The week got off to a strong start when the WebXR augmentation promoting the new “Spiderman” movie by Trigger Global, 8th Wall and AWS took over Twitter on Tuesday. Just click here to see why. No download required. No App. Wow. Right?
Two heroes of mine are genuine innovators, producer/director VR pioneer Nonny de la Pena, and Keith McMillen of BeBop Sensors, a prolific electronic music inventor and entrepreneur. Amidst continuing AR momentum, VR is stirring to life. You can't get away from Oculus GO advertising. VR Entertainment sales at IAAPA were strong, and highly anticipated and seemingly often delayed high projects like Two Bit Circus and Dreamscape Immersive have finally opened. At the same time, everyone is buzzing about the new HTC Vive Pro's extended room scale tracking, which allows as many as three people to share the same virtual space as avatars to have a true free roam (and backpack free) experience. Then, last night, this happened:
Microsoft Corp. has won a $480 million contract to supply prototypes for augmented reality systems to the Army Bloomberg reports this could lead to the military purchasing over 100,000 headsets. With the contract, the Army immediately became the HoloLen’s most important consumer.
WSJ’s Magazine Technology Innovator of the Year award goes to the founder of Emblematic Group, Nonny de la Peña. She is the second woman in history to receive the reward. Emblematic Group was founded in 2007 and has created immersive content for clients such as AT&T, Amazon, Cartier, The New York Times, The Wall St. Journal, National Geographic, and others. Their newest innovation is REACH, “the first web platform for creating and sharing volumetric VR using real people and places.” DeLa Pena is a larger than life figure who's been working in VR for two decades. She was recently honored by AWE for her pioneering work in the medium.
Wireless data glove wins Time Magazine Best Inventions 2018 Award. BeBop Sensors specializes in smart fabric sensor technology and bend sensors. Their lightweight Forte Wireless Data Glove provides high accuracy hand tracking as well as light haptic feedback. The gloves are designed for over 15 hours of wireless use and are already in use by architects who require accurate hand tracking to assemble VR models of buildings. The gloves were demoed at CES earlier this year.
Spider-Man jumps through your smartphone and into reality, no download required. In promotion of upcoming Sony Pictures’ Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse visitors to https://www.intothespiderverse-ar.com/ can see Spider-Man in augmented reality. The mobile web AR experience is powered by 8th Wall Web and Amazon Sumerian, was produced by Trigger, and runs on Amazon Web Services. The AR experience can be used on most smartphones simply by visiting the URL, no app required. Snap a picture of Spidey hanging out wherever you are!
Try on any nail polish imaginable with Virtual Nail Salon, a new AR app from ModiFace. The iOS app lets users try on various nail polish shades via live video of their hand using their smartphone camera. The app is a demonstration of Apple’s Core ML technology using a deep learning model to accurately track the 3D edges of fingernails. While the application is simple on the surface, the accuracy of the AR is impressive.
XR startup accelerator RLab opens its doors to applicants for Q1 2019 class. The first city-funded VR/AR center opened its doors this October at Brooklyn Navy Yard in New York City. Housed in Building 22 the VR/AR center will support startups, research, and talent development in VR and AR. With funding support from Super Ventures, RLab is home to an early-stage startup accelerator and is currently accepting applications for its Q1 2019 class. With a network of over 250,000 VR/AR professionals, anyone involved in XR technologies is encouraged to connect.
Dreamscape Immersive opening new LA location in December featuring three VR experiences. At launch, The new Westfield Century City location will feature “Alien Zoo” and two new original experiences, “Lavan’s Magic Projector: The Lost Pearl” and a co-production with WeVR studios, “TheBlu: Deep Rescue,” based on their popular PC VR experience. Dreamscape Immersive opens December 14th. Advanced reservations strongly recommended.
High Fidelity to host multiple interactive performances in VR this December. From a meet and greet with music producers Giraffage and Ryan Hemsworth, to an improv theater workshop and performance dubbed “Alive in Plasticland”. Tickets for the musician meet and greet, the improv workshop, and the improv performance can all be found on Eventbrite. The events themselves will be hosted in High Fidelity. The improv has got to be hilarious. Or not. Depending on latency. I plan to check it out. I would do more of this, but I honestly I don’t have the right avatars. I can’t keep coming as myself to every event. There are avatar shops in Second Life. When we going to get them in HF?
VR film ‘The Limit’ starring Michelle Rodriguez and Norman Reedus launches on all major VR platforms. STXsurreal, Robert Simonds’ of STX Entertainment VR studio, launched what they describe as an immersive cinematic experience, "The Limit," directed by Robert Rodriguez (Sin City). A 20-minute action movie where the viewer themselves plays a character. The trailer kicks a** but so far reviews of this $5 VR film are mixed. “It seems even top talent and an intriguing new format can’t save a B-movie script and motion sickness inducing scenes,” says Jamie Feltham in this Road to VR review.
“This Week in XR” is written and edited with Michael Eichenseer.
