Gen 12, 2015 | News on Augmented, Mixed and Virtual Reality
Intel is joining the hordes of tech companies hopping on the augmented reality bandwagon by snapping up a 30% stake in the smart-glasses manufacturer Vuzix.
Source: www.fastcompany.com
The U.S.-based chip-builder has shelled out $24.8 million in an attempt to position itself on the cutting edge of the wearables industry.
The cash injection was announced this week at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, where Vuzix is exhibiting new products, including a pair of video glasses designed to ship with the Nvidia Shield handheld gaming device.
In addition to stock in the company, Intel’s investment allows it to appoint two added members to the company’s board of five directors. According to Vuzix, the money will allow it to "accelerate the introduction of next generation fashion-based wearable display products into the consumer market."
Intel has been interested in wearables for a while. In addition to incorporating its processors into Google Glass, and partnering with Luxottica to build high-tech glasses, this 30% stake in Vuzix gives Intel an added foothold in the nascent—but very exciting—smart-glasses industry.
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Gen 12, 2015 | News on Augmented, Mixed and Virtual Reality
French company 3D Sound Labs is showing off a new set of headphones called Neoh. They’re a personal 3D sound system capable of reproducing surround sound from any movie. But more than just a 3D virtualization of the kind we’ve seen before, the Neoh headphones create something closer to a virtual reality experience.
Source: www.gizmodo.com.au
The headphones work with software which takes the audio feed from a movie, decodes it, and then re-encodes it in a 3D sound engine. From there you’ll hear 3D sound similar to virtualized 3D sound. But what’s really remarkable about the Neoh headphones is that when you move your head around, the sound follows the movement of your head as if you were moving your head around wearing an Oculus Rift. The sound suddenly exists in 3D space.It’s supposed to be akin to the experience of moving you head around if you’re sitting in a theatre.
According to the company founders, this kind of movement is necessary to really sell the psycho acoustics of 3D sound from a set of headphones. In trying it out for a a few moments just now, it definitely works: The sound stays put spatially, even as your head moves. However, I’m not totally sure I’m sold on the psycho-acoustics. Is this really necessary? And could it potentially be just a distracting gimmick?
3D Sound Labs plans to launch crowdfunding for the Neoh headphones this month. Each set of headphones should cost under $US300. The company expects to ship product this Spring.
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Gen 12, 2015 | News on Augmented, Mixed and Virtual Reality
Augmented reality (AR) pioneer Seebright, Inc. (http://www.seebright.com) has unveiled the Seebright Wave(TM) HMD (head-mounted display) system at the Consumer Electronics Show with a unique optical design supporting a new generation of mixed media applications on iOS and Android smartphones. The Seebright Wave system will be coming to Kickstarter with its companion 9-axis, 3D visually tracked motion controller, a native navigator for consumers to explore applications, the Seebright application suite and software sharing platform. Developers will be able to create completely new visual experiences borrowing from AR and VR (virtual reality) for casual gamers and consumers.
Source: www.pressreleaserocket.net
“Our breakthrough multi-mirror optics deliver a stunning, high quality visual overlay for 3D stereoscopic smartphone driven projection,” said Dirk Kanngiesser, Seebright CEO. “With the Seebright Wave HMD system, users can see one another and the real world while experiencing a new generation of mobile AR and VR games and applications.”
Seebright is exhibiting in Eureka Park on the second level of the Sands Expo Center in booth 75480 at the 2015 Consumer Electronics Show January 6th-9th and then at the Upload World Tour Kickoff in San Francisco on January 16th. Press and business inquiries will be promptly answered at info(AT)seebright.com by email.
“We have figured out how to turn your smartphone into a true see-through augmented reality display with the widest field-of-view of any see-through display out there and we will deliver it on Kickstarter with our motion controller for less than $150,” said John Murray, Seebright Co-Founder and CTO.
“The Seebright Wave HMD system is a significant refinement of prior designs and uses a revolutionary curved multi-mirror optical design resulting in low optical distortion. It projects high resolution images from a smartphone for both high quality AR and VR experiences.”
“Seebright is introducing a unique combination of advanced optics, specialized software and open standards support that demonstrate our holistic approach to solving the technology and adoption challenges that have faced augmented reality,” said Dr. Robert A. Young, who joins the Board of Directors of Seebright having recently served as the CEO of Tessera Technologies and had previously served on the Board of Directors of ATI Technologies and SanDisk.
At CES, Seebright is showing new software experiences built using the Seebright SDK with WebGL and Unity3D to demonstrate an easy, smartphone agnostic, cross-platform development environment. To encourage diversity in initial application development, Seebright will operate a cloud portal for developers to share code, assets and applications.
The Seebright Wave HMD system is coming to Kickstarter in February 2015. With its Kickstarter campaign, Seebright will fund the production of the multi-mirror HMD and the 9-axis motion controller for developers and pioneering users.
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Gen 12, 2015 | News on Augmented, Mixed and Virtual Reality
SoftKinetic, which specializes in gesture recognition technology, has made the leap to mobile and robotics markets with its latest technology announcements. The company revealed its 3D Vision technology for augmented reality mobile platforms and robotics at the 2015 International CES, the big tech trade show in Las Vegas this week. The tech will test how useful gesture technologies will be for controlling devices in the mobile world.
Source: venturebeat.com
SoftKinetic makes hardware and software for DepthSense cameras, which can detect gestures that you make within a three-dimensional space. It has worked on the technology for years in the computer and home set-top box markets. But now it is taking the wraps off its short-range and long-range tech for mobile.
The Brussels, Belgium-based company will show its SoftKinetic’s DepthSense 3D Time of Flight (ToF) camera using the Qualcomm Vuforia mobile vision platform at CES. It will also show its DepthSense camera working with robots powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 805 processor.
“Augmented reality and robotics are such exciting arenas, with more and more technologies coming to market that support truly sophisticated capabilities for users to engage with the world around them in fun and beneficial ways,” said Michel Tombroff, CEO of SoftKinetic, in a statement.
“Qualcomm’s Vuforia is a perfect example of a platform that allows our DepthSense technology to deliver at its fullest capacity, creating the most robust mobile AR experience available to anyone, anywhere.”
SoftKinetic said it will show a dense 3D reconstruction of a room-sized environment running entirely on a Snapdragon-powered device with the aid of a depth-sensing camera. This technology allows users to perform a wide variety of natural and photorealistic AR experiences, such as placing virtual furniture into the open space of an existing room to see exactly how it would function, or customizing toys and play within an augmented environment.
“Depth sensing technology is critical for us to enable the next generation of augmented reality experiences with Vuforia,” said Jay Wright, vice president of product management for Qualcomm Vuforia, in a statement. “Once integrated in devices, SoftKinetic’s DepthSense technology will enhance Vuforia Smart Terrain™ to provide experiences with much greater immersion and increased ease of use.”
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Gen 12, 2015 | News on Augmented, Mixed and Virtual Reality
Il management del colosso asiatico detta le linee guida per il 2015 negli auguri di fine anno ai dipendenti: bisogna recuperare fatturato dopo il calo nel segmento dei telefonini intelligenti. Focus anche sulla piattaforma di servizi per gli operatori business.
Source: www.repubblica.it
La lavatrice che comunica con il frigorifero e tutto il resto della casa, e a sua volta con lo smartphone in borsetta al lavoro, per organizzare i cicli di lavaggio.
Le luci intelligenti, la medicina a distanza, i sistemi di sorveglianza. L’automobile che si accende prima ancora di scendere nel box, grazie a un’app, o la temperatura di casa che si regola dal telefonino.
Secondo Samsung, il colosso sudcoreano della tecnologia digitale, il futuro è in questo ambito, che prende il nome di Internet of Things, Internet delle cose o degli oggetti. Un mondo che sta crescendo rapidamente e prevede – per sommi capi – la connettività degli oggetti della vita quotidiana, grazie alla rete web, con la possibilità di decuplicarne le funzioni e l’efficienza. Un mondo in cui tutte le cose parlano tra loro e con l’uomo.
Samsung ha dunque deciso di accelerare su questo nuovo business crescente, che metterà la sua impronta sul 2015 insieme al settore per gli operatori business (B2B), allo sviluppo di software e alla piattaforma di servizi.
Lo ha sottolineato Kwon Oh-hyun, amministratore del gruppo asiatico, nella lettera di auguri natalizi ai dipendenti. Per assicurare un futuro competitivo al gruppo, Kwon ha indicato come ambiti di sviluppo la sanità (‘smart health’) e la domotica (‘smart home’).
Dietro alla visione del futuro tecnologico, c’è una scelta economica precisa.
Samsung, che copre tutta la filiera dell’elettronica dalle lavastoviglie agli schermi piatti, è famosa nel mondo per essere il numero uno degli smartphone. Ma il settore ha mostrato negli ultimi tempi pericolosi scricchiolii. Nell’ultimo esercizio, infatti, i ricavi sono pesantemente crollati proprio a causa dei telefonini intelligenti, che si sono trovati la rinnovata concorrenza di Apple nel segmento più alto del mercato e sopratutto quella agguerrita dei produttori cinesi a basso costo nel segmento più economico.
Nel terzo trimestre del 2014, Samsung ha visto cadere la sua quota del mondo degli smartphone del 7,7% a quota 24,4 punti percentuali, secondo i dati del consulente Gartner. Di contro, i primi quattro marchi cinesi (Huawei, Xiaomi e Lenovo) sono cresciuti di oltre quattro punti – considerati tutti insieme – e pesano per oltre il 15% del totale.
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