It's been a sad quarter for XR hardware companies. Meta and Osterhout Design Group (ODG), which raised over 58M and 73M respectively are both on the ropes. In October Meta sent most employees home on "furlough," promising the move would be temporary as a funding event was about to occur. When the deal with a Chinese backer fell through, the furlough became a layoff. ODG, which has been silent sin e AWE in May, failed to find additional financing for its enterprise glasses, and is having an asset sale. Like a ship slipping silently under the sea, these companies died with nary a whimper. It's not all bad news for AR glasses, however, with the release of the Magic Leap Creators' (aka developer) edition and the arrival of well-funded Canadian startup North this fall. North is taking a different, more prosaic approach than Magic Leap, offering glasses with less capabilities, but more broadly appealing form factor, as they appear to be normal, fashionable eyewear.
Turn your phone into a VR camera with ViewR. The team at #include aims to open a portal between players and viewers of VR experiences through the devices we already have. Their new app ViewR turns any Android device into a position tracked wifi streaming camera. Users can peer into the virtual world of someone inside VR with their smartphone camera as if the phone itself was in the virtual world. The ViewR SDK not only allows the smartphone user to peer into VR from any angle they wish, but also send input directly to the experience itself.
Happy Giant takes a KAPi award home alongside toymaker WowWee at CES2019 for Untamed ARena. Winning the Kids at Play Interactive award for Best Mixed Reality experience, the partnership between toymaker and mixed reality studio adds a new layer of interactivity to already existing toys. Owners of WowWee’s Untamed Dinosaurs can battle and care for their Fingerlings creatures in augmented reality thanks to Happy Giant’s AR app Untamed ARena.
VRgineers announced improved XTAL VR headset with 170 degree FOV, 5K resolution, and more. The headset will work with multiple tracking solutions, has built-in LeapMotion for hand tracking, microphone with voice-recognition software, and new non-Fresnel lenses for a less distorted view. The lenses auto-adjust to the distance between users’ eyes. VRgineers are targeting the automotive industry and it’s increasing reliance on VR for design. Built for enterprise use, the new headset is set to launch at CES in January with a price tag of $5,800.
NextMind raises $4.6 million for its non-invasive brain-computer interface. NextMind’s brain sensing technology translates brain waves into digital commands. Founded by Sid Kouider, a professor of neuroscience, NextMind is intended for users to “play games and control computers, mobile devices and VR/AR headsets, in real time using just their thoughts.” Their system is aimed at the mass market as it is non-invasive and is said to work instantaneously. NextMind intends to introduce its hardware and software in 2019.
OneDome to open second installation in San Francisco on December 22. The new installation dubbed LMNL is over 10,000 square feet, takes 60+ minutes to traverse and contains 14 interactive experiences. The museum-like experience is designed to “change the way people explore museum installations by making them a part of the experience,” said Onedome Chief Marketing Officer Leila Amirsadeghi. The Grand Opening is Friday, December 21 and tickets are $33 a piece, for sale on OneDome’s website.
Capture 3D models with the iPhone X’s camera using Capture. Capture is an iOS app that uses the iPhone X’s front camera and laser scanning system to generate 3D models of real-world objects. The app uses the technology behind FaceID and is a proof-of-concept for “deploying 3D dense reconstruction and point cloud deep learning on mobile devices,” said Jeff Huber, a founder of Standard Cyborg the creators of Capture.
60 Location Based VR Attractions Vie For Attention at IAAPA
Check out Tom Emrich’s excellent AR Roundup for December 2018.
"This Week In XR" is written and edited with Michael Eichenseer.
