Tech Trends VR
FEBRUARY 14, 2019
A Viennese start-up is the first company from Austria to be accepted to Berkeley SkyDeck accelerator. Artivive recently beat over 600 competing entries to become the first Austrian start-up to join the Berkeley SkyDeck program (considered one of the top ten accelerator programs in the world). The latest six-month cycle begins in January and also includes a six-digit investment amount.
Road to VR
FEBRUARY 11, 2019
The first chunk of February came with good news for those with Windows VR headsets. On February 1st, Microsoft released a preview version of Windows which comes with a slew of new features including the ability to run regular desktop apps in VR; it’s been possible to run apps from the Windows Store with Windows VR headsets but, until now, apps from outside the store—like Photoshop, Spotify, Chrome, and others—were excluded.
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VRScout
FEBRUARY 10, 2019
New research shows how immersive technology can help patients treat recurring nightmare syndrome. In the US, between 1/2 and 2/3 of children and up to 15% of adults have frequent nightmares. This has serious clinical effects for sufferers, including not only distress, but chronic loss of sleep and generalized anxiety. And yet, access to effective treatment for the condition is still a problem.
Next Reality AR
FEBRUARY 14, 2019
The HoloLens has made enough of an impact on the healthcare industry for Microsoft technology partner Medivis to convince investors to pledge $2.3 million in funding for its surgical platform. On Tuesday, along with closing its seed funding round, the company unveiled its SurgicalAR software for HoloLens at the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) conference in Orlando, Florida.
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.
Tech Trends VR
FEBRUARY 13, 2019
Lush’s new concept shops are leveraging innovative technology to create a package-free customer experience. With awareness of plastic pollution at an all-time high, Lush’s newest Naked shops offer literally hundreds of innovative and plastic packaging-free alternatives to your favourite cosmetics, and technology plays a key role in making that work.
Virtual Reality Pulse brings together the best content for VR professionals from the widest variety of industry thought leaders.
VRScout
FEBRUARY 11, 2019
The future of fitness could be virtual thanks to companies such as YUR. YUR, short for “why you are,” wants to make fitness more entertaining and accessible, starting with their first product — the YURfit Plug-in, which will track the calories you burn while playing in VR. The product uses tracking data to monitor the movement of the motion controllers and headset to understand roughly how many calories players burn while playing VR games, similar to how FitBit devices track your steps and
Road to VR
FEBRUARY 10, 2019
In an interesting case of software pushing the limits of hardware, Valve recently updated SteamVR Tracking code to account for the speed of high-level Beat Saber players. At first glance it might not be apparent, but Beat Saber is an excellent challenge for a VR controller tracking system. You might think that a fast-paced VR shooter or sword fighting game would be the game that would be pushing SteamVR Tracking to its limits, but Beat Saber is actually far more demanding.
Tech Trends VR
FEBRUARY 11, 2019
How can we use technology to tell compelling and worthwhile stories, engage audiences, and make a living in the bargain? Those were some of the questions I got to explore during a recent visit to the University of Oregon. Fellow Brit Damian Radcliffe, who is the Carolyn S. Chambers Professor in Journalism at UO, invited me when he heard that I was over in this part of the world, and so I found myself as a guest in the Demystifying Media series, which aims to give students a real taste of what wo
Next Reality AR
FEBRUARY 15, 2019
Snapchat made augmented reality selfie effects famous, with Facebook copying the feature across its mobile apps. Of course, others have followed, but their face tracking apps often pale in comparison to the original. Now, Google is giving Android developers the keys to adding face filters to their apps as well. On Friday, Google detailed the AR features coming to Android via ARCore 1.7.
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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.
VRScout
FEBRUARY 12, 2019
Disney Animations first attempt at virtual storytelling is unlike anything you’ve seen before. When Disney revealed their plans to develop an animated short story designed specifically for virtual reality, no one knew what to expect. On one hand you have VR, a growing medium that has still yet to find its place in the world of filmmaking; and on the other you have Walt Disney Animation Studios, one of the most celebrated animation studios in the industry thanks to an endless string of hits, incl
Road to VR
FEBRUARY 15, 2019
The BBC today announced that Doctor Who is getting a VR interactive experience, slated to release on VR headsets sometime this year. Dubbed Doctor Who: The Runaway , fans will get a chance to step into the TARDIS and join the Thirteenth Doctor (played by Jodie Whittaker) in virtual reality. According to a press release , the experience is said to last 12 minutes, and will be available on “selected VR headsets in the coming months.” Just which headsets the experience will launch on
The Ghost Howls
FEBRUARY 15, 2019
For sure most of you know Riftcat VRidge. It is a popular solution that lets you use your mobile or standalone VR headset as a tethered headset connected to your PC , so that you can use it to play games on Steam. Well, with version 2.3, it has added some amazing new features and I want you to discover them with me. What is VRidge? In case you don’t know what VRidge is and you are too lazy to read my first article about it , I will explain it briefly to you here.
Next Reality AR
FEBRUARY 15, 2019
Nike and Snapchat, having already reigned triumphant with its viral augmented reality ad featuring Lebron James, are teaming up with another basketball legend at NBA All-Star Weekend This year's site for the league's annual star-studded event, which takes place on Saturday and Sunday, is Charlotte, North Carolina, the current home of Charlotte Hornets owner and perhaps the greatest basketball player of all time, Michael Jordan.
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.
VRScout
FEBRUARY 13, 2019
Learn the art of mixing beats in the worlds first ever live DJ class in VR. Imagine someone came up to you and asked you to jump on the 1’s and 2’s and lay down a fat beat. Would you know exactly what that means? People familiar with a mixer and CDJ may be able to the challenge, but the average person? Not so much. Tribe XR’s DJ School is the first VR experience designed to teach you everything from beat-matching, phasing, and EQ’ing, to effects, transitions, and the differences between Ramp, Mo
Road to VR
FEBRUARY 11, 2019
Oculus Quest may not have a specific release date yet, although now that both the headset and its Touch controllers have undergone FCC testing, there’s little left standing in the way of the headset’s launch this Spring. Oculus revealed Quest in September , announcing that the high-end standalone headset would launch in Spring 2019 priced at $400.
Cats and VR
FEBRUARY 13, 2019
“Audica started as a passion project for a small team of developers within Harmonix. We chose to launch Audica into Early Access because we believe we have a compelling core game that we can develop into the next must-play rhythm game with your help. One of the benefits of a small team is that we’re nimble and can quickly act on community feedback, making Audica an ideal fit for Early Access.
Next Reality AR
FEBRUARY 12, 2019
Mobile augmented reality company Snapchat now has a special option for romantic message exchanging this Valentine's Day, a day which, incidentally, happens to be the first one in 116 years where Sweethearts, the original heart-shaped candy, will be unavailable for purchase. The virtual consolation prize from Snap comes in the form of an interactive AR Lens on the Snap Camera, the newish desktop app that brings Snapchat's AR Lenses to webcams on PCs and Macs.
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.
VRScout
FEBRUARY 11, 2019
Red, Chuck, Bomb, and the Blues face-off against their piggy nemeses in VR for the first-time. So many green pigs, so little time… Rovio and Resolution Games’ fully immersive version of their popular Angry Birds franchise is now available on the HTC VIVE and Oculus Rift. Players have access to over 50 levels of exploding birds spanning across exotic beaches, steep cliffs, snowy slopes, and a party city as Rovio Entertainment attempts to bring their massively-successful formula to the vir
Road to VR
FEBRUARY 12, 2019
Dark Slope, a Toronto-based VR/AR developer, today announced the studio has secured $1.5 million in seed funding, which will support the launch of its first location-based VR game Scarygirl Mission Maybee. Based on Nathan Jurevicius’ graphic novel Scarygirl (2009) and the various console & PC games that followed, Scarygirl Mission Maybee is a first-person action game that tasks players with saving the world from Dr.
Cats and VR
FEBRUARY 12, 2019
Dark Slope , a Toronto-based virtual and augmented reality (VR and AR) developer, is creating free-roam multi-user experiences for the rapidly expanding location-based entertainment (LBE) market and for enterprise customers. The one-year old company is announcing it has closed a seed funding round raising more than $1.5 million, and the launch of its first product, the LBE title Scarygirl Mission Maybee.
Next Reality AR
FEBRUARY 11, 2019
Mobile app publishers are using augmented reality to solve everyday measurement problems from measuring the length or height of items to previewing furniture in the home. Now, it looks like checking luggage dimensions for carry-on eligibility is another volumetric problem increasingly being solved by augmented reality, as UK airline easyJet has added just such a feature to its iOS app.
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?
VRScout
FEBRUARY 9, 2019
Snapchat ‘s latest AR lens is an instant viral hit with over 2 million views in two days. With accomplishments including several Olympic gold medals , multiple NBA MVP awards, a handful of NBA Finals MVP awards, and many appearances in NBA All-Star Games, LeBron James is often considered the greatest basketball player in the world. He’s also a philanthropist , and was listed by Time Magazine as one of the 100 most influential people in the world.
Road to VR
FEBRUARY 13, 2019
Harmonix, the studio behind many rhythm game hits like Guitar Hero (2005) and Rock Band (2007) , today announced what they’re calling a “VR rhythm shooter” that looks—to be frank—pretty freaking awesome. I guess there’s just something about combining body movements with music that is naturally appealing ( who would have guessed?
Forrester VR
FEBRUARY 12, 2019
Back in August of last year, I asked for good examples of augmented reality (AR), virtual reality, and mixed reality (MR), all together known as extended reality. Unsurprisingly, I saw plenty of examples of the type my original post complained about: visually stunning but almost entirely useless for anything other than showing off. Then there […].
Next Reality AR
FEBRUARY 11, 2019
If there was a version of the Doomsday Clock for counting down the release of Microsoft's HoloLens 2, then the caretakers of that imaginary clock would move the minute hand to "one minute to midnight." On Monday, Alex Kipman, Microsoft's technical fellow in charge of the HoloLens (and NR30 member), published a teaser video for the company's media event at Mobile World Congress Barcelona on Feb. 24.
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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