How can we increase AR awareness & adoption and what does the future look like?
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Immersive technologies such as Augmented reality (AR) Virtual Reality (VR) and Mixed Reality (MR) which collectively come under the umbrella of – keep up with me here – Extended Reality (XR) are being used by an increasing number of companies to build consumer engagement and enhance the customer experience.

For those few who have crossed the threshold and are creating working AR projects to drive business engagement, questions still remain about overall adoption, increasing awareness and measuring ROI
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As with any novel, yet undoubtedly powerful technology, businesses are scrambling to maximize its revenue-creating potential, incentivized by the prospect of developing the much-vaunted ‘killer app’. Accordingly, many benefits of AR as a means to increase consumer engagement have become apparent in recent years; consumer marketing can be drastically enhanced, being rendered immersive, exciting and personalized, while the ability to monitor engagement data in real-time offers the possibility of refining the customer journey to increase enjoyment of an experience and maximize customer engagement with the brand.

As with any novel, yet undoubtedly powerful technology, businesses are scrambling to maximize the revenue-creating potential of XR
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Despite initial success, for those few who have crossed the threshold and are creating working AR projects to drive business engagement, questions still remain about overall adoption, increasing awareness and measuring ROI in a challenging environment where online offline commerce channels are blending into one another and customers are increasingly demanding omnichannel experiences.

VR Intelligence are hosting a live webinar, ‘AR for Consumer Engagement & Retail – From Fun Feature to Daily Essential’ on August 14
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To explore this and more, VR Intelligence are hosting a live webinar, ‘AR for Consumer Engagement & Retail – From Fun Feature to Daily Essential’, taking place Wednesday, August 14, 9:00am PT/12:00pm ET/5:00pm BST. We will be joined by Michael Haddad (Augmented Beauty US Director, L’Oréal), Jasper Krog (Senior Global Digital Innovation Manager, NIVEA), Max Andaker (Digital Innovation Manager, Nestlé Silicon Valley Innovation Outpost), Cathy Hackl (Enterprise Director, Magic Leap) and Terry Schussler, Director, Immersive Technology, Deutsche Telekom).

Register for this webinar to explore the following:

• A glance at the current state of phone-based AR content and implications for industry growth
• Why is retail a leading segment? What opportunities and challenges still exist for retailers?
• Where are consumers using AR now, and how will they look to use it going forward? What impact will 5G have?
• How are both phone-based and wearable device OEMs looking to capitalize? What tech improvements are needed for improved UX?
• How can we increase AR awareness & adoption and what does the future look like?

Those who cannot join live will be sent the recordings once the webinar has run.

This webinar is being run in association with VR Intelligence’s upcoming VRX Conference & Expo, taking place December 12-13, 2019, at the Hyatt Regency San Francisco Airport Hotel. Expecting more than 600 senior attendees from across gaming, entertainment, healthcare, retail, automotive industries and more, VRX is the world’s premier B2B immersive tech event for those wishing to use XR to boost ROI, propel their business forward and engage consumers through immersive, innovative experiences.

Tech Trends is an official media partner of VRX 2019

Tech Trends offers a broad range of Digital Consultancy services to guide companies, individuals and brands in effectively leveraging existing and emerging technologies in their business strategy.

Alice Bonasio is a VR and Digital Transformation Consultant and Tech Trends’ Editor in Chief. She also regularly writes for Fast Company, Ars Technica, Quartz, Wired and others. Connect with her on LinkedIn and follow @alicebonasio on Twitter.

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Augmented Reality can be serious, useful, and educational. But that doesn’t mean it can’t be a lot of FUN!

Augmented Reality Cards & VR Headset

It’s a good job I am a great big man-child as some of the most exciting advances in commercially available VR & AR are coming to market cunningly disguised as books and toys! So today I’m gleefully rummaging in the Tech Trends AR Toy Box for some STEM-based educational stuff as well something much more terrifying… The Educational option comes from ReTrak who are offering three Utopia 360° 4D+ Augmented and Virtual Reality kits for kids of 5+, The Space, Dinosaur and Animal Zoo 4D+ Bundles are literally amazing and I was blown away by the quality of the AR implementation and the educational content.

Now that was pretty enthusiastic,  so let’s look a bit more closely at what impressed me so much. Each bundle includes a VR headset for your mobile phone, a set of AR cards, which activate the experiences. However the magic and, I imagine, the real work is in the Android and iOS apps you download to bring the science to life.

Bundles includes a VR headset for your mobile phone and AR cards to activate the experience
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You are probably familiar with image-activated AR by now, where you open the app on your phone or tablet, point the camera at the image and the augmented elements pop up, overlaid onto the real-world image you can see on your screen. This is the technique used by ReTrak, but it is better implemented than any such tech I have tried previously and the interactivity and content is nothing short of excellent.

The app interface offers several ways to interact with the AR. With the dinosaur, for example, you can make him roar, wave his head around, or walk forward. You can also read pop up fun facts on the creatures and even remove their flesh (not in a gruesome way, we’ll come to that later in our next product) and watch their animated skeleton prance around. You can also look at two dinosaurs side-by-side if you place the cards next to each other.

The app interface offers several ways to interact with the AR
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The coolest function by far, however, is “drive mode,” where you can make your dinosaur walk, swim or fly around the room using a handy little virtual joystick. This lets you point the camera away from the card and really enjoy the environment with your pet AR dinosaur. It is this mode that really makes the most of the screen capture function as you can take in-app photos of the creature standing on your friends lap of perched on their head, and share them on social media.

You can make your dinosaur roar, wave its head or walk around
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It’s all pure childish fun, and there is even a “flip 90 degrees” option so you can make the dinosaur climb the walls! Oh and of course, there is a swap camera mode so you can take a selfie with the monster. The VR headset offers a lot more equally detailed and info-packed content, but expands the AR/VR world to immerse you in a Jurassic environment, or deep space.

You can capture in-app images of your AR friends and share them on social media
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I was a dino nut as a child and these 4D+ Augmented & Virtual Reality Bundles combine the card collecting madness that every child (at least every man-child) goes through with the latest AR tech and solid educational content, so what’s wrong with them? The price? No, at around $30 (or £40 in the UK) the bundles are a real bargain, you just need to make sure your phone or tablet is a 2016/17 model and powerful enough to handle the AR & VR content.

• Animal Zoo (multilingual): Learn the alphabet, animal names, sounds and spelling. Features an interaction mode, allowing you to match food cards with the animals to feed them. 5+
• Space Exploration: Explore planets, space objects and historic missions. Includes a virtual 360° tour of the International Space Station, solar system and the ability to drive rovers with on-screen controls. 7+
• Dinosaur Experience: Bring the extinct dinosaurs back to life while learning about the origins and size of each creature, seeing their skeletons and using the drive-mode to navigate. Includes a virtual 360° tour of prehistoric times. 7+

The 4D+ bundles are already in Barnes and Noble and are launching in Brookstone, Staples and Walmart soon. They are also available on www.utopia360vr.com.

ALIEN: AUGMENTED REALITY SURVIVAL MANUAL

This Alien book was a genuine geeky treat
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Next in my AR Toy Box is an excellent interactive book from Carlton Publishing featuring my favourite film of all time, Alien. Boy this is a treat for a geek like me, an Alien: Augmented Reality Survival Manual. The book was produced in partnership with 20th Century Fox and is full of detailed content on the marines, the tech and the universe of the films, with lots of high quality images and production artwork, But the AR is the USP here, and it doesn’t disappoint.

A book like no other. An experience you’ll never forget. The Alien movie franchise has been shocking audiences for more than 35 years, and the series is set to continue into the future, which is where this book comes from. 
This special interactive edition has been beamed back to us from the future reality witnessed in the movies. Alien: Augmented Reality Survival Manual was written for new recruits of the U.S. Colonial Marines to impart knowledge of identification and combat of Xenomorphs.

There are seven interactive AR experiences, Egg Hatching, Drop-ship Simulator, Face Hugger Autopsy, Chestburster Sim, Alien Queen Encounter, Weapons Training and Xenomorph Tracking. I was also pleased to find that throughout the book are scattered AR-activated film clips. This worked very well, but it would have been nice to fill the screen with the clip then exit out of the player and back into the AR interface, but that really is nit-picking.

I was blown away by the quality of the AR implementation and the educational content
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Now I have done a lot of AR demos, and can confidently say that these are some of the best out there. You get a real mix of experiences, the Chestburster alone is worth the money, social sharing gold, producing a saveable selfie-style video of you, just as the evil worm bursts out of your chest and slithers away. Excellent! The egg hatching is a predictable but fun shocker while the face hugger autopsy features an awesome finger-controlled laser scalpel dissection, and yes I was so involved I forgot why cutting up an Alien is a bad idea… The drop ship is also great and what freak wouldn’t enjoy trying out all the weapons? The Alien Queen and the Xenomorph are fantastically detailed, glistening with slimy menace.

The face hugger autopsy features an awesome finger-controlled laser scalpel dissection
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There are lots of little nice touches throughout the book such as the “Secondary Objective” of each AR experience being ‘Survival’ (Ha Ha). Many franchise books feel rather forced, but bearing in mind the ambition behind this book, browsing through and trying out the AR features feels fresh and genuinely entertaining. If this is the future of books then I can’t wait to see what’s next

Protecting yourself and mankind against this significant and ever-growing threat is the goal. 
Study a Xenomorph autopsy, witness an Alien egg hatch in real-time, and see the deadly attacks of a face-hugger first-hand. For new recruits, you will also get to see what the life of a USCM pilot is like, and witness ‘on the scene’ footage of the marines in action, in the form of movie excerpts. 
Whether it’s the first day of your USCM training, or you’re a hardened marine veteran, Alien: Augmented Reality Survival Manual is vital to shore up your knowledge of the Xenomorph threat, and ensure your prolonged survival as you travel the stars to protect the United Americas Colonies and interests.

 

The book packs in a lot of detail for fans of the franchise and author Owen Williams, a veteran film journalist and Alien fan, makes sure the tone and feel fits the brand. Retailing for a very reasonable £25 here in the UK this book is a statement of intent from Carlton that publishing needs to evolve and embrace technology. Development on a publication and paired app project like this might be a big investment but we need more bold moves such as this from publishers to make sure books and print are not left behind in the new media revolution. Hats off Carlton, a splendid success!

For companies looking to get into VR/AR/MR our Virtual Reality Consultancy services offer guidance on how these technologies can enhance and support your brand strategy.

Tom Atkinson is a Digital Producer & Photographer at R3Digital and Reviews & Dept. Editor at Tech Trends. Connect on LinkedIn and follow him on Twitter @R3Digital

The post Tech Trends AR Toy Box appeared first on Tech Trends.

Tech Trends catches up with the creative minds making the immersive storytelling experiences of the future.

Since Technicolor opened the Technicolor Experience Centre (TEC) in Culver City, California a year ago, their subsidiary companies – including The Mill, MPC, and Mr. X – have worked on dozens of high profile Virtual and Augmented Reality projects that VR fans around the world will be familiar with, such as  Nike’s Turkey 360 (The Mill), 20th Century Fox’s The Martian(MPC), Warner Bros.’ Suicide Squad (MPC), MGM-Paramount’s Ben-Hur (Mr. X) and the fantastic Alien: Covenant In Utero, try it out below in 360. The creators enlisted the award-winning artists and creative technologists at Technicolor’s VFX studio MPC and the TEC, which provided the motion capture for the project. Collaborating with Twentieth Century Fox, FoxNext VR Studio, RSA VR, and Mach1 plus technology partners AMD RADEON and DELL, the team created what may be a first: a frightening immersive journey designed to scare viewers into their seats before the movie even opened!

It's been over a year now since Technicolor opened its Experience Centre for immersive technologies in LA
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“The Technicolor Experience Center creates a vibrant ecosystem that enables our teams, partners and customers to advance the state-of-the-art in this new form of storytelling,” Tim Sarnoff, Technicolor Deputy CEO and President of Production Services told us.

TEC‘s ambitions are much bigger than promotional work for brands or the film industry, however. The center was tasked with developing high-concept content, platforms and technology for immersive media such as Virtual and Augmented Reality. To meet those goals, Technicolor’s Research and Innovation labs are developing a range of technologies, including formats and tools that are being applied to enhance the creation and distribution of immersive content which are set to drive the future direction of the industry.

The Technicolor Experience Center aims to advance the state-of-the-art in this new medium
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We particularly enjoyed the creepy IT experience on Littlstar
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Tech Trends spoke to Tony Mugavero, the CEO of the TEC’s official distribution partner Littlstar to find out a bit more about their partnership with Technicolor and the challenges of distributing VR to a broader audience. You can check out Littlstar’s apps which are available for a variety of VR platforms such as Playstation VR, Google Daydream, Oculus Rift, HTC Vive, and the Gear VR offering content across across Music, Film, Sports, News, Gaming and more. We particularly enjoyed the IT: Float VR experience, “We all float down here Georgie,” is all I’m going to say….  I started by asking Tony about the much anticipated mass consumer adoption of VR, and the role mobile has to play in that equation.

We absolutely are on the brink of mass adoption in VR and AR. In order to push that further, the new computing paradigms need to work across all industries and not just entertainment. When people are using these technologies at home and work, and for entertainment as well as productivity, the shift will be complete. The transition is happening now, and the change is rapid (and exciting!).

Mass adoption is happening now, and the change is rapid
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People have enjoyed content on Littlstar tens of millions of times. We have close to 1000 hours of content across thousands of titles, and some of our VR users are having sessions up to 45 minutes long. Our numbers are growing, and we’re seeing hardware sales grow as well as the introduction of big AR investment by Apple, Google, and Microsoft.

Technicolor helps creators monetise their content
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Content is being produced at a much higher rate now as well at the big studios, networks, publisher, and labels, and many of these groups have internal teams with separate P&L’s to run immersive initiatives. There is a ton of development that is happening and under the hood we see no signs of cooling. The opposite, in fact.

Marcie Jastrow, Technicolor’s Senior VP of Immersive Media and Head of the Technicolor Experience Center adds that mobile devices are also going to be hugely important in driving this mass adoption.

“Mobile devices are going to be hugely important because what you create for mobile is not always going to translate on to an Oculus, or on to a Vive,” Jastrow explains. “You need to start like we do today with a master, and that is where the sweet spot for Technicolor will be: helping creators monetise by getting their content out to the masses via every headset, with the best image quality possible.”

I then asked Tony about what they brought to the table in the context of this TEC partnership:

Littlstar sits at the intersection of consumers, creators, and hardware companies. We need to have the highest quality output for everyone involved, and Technicolor couldn’t be a better partner to learn, collaborate, and grow the space with. With our platform, Littlstar sees nearly all aspects of what works and what doesn’t in terms of content. We’re able to cross reference all creators and see how consumers engage with the content as well. We also run up against hardware limitations while pushing the boundaries of distribution. We are able to provide a strong cross section of information, and working with Technicolor on solving these challenges means accelerated adoption and development all around.

We need to have the highest quality output for everyone involved
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So what will we see in the next ten years and what hurdles lie ahead for these new mediums?

VR and AR will co-exist and be used successfully for different reasons. We need continued content development, business use cases, and hardware investment. Devices need to get smaller and more powerful to handle the amount of data and processing required to run immersive initiatives. We need improved network infrastructure to stream 8k or 16k content and better compression for things like volumetric capture. TVs and computer monitors will continue to be replaced, and we’ll see smartphones taking a hit as wearables get better.

VR Devices need to handle larger amounts of data and processing
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Picking up on Tony’s comment that Littlstar is seeing users enjoy VR sessions of around 45 minutes I asked about the possible uptake for longer-format scripted narrative experiences.

Yes, this is already happening. Groups like Felix & Paul just released a 40 minute experience, and we’re regularly seeing content length increase. Dancing with the Stars and Conan O’Brien just released 1 hour long pieces of content.

Technicolor are also aware of the potential for longer format immersive experiences but Jastrow explained some of the challenges involved.

“Depending upon what it is that you are trying to accomplish, the workflows will be completely different. You can think the experience you’ve written on the page is going to translate beautifully into an interactive experience, but when you start working, you might find out that the technology is just not there yet,” she says. “I think the biggest challenge is going to be learning who the new storytellers will be,” she says. “What is often written out for creative is not something that can translate into immersive experiences. If it is a passive, narrative experience where there is no interactivity, content can be created in one way. Where there is interactivity, or where you may be tethered to a headset with controllers and interacting; that needs to be created another way.”

We can put processes in place that will help move immersive experiences
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But Technicolor are committed to continued investment in evolving the processes and developing the workflows needed to advance those possibilities.

“Narrative VR is probably going to play out like post production, but things like images and camera maturity, and techniques like stitching all need to evolve in order for images to be better and workflows to be faster. In the passive, narrative type of VR, we think we can get there pretty quickly by putting processes, standards, workflows and storytelling in place that will help move those immersive experiences along.”

The future looks exciting indeed for storytellers looking to engage their audiences with immersive technologies and the HP Mars Home Planet project is a great example of how Technicolor and partners are innovating and promoting VR content creation, more from Tech Trends on this soon!

HP Inc, NVIDIA, Technicolor, Autodesk, Fusion, Launch Forth, Unreal Engine and VIVE have launched HP Mars Home Planet—a global project using virtual reality to simulate what a human population of one million could look like on Mars. The unique exploration project – uniting engineers, architects, designers, artists, and students from around the globe – is a perfect example of the creative and technological collaborative opportunities presented by immersive media. There are currently 25K people involved in the project’s community. The Technicolor Experience Center is managing the community of collaborators and providing guidance and expertise in the development of the final virtual reality experience.

Technicolor are committed to invest in immersive technologies
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Tech Trends Virtual Reality Consultancy Services offer support for companies looking to get a foothold in the growing Mixed Reality spectrum and enhance their brand strategy with these exciting new technologies. 

Tom Atkinson is a Digital Producer & Photographer at R3Digital and Reviews & Dept. Editor at Tech Trends. Connect on LinkedIn and follow him on Twitter @R3Digital

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