By Laura Kobylecky

Jane Nelson, the Texas Secretary of State, made her enthusiasm for London clear during a lively SXSW event in Austin titled London Calling: Where pioneering ideas meet business opportunities. The event focused on strengthening business, technology, and innovation connections between London, the UK, and Texas.

The event was co-hosted by Here East, an innovation campus originally developed for the London 2012 Olympics that now houses global tech companies, startups, academic institutions, and creative organizations. Also hosting the event was CELL (Creative Experience Lab London), which supports research and development across technology, creativity, and culture in live experience sectors. Featured partners included Wise and Oury Clark, organizations that help businesses operate internationally and expand between the US and UK markets.

A Texas welcome with London ambitions

There were microphone issues when Nelson began speaking, but she quickly adapted, drawing on her experience as a former school teacher to project her voice across the room. She broke the ice by leading the audience in a loud Texas-style “Yee-haw,” immediately energizing the crowd and setting a collaborative tone for the evening.

Nelson spoke about her long personal connection with London and emphasized the historical and cultural ties between the UK and the United States. She described SXSW as a place where entrepreneurs, innovators, investors, and creatives can meet and build partnerships that shape future industries.

Texas Secretary of State Jane Nelson speaks at the London Calling event during SXSW in Austin.

Innovation, media, and immersive technology

After Nelson’s speech, Justin Diener, Co-Founder and CEO of Synapse Virtual Productions, joined Dr. Lora Markova of Loughborough University London for a discussion about immersive technology, media, and the future of storytelling.

Diener explained how media production now combines filmmaking, game engines, software development, and communication technology, allowing audiences to experience content in more interactive and immersive ways. He noted that students entering these industries are increasingly learning multiple overlapping skills rather than specializing in just one field.

Dr. Markova discussed what she called the “spillover effect,” where innovation happens at the intersection of industries such as technology, education, media, and entertainment. She emphasized that the future of immersive experiences will be driven not just by technology, but by collaboration across industries.

Collaboration and global partnerships

As the event concluded, attendees continued networking and discussing business opportunities, partnerships, and new projects. The overall theme of the evening was collaboration — between London and Texas, between industries, and between technology and creativity.

The London Calling event demonstrated how global innovation ecosystems are becoming increasingly connected, with cities like London and Austin working together to build future industries through partnerships, investment, and shared ideas.

And, as the audience learned early in the evening, sometimes international collaboration begins with a simple Texas “Yee-haw.”

Laura Kobylecky is a contributing writer to Tech Trends. She is particularly interested in new and emerging technology and culture. Connect with her on LinkedIn 

The post Connecting London and Texas at SXSW appeared first on Tech Trends.

Democratizing Animation

Marketers know that few tools are as effective in engaging your audience as a well-crafted animation. Traditionally, however, this type of material has been extremely labor-intensive – and therefore costly – to produce.

Yet LottieFiles is a company looking to change all that with its open-source tool that allows animators to spend less time learning and deploying complex code and more time crafting captivating content that will wow users and increase conversion rates.

LottieFiles allows designers to spend less time learning and deploying complex code and more time crafting captivating content
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Lottiefiles is a lightweight, interactive, and scalable animation format that allows for customization without having to code, build and render bulky files from scratch. In fact, Lottie files are, on average, 600% smaller than other popular animation formats such GIFs, allowing for a much faster, more responsive, and therefore engaging user experience (UX).

Lottie files are on average 600% smaller than GIFs, allowing for a much faster, responsive, and engaging user experience
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Popular apps such as Airbnb and Duolingo have wholeheartedly embraced this user-friendliness. Use cases for Lottie animations range from app loading and wait screes to gamification and user onboarding, as well a vast array of websites and apps looking to serve meaningful content to their users, according to LottieFiles CTO Nattu Adnan

“LottieFiles has helped hundreds of thousands of developers and designers from over 65,000 global fortune companies like Netflix, Disney, Google and Amazon to ship interactive animation faster and more effectively,” adds the company’s Co-Founder and CEO Kshitij Minglani.

Augmenting Reality

AR (Augmented Reality) has been steadily gathering momentum in recent years, and it is easy to see why. Merging the physical and digital worlds is an exciting proposition that opens up a whole world of possibilities for users, and the companies hoping to reach and keep them engaged.

From new ways of experiencing art to enabling customers to realistically try products before committing to a purchase, Augmented Reality is becoming ever more pervasive across an incredibly broad swathe of industries.

Augmented Reality is becoming ever more pervasive across an incredibly broad swathe of industries.
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“Research shows that AR will evolve from one-off ‘surprise and delight’ moments to provide everyday utility and practical value, right across the consumer journey.  This could include helping people visualize how products look in their home, locating products in-store through wayfinding applications, or getting more out of a product post-purchase through usage guidance,” explains Jeremy Pounder, Futures Director at Mindshare UK

One example of how it is possible for innovative companies to bring their customers the best of both worlds by creating Omnichannel experiences is Canadian start-up StickerYou which offers customized, die-cut stickers online, but also maintains a physical shop where customers can touch and feel the merchandise.

“The broader trend in retail, particularly among millennials, is a shift in focus from products toward experiences. For this reason, many customers still choose to visit a physical shop even if it may be more convenient to order the item online, explains StickerYou Founder and President, Andrew Witkin. “For retailers, this presents an opportunity to leverage technology to literally augment the value of their products for their customers,” he concludes.

Meeting Virtually

Even before the COVID-19 pandemic became the catalyst for what we now know as a socially distanced “new normal,” technology had been pushing us towards having more of our interactions in virtual environments.

From virtual live comedy shows to professional poker tournaments, people had started to not only accept the premise of hosting their familiar interactions and experiences in immersive virtual worlds.

Technology has been pushing us towards having more of our interactions in virtual environments
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Given the continuation of the pandemic, however, we have seen most events in the global conference calendar going virtual in some way or another, including one of the biggest highlights in the tech circuit – South by Southwest (SXSW) which is held in Austin, Texas in March.

SXSW Online 2021 included a variety of online meetings, sessions, musical performances, and many attempts at virtually recreating the interactive experience of SXSW.

As Tech Trends correspondent Laura Kobylecky reports, the world of virtual Austin exists within VRChat, an online, virtual reality, social platform which added a layer of immersion and interactivity to this year’s online conference and left her feeling as if she’d really attended the event.

Tech Trends’  Consultancy services offer support for companies looking to enhance their brand’s digital strategy with immersive and emerging technologies such as Virtual, Augmented and Mixed Reality

Alice Bonasio is a technology journalist, communications consultant and Tech Trends’ Editor in Chief. Connect with her on LinkedIn and follow @alicebonasio and @techtrends_tech on Twitter.

The post Top UI/UX Trends for 2021 appeared first on Tech Trends.

At the start of 2020 (remember those giddy, carefree times before the pandemic struck?) Unity asked more than a dozen industry experts – including yours truly – to share their thoughts on how immersive technologies would be embraced for a report entitled Top 2020 Trends: Enterprise AR & VR.

All signs were pointing to 2020 being a breakout year for immersive tech, and, as it turned out, this was one of the few things not to have been derailed by COVID-19.

With the widespread need for social distancing and shift towards remote work, companies turned to immersive technology tools such as real-time 3D, AR, and VR to connect employees for remote collaboration, replace events and exhibitions, and allow teams to work in offices, labs, and sites from afar. As the need to support employees remotely grew more urgent, this was reflected in the accelerated adoption of XR across the board.

Microsoft, for example, has seen a 13x increase in remote assistance usage over the past 12 months, and Unity believes that this general trend is likely to continue in 2021.

All signs were pointing to 2020 being a breakout year for immersive tech, and, as it turned out, this was one of the few things not to have been derailed by COVID-19
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Some of the key findings from the report include:

The use of mixed reality will expand to enable more human connections

Mixed reality has traditionally been used to aid in task completion, however, the pandemic has sparked the need for tools that mimic human connection and proximity to create more productive work environments and collaboration.

Cross-functional collaboration across immersive media will grow

2020 has seen more users looking for ways to collaborate remotely from multiple geographic locations, using media that mimic real life. Expect that to continue into 2021.

VR will prove even more useful in the workplace

The disruptions of COVID-19 have led many to look for creative ways to solve new and old problems across the workplace, such as keeping skills fresh, engaging learners without in-person training, improving employee productivity, and fostering collaboration and connection among teams.

Jeremy Dalton, Head of AR/VR PwC believes that in 2021 and beyond we will see a wider range of businesses across numerous industries become more comfortable with emerging technologies that they would otherwise have left on the sideline until pressured to innovate.

While computers will never fully replace the value of in-person connection, Fleckenstein believes there is a tremendous opportunity for more immersive collaboration, and 2021 will see mixed reality evolve beyond task completion and emerge as the ideal medium for human connection.

As the need to support employees remotely grew more urgent, this was reflected in the accelerated adoption of XR across the board
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Futurist and author Cathy Hackl, predicts volumetric video will be a key factor in sustaining this evolution and widespread adoption.

Volumetric video, she explains, can help companies overcome pain points caused by the sudden shift to remote work, since the technology makes it possible to record employees, projects, or scenarios in three dimensions, instead of digitally rebuilding them from scratch for virtual reality simulations.

“The digital video can then be edited and manipulated to be viewed on everything from flat screens to virtual reality simulations,” she explains, adding that experiencing something in 3D with real-life physical movement is shown to increase viewers’ retention of the information being taught.

According to Matt Fleckenstein Senior Director, Mixed Reality at Microsoft, the ROI for firstline workers when adopting mixed reality in enterprise has been significant:

“We’ve seen 90% of touch labor eliminated, errors reduced to zero, and increased employee satisfaction.”

Elizabeth Baron, Enterprise Solutions Executive at Unity Technologies, says “Immersive realities provide probability spaces for enterprises to study any potential reality, or the art of the (im)possible,” with a host of relevant data that is brought to life and experienced rather than merely presented.

“Storytelling with immersive XR can simultaneously bring a spreadsheet to life for an artist and bring a design to life for an engineer,” she explains.

You can access the e-book for free here

For companies looking to get into Immersive technologies our VR Consultancy service offers comprehensive support in strategic deployment of Virtual, Augmented and Mixed Reality

Alice Bonasio is a VR 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.

The post 2021 Immersive Tech Trends appeared first on Tech Trends.

As COVID-19 sweeps through nations, quickly making established ways of working, studying, socializing, and conducting business impractical or even impossible, people turned to technological innovation for alternatives.

Here we look at three key areas that have been brought to the forefront during the pandemic but are likely to stay with us for the long-term.

Immersive Technology/ XR post-pandemic

Alan Smithson, CEO of MetaVRse, says that XR is specifically pivotal because of its potential to replicate the physical dynamics of collaboration in a virtual environment, enabling you to be fully present and engaged with others as you would in real life.

As most of us struggle with the challenge of adapting to this ‘new normal’ where much of the world’s population finds itself unable to safely hold face-to-face meetings, Smithson explains that XR Collaboration tools are emerging as viable alternatives — not to replace current video conferencing, but to augment them through spatial understanding. “By sharing fully immersive spaces with others, we begin to bridge the physical gap between us – opening up a whole new world of communication possibilities. With XR conferencing, people may not be able to see your face, but they can certainly see your body language, and that is really powerful.”

This power, however, is only properly leveraged where creators are mindful of the unique properties of immersive technology, rather than trying to retrofit it to existing tools and procedures.

“The biggest question we should ask is can we or even should we try and replicate the presence of live events via digital means (be it digital video conferencing, AR and VR)? If we merely try to ‘copy and paste’ one experience into the other, we are doomed to fail,” says Galit Ariel, founder and Creative Director of WondARlands Spatial Innovation Lab.

Ariel says that in her view, simply having embodied avatars standing in a virtual conference room and watching a virtual slide show does not make the infinite possibilities virtual platforms have to offer.

With XR conferencing, people may not be able to see your face, but they can certainly see your body language, and that is really powerful
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Furthermore, the move to digital platforms brings opportunities to “control the stage” in ways that are unavailable to speakers and presenters in real life. While pre-tested or pre-recorded talks and events can be potentially more polished, they also lack the magic and serendipity of a physical setting, interaction and immersion. That is a much harder challenge in some ways, Ariel says, as that content then needs to compete for the individual’s attention span with all the great digital content that is already available online, and the things that are happenings in their separate realities.

“When I see online and virtual panels and presentations using the same method of content delivery, I feel it is a miss. [Although] I understand that most event organizers had to find quick solutions. Going forward, they will need to make smarter and more creative choices about what content is valuable and meaningful in a digital context, and what digital tools make sense. We also need to remember that people are quickly becoming ‘Zoomed out’ and dealing with digital fatigue.  I hope, and I am certain, we will see more creative and experimental ways to deliver content via digital means.”

Delivering new digital content through AR and VR will also depend on network innovation and optimization. Globally, plans to deploy 5G are mixed. While the U.S. is still moving forward with its plans to deploy 5G on the same timeline pre-COVID-19, other countries are facing delays in spectrum auctions, investment, and supply chains. In order to create seamless XR experiences in and outside of our homes, there needs to be significant strides in 5G infrastructure and investment into education about different applications and uses for this technology.

Smart city technology for tracking and security

In order to tackle the unprecedented challenges of this global pandemic, it is vital that local, state and federal governments are able to leverage the vast amounts of data already in their systems to make better-informed decisions that help them flatten the curve and take action in real-time to mitigate outcomes and maximize limited resources.

“Data is key toward effectively tracking and managing a government’s pandemic response,” explains Amr Salem, CEO of smart city technology company Quantela, whose AI-powered recommendation engine deploys predictive analysis to forecast future capacity requirements for traffic, crime, weather, disaster and emergency response. The company currently has over 95 live deployments, including installations in Albuquerque, NM., Erie, PA., and Las Vegas, NV.

Quantela recently launched a platform called CoVER (Coronavirus Emergency Response Platform) which enables authorities to input all their data from across their field of operations, including medical resource tracking, testing kits and results, outbreak locations, quarantine locations and duration, and critical asset locations, into one accessible database.

The move to digital platforms brings opportunities to control the stage in ways that are unavailable to speakers and presenters in real life
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The platform – which can be tailored to the needs of each locality and deployed within as few as three days – incorporates any data source that influences their time-critical operational decision-making can be fed into a cloud-based system that gives them increased insight and control over these fast-moving situations.

The dashboard visualizes complex data sets and is able to reliably predict where the virus will be, allowing leaders to reallocate resources accordingly to prevent shortages. Users can drill down from macro-level data (across states, counties, etc.) all the way down to an analysis of city sectors and even individual patients to ascertain how to best deploy resources to manage and contain outbursts and manage infection clusters, taking actions such as sending real-time notifications to health workers in a particular area.

Data is key toward effectively tracking and managing a government’s pandemic response
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Quantela’s digital urban services technology also includes a Citizen App which can be installed on their phones and allows individuals to perform self-assessments and self-report. Citizens can also use the app to receive information about the current situation in their area, including official government updates and notifications, “red zone” alerts, health advice, and the location of their nearest testing and treatment facilities. Field responders, meanwhile, can use CoVER to record their temperature and other vital statistics. Going forward, it may be possible to leverage such capabilities to detect and stop further outbreaks at a much earlier stage by monitoring how positive patients are recovering, and who is traveling.

“Cities will be able to predict future scenarios based on current spreading patterns, understand the impact on critical medical assets, speed up the allocation of patients to hospitals with available capacity, track quarantined patients, and distribute assets where it’s needed the most,” Salem concludes.

Hygiene innovation

Perhaps the most noticeable shift in our routine brought on by the spread of COVID-19 has been in personal hygiene. We’ve been made forcibly aware that the very act of touching a surface can contaminate it for extended periods of time. And while frequent hand washing mitigates contagion to some degree, our devices and wearables are much more difficult to effectively disinfect on a regular basis.

This is a problem that Amy Hedrick, CEO and Co-Founder of California-based smart tech hygiene company Cleanbox Technology had been working on for years, however.

With a background in media production and storytelling, Amy was an early adopter of immersive technology. In 2016, she foresaw the need in the nascent industry for a solution that would allow users to safely and hygienically share headsets without risking contagion transfer.

Cleanbox went on to patent a technology that uses UVC light in an LED to decontaminate hard-to-clean products worn on the face or head. With a focus on high-risk contagion transfer points; its core products were designed for Augmented & Virtual Reality Head Mounted Devices (HMDs). Cleanbox also includes a hydrophobic coating for the soft materials of the headset, to keep contagions at the surface rather than seeping into the electronics. Cleanbox products have been proven to safely eliminate 99.99+ percent of viruses, bacteria, and fungi within seconds.

“We actually started with the most difficult form factor first,” says Hedrick, “Virtual and augmented reality headsets are made up of many different materials and delicate electronics that have multiple surfaces that are hard to reach. They are much more difficult to clean than say cell phones”.

UVC is a wavelength of light that does not occur naturally in the atmosphere, so viruses do not have a resistance to it. Unlike UVA and UVB rays (sunlight & tanning bed lights), which are not generally used as disinfectants, UVC is safe for decontaminating materials including fabrics, plastics, and acrylic. The use of UVC in an LED instead of traditional mercury tubes or bulbs has the advantages of generating no heat or harmful toxins, as well as keeping the product environmentally-friendly, Hedrick explains.

Cleanbox products have been proven to safely eliminate 99.99+ percent of viruses, bacteria, and fungi within seconds
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With the global shortage of personal protective equipment (PPE) – in particular, N95 respirators (N95s) – and the re-use of masks without proper decontamination placing users at increased risk due to viral load build-up, Cleanbox quickly pivoted and designed a retrofit for cleaning masks, allowing healthcare workers and first responders to safely disinfect their N95s. Cleanbox’s CX1 with retrofits have been donated to institutions such as Children’s National and Northwestern University Medical Center. In parallel, Cleanbox developed CleanDefense, a machine due to launch this summer which can decontaminate up to 100 masks per hour.

Going forward, Hedrick believes this is a solution that will be important not just for first responders, but also in care homes, dispatch centers, restaurants, airlines and other facilities that continue to have a heightened need to protect their employees and patrons against contagions such as COVID-19. CleanDefense’s portable design makes it ideal for airports, retail centers, entertainment venues, hotels, restaurants, and any other business requiring workers to wear masks.

“This technology is really going to become essential for all our devices, from mobile phones and tablets to earbuds and glasses, as we move into a new reality where we will have to learn how to better protect ourselves and each other,” Hedrick concludes.

Turbulent times are often a catalyst for innovation, and this pandemic has proven to be no exception. Unfortunately – in spite of the fact that we’re now seeing many countries moving towards easing restrictions and attempting to restart some semblance of “business as usual” – the long-term effects of COVID-19 are going to be felt for many months and even years. What this crisis has also uncovered is that many of those technological “emergency workarounds” actually present us with better and more efficient ways of doing things, and it is unlikely that they will be set aside, even when the virus is finally brought under control.

This article was originally published on Futurithmic

From #XR applications to new safety protocols and high-tech cleaning methods, the innovations that will come out of COVID-19 will change our lives as we know it. https://t.co/GjyYARWxWu pic.twitter.com/vLhY1QPFze

— Futurithmic (@futurithmic) June 11, 2020

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 XR 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.

The post Emerging Post-Pandemic Innovations appeared first on Tech Trends.

In manufacturing, the supply chain manager is responsible for the flow of goods and services, including all processes that transform raw materials into final products. One critical aspect of this is inventory management. In the most rudimentary (but surprisingly still common) scenario, inventory managers are tasked with counting and logging each piece of inventory, comparing these with the amounts needed, and determining what items need to be replenished, and when. Although on the surface, this appears to be a relatively straightforward task, a deeper examination suggests that inventory management places a heavy load on the cognitive system in the brain, and thus is prone to error.

Consider the inventory manager standing in front of the first collection of items. From a cognitive neuroscience perspective, one first has to count each item. This involves fixating on the first item and incrementing a counter in working memory from 0 to 1. Then an eye movement and attention switch must be initiated from the first item to the second item and the counter must be incremented to 2. Another eye movement and attention switch to the third item ensues, and the process is repeated.

Any time working memory load and executive attentional demands are taxed, one is more likely to make an error
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Critically, the inventory manager must follow some systematic approach to the eye movements and counting process to ensure that they do not miss any items or count items twice. The process of counting and systematic shifts of eye fixation places a heavy burden on working memory and attentional processes. Next, the inventory manager must rehearse the final count in working memory while shifting attention from the actual inventory to the inventory log. On the log, they must find the appropriate location, then write the number down that they have been mentally repeating. This number must then be compared with some threshold number and a decision must be made whether to order more of that inventory item or not, and that decision must, in turn, be logged. The inventory manager moves on to the next inventory item, again in some systematic fashion to ensure counting all of the inventory, and repeats the process all over again.

The cognitive neuroscience research is clear that each of these repetitive steps requires an enormous amount of cognitive capacity (in the form of working memory) as well as cognitive energy (in the form of executive attention). Any time working memory load and executive attentional demands are taxed, one is more likely to make an error and miscount, double count, or forget the count completely and have to start over. Because this process is error-prone, it is impossible to know if the inventory counts are correct and where errors might be.

When it comes to inventory management, the advantages of a hands-free, wearable device should not be underestimated
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To optimize and increase the efficiency of inventory management, the cognitive load on working memory and attention must be reduced. Augmented reality (AR) tools offer significant promise for efficient inventory management because they reduce the cognitive load, and utilize the manager’s visual field and visualization processes in the brain.

Consider the same task, but where the inventory manager is wearing AR glasses. They enter the inventory room and visually scan it. Using visual assets such as text or colored arrows, the AR display directs them to the first set of items. They fixate each item and either manually count the items, or the AR system automatically counts the items. This value is then input into an electronic system either through eye fixations to locations on the AR glasses or through verbal commands.

Budgetary constraints can determine the sophistication of the AR algorithms to be used
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When the inventory is low, a warning is presented and the individual tags that inventory for immediate replenishment, again through eye fixations or verbal commands. Throughout this whole process, the manager is looking toward the inventory with minimal load on working memory and few attention switches. The glasses then direct the individual to the next item and the process is repeated. The path taken through the inventory is optimized to require the minimum number of steps to complete. Attention switching is almost nonexistent because the counting and tabulating tool are always on the AR screen. The cognitive load is minimized because the system is doing most of the calculating and tabulating. The number of physical steps taken by the employee is minimized and optimized by the system. In a nutshell, it works the way our brains work, creating an optimal environment for inventory management with a reduced likelihood of error.

If your organization is considering an AR inventory tool, they come in many forms and budget ranges. Although hand-held AR devices are more budget-friendly than hands-free devices, when it comes to inventory management, the advantages of a hands-free, wearable device should not be underestimated, as the ability to reduce eye movements and attention switches is far superior with a wearable device.

If you are considering do-it-yourself AR authoring tools, be mindful of the risk of cognitive overload
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Beyond that, budgetary constraints can determine the sophistication of the AR algorithms to be used. For example, whether counts are manual or automated, and whether the path through the inventory space is determined by the inventory manager or is optimized by the AR system. Consideration must also be taken to the human factors of the system. Augmented information can reduce the cognitive load, but can also overload the user with unnecessary information.

Look for vendors who address these issues specifically and can present data to support the effectiveness of their offering. If you are considering do-it-yourself AR authoring tools, be mindful of the risk of cognitive overload. Good experimental testing and modification to optimize your tool are in order. Your goal is to provide users with “what” they want, “where” they need it, and “when” they need it.

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.

Todd Maddox is Science, Sports and Training Correspondent at Tech Trends, and the CEO of Cognitive Design and Statistical Consulting. Follow him on Twitter @wtoddmaddox

The post Report: Managing the Supply Chain With AR appeared first on Tech Trends.

The history of technology is rife with failure and the immersive industry is certainly no different. But as we look back at these top ten products and ideas which have not “quite” made it over the years, we should bear in mind that experimentation is crucial for progress, and that many of these have represented significant advances that have brought us closer to the realization of the spatial computing revolution.

The history of technology is rife with failure and immersive tech is no different
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Nintendo Virtual Boy

The Nintendo Virtual Boy is widely considered one of the company’s greatest failures, yet it has also become a cult object, and learning a bit more about it also provides us with useful context on how the company has approached its latest (and much better received) efforts with the Nintendo Labo VR. So while the console itself has been a failure, it was also ahead of its time in many respects, with the technology developed by Nintendo has since been incorporated into many of its products to this day. And should you come across one at a garage sale somewhere, snap it up quickly, as fewer than 800,000 units were made worldwide, making it a valuable collector’s item.

The Nintendo Virtual Boy is widely considered one of the company’s greatest failures
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The Virtual Boy was is a 32-bit table-top video game console touted as the first of its kind to offer stereoscopic 3D graphics that promised to totally immerse the players in their own private universe. Content fell well short of expectations, however, with only 22 games ever being released for the system (a problem arguably still plaguing VR today) At the time of its release in 1995, Nintendo of America projected hardware sales of 1.5 million units and software sales numbering 2.5 million by the end of the year. Nintendo had shipped 350,000 units of the Virtual Boy by December 1995, around three and a half months after its North American release. Panned by critics and plagued by health and safety concerns, sales fell well short of expectations and production ceased by early 1996. The Virtual Boy created an illusion of depth through the effect known as parallax. In a manner similar to using a head-mounted display, the user looks into an eyepiece made of neoprene on the front of the machine, and then an eyeglass-style projector allows viewing of the monochromatic (in this case, red) image. Nintendo claimed that a color display would have made the system too expensive and resulted in “jumpy” images, so the company opted for a monochrome display.

Sensorama

Morton Heilig was known as the father of Virtual Reality, and for good reason. His Sensorama machine, which he patented in 1962, is one of the earliest examples of multimodal technology. Heilig was a multimedia creator in a time when the term hadn’t yet been invented. His concept of multi-sensory theater-like experiences was laid out in his 1955 paper The Cinema of the Future, where he talks about being inspired by the concept of ‘feelies’ — movies enhanced with sensory elements — imagined in Aldous Huxley’s seminal Science Fiction tale Brave New World. It’s probably fair to say that Heilig was ahead of his time, as he never did get funding to take his design into commercial production, so eventually abandoned it. Heilig passed away in 1997, yet his website — which bizarrely still says it’s “under construction” lists the Sensorama machine for sale to a serious collector or museum. The reported price tag on this piece of VR history is $1.5 million.

Morton Heilig was known as the father of Virtual Reality
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He went on to build the Sensorama prototype to showcase that concept in practice. To experience a two-minute immersive experience, the user would insert a token, straddle a bucket seat, grasp a pair of handles, and place their eyes on viewing holes (safe in the knowledge that the clever design even incorporated UV lights that sterilized the equipment after each use) surrounded by vents. There were five films to choose from, all shot by Heilig himself using a 3D camera he also invented and built from scratch, which filmed side-by-side 35mm simultaneously, had capacity for two 400 ft magazines, and yet was small enough to be used as a hand-held device. Intriguing titles included Belly Dancer, Dune Buggy, and, I’m a Coca-Cola Bottle. In Motorcycle, the simulation took you for a ride through New York as you felt the wind on your face, heard the noises of the city, and even smelt the food in the snack shops and the exhaust from the bus in front of you.

Samsung Gear VR

It sometimes seems strange to call something that happened just five years ago a “throwback,” but if tech time works like dog-years, in the immersive space things can move so fast it can feel more like fly-years. So as I cast my mind back when I first unwrapped my Samsung Gear VR and plugged what now seems like a very old and clunky phone on its front, it seems like another world from the sleek experience I can get from an Oculus quest for not that much more money. This is why we’ve seen such a sharp fall in demand for mobile VR which finally caused Samsung to drop support for the Gear VR on its latest Samsung Galaxy models, although it held on as long as it could. Yet the fact we seem to be moving on from mobile VR shouldn’t make us overlook the contribution that the format — and the Samsung Gear VR in particular — have had on the ecosystem. Although far from perfect, the price point and accessibility they offered bridged the gap between the ultra-basic cardboard introductions to the medium and the full-blown setups required by the HTC VIVE and Oculus Rift. And there are still not many VR devices out there that can claim to have been sold out on the day of their release.

We seem to be moving on from mobile VR
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The Samsung Gear VR was developed as a collaboration between Samsung and Oculus. Although the Samsung Gear VR consumer edition was released in November 2015, Samsung had obtained a patent in 2005 detailing the use of a mobile phone as the display for a HMD. However, mobile phone technology at the time limited the degree of quality and performance possible. Samsung continued to research VR and HMD internally. When in use, a compatible Samsung Galaxy device acts as the headset’s display and processor, while the Gear VR unit itself acts as the controller, which contains the field of view, as well as a custom Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) for rotational tracking, which connects to the smartphone via USB-C or micro-USB. The Gear VR headset also includes a touchpad and back button on the side, as well as a proximity sensor to detect when the headset is on.

Transitions

Thirty-three years ago the National Film Board of Canada commissioned a production called Transitions to be showcased at the country’s Expo 86 in Vancouver, the first-ever IMAX presentation using polarized glasses. It was also the first full-color 3D IMAX film. In an article published in The Province newspaper in June 1986, film critic Michael Walsh described how the experience was sure to be “every small child’s single most treasured memory of Expo 86.” So perhaps when we look at the past five years or so since this latest wave of enthusiasm for immersive technologies has started, it is useful to ponder on how long the technology has been enthusing people for. The difference now is that they no longer need an IMAX setup to do so. And although a portmanteau of random special effects would probably not be enough to keep audiences interested for long nowadays, Walsh’s experience also demonstrates how engaging content is key to getting people to embrace it.

Transitions was the first full-color 3D IMAX film
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From a fixed position, McNabb’s camera puts dressed lumber, a gymnast and that wonderful teddy bear within our apparent reach. Parallel tracking shots follow voyageur canoes along a wilderness river and a historic steam locomotive across the country. When McNabb tracks forward, the audience drives down a rural road behind a vintage automobile, trots around a track just inches ahead of a harness racehorse and, briefly, sits astride a speeding motorcycle.”

Forte VFX1 Headset

The Forte VFX1 Headset was the most advanced, complex and expensive consumer VR system that appeared on the market during the mid-1990s VR craze. It was released in 1995 and cost about $599. It comprised a helmet, a handheld controller, and an ISA interface board. For those keen on indulging in some retro gaming, you can still occasionally find operational headsets for sale — one sold on Ebay recently for $240 — and there is a surprising amount of content available for it, including classic games such as Duke Nukem 3D.

The Forte VFX1 Headset was the most advanced, complex and expensive consumer VR system that appeared on the market during the mid-1990s VR craze
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The helmet — which in looks and functionality comes pretty close to what was portrayed in the 1992 classic “Lawnmower Man” — featured Two Degrees of Freedom (2DOF) head tracking with internal sensors for pitch (70 degrees), roll (70 degrees), and yaw (360 degrees) in addition to stereoscopic 3D and stereo audio. It even had cool features which we see in modern VR headsets, such as a “smart visor” that could be opened to allow the user to look at the outside world, without taking off the whole thing. The visuals, which by all accounts were very impressive for the time, were delivered by dual 0.7″ 263 x 230 LCD displays capable of 256 colors. Optics comprised dual lenses with adjustable focus and interpupillary distance, with a 45-degree diagonal Field of View (FOV). The helmet also included built-in stereo speakers and a condenser microphone. A hand-held controller called the Cyberpuck offered three buttons and internal sensors for pitch and roll. Audio, video, and tracking information was transmitted via the VIP Board, a 16-bit ISA card that received video input from the video card’s 26-pin VESA feature connector. Making this complex setup work was not for the faint-hearted though, as it required a lot of calibrating and setup with good old MS-DOS. For starters, the system’s “VIP” card needed to be installed into an ISA slot of the host PC. This worked together with the PC’s video-card connected via VESA bus to provide stereoscopic imagery on both screens of the HMD.

View-Master

After Nintendo Labo announced the release of its VR software system, which includes a cardboard headset brings to mind some of the similar formats that populated our childhood experiences, such as the View-Master. Though the View-Master wasn’t technically considered virtual or augmented reality, the 3-D stereoscope film reels of everything from planets in the solar system to movements of dinosaurs captured my attention with each flick of the plastic lever.

Originally created in 1939, the View-Master quickly became popular for looking at high-quality images of tourist destinations
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Originally created in 1939, the View-Master quickly became popular for looking at high-quality images of tourist destinations shortly after the advent of color photographs. After going through a few interations and discoveries of practical uses, the View-Master ultimately became visual entertainment for children. As a way to stay modern with the times, View-Master traded in its iconic film reel for and SDK to create the View-Master Virtual Reality Viewer. Though View-Master is doing what it must to continue providing visual stimulation to children, I will never forget how important the View-Master was to my childhood.

DisneyQuest

As far as I’m concerned, 2016 was a pretty good year for VR. People were starting to get really excited about the technology and some significant advances were being made, and I wrote my first article about VR Porn for Playboy. But it was also the end of an era as Disney announced that it would be closing down its pioneering Indoor Interactive Theme Park, DisneyQuest. It was a relatively early proof of concept as to the appetite for location-based VR entertainment, something that companies like The VOID are now reviving in a big way. Not only that, but DisneyQuest was also the launchpad for many prominent careers in the immersive field, as those who worked for the company are still shaping the industry ecosystem. Case-in-point being Avi Bar-Zeev, who after working for them in the 90s moved to Microsoft and then Apple, where he was rumored to be involved in the development of their AR glasses.

Multi-sensory rides such as “Aladdin’s Magic Carpet” and “Ride the Comix” proved really popular for years
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Originally opened in 1998, the Orlando five-story indoor interactive theme park cost an estimated $90 million and boasted (for the time) cutting edge computer graphics and HMDs (whenever you moan about how bulky VR headsets are, do take a look pictures like the one below to put things into some perspective). Multi-sensory rides such as “Aladdin’s Magic Carpet” and “Ride the Comix” proved really popular for years, but by the end of the ’90s it was suffering from a lack of investment, before finally closing its doors permanently and making way for a new attraction on July 3, 2017.

Telesphere Mask

Most people associate Morton Heilig with the iconic Sensorama machine, yet he invented something even before then, and eight years before the Sword of Damocles which is widely credited with being the first-ever VR headset. Yet in 1960 Heilig patented yet another pioneering VR invention: The Telesphere Mask, which to me looks much like an aluminum version of the Gear VR, and in a very real way, it actually was. The only real difference is that instead of connecting to a yet-to-be-invented smartphone, it linked to miniaturized TV tubes. Heilig describes it in the patent filing as “a telescopic television apparatus for individual use where the spectator is given a complete sensation of reality, i.e. moving three-dimensional images which may be in color, with 100% peripheral vision, binaural sound, scents, and air breezes.”

In 1960 Heilig patented another VR invention: The Telesphere Mask
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The amazing device was (unlike the Sword of Damocles) light enough to wear on your head, with adjustable ear and eye fixings. Like Sensorama, the mask proved a commercial failure way ahead of its time, and even as the second coming of VR dawned in 2016 it remained an obscure footnote in the history of immersive tech. His widow, Marianne Heilig, repeatedly tried to donate the historic piece to a museum that would display it, but was flatly rejected by places such as the Hollywood museum even when she offered it for free. In an interview for Tech Radar back in 2016 she said the whole thing made her feel very sad and demoralized: “I’ve almost given up on this whole thing, but I’m not just going to give it away after a lifetime of struggle. I’m still working just to pay interest on the debt because I refuse to go bankrupt,” she told Holly Brockwell at the time

3D TV

While 3D cinema is still a thing, especially in Asia, major manufacturers such as Samsung have pulled 3D TV from their offering, signaling the demise of the once-promising format. Given the fact that a lot of the companies involved in developing these 3D display technologies are also involved in making AR/VR headsets, we are also likely to see some of the key innovations “recycled” into new products. It is difficult to envisage a future where we are still buying giant screens to put into our homes for much longer, however, when displays are already emerging that allow for high-resolution immersive content to be consumed anytime, anywhere.

The buzz around 3D TV hit its peak around 2010
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The buzz around 3D TV hit its peak around 2010, with companies hailing its immersive powers as the future of entertainment. And the fact that all that investment has turned into one massive flop certainly fuels arguments for VR naysayers who are keen to draw parallels between the two. There are certainly some lessons to be learned around the fact that no matter how cool a technology might be, if it doesn’t hit a sweet spot between practicality, price, and compelling content, it won’t snare consumers — certainly not in the numbers needed to make it “the next big thing.” However, the straight-up comparison is rather unfair if we look at the broader spectrum of immersive technology (i.e. XR and Spatial Computing rather than narrower AR/VR applications) as opposed to 3D TV’s very narrow utility scope.

Sega VR

Back in the early 90s, Sega attempted to get into VR in a very similar way in which Sony has done with the PSVR — building peripheral Virtual Reality hardware for its most popular console. But things did not go well for the gaming giant. The Sega Genesis VR headset was a gigantic flop that never even got a proper release. Given that this all happened 26 years ago (don’t know about you, but as someone who can still clearly remember losing myself in those Mega Drive games, that makes me feel old) it does put into perspective just how far things have advanced over the past few years. There’s no doubt that for anybody who bothers to look into the history of VR, that it’s a slow burner with plenty of pitfalls that will trip even the mightiest companies.

In 1991 Sega began development on a home VR headset, the Virtua VR
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So what went so terribly wrong? In 1991 Sega began development on a home VR headset, the Virtua VR, which was later rebranded as Sega VR. The company introduced the headset — with its rather sleek (in a retro sort of way) wrap-around-glasses design — at the 1993 Consumer Electronics Show with an announced target price of $200. It got broadly covered in the press and became one of the most eagerly anticipated holiday product releases of the year. Yet when it came to testing the device in action, there were severe problems with it causing widespread motion sickness, something that the VR industry has been working hard to address even to this day. In the end, it seems to have been a classic case of PR panic that caused the company to simply cut its losses and pull the plug on the release of the Sega VR. Some of the technology developed was eventually repurposed onto the company’s arcade machines, but it certainly steered clear of the consumer VR market since.

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.

The post Top 10 Thanksgiving Tech Turkeys appeared first on Tech Trends.

Tech Trends is an official media partner of VRX 2019 and our readers can get a $200 discount on their ticket price by using the code 5049TECH200
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According to one study, the extended reality (XR) market is forecast to grow to more than $209 billion in the next four years, an 800% increase from their 2018 prediction of $27 billion. Whatever the true figure, it is beyond doubt that this technology is set to revolutionize industries across the world, with more verticals than ever seeking to drive business growth by leveraging its potential benefits.

After consultation with numerous stakeholders, the VRX Conference & Expo 2019 has adopted a new format, focusing on the particular challenges of specific industries
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With a solution-driven agenda focused on enhancing the consumer experience of XR and driving its adoption, the VRX Conference & Expo 2019 will return to San Francisco, taking place December 12-13 at the Hyatt Regency San Francisco Airport Hotel. Key virtual and augmented/mixed reality stakeholders will share the visions, challenges and solutions they have encountered, discussing how XR can boost ROI, propel their business forward and engage consumers through immersive, innovative experiences. More than 600 attendees from across 10+ enterprise and consumer verticals, will join a senior speaker line-up focused on filtering through the hype around VR, AR and immersive tech. The VRX Conference & Expo 2019 speaker line-up includes senior executives from HTC Vive, ExxonMobil, DreamWorks, Paramount Pictures, HP, Survios, Nestlé, Bayer Pharma USA and others.

The VRX Conference & Expo 2019 speaker line-up includes senior executives from HTC Vive, ExxonMobil, DreamWorks, Paramount Pictures, HP, Survios, Nestlé, Bayer Pharma USA and others
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Aiming to connect established technology leaders with those just embarking on their extended reality (XR) journey through high-quality content and networking, VRX 2019 will see over 80 speakers from across more than 10 industry verticals take to the stage. Through a unique blend of interactive sessions, case studies, seminars, and live demonstrations, the VRX agenda will explore how XR can bring value to brands and customers alike, engaging consumers through immersive and innovative experiences and discuss current challenges and solutions to the uptake of XR.

VRX 2019 will see over 80 speakers from across more than 10 industry verticals take to the stage
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The agenda will cover both enterprise and consumer XR, including AEC, automotive, manufacturing, retail, healthcare, gaming, film, TV and beyond, with the underlying aim to go beyond the hype of XR to understand what are the keys to mass adoption and apply cross-industry knowledge to boost business productivity.

The full speaker list can be accessed on the VRX website. Among those confirmed to speak at VRX 2019 are Jae Lake (Lead VR Specialist, Expedia), Raj Pallapothu (mHealth Global Business Lead, Bayer Pharma US) and Shelley Peterson (Principal Investor – Augmented & Mixed Reality, Lockheed Martin), as well as:

• Fern Nibauer-Cohen, Director, Patient Engagement and Business Development, Penn Medicine
• Kyle Daughtry, Immersive Technology Design Lead, ExxonMobil
• Joel Breton, President Sixense Studios, Sixense Enterprises Inc.
• Anne Stephens, Global Vice President of Category Expansion, ABInBev

Access the full speaker list here

“Unquestionably the best conference of its kind I’ve been to. The quality of the presenters, depth of thinking, and real-world experience on hand was exceptional.”– Skip D’Amico, Global Manager, Digital Innovation, Cadillac

This year’s event focuses on customer-centricity to drive consumer and enterprise adoption. With 8 new deep-dive seminars into core market growth areas, attendees will have the chance to hear from leading end users in each of these segments and debate with like-minded individuals, on top of the usual thought-leading topics around the latest hardware, software, content and market disruptors.

The extended reality (XR) market is forecast to grow to more than $209 billion in the next four years
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After consultation with numerous stakeholders, the VRX Conference & Expo 2019 has adopted a new format, focusing on the particular challenges of specific industries, rather than solely high-level content. With detailed case studies covering industries from entertainment, energy, electronics and more, attendees from all verticals will benefit from the detail and insight on offer.

“It provided some of the best access to large clients of any event we have attended. It was easy to meet and have impactful conversations. Definitely having many follow ups as a result.” – Kyle Jackson, CEO, Talespin

VRX Conference & Expo 2019 will return to San Francisco, taking place December 12–13 at the Hyatt Regency San Francisco Airport Hotel
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This year at VRX 2019, we are focused on putting customers first to drive consumer and enterprise adoption of XR. With 8 new deep-dive seminars into core market growth areas, attendees will have the chance to hear from leading end users in each of these segments and debate with like-minded individuals, on top of the usual thought-leading topics around the latest hardware, software, content and market disruptors.

With detailed case studies covering industries from entertainment, energy, electronics and more, attendees from all verticals will benefit from the detail and insight on offer
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As the global XR industry continues its rapid expansion, the VRX Conference & Expo 2019 is dedicated to providing a forum for debating the crucial hardware and software requirements for seamless user experience, helping businesses to look ahead, build project pipelines and ultimately drive innovation.

As the global XR industry continues its rapid expansion, the VRX Conference & Expo 2019 provides a forum for debating the crucial hardware and software requirements for seamless user experience
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Tech Trends is an official media partner of VRX 2019 and our readers can get a $200 discount on their ticket price by using the code 5049TECH200

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.

The post Tech Trends at #VRX2019 appeared first on Tech Trends.

By Matteo Valles at Grove VR

3 years ago, our good friend Alex passed away suddenly from drowning due to a shallow water blackout. While the loss was unexpected and painful for us, it was even more so for Alex’s twin brother, Leo. After seeing how it affected Leo, we were inspired to start Grove.

Mental health is only one area that we think VR can play a big role in and we are excited to see what may come in the future
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When Alex passed away, Leo had now lost his best friend and there was nobody around him that could fully relate to that situation. While his friends were there to support him in any way they could, he never got much out of it because they couldn’t possibly understand what he was going through. A few months later though, he found a group called The Twinless Twins Support Group. It was an organization brought together by the experience of losing a twin sibling. Naturally, Leo wanted to meet with the other group members and did so at one of the regional meetings. Needless to say, being around others that had lost their own twin and understood his pain was a profound experience for Leo. He continued to go to meetings whenever he could, whether they were smaller regional meetups in Florida or the large national annual meetup. All of them being just as helpful as the last.

When Alex passed away, Leo had now lost his best friend and there was nobody around him that could fully relate to that situation
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The only problem was that losing a twin is not a common occurrence and thus The Twinless Twins meetings are typically held infrequently and far away from many of its members. For example, the regional meetings are only held once every few months and are usually in a different state than many of its members. While members stay in contact with other support group members between meetings, it is typically just through text or group messages which are helpful but perils compared to meeting in person. That led my brother and me to start toying with the idea of creating something that lets people meet in virtual reality to overcome these issues. Thus Grove was born.

Now over a year since the inception of our idea, the platform is almost complete. Grove allows people to make support groups in virtual reality based around any topic they would like. Issues from depression, anxiety, addiction, loss of a loved one, and much more can all have support groups held within Grove. While the initial idea started by focusing on connecting people across wide distances, we soon discovered many other benefits that the platform provides.

Grove allows people to make support groups in virtual reality based around any topic they would like
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When attending a support group there are often many barriers, like distance in the case of Twinless Twins Support Groups. Other barriers though might be the fear of being known, transportation or membership costs, or not knowing where to find a group. Fortunately, using VR helps overcome the fear of being known due to the use of avatars. While avatars provide a feeling of truly being present with each other, you are able to control what your avatar looks like and thus, what others see of you. You can choose different genders, hairstyles, eye colors, or anything else. Your name is also never given out because Grove only requires an email address to sign up.

Another crucial benefit is that there is no cost associated with attending meetings, whether in transportation cost or membership costs. The platform is offered entirely free to ensure that there is no cost barrier for someone seeking a support group. As long as a user has internet and a headset they can attend from anywhere including their home.

There is no cost associated with attending meetings
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As long as a user has internet and a headset they can attend from anywhere including their home
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Lastly, Grove makes it simple to find the support group you need. By bringing a variety of support groups and topics to a central location, it is easy to type in the topic you are looking for (ex. depression, addiction, etc.) and find all the groups related to that topic and when they meet.

Benefits like these and many more have driven us to continue creating Grove so that people like Leo and many others can have consistent and easy access to the best support groups possible. And now with a year of development complete and only a couple months until launching the platform on Oculus headsets, we are launching a Kickstarter campaign to push Grove across the finish line. While Grove is offered entirely free, some money is needed to launch the platform including development, headsets, marketing, and legal fees. Once the Kickstarter is complete, we will be able to finish testing the platform, gathering feedback from early users, and launch in February 2020.

Benefits like these and many more have driven us to continue creating Grove so that people like Leo and many others can have consistent and easy access to the best support groups possible
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By bringing a variety of support groups and topics to a central location, it is easy to type in the topic you are looking for
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Once launched, Grove will be one of the few apps on the Oculus store that are not game- or entertainment-focused. However, we hope that as VR improves and it becomes more widespread, that more and more companies will begin creating more real-world applications for VR. Mental health is only one area that we think VR can play a big role in and we are excited to see what may come in the future.

Once launched, Grove will be one of the few apps on the Oculus store that are not game- or entertainment-focused
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If you have struggled with mental health in the past or know someone who has and would like to support Grove’s Kickstarter campaign, you can do so here.

The post Supporting Mental Health Through VR appeared first on Tech Trends.

By Brian Thomas at Enlightened Digital

The gaming market has been on the rise for a long time now. The industry as a whole is projected to hit over 90 billion dollars by 2020. That will be 12 billion dollars in growth since 2017.

Strategy and war games, which have historically been more popular in Europe, have been gaining serious ground in the US
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It would seem that this rising tide is lifting all ships, including the TableTop industry. Strategy and war games specifically, which have historically been more popular in Europe, have been gaining serious ground in the US. Simultaneously, AR has been coming on strong since the launch of PokemonGo. Visual technology has advanced so much since then, that it was only a matter of time before designers from both worlds started coming together to try and create the most epic gaming experiences possible.

At some point in time, needing to be in the same space to play games may be a thing of the past
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Easier scheduling

One of the biggest struggles most gaming groups have is scheduling. For those groups (like mine) that consist of players in their 30s and 40s this little thing called “life” can get in the way of regular gaming sessions. Babysitters can cancel. Spouses can “correct” your understanding of the schedule for that week. There are many things that keep gaming groups apart for weeks or months at a time, which is a shame.

With some of the capabilities AR literally “brings to the table”, groups can play together online, and see the same game “board”. Check out this video from TiltFive, which, at the time of writing, has raised over $1Million on Kickstarter with over 21 days left on its campaign that had an original target of $450,000. The pad that players connect on can sync up so everyone can still see and interact with the same board wherever they are playing from. At some point in time, needing to be in the same space to play games may be a thing of the past.

With the capabilities AR literally brings to the table, groups can play together online and see the same game board
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@tiltfive has so far raised over $1Million on Kickstarter
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Increased Design Space

Along with an increase in connectivity, game developers will see a massive increase in design capabilities with the implementation of AR. Since the advent of board games, they have for the most part been stuck in two dimensions. The pieces and “meeples” are of course 3 dimensional but the board itself is typically flat. With AR, the design space goes from a sheet to a cube in front of the players, so even if the physical components of the game stay flat, UI elements like points and progress trackers can now be displayed in a 3rd dimension. We’ve all played games that end up needing way too much space on the table. With AR, UI and gameplay elements can start going up rather than out, saving lots of space and providing developers with new spaces to explore when building their games.

Along with an increase in connectivity, game developers will see a massive increase in design capabilities with the implementation of AR
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Cross-Functionality

New games will have a field day with these new designs, but don’t be surprised if some of your current favorites also get re-released with AR functionality. One of the major areas of focus is wargaming, and Dungeons and Dragons in particular. Any game that utilizes some sort of grid-based environment with combat mechanics would work beautifully with AR. DMs can conjure up their nightmare environments that are hard to replicate without incredibly expensive add-ons. They can even control fog of war for their players!

With AR, UI and gameplay elements can start going up rather than out, saving lots of space and providing developers with new spaces to explore when building their games
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Potential Problems?

Even with all the great things AR can bring to the table, there still could be some downsides to it. We talked about how awesome it would be to not have to miss sessions due to scheduling conflicts. But being connected online should never replace those face-to-face moments with friends and family. If your group finds itself getting together in the same room less and less for “convenience”, you may need to pump the breaks and realize one of the things you loved most about gaming in the first place was being together. So watch out for that.

Another thing we could lose is the tactile feel of manipulating pieces. There is a tangible difference between video and board games and that is the physical manipulation of pieces around a board. You pick things up and put them down, it feels good. With AR, those pieces can be represented digitally and moved through wands, joysticks, or hand motions.

Jeri Ellsworth, CEO of TiltFive told Engaget.com that “The things that people like about board games are connecting with people, storytelling, and working with physical objects. The thing that people love about video games is that you can jump in really quick, you can save your games, and you can play with people over a long distance. We’re kind of somewhere in between.”

So admittedly some of that tactile feeling will go away, and if we start to lose the “togetherness” of being at the same table, tabletop gaming may start feeling a lot more like just, well, video gaming.

I think that overall, AR will be amazing for tabletop gaming, the pros will far outweigh the cons. I for one can’t wait to try to DM for my D&D group and really show them the horrors I have planned! Mwahahaha!

Brian Thomas is a contributor to Enlightened Digital, long-distance cyclist, and lifelong advocate for women in business from Philadelphia.

The post Playing With XR appeared first on Tech Trends.

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.

The post Extending Retail appeared first on Tech Trends.