High-resolution Varjo headset seamlessly blends virtual and real worlds
Varjo sidesteps this requirement by using multiple displays. Only the area that is in the wearer's direct line of sight has the most high-resolution display, with the headset using eye-tracking to adapt the screen configuration as the person looks up, down and side to side.
Varjo's VR headset is scheduled to launch at the end of this year, with the mixed-reality add-on coming in early 2019. The headset will compete against an increasingly crowded market of products like Oculus Rift, Microsoft HoloLensand HTC Vive.
See the full story here: https://www.dezeen.com/2018/06/29/varjo-headset-mixed-reality-augmented-technology/
China’s Vivo Unveils Time-of-Flight 3D Sensor That Rivals iPhone X’s TrueDepth Camera
The sensor is capable of mapping objects within three meters, which positions the sensor to compete with the iPhone X's TrueDepth camera, as opposed to the room-scale capabilities of Google's Tango sensors as far as depth sensors for mobile devices are concerned.
Vivo actually surpasses Apple in specs, as Vivo's sensor is capable of mapping 300,000 feature points, compared to 30,000 points that TrueDepth captures.
"From last year's debut of In-Display Fingerprint Scanning Technology, the recent launch of the truly bezel-less Vivo NEX, to our groundbreaking ToF 3D sensing technology, we continue to forge ahead and evolve towards the truly intelligent future by opening new ways for the AI to help the consumer," said Alex Feng, senior vice president of Vivo, in a statement. "By combining ToF 3D sensing technology with AI, we will continue to explore new possibilities for a better future."
See the full story here: https://mobile-ar.reality.news/news/chinas-vivo-unveils-time-flight-3d-sensor-rivals-iphone-xs-truedepth-camera-0185585/
SIGGRAPH 2018 to Debut Immersive Pavilion With Vrcade and VillagePavilion To Host Virtual, Augmented and Mixed Reality Projects
Highlights of the 2018 Virtual, Augmented and Mixed Reality program include:
Cycles (Village)
Jeff Gipson, Walt Disney Animation Studios
Walt Disney Animation Studios’ first VR short film, “Cycles,” is an experimental film that centers around the true meaning of creating a home and the life it holds inside its walls.
Welcome to Light Fields (Village)
Ryan S. Overbeck, Daniel Erickson, and Daniel Evangelakos, Google Inc.
“Light Fields” lets us experience the freedom of motion, realistic reflections, and translucence like never before in VR. Explore the Gamble House, Mosaic Tile House, and Space Shuttle Discovery. These navigable light field stills showcase the emerging technology Google is using to power its next generation of VR content.
Wolves in the Walls: Chapter 1 (Vrcade)
Peter Billington and Jessica Shamash, Fable Studio
Hailing from a new studio that recently join content creation for virtual reality cinema, not everything is at it seems when 8-year old Lucy's imagination proves to be a reality. “Wolves in the Walls” is an immersive fable that asks; what would it be like to interact, have a relationship, and go on a quest with a character inside a virtual reality movie?
Multiplayer Augmented Reality: the Future is Social, presented by Niantic (Village)
Si ying Diana Hu and Niniane Wang, Niantic, Inc.
As the creators of Pokémon Go, Niantic takes AR to the next level by enabling multiple mobile devices to experience the same AR objects in real-time! Watch people play pong against each other, where the ball and paddles exist in AR for all users. Shared AR experiences is essential for keeping AR mainstream in the future.
Crow: The Legend (Vrcade)
Larry Cutler, Eric Darnell, Nathaniel Dirksen, Michael Hutchinson, and Scott Peterson, Baobab Studios
“Crow: The Legend” is a re-telling of a Native American folk tale about a bird with the most dazzling plumage and mellifluous voice, who, after the planet turns dark and cold, must journey far from home to bring light and warmth back to the world.
For highlights from the VR Theater, check out this blog post. Access to Virtual, Augmented and Mixed Reality programming is open to Exhibits Plus registration and above. The SIGGRAPH 2018 Immersive Pavilion is sponsored by NVIDIA.*
Augmented reality fireworks shows with Seek, Toll Brothers expands to Utah, Tracking First opens headquarters, Walmart online grocery delivery
Seek XR, a Lehi business focused on creating a true augmented reality platform, recently launched Seek Studio, a space for non-developers to create augmented reality experiences. As part of that launch, Seek made a template for users to create their own AR fireworks show to any song.
“We’ve had over 450 new experiences published in the last few weeks — compared to about 60 experiences in the previous five months — so we’re really seeing user-generated AR content start to explode,” said Jon Cheney, Seek founder and CEO, in an email.
Cheney said users of any skill level can start creating AR through the free tools available through Seek. Users can access Seek Studio at http://studio.seekxr.com, and watch tutorial videos through the company’s YouTube channel. The firework shows can be created on a desktop, laptop, phone or tablet.
See the full story here; https://www.heraldextra.com/business/local/augmented-reality-fireworks-shows-with-seek-toll-brothers-expands-to/article_41ab053b-3d05-5882-8e36-8a6eb44b65be.html
Jurassic World Eats Pokémon Go at Augmented Reality App Marketing
But Pokémon Go is a game, not a marketing experience. While it offers sponsorship opportunities, it does little to prove the role AR can play in a marketing campaign. That's where Jurassic World Alive is different.
This new, geolocation augmented reality game is, as Polygon puts it, "Pokémon Go, but With Dinosaurs." And while it is stand-alone game with its own revenue model via in-game purchases, the entire experience was created through a partnership between Universal and Ludia, with built-in partnerships with AMC and Walmart.
There are several in-game mechanisms that allow Universal to use the app as a marketing base. For example, an in-game message system allows the brand to send marketing messages to every player. And an in-game news feed lights up with notifications whenever a new offer hits. The news section also links to the movie's social media properties, and has a prominent banner reminding players to get their tickets at any local AMC.
The partnerships with Walmart and AMC are built right into the app. Each brand has special "supply drops" at its locations that give players generous bonuses for entering the storefront and engaging.
When Walmart has a new supply drop, players are greeted with a full-page ad telling them to pick it up a their local Walmart.
See the full story here: https://www.targetmarketingmag.com/post/jurassic-world-eats-pokemon-go-at-augmented-reality-app-marketing/
Exclusive: Augmented reality comes into focus at PTC
During CEO Jim Heppelmann’s keynote, for example, he was joined onstage by employees from defence, security, and aerospace giant, BAe Systems, which has created a visual training aid using PTC’s Vuforia AR technology and Microsoft’s HoloLens head-mounted display (HMD), to guide workers in manufacturing plants through the process of building a green bus battery.
In addition, attendees saw a lab technician from Sysmex America, a manufacturer of clinical laboratory equipment, being shown via an AR headset how to perform daily set-up procedures for machines that analyse blood.
That second example uses technology from Waypoint, a start-up recently acquired by PTC, which was launched out of MIT’s Media Lab. Waypoint will be integrated into PTC’s thriving AR business, which is worth around $20 million in annual revenues and is growing at 100 percent each year, according to Heppelmann.
See the full story here: https://internetofbusiness.com/exclusive-augmented-reality-comes-into-focus-at-ptc/
BBC launches property makeover show with virtual reality
The BBC has announced a new property makeover show featuring virtual reality.
Couples who disagree on the future look of their homes will be able to “step into” different plans dreamt up by architects.
The couples then choose which designs to take on and build themselves in the eight-part series on BBC Two, the former home of Changing Rooms and Ground Force.
See the full story here: https://home.bt.com/tech-gadgets/tech-news/bbc-launches-property-makeover-show-with-virtual-reality-11364280751048
AI Weekly: The growing importance of clear AI ethics policies
In a letter addressed to Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, 19 groups of shareholders expressed concerns that Rekognition’s facial recognition capabilities will be misused in ways that “violate [the] civil and human rights” of “people of color, immigrants, and civil society organizations.” And they said that it set the stage for sales of the software to foreign governments and authoritarian regimes.
Amazon, for its part, said in a statement that it will “suspend … customer’s right to use … services [like Rekognition]” if it determines those services are being “abused.” It has so far declined, however, to define the bright-line rules that would trigger a suspension.
AI ethics is a nascent field. Consortia and think tanks like the Partnership on AI, Oxford University’s AI Code of Ethics project, Harvard University’s AI Initiative, and AI4All have worked to establish preliminary best practices and guidelines. But Francesca Rossi, IBM’s global leader for AI ethics, believes there’s more to be done.
“Each company should come up with its own principles,” she told VentureBeat in a phone interview. “They should spell out their principles according to the space that they’re in.”
See the full story here: https://venturebeat.com/2018/06/22/ai-weekly-the-growing-importance-of-clear-ai-ethics-policies/