Next Reality News
News: Arvizio Aims for Enterprises with Collaboration Tools for HoloLens
Augmented and mixed reality developer Arvizio is working on a suite of software solutions for enterprises that will extend HoloLens capabilities as a full-fledged collaboration and conferencing tool. The company will demonstrate its Mixed Reality Studio suite to attendees at the Augmented World Expo, which begins later this month in Santa Clara, California.
News: Magic Leap Opens Up Applications for Early-Access Beta Developers
Magic Leap has always been intensely secretive about its work on its augmented reality headset, so it's interesting that they're now publicly recruiting developers to build software for the device before its launch.
News: ScopeAR's Mixed Reality Smart Instruction Development Platform Now Supports HoloLens
Today at Microsoft Build 2017 in Seattle, Washington, ScopeAR announced that their mixed reality smart instruction development platform, Worklink, will now work with the Microsoft HoloLens in addition to the mobile devices that are currently supported.
News: Back Away from the Burger! Microsoft Combats Overeating with AR Patent
Ben & Jerry's addicts rejoice: Microsoft just won a patent for AR glasses that could help to combat overeating. Physical restraint is still needed to keep me away from that ice-creamy goodness, but a little virtual voice saying 'DON'T DO IT' could definitely help when the cravings come.
News: Blippar Brings App-Free Augmented Reality to Web Display Ads
Mobile augmented reality developer Blippar has escalated the augmented reality advertising arms race, introducing a new rich media ad format that enables augmented reality experiences without a dedicated app.
News: uSens Achieves AR/VR Tracking Through Single Stereo Camera
Computer vision technology maker uSens, Inc. has unveiled uSens Fingo, a camera module that enables tracking of hand and head movements for PC-based, mobile augmented, and virtual reality platforms.
Brief Reality: Industries Take a Peek at the Future of Augmented Reality
This week's Brief Reality is led by a pair of stories with an eye to the future of the augmented reality industry, first in terms of standards for the industry, then with regards to its future applications in the automotive realm. Finally, one company looks to boost its future sales with an executive hire.
News: SwapBots Is the Type of Idea the Mixed Reality Future Needs
The hunt for the mixed reality use-case that wins over consumers' hearts and creates a critical mass is a problem every developer would love to solve. Not only would they find themselves rich and famous seemingly overnight, but they would also end up making one of the various possible hardware solutions a viable place for other developers to put their time and energy.
News: Pinterest Updates Creepy Lens Feature, Now Recognizes Even More of Your Bedroom
If you find this update from Pinterest more than a little creepy, I agree. If you don't, then keep reading about how Pinterest's updated "Lens" feature is your next must-have tool!
NR50: Next Reality's 50 People to Watch in Augmented & Mixed Reality
Throughout this NR50 series, we have talked about the incredible growth the augmented and mixed reality space has seen in the last year. More devices, software, developers, and use-cases seem to arrive daily. For this growth to have occurred, it took the work of many people, from many different backgrounds and skill sets — and Next Reality wants to recognize them for all that they have done and are doing.
News: Captain Blimey Seeks to Plunder the Pokémon GO Craze
A Seattle development team is putting the "ARRRR" in AR with the maiden voyage of Captain Blimey, an augmented reality game for iOS and Android devices that puts a pirate premise on Pokémon GO.
Market Reality: Fastdata.io, Ultrahaptics Secure Funding for Contributions to AR
This week in Market Reality, we see two companies capitalizing on technologies that contribute to augmented reality platforms. In addition, industry mainstays Vuzix and DAQRI have business news of their own to report.
News: Woah! Snapchat Wants to Map Your World with AR
Snapchat is attempting to take over the world via augmented reality technology. Well, it's more of a virtual makeover than a takeover, but still ...
News: Unity with Native Tango Support & Vuforia Integration Coming Later This Year
The keynote at this week's Vision Summit 2017, a two-day event put together by the Unity team in beautiful Hollywood, California, revealed a few new features coming to the Unity platform. They also previewed some of the beta features that are currently available for those less scared of the occasional hiccup.
NR50: The People Leading Augmented & Mixed Reality's Head-Mounted Displays
A new technological movement without the technology itself is just an idea sitting and waiting. Once the technology is present in the equation, movement forward can begin. This is how many of us see the head-mounted displays (HMDs) and smartglasses that have recently entered the augmented and mixed reality market — or are coming out in the next few months. This is a movement that will sweep over the world, changing everything in its path, and these are some of the people behind it.
News: The Government Is Coming for Your HMDs!
Beware: After a new caucus — the Congressional Caucus on Virtual, Augmented, and Mixed Reality Technologies for the 115th Congress — formed in the US House of Representatives, the government has decided to go after all mixed reality head-mounted displays. The HoloLens, Magic Leap — nothing is safe anymore.
News: Alex Kipman Just Said What All HoloLens Enthusiasts Are Thinking — 'The Phone Is Already Dead'
According to Alex Kipman, HoloLens inventor and futurist at Microsoft, the smartphone is already obsolete. In an interview with Bloomberg, Kipman boldly stated that the HoloLens will eventually replace the smartphone and drive society right into a new augmented normal.
May the Fourth Be with You: How Big of a Role Will AR Play at Star Wars Land?
Disney Parks are hard at work bringing the technology from a long time ago in a land far away to life for the opening of Star Wars Land parks in Anaheim and Orlando in 2019.
NR50: The People to Watch in Mobile Augmented Reality
While the world is only recently becoming aware of its existence, augmented reality has been around in some form or another since the '90s. In the last decade, with the advancement and miniaturization of computer technology — specifically smartphones and tablets — AR has become far more viable as a usable tool and even more so as a form of entertainment. And these are the people behind mobile AR to keep an eye on.
News: NFL Audibles to Augmented Reality for Fan Experience
Beginning in November, National Football League (NFL) fans visiting New York's Times Square can come as close as any civilian can to stepping onto a professional football field. All for less than the price of a pair of cleats.
NR50: The Developers to Watch in Augmented & Mixed Reality
In order for software developers to do their jobs as new hardware reaches the market, they will need the right tools to get their projects off the ground and into augmented and mixed reality devices. There have been completely new approaches to development when it comes to AR and MR, and these are some of the faces behind them.
News: Microsoft Wants to Make HoloLens the Future of Education
In a video released Tuesday, Microsoft arguably began to position the HoloLens and Windows Mixed Reality as the future of education. A smart tactic meant to coincide with their other education-related announcements made on the same day.
News: Drone Prix Finishes as First AR Game for DJI Drones
Augmented reality software developer Edgybees has launched Drone Prix. The new mobile app immerses DJI drones and their pilots in more than 30 augmented reality obstacle courses.
News: Sports Illustrated Brings Its Latest Issue to Life Using AR/VR
UPDATED 5/4/17: SI has stated that they won't be augmenting its Swimsuit Edition. Although, this could be a sign that the company may do so in the future. If they already have all the tech set up for the latest feature, then they are already half way ready to augment other SI editions. So get ready SI fans and download the designated Life VR app, because you are going to need it to point it at these specially marked SI pages.
Brief Reality: Industries Are Flocking to Augmented Reality
While the technology continues to mature, businesses from various industries continue to adopt augmented reality to improve the efficiency of business processes. In this edition of Brief Reality, as conference season continues, we see examples of augmented reality applied to logistics processes and marketing of industrial supplies, as well as the topic of discussion at another trade show.
NR50: The Influencers to Watch in Augmented & Mixed Reality
When building anything of a social nature, be it a local roller derby or softball team, a club dance night for chiptune, or building new technology markets, the community around those ideas are an important factor in helping these things not only come into existence but to grow into something that enlightens everyone involved. The community around an idea can actually make or break these new ventures — and this applies to augmented and mixed reality as well.
News: European Space Agency Wants to Bring Their Own HoloLens Tools to the ISS
At Next Reality, we've been following the Microsoft Hololens because of its enormous potential. Unlike virtual reality, which enshrouds the user in a complete virtual world, augmented reality melds the virtual with what's really there in front of you. And while some of us may use AR technology to stealthily surf the web during working hours, others are looking towards using AR for the betterment of society. Like putting the HoloLens in space.
NR50: Welcome to Next Reality's 50 People to Watch in Augmented & Mixed Reality
Those of us that work with or around augmented and mixed reality have seen a powerful shift in the last year as the popularity and interest have grown in the field. With Microsoft's HoloLens release, the popularity of Pokémon GO, and the constant rumor mill known as Magic Leap, the terms augmented reality and mixed reality have started to become a part of the modern vernacular more and more each passing day.
NR50: The Finance & Investment People to Watch in Augmented & Mixed Reality
The world of investment and finance can be labyrinthine in its very nature — and even more complicated in regards to augmented and mixed reality. While these new emergent technologies are teeming with explosive levels of unrealized potential, there's still a big layer of uncertainty in terms of return — but these investors aren't afraid to take the leap.
News: Netflix Sets Its Sights on the HoloLens with New Developer Job Listing
Alright, fellow HoloLens code wranglers, load up your word processor because it's time to spruce up your résumés. According to a report by Variety, Netflix is looking to hire a new Senior Software Engineer — and Windows and HoloLens were mentioned as an end point.
News: Studio 216 Constructs Architectural Visions in Mixed Reality
Architects are natural candidates to be early adopters of mixed reality. Their trade consists of not only designing buildings and spaces, but also presenting those designs to clients, who then decide that their vision is worth spending thousands (if not millions or billions) of dollars to build in reality.
Market Reality: Analysts Continue to Paint Rosy Picture for Augmented Reality Industry
While the numbers may not always seem to agree, the message remains the same: augmented reality is a growth segment. This week's edition of Market Reality starts with two new reports outlining the expected good fortunes for the industry and concludes with an example of a company capitalizing on their own growth.
News: Orboot Reboots Globe with Augmented Reality Lessons for Kids
Globes used to be standard in households, usurped in many ways by modern mobile and desktop applications. But one company believes they can upgrade the globe for the 21st century.
News: Turn Your Data into a Hologram with This HoloLens App
Theorem Solutions, a company that helps engineering and manufacturing companies reduce their costs, has taken the next step with their mixed reality technology. The company has now added their own app, called Visualization Experience, to the Windows Store for the Microsoft HoloLens
News: HoloLens Passes Protective Eyewear Tests for Use in the Workplace
Last week, Next Reality wrote about how the Microsoft HoloLens team is partnering with thyssenkrupp. Their mission? To bring mixed reality to the workplace. Now, Microsoft has just confirmed in a blog post that the HoloLens has passed the basic impact tests for protective eyewear in North America and Europe.
News: Robot Swarms Could Be Controlled by Your Smartphone, Thanks to AR
Have you ever wanted to control a swarm of robots? Well, now you can! Robotics researchers at New York University (NYU) have created an app which controls 'bots from your smartphone, using augmented reality. This AR app would certainly come in handy when you want to make a coffee from the comfort of your couch, but let's not get ahead of ourselves!
News: Apple Just Hired an AR Specialist from NASA
Apple likes to play their cards close to the vest, don't they? The iconic company doesn't usually reveal much about their projects until it's time for an official announcement. But sometimes ... They can't stop a leak of information from happening, or they just leak the news themselves like Steve Jobs used to. That brings us to today's news. It appears the tech giant has hired an augmented reality specialist from NASA to join their AR team.
Brief Reality: Healthcare Industry Prescribes Innovations Through Augmented Reality
In this Tuesday's Brief Reality report, there's a trio of stories from the healthcare world where augmented reality is helping out with surgical microscopes, asthma treatment, and other diagnostic and treatment tools. There's also something for all of you AR/VR storytellers out there.
News: Disney's AR Projection Tech Morphs Actors into On-Screen Monsters
The Disney Research Lab is using projector-based illumination to paint actors' faces during live performances. You know what that means? Disney just took Halloween to a whole new level.
News: Despite Recent Updates, Pokémon GO Is Still Vulnerable to Hackers
Despite a round of updates to Pokémon GO that patched and eliminated location spoofing, the game still has a difficult time dealing with the most hardcore cheaters. Like weeds on a grassy lawn, third-party bot makers still remain the biggest thorn in Niantic's side and continue to thrive despite the developer's best efforts to root them out. While the latest updates have blocked users from running modded versions of the game, like Pokemon GO++, that feature built-in joysticks to move your pla...