This week’s round up seems to be focused on 3D mapping and photogrammetry as Unity Technologies acquired Finger Food Advanced Technology Group. Finger Food builds tailored solutions for companies such as Lowes, for whom they built a VR experience teaching shoppers how to tile a bathroom, or MEC where they 3D scanned a line of camping tents and created an AR visualization tool for customers to view the tents. Read more on Unity’s blog.
REscan emerges from 4 years of stealth to reveal its 3D mapping tech. Using head mounted cameras and lasers, REscan’s software builds accurate 3D scans of indoor and outdoor spaces from a human perspective. The scans are particularly useful for real estate. The company likens their tech to what Google Maps has done for roads. They intend to do the same for buildings.
Matterport’s new iPhone app allows capture, annotation, and sharing of 3D spaces using just a smartphone.
Oculus is developing better, lighter, faster Oculus Quest. According to Bloomberg Oculus is currently working on a few new versions of the Oculus Quest that have some notable upgrades. Upgrades such as 10-15% smaller form factors, lighter overall weights, and faster refresh rates. The current Oculus Quest weighs 1.25 pounds and has a 72Hz refresh rate, which is lower than the 90Hz standard for most PCVR headsets. The new Quest could also be delayed due to the covid crisis.
World War I immersive experience War Remains available soon at home. The ‘immersive memory’ debuted last year at the Tribeca Film Festival as an installation and was later in Austin, Texas for a limited time. War Remains places the viewer in the midst of the Western Front of the First World War. Starting May 21 War Remains will be available on all major VR headsets via Steam, Oculus Store, and VIVEPORT for $4.99.
Taqtile announced 2.0 version of its flagship product, Manifest, an augmented reality knowledge capture solution. Manifest 2.0 offers two new features: Expert Connect and Working Together. Expert Connect enables a front-line worker to conference-in an expert to answer questions about a process in real-time. Working Together is a project management tool to enhance visibility of what step a project and is on and what’s next.
Taqtile Manifest enables a front-line worker to conference-in an expert to answer questions about a ... [+]
Museum of Other Realities hosting Friday night ‘cocktail parties’ throughout the month of May. The Museum of Other Realities is a multi-user VR experience filled with interactive artworks created by multiple artists, with more being added over time. The social VR experience is available on all major VR headsets and can be purchased for $19.99. The get togethers will occur from 5:00 - 6:30 pm PST on Fridays now through 5/29.
Haptics gloves maker ContactCI receives Epic Mega Grant. The grant awarded to the ContactCI team is $90,000 and includes support from Epic as well as a supply of Magic Leap hand tracking hardware.
Contact scores a coveted Epic Metagrant.
Lenovo to have native hand tracking for the ThinkReality A6 AR headset using ClayAIR. ClayAIR’s hand tracking technology will allow users to navigate the ThinkReality A6’s operating system without needing a physical controller.
Lenovo Solo 1 AR head mounted dispaly.
VR rhythm game Audio Trip launches on Oculus Quest. Along with the launch, Audio Trip developer Kinemotik Studios announced a choreography contest as well as an update to the PCVR version of the game which includes global leaderboards. Audio Trip is available on Steam, Oculus Store, and VIVEPORT for $19.99.
Microdrones as a service.
Microdrones announces “Micro-drones as a service” for its survey equipment to do industrial scale photogrammetry.. The ‘mdaas’ allows professionals to rent both the hardware and software from Microdones over the course of a project instead of purchasing all the equipment in one go. The offerings of drones, LiDAR scanning, and related software is aimed at surveying and geomatics professionals.
The Digital Hollywood "Virtual Webinar/Webcast Strategy" goes live on May 12 through May 21. Join for free to attend multiple hour long sessions hosted by Hollywood professionals. The audience can participate in each session and ask questions via the live chat. See the website for a list of speakers and more information.
Jeff Powers leaves Occipital and starts Arcturus Industries.
“This Week in XR” is written and edited with Michael Eichenseer.
