The Ghost Howls

MARCH 3, 2023

Yesterday, a report by Alex Heath on The Verge reported that Quest has sold around 20M units. Since this is well beyond the 10M threshold we were all waiting for, does this mean that VR is getting mainstream? Well, things are not that straightforward in my opinion… The magic 10M threshold Speaking at Oculus Connect 5, Mark Zuckerberg expressed this opinion of his about the path to make VR mainstream (thanks Road To VR for writing this down): The big question is what is it gonna take for it

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AR Insider

MARCH 1, 2023

AI, AR, and VR are separately developing and finding applicability across various aspects of life and work. But they're also converging in several ways. How can they unlock and advance business goals? Guest author Sergey Vart breaks it down. This post appeared first on AR Insider.

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VRScout

MARCH 19, 2023

This nifty add-on gives motorcyclists eyes on the back of their heads. It’s no secret that riding a motorcycle can be a dangerous activity. Motorcyclists are 28x more likely to die in a crash (per vehicle mile traveled) when compared to those traveling in conventional passenger vehicles, according to data gathered by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration ( NHTSA ).

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ARPost

MARCH 7, 2023

The third Annual Polys WebXR Awards took place this weekend. The show was bigger than ever thanks to the first-ever in-person awards and a special event saying farewell to AltspaceVR. However, despite some new categories, the overall category list was shorter this year as a number of previous awards were combined. A Very Special Polys The Polys launched during the height of the pandemic.

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Speaker: Chris Paxton McMillin, President of D3 Training Solutions

To avoid awkward and sometimes disastrous learning content, instructional designers must use authentic translation in the right context to get optimal results. For example, even a simple phrase like “got milk” translates to “are you lactating” in Mexico. Can you imagine what a straight translation might do to your course? With over 317 million people in the US and over 6.7 billion potential customers in the world, personalizing training seems logical.

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Road to VR

MARCH 30, 2023

Ming-Chi Kuo, a respected supply chain analyst, reports that Apple is tamping down enthusiasm for its upcoming mixed reality headset, which was rumored to see its big announcement at Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) in June. In a tweet , Kuo reports Apple is delaying release of its MR headset due to decreased optimism in recreating the “iPhone moment” the company was hoping to achieve with the device.

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The Ghost Howls

MARCH 23, 2023

Today is the day that I publish a post that (because of my work) I’ve postponed for too much time: my hands-on with Vitruvian VR, one of the funniest VR machines I’ve tried in the last months. Vitruvian VR Me, happily trying Vitruvian VR at AWE Europe in Lisbon Vitruvian VR is an Italian startup whose mission is to build a machine that can make the user move in the air, as if he is flying, while immersed in virtual reality.

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ARVR

MARCH 16, 2023

MUSE Museum AR Experience on a mobile application Finding the best platform for your WebAR project Introduction I have been building Augmented reality apps since 2006, and I have worked with various systems: PC, Mobile, Adobe Flash FlarToolkit, Depth sensors, RGB Sensors, Magicleap, Microsoft Hololens, Google Tango andARCore, and Apple AR Kit. But I have skipped the hype around WebAR in the past few years.

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VRScout

MARCH 31, 2023

One of VR’s most popular social platforms is about to get a whole lot busier. VRChat for Android and iOS mobile devices is currently in development, according to an official developer update shared earlier this week. The company states that the mobile version of the platform is already being tested by select team members. In fact, it’s possible you may have interacted with a phone user already without even realizing it.

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ARPost

MARCH 31, 2023

So, in the past few weeks we have seen big tech, including Meta and Microsoft, announce massive layoffs , mostly to their XR division and at the same time, pivoting towards artificial intelligence and generative content. Despite the news, this year’s DEAL expo was as busy as ever. Teeming with an array of VR devices, games, contraptions, and a myriad of other VR-related gizmos that filled the halls, it, quite frankly, surpassed expectations.

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With a rapidly changing economy, Avangrid Renewables looked to virtual reality to develop a standardized form of immersive training in order to onboard and upskill technicians faster than ever before.

Virtual Reality

Road to VR

MARCH 29, 2023

It’s exceedingly rare to see a VR software startup transition to making hardware, let alone decent hardware. But that’s exactly what Bigscreen—creators of the long-running social VR theater app of the same name—has done with its upcoming Beyond headset. Bigscreen has clearly targeted PC VR enthusiasts who are willing to pay for the best hardware they can get their hands on.

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XR Today - Virtual Reality

MARCH 31, 2023

Not so long ago, Virtual Reality (VR) was considered by many to be a futuristic concept. While various examples of this technology have been introduced to the landscape over the years, it’s only recently that experts have begun creating viable solutions ready for mass adoption. Today, companies from almost every industry are discovering the benefits of bringing immersive technologies into their operations.

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The Ghost Howls

MARCH 8, 2023

Tomorrow I’m taking a plane for an international flight… again. But before telling you more about this, let me wish a great “International Women’s Day” to all the wonderful women of our ecosystem! And also to all the women that are close to us men in XR and that support us every day :)… and that are close to us even if we always talk about technology and we like to wear luminous shoeboxes on our faces.

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ARVR

MARCH 16, 2023

As we roll into 2023, it’s time for our annual ritual of synthesizing the lessons from the past twelve months and formulating the outlook for the next twelve. 2022 was an incremental year for AR & VR, which both continue to gradually push forward in gaining mainstream traction. Highlights include mobile AR engagement & monetization, continued R&D in AR glasses, and the gradual march of VR.

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Speaker: Nik Gowing, Brenda Laurel, Sheridan Tatsuno, Archie Kasnet, and Bruce Armstrong Taylor

With 191 country signatories to the Paris Climate Agreement now hard at work in the race to zero carbon by 2050, much of the heavy lifting in ecosystem sustainability falls on the shoulders of the world's densely populated urban centers. This conversation considers how today's AI-enabled simulation media, such as AR/VR, can be effectively applied to accelerate learning, understanding, training, and solutions-modeling to sustainability planning and design.

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VRScout

MARCH 21, 2023

A Pico Neo 3 Pro standalone headset is included with each purchase. Omni One is a consumer-ready omnidirectional treadmill that allows you to walk, run, jump, and crouch in VR. According to Austin-based company Virtuix Inc., the futuristic-looking device can be set up easily in multiple locations throughout your home and folded up for convenient storage, promising more immersive VR experiences without sacrificing space.

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ARPost

MARCH 9, 2023

Virtual reality company Flipside XR has launched a new app designed for creators called Flipside Studio. Launched on March 2 with support from Meta, the VR app enables users to build animated content in real time, using advanced virtual production tools. Finished projects can be uploaded and shared on YouTube, TikTok, Twitch, and other social media platforms.

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Road to VR

MARCH 20, 2023

HTC today announced a new Vive Tracker accessory which is the first in the industry to use inside-out tracking, meaning it doesn’t require any external beacons. The device can be attached to props to bring them into VR or to the user’s body for enhanced body tracking. HTC’s existing Vive Trackers are a popular accessory for anyone interested in VR full-body tracking, but they use SteamVR Tracking technology which requires external beacons for use.

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XR Today - Virtual Reality

MARCH 15, 2023

As a concept, virtual reality has been around for much longer than most people realise. Way back in the 60s, gaming experts were already experimenting with immersive experiences. However, technology has only begun to really mature as a mainstream solution in recent years. Ever since the pandemic accelerated digital transformation, interest in virtual, augmented, and mixed-reality experiences have been growing.

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Speaker: Richard Goring, Director at BrightCarbon

Remote meetings are here to stay - and many are BORING. If you are trying to engage your learners (or any audience), compelling content is critical. But trying to create stimulating content with the same tools you’ve always had is hard, right? Thankfully, wrong! Terrific tools in PowerPoint along with visual assets help you create the kind of dynamic content you need to capture your remote audience’s attention, with functions that allow for interactive sequences and navigation.

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The Ghost Howls

MARCH 17, 2023

South by SouthWest (SXSW) is coming to an end, but for me, it is already over. I’m currently at the Schipol airport in Amsterdam, waiting for the connecting flight that will take me back to Italy. And since I’ve some hours to spend, I thought it could have been nice to tell you some thoughts I had about my experience at SXSW this year. This has been my second year at SXSW: 2022 was the first time I have attended SXSW.

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ARVR

MARCH 16, 2023

Ai continues to replace the metaverse as the tech buzzword du jour. This is mostly focused on generative AI such as DALL-E 2, and conversational AI such as Chat GPT. Both are blowing everyone’s minds with their ability to generate meaningful content from text prompts. Speaking of text prompts, some have even called this the death of the Google-dominant era of search.

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VRScout

MARCH 13, 2023

The developer also announced that it has partnered with Meow Wolf on a mind-bending new course. Mighty Coconut’s popular mini golf metaverse, Walkabout Mini Golf , is coming to smartphones in the form of an augmented reality (AR) mobile game. The independent entertainment studio revealed the news earlier this week alongside a number of other exciting announcements.

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ARPost

MARCH 27, 2023

In January, NVIDIA announced new products and innovations at CES 2023. At this year’s NVIDIA GTC , “the developer conference for the era of AI and the metaverse,” NVIDIA announced the latest release of CloudXR. Businesses can definitely look forward to boosting their AR and VR capabilities with the new NVIDIA CloudXR developments, enhanced to bring more flexibility and scalability for XR deployments.

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Speaker: Treion Muller, Chief Strategy Officer at ELB Learning

Since when has learning and development (L&D) become such a negative experience with its intended learners? Could it be because learners have been conditioned by very poor learning experiences over the past two decades, combined with the kinks of technological innovation? Or is it because learning has typically been designed as a one-size-fits-all solution, despite the fact that humans are not clones?

Technology

Road to VR

MARCH 21, 2023

Polyarc, the studio behind the Moss franchise, announced a new competitive multiplayer VR game currently in development. Polyarc isn’t saying much beyond that—we still don’t even know it’s name—however a look at the game’s concept art shows a definite influence from Moss ‘ style and characters, including the Reader and a number of plucky mice heroes.

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XR Today - Virtual Reality

MARCH 27, 2023

Demand for virtual reality is expanding at an incredible rate. Users are discovering that virtual reality isn’t just a powerful tool for entertainment. It can also be an effective way to boost productivity during collaborative sessions, enhance the quality of training courses, and increase creativity. Of course, leveraging the power of virtual reality starts with choosing the right headset capable of transporting each user into a new digital landscape.

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The Ghost Howls

MARCH 20, 2023

I’m back in Italy! My time at SXSW has been great, but now it’s time to be back to the usual routine. I still feel a lot tired because of the jet lag and the little sleep I had in Austin, but this is pretty normal, and in one week or such this feeling should go away. And I’m sure that the support from all of you will make me feel better even sooner Top news of the week (Image by Meta) Meta to lay off people and focus more on AI It’s been a tough week for Meta.

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Hypergrid Business

MARCH 17, 2023

The size of OpenSim virtual land just got bigger this month by an additional 996 standard-size regions even as the number of active users dropped by 991, mostly likely due to normal seasonal variations. OpenSim also added close to 3,000 new registered users this month, reversing the hefty loss of 8,000 registered users recorded last month due to AviTron no longer publishing its statistics.

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Speaker: Micah Eppler, Account Executive for Rehearsal of eLearning Brothers

Did you know that companies such as Paychex, 3M, and Honeywell are getting better results by incorporating video-based practice and coaching within their L&D strategy? From sales pitches to soft skills, learners are becoming top performers by applying and validating knowledge transfer using the unique benefits of video. Whether used as a stand-alone application or integrated with a learning platform, video-based practice and coaching platforms give learners the ultimate opportunity to repeatedly

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