question on my mind: Where are you guys with blockchain tech as it relates to the AR cloud? It's a question that many in the AR space are either unprepared to answer, or reticent to address due to secret projects still in development.

For this reason, if you're tracking Facebook and its activities around the Oculus Quest, Spark AR Studio, and coming Ray-Ban smartglasses, and you aren't also tracking its involvement in Diem, you're missing a large part of the story. Facebook understands that the key to the future of the AR cloud (or the metaverse) is in having an influential hand in how digital transactions and objects are handled.

Likewise, companies including Amazon, Microsoft (despite a shift to a partner model), Snap (via its StreetCred acquisition), and others are waking up to the fact that blockchain technology can no longer be ignored as a vital piece of our digital infrastructures, walled garden or not.

See the full story here: https://next.reality.news/news/opinion-theres-blind-spot-augmented-reality-and-clarifying-lens-crypto-is-prescription-heres-why-0384826/

Red 6 lands contract to put augmented reality on a T-38 training jet

For the first time ever, a U.S. Air Force T-38 will be outfitted with an augmented reality training system that allows it to dogfight against simulated Russian and Chinese fighters projected inside the pilot’s helmet. ...

The ATARS system comprises a custom, full-color augmented reality headset designed to be worn with a standard HGU-55 helmet used by F-15 and F-16 pilots. ...

Although Red 6 is a relative newcomer to the world of military procurement, the company has garnered the interest of Air Force leaders and defense contractors.

Its board is led by Mike Holmes, the former four-star general who led Air Combat Command, and includes members such as Will Roper, the service’s top acquisition official during the Trump administration. Lockheed Martin’s venture capital arm also provided an investment of undisclosed value in June 2020. ...

See the full story here: https://www.militarytimes.com/training-sim/2021/08/16/red-6-lands-contract-to-put-augmented-reality-on-a-t-38-training-jet/

Facebook to Expand Planned Undersea Cable Network in Africa

Facebook Inc. and some of the world’s largest telecommunications carriers, China Mobile Ltd. and MTN Group Ltd., are set to build a wider-than-earlier planned giant sub-sea cable in Africa.

The undersea cable sector is experiencing a resurgence, with Facebook and Alphabet Inc.’s Google behind about 80% of recent investments in transatlantic links. ...

The companies plan to add the Indian Ocean island countries of Seychelles and Comoros, as well as Angola and a new connection to Nigeria, according to a statement released on Monday. This is in addition to a recently announced link to the Canary Islands and would bring connection-landings to 35 in 26 countries. ...

2Africa is expected to come into operation by 2024 and will deliver more than the combined capacity of all sub-sea cables that are currently serving Africa, according to the statement. ...

See the full story here: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-08-16/facebook-to-expand-planned-undersea-cable-network-in-africa?mkt_tok=ODUwLVRBQS01MTEAAAF-7c2SEkqklxuB9zweNlra_QntvIbcttDuwMeIXUu6MREi9pPw6hR1CdxiL2we5pzOP3tLKENYSL5uo2ebHKnAJ1oTCcD7TyofyLwZjHBKlf_E

Argus: A Fully Transparent Incentive System for Anti-Piracy Campaigns

IX. CONCLUSIONS

Anti-piracy is fundamentally a procedure that relies on collecting data from the open anonymous population, so how to incentivize credible reports is a question at the center of the problem. Academic researchers and real-world companies have come up with various incentive mecha- nisms. However, without explicitly prescribing the interests of different roles and the objectives of an anti-piracy system, designing such a mechanism has been more of a “creative art” than a systematic and disciplined exploration. Currently, there is no good framework to evaluate these designs and actual systems.

The most essential value of our work is not the Argus system itself, but the approach leading to its design and im- plementation. We first state clearly the interests of different roles and the goal of full transparency without trusting any role. Once these are stated, all the design requirements nat- urally surface, such as Sybil-proofness, information-hiding submission, resistance to infringer’s repudiation, etc; once these design requirements are clear, we are able to deduce, rather than invent, the general form of valid solutions; the deduced general form then boils down to a set of unavoidable technical obstacles, which we overcome by adapting cryptographic schemes, building contract code and optimizing performance.

See the full paper here: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/research/uploads/prod/2021/08/Argus_SRDS_Camera.pdf?ck_subscriber_id=958930034&utm_source=convertkit&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Microsoft+wants+to+use+Ethereum+blockchain+to+fight+piracy%20-%206411909

Meow Wolf brings big boost to Denver arts employment

Still, for the Denver creative community, Meow Wolf is the unicorn of arts employment. Most of its jobs are full-time, come with benefits and represent that often unattainable grail: permanent, stable, ongoing employment for creative people. In numbers that are boggling.

“We are hiring more than 300 staff members to manage the building and the guest experience,” said Meow Wolf General Manager Alex Bennett. Of those, about 210 are full-time hourly positions, and about 120 are salaried jobs.

Outside of the Denver Center, there might not be 120 salaried jobs in the entire Colorado theatre community combined.

Meow Wolf is hiring creative workers to build, maintain, support and operate the massive gallery exhibition space that will span four floors and 90,000 square feet. Docents, most with performance backgrounds, will serve as interactive guides who play spontaneous characters while navigating guests through the narrative. Others are being hired to work in the box office, restaurant, guest services, security and janitorial divisions.

Additionally, Meow Wolf commissioned 110 Colorado artists whose 79 interactive installations will make up the immersive world of the Denver experience, Meow Wolf’s third and largest to date.

...Bennett says Meow Wolf’s investment in local artists is just part of the company’s larger commitment to the artistic community and to the low-income, high-poverty Sun Valley neighborhood it has just joined. Meow Wolf, he says, will lead ongoing conversations about public art projects, neighborhood improvements and cleanup. And it will partner with the Denver Housing Authority to create affordable access for low-income families and Denver Public Schools students. It’s all part of the radical progressive spirit that Meow Wolf was founded on, Bennett said. ...

“Meow Wolf is the only entertainment corporation in the country that is legally registered as a B-Corp (or public-benefit corporation),” he said. “That means we are committed to a lot of different things like inclusivity, equity, social responsibility, giving back to our community, doing our part to better the environment and offering a living wage to our staff.” ...

See the full story here: https://gazette-com.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/gazette.com/denver-gazette/meow-wolf-brings-big-boost-to-denver-arts-employment/article_a60daf56-f79d-11eb-9f88-abd586afbfdf.amp.html

Megan Thee Stallion to Debut Virtual Reality Theatrical Experience With AmazeVR

Megan Thee Stallion to Debut Virtual Reality Theatrical Experience With AmazeVR

See the full story here: https://www.billboard.com/articles/business/tech/9610694/megan-thee-stallion-virtual-reality-experience-amazevr