A new report released today from a survey of nearly 200 professionals representing startups indicates boom times are ahead for the augmented and virtual reality industry. 

According to survey respondents, plummeting hardware and software costs, increasingly impactful applications outside of entertainment, and the ubiquity of mobile devices are contributing to the rise of immersive technologies with momentum in nearly every sector increasing and, importantly, expanding avenues for monetization. 

The survey’s fourth annual iteration from global law firm Perkins Coie was developed in collaboration with industry-leading trade groups, XR Association, and industry venture capital firm Boost VC. A few findings from the survey you might find interesting include: 

• In one of the survey’s biggest findings, respondents will increasingly seek to diversify monetization strategies and expand revenue channels for immersive technology compared to their 2019 levels.

• Expectations for AR technologies continue to outpace VR in terms of expected revenue, market penetration, and consumer adoption with three-fourths of respondents expecting the AR market to eventually surpass VR in total revenue.  
• Outside of gaming and entertainment, respondents expect the most disruption from immersive in healthcare and medical devices over in the next 12 months.  
• Six of the 10 top cities selected for their pioneering work in smart city immersive technologies are in the United States, including New York, Austin, Los Angeles, Chicago, Boston, and San Francisco.  
• Respondents said that smaller devices and sleeker, more fashionable devices (tied at 42%) are the hardware improvements that will most impact consumer adoption of immersive technology in the next two years. More comfortable devices followed at 39%.  

You can find the full survey report here.

Tom Atkinson is Reviews & Dep. Editor at Tech Trends. Follow him on Twitter @techtrends_tech

The post Report: Industry Weighs in on the Future of AR and VR appeared first on Tech Trends.

A recent infographic produced by London cybercrime specialists, EC-MSP, shows the full extent of the new cyber threats. With cyber-attacks and data breaches emerging as the world’s most expensive crimes, London businesses are well-advised to maximise their security levels.

Infographic by EC-MSP

The post Infographic: Is London the Hacking Capital of Europe? appeared first on Tech Trends.

The Venture Reality Fund , which invests primarily in immersive applications and games, has just released its latest quarterly update covering Q1 and Q2 of 2019.

Mobile AR 2.0 is coming
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Key Takeaways include:

1. AR is Growing. Augmented Reality is hot. The Venture Reality Fund now tracks more than 380 companies on the AR landscape, a 33% increase from 2018.

The US Army’s $479M contract with Microsoft Hololens in late 2018 is the biggest validation of enterprise value of AR
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2. HMD (head mounted display) AR is in a Transition Phase. We’re seeing a transition from first gen to current, which also has precipitated early players like Daqri and ODG to shut down and Meta be resurrected as MetaView.

The Venture Reality Fund now tracks more than 380 companies on the AR landscape, a 33% increase from 2018
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Current gen AR companies like MagicLeap and RealWear continue to be funded and Microsoft is about to release Version 2 of Hololens, which we believe will have a big impact in further AR enterprise adoption.

HMD (head mounted display) AR is in a Transition Phase
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For consumers, we are seeing launches of specialized hardware, like North’s Focals smart glasses, Form’s ARswimming goggles or BOSE AR’s audio-only sunglasses.

Neither Microsoft, Magic Leap nor others have announced when their consumer versions will be available. General purpose HMD AR devices are still a year or two away.

3. Enterprise Continues Growth Trajectory: For software, the main growth is in enterprise solutions and content creation tools across multiple sectors, including automotive, pharmaceutical, and healthcare, among others. The US Army’s $479M contract with Microsoft Hololens in late 2018 is the biggest validation of enterprise value of AR.

4. AR needs a new type of content. The tools category saw expansion of general purpose tools and for new content forms – specifically volumetric capture. The increased interest in volumetric capture content, which works for both AR and VR, is partially driven by 5G networks capabilities.

Neither Microsoft, Magic Leap nor others have announced when their consumer versions will be available
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5. Consumer AR Content Alive and Well. Consumer AR fun continues to grow, mostly on mobile devices. Games are a big hit, such as Niantic’s Pokemon Go and Harry Potter Wizards Unite, Tencent’s Let’s Hunt Monsters in China, and the upcoming Minecraft Earth.  And, of course, social hilarity from apps like Snap are growing, giving company’s install base a boost.

AR is still in early days, but with HMD AR and mobile AR platforms evolution robust ecosystems are building worthy of investment
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6. Mobile AR 2.0 is coming. With next-gen AR Cloud-enabled SDKs due year end, we’ll see even richer interactions, persistence, global mapping, and multi-user features, all of which will result in a significant uptick in the mobile AR ecosystem.

The increased interest in volumetric capture content, which works for both AR and VR, is partially driven by 5G networks capabilities
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7. Investments Will Continue. AR is still in early days, but with HMD AR and mobile AR platforms evolution robust ecosystems are building and worthy of continued investment. Overall, AR’s future is bright as we enter a new phase of its growth cycle.

Consumer AR Content Alive and Well
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The post Infographic: Augmented Reality Landscape Q1 and Q2 2019 appeared first on Tech Trends.

Software

The Comfort Factor

Don’t Forget the Accessories!

Show Me the Money

Even now in these relatively early days of the spatial computing era, there's something for everyone if you want to immerse yourself in Virtual Reality
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Tech Trends’  Virtual Reality Consultancy services offers support for companies looking to enhance brand strategy with immersive technologies such as Virtual, Augmented and Mixed Reality

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. You can follow @alicebonasio on Twitter, connect with her on LinkedIn or subscribe to her Inside VR/AR Newletter for all the latest curated immersive news.

The post Infographic: Valve Index vs Oculus Rift S appeared first on Tech Trends.

One in five Americans are diagnosed with seasonal depression, and 5% suffer from a condition known as Seasonal Affective Disorder. Though doctors are still not entirely sure the cause of SAD, research suggests it may have to do with how light affects us. Varieties of light therapy have been shown to effectively treat symptoms in adults and children.

Color filter apps and built in settings on smartphones, while often ignored, filter out blue light from screens on a timer, dimming gently as the evening progresses to reduce eye strain and restlessness at bedtime
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To soak in some valuable sunshine, getting outside seems like the easiest solution. But with winter cold comes cloudy, short days; simply going outside isn’t always an option. Tech picks up the slack though by helping us establish simulated natural light that mimics patterns through a normal day. This means cool, bright light in the morning to help us wake up and warm tones in the evening to wind down. A study in 2018 had individuals spend 30 minutes of their morning wearing blue light-emitting goggles, participants reported feeling reduced sleepiness throughout the day compared to days without the goggles. Blue light works to wake us up by suppressing melatonin production – coincidentally, artificial lights like fluorescents have the same effect, making blue light less beneficial during the late afternoon and evening hours.

A study in 2018 had individuals spend 30 minutes of their morning wearing blue light-emitting goggles, and they reported feeling reduced sleepiness throughout the day
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The natural progression of the sun through the day eventually leads to warm tones. The brilliant oranges, yellows, and reds of the sunset are a good example. While beautiful, this regular shift in light is essential to our circadian rhythms and in those who are more sensitive to the changes of the seasons, the constant grey of the winter sky can be very disruptive. To combat this, blue-light blocking glasses come in handy, especially for those working in front of a computer all day. Bluwinx spectacles use clear, non-prescription transparent lenses that block out 59% of blue light and are designed for comfortable all day wear. Color filter apps and built in settings on smartphones, while often ignored, filter out blue light from screens on a timer, dimming gently as the evening progresses to reduce eye strain and restlessness at bedtime.

The infographic below from Best Health Degrees shows you what S.A.D. is all about and the ways that tech can help combat it
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Seasonal Depression Affects Millions

• 1 in 5 American adults has diagnosed seasonal depression
• 5% have seasonal affective disorder (SAD)
• 14% have the winter blues 一 a milder seasonal depression
• 1 in 4 American workers say January is their least happy month
• 1 in 3 say winter has a negative impact on their mood at work
• It’s not just adults ー SAD affects 2 million children in the US, age 9-17

Around one in five Americans are diagnosed with seasonal depression, and 5% suffer from a condition known as Seasonal Affective Disorder
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Intrinsically Photosensitive Retinal Ganglion Cells (ipRGCs) regulate:

• Circadian rhythms
• Pupil reflexes
• Mood and energy level
• SAD appears to be linked to the activation of ipRGCs, caused by either lack of daylight, or abnormal signalling
• Less daylight in winter months makes ipRGCs fail to regulate circadian rhythms

Blue light works to wake us up by suppressing melatonin production - coincidentally, artificial lights like fluorescents have the same effect, making blue light less beneficial during the late afternoon and evening hours
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SAD sufferers experience:

• Mood swings
• Fatigue
• Depression
• Melatonin: The Sleep Hormone
• Signals the body to calm down at night, enabling sleep
• Melatonin regulates
• Circadian rhythms
• Body temperature
• Blood pressure

---

Thanks to tech, varieties of light therapy have been shown to effectively treat symptoms in adults and children
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---

Tech To Hack Light Patterns

Establishing the right lighting for each time of day will improve your sleep, mood, and alertness

Morning: Bright, cool light will help you feel alert and boost your mood

In a 2018 study, spending 30 minutes wearing blue light emitting goggles in the early morning significantly reduced participants sleepiness

Try This ー Philips Wake-Up Light: Slowly shifts from dim red to bright yellow light, mimicking sunrise

Evening: Block blue light to increase melatonin and get better sleep

Harvard researchers found that after 6.5 hours of exposure to blue light, participants’ circadian rhythms shifted by an average of 3 hours

Try This ー Philips HUE Smart Bulbs: Easily programmed to shift to warmer tones in the evening

Night: Use dim red night lights, or skip the night light all together

Just 8 lux, 2x the brightness of a typical night light, is enough light to disrupt sleep 一 Red light has the least impact on sleep

Try This ー SomniLight Night Light: Dim red light helps you see in the dark, without disrupting sleep

Blue light suppresses melatonin levels, helping you feel more alert during the day, but making harder to fall asleep at night
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Tech To Block Blue Light

Blue-blocking glasses: Filtering or tinted lenses block out harmful blue light
For All-Day Wear一Bluwinx: Clear lenses filter out 59% of blue light
For Evening UseーUvex Skyper: Tinted lenses block 98% of blue light
Color filter apps: Automatically reduce screen brightness and shift to warmer colors at sunset
Night Shift ー Built-in feature for iOS and Mac
Twilight ー App for Android phones and tablets
F.lux ー App for Mac, Windows, and Linux

Tech to Get Some Sun

Bright Light Therapy*
Proven to treat SAD 一 Artificial sunlight triggers ipRGCs and resets your circadian rhythm

Choosing A Therapy Light
Light box: Widely available and affordable
Desk lamp: Easily blends into your decor
Visor: Allows patients to move freely during sessions

Look For These Features
2,500 – 10,000 lux: Low intensity lights require longer sessions
Short wavelength light: Cool tones, mimicking daylight, are best
UV filtering: Ultraviolet (UV) light can be damaging to your eyes

Apps For Your Winter Blues

WhatsMyM3
Track your moods for warning signs of SAD
Assesses your risk of depression with a research-based screening
Tracks scores over time, helping you know when to seek help

Fabulous
Get active with daily exercise and time outdoors
Created by Duke’s Behavioral Economics Lab
Helps users build toward healthy habits in small, easy steps

Pacifica
Focus on a healthy diet and lower stress
Tracks your mood, diet, caffeine intake, and sleep to identify patterns
Offers meditation, journal space, and other relaxation aides

TalkLife
Ask for the help and support of others
Online community provides the support of others with depression
Allows users to post anonymously, and chat with others

DMinder App
Location-based tracking of vitamin D from sun exposure
Notifications and forecasting of best time to go outside
Warnings help prevent sunburn based on skin type

Though doctors are still not entirely sure the cause of SAD, research suggests that it may have to do with how light affects us
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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. You can follow @alicebonasio on Twitter, connect with her on LinkedIn or subscribe to her Inside VR/AR Newletter for all the latest curated immersive news.  

The post Infographic: Winter Blues Tech appeared first on Tech Trends.

From mundane activities, such as paying bills online, to the more avant-garde ones, like developing blockchain-based cryptocurrencies, the idea of Fintech encompasses all processes that make handling our finances easier by using digital technologies and algorithms.

77% of fintech firms are expected to adopt blockchain by 2020
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It all started back in 1918 when the US Federal Reserve Banks introduced the Fedwire Funds Service, the first electronic fund transfer system, which relied on now-archaic technologies such as the telegraph and Morse code. Then came the creation of the first Diners Club credit card in 1950, by Frank McNamara, and the launch of the first ATM, by Barclays London branch, in 1967.

The most crucial stepping stone in the Fintech Revolution, however, was the advent of the Internet. It quickly led to a myriad of revolutionary inventions, such as online bank accounts and mobile payments. It also sparked the inception of the first cryptocurrency, Bitcoin, in 2009, which led to 2017’s worldwide Cryptomania, during which Coinbase—an online cryptocurrency exchange—exceeded $1.5 billion in value.

We should witness an introduction of advanced authentication methods, such as iris and fingerprint scanners, which will replace the unreliable and cumbersome passwords
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Today, most experts understand that financial institutions will have to invest in Fintech to avoid becoming obsolete. The consumer banking sector is leading the way when it comes to being the most disrupted industry, at 72%. However, some predictions indicate that in the next 3–5 years 84% of insurance corporations will begin to cooperate with Fintech companies, making them the champion of this digital innovation.

Today, around 46% of large fintech companies are powered by AI
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Some of the most significant disruptions originated with the introduction of Artificial Intelligence (AI), blockchain technology, cloud storage, and crowdfunding. Today, around 46% of large Fintech companies are powered by AI. Nevertheless, estimates show that, in addition to its use in the back-end processes, AI will also take part in customer interactions, driving 95% of all communication with users by 2025. There are already very powerful robots capable of chatting with humans, such as Sofia. It’s estimated that their capacities for human interaction will increase, while their prices will decrease, prompting companies to switch to automated clerks to lower costs and improve customer satisfaction.

It’s possible that voice recognition technology will allow you to order things and pay bills just by saying a few words, while micro-embedded wearables will enable you to shop without ever using a cash register
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Using blockchain technology is another way for big banks to cut costs. It’s projected that by deploying the technology, $12.3 billion can be saved each year, reducing the infrastructure by 30%. Ripple, a cryptocurrency designed specifically to be compatible with the existing financial structure, is leading the way by operating with 15 out of 50 global banks, including UBS, Bank of China, and Santander. Given the benefits the technology brings, it comes as no surprise that 77% of fintech firms are expected to adopt blockchain by 2020.

Ripple, a cryptocurrency designed specifically to be compatible with the existing financial structure, is leading the way by operating with 15 out of 50 global banks
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The outlook of the Fintech industry seems very exciting, and one area where we can expect improvement is security. We should witness an introduction of advanced authentication methods, such as iris and fingerprint scanners, which will replace the unreliable and cumbersome passwords.

However, the major improvements lie in making financial services more user friendly and less resource hungry, while at the same time tailoring them to the individual. As Joy Schoffler, the Executive Chair of FinTech Professionals, says: “At the core of everything is simplification and personalization.” It’s possible that voice recognition technology will allow you to order things and pay bills just by saying a few words, while micro-embedded wearables will enable you to shop without ever using a cash register.

Whatever the future brings, one thing is certain: the more you know, the better equipped you’ll be to ride the wave of disruption and stay oahead of the curve in the digital age.

This handy infographic from carsurance.net charts the growth of Fintech from the first wire transfer to blockchain technology & beyond
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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 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 Infographic: Growth of Fintech appeared first on Tech Trends.

Brand leaders are advised to embrace procedural transparency and lean into the familiar and comfortable.
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According to the annual culture forecast report from sparks & honey, three key macro-trends will drive the most change over the next 12 to 18 months, shaping the way consumers and institutions interact with one another, make decisions and engage with the world. The reports also details emerging trends (15 in total), cultural moments/examples that ladder up to each “big idea” and implications/key sectors impacted by each – from healthcare and tech to media, travel and beauty.

Things that once seemed alternative or fringe are now being translated into new standards in policy, communication and creative expression
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The three macro-trends (and examples of implications of those trends) are:

• Shadow World, a trend tracking the half-hidden side of existence. Based on what’s coming down the pike, brand leaders are advised to “EMBRACE PROCEDURAL TRANSPARENCY” and “LEAN INTO THE FAMILIAR AND COMFORTABLE.”
• Technomaladies, a trend tracking the ways that our obsession with devices and platforms is transforming our lifestyles, changing interpersonal and social behaviors, and altering how we think of each other. Here, brand leaders are advised to “LEAN INTO THE HUMAN PREMIUM” and “MAKE THEIR BRAND AN OASIS.”
• Outsiders Welcome, a trend tracking how we’re socially adapting to beliefs and perspectives that don’t fit our historical experiences. Things that once seemed alternative, eccentric or fringe are now being translated into new standards in policy, communication and creative expression. Here, brand leaders are advised to “LEAN INTO AP — NOT JUST AI” and “DON’T SNEAK UP ON YOUR CONSUMER.”

Technomaladies is a trend tracking the ways that our obsession with devices and platforms is transforming our lifestyles
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Tech Trends offers a broad range of Digital Consultancy services to guide companies through their digital transformation journey, helping individuals and brands to effectively leverage 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 Infographic: 2019 Tech Cultural Forecast appeared first on Tech Trends.

Infosys unveiled new research exploring global business maturity in digital transformation – comparing how businesses have fared over the course of the last year, including success factors and barriers to progress.

Legacy systems predicted as the single biggest barrier to digital transformation in 2019
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From November 3 to 23, 2018, Infosys used a blind format to conduct an online survey that attracted responses from more than 1,000 CXO and other senior-level respondents from companies with revenue upwards of US$1 Billion. Respondents represented multiple industries and hailed from Australia, China, France, Germany, India, U.K. and the U.S. To gain additional qualitative insights, phone interviews were also conducted with a few practitioners and subject matter experts.

“Understanding the distinct practices of visionary businesses is valuable for companies seeking to navigate the next step of their digital transformation journey,” explains Jeff Kavanaugh, Executive Editor at Infosys Knowledge Institute.

What can businesses expect in 2019?

Infosys found businesses can be grouped into three clusters based on their progress along the digital transformation journey, with visionaries the most advanced, followed by explorers and then watchers.

• Visionaries understand the potential of digital to completely transform their business
• Explorers commit to digital programs driven by the need to enhance customer experience
• Watchers see digital through the prism of efficiency

Interviewed executives express confidence in their companies to advance from the watcher to the explorer level without too much difficulty but feel that reaching the visionary level is much harder

What sets visionaries apart?

To more deeply understand what characterizes organizations at different stages of the transformation journey, Infosys identified 22 key digital initiatives and surveyed where companies stood on implementing each one. Companies were then assigned a Digital Maturity Index score from 0 to 100 according to their progress on pursuing and implementing these 22 key initiatives.

The research revealed that as companies advance in their journey, they begin to operate more digital initiatives at scale, with visionaries averaging 12 at scale, and having completed pilots on seven additional initiatives. Explorers average six digital initiatives at scale and have completed pilot projects for seven more. While watchers typically operate at scale on only one or two digital initiatives, with another one or two initiatives in the pilot testing phase.

Infosys Digital Radar 2019 reveals the digital transformation maturity of businesses in 2018, and what it takes to navigate the next stage
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22 digital initiative were categorized under four “buckets”

• Foundation initiatives – implemented to modernize legacy systems
• Mainstay initiatives – focused on core digital transformation elements such as automation and AI
• Customer initiatives – focused on improving the customer experience
• Forefront initiatives – focused on harnessing cutting edge technologies, such as augmented and virtual reality, drones and blockchain.

As companies advance along the digital transformation journey, they tend to focus on different buckets. Watchers concentrate on scaling up foundation initiatives. Explorers focus on a broader range of initiatives including mainstay and customer – yet are sometimes held back by a lack of progress in scaling up foundation initiatives. And visionaries bring many initiatives to scale alongside the foundation, mainstay and customer categories. Visionaries are also the only businesses making substantial progress on scaling up forefront initiatives.

To reach advanced stages of digital transformation, companies must operate key initiatives at scale and focus on a broad range of technologies
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What might hold businesses back in 2019?

When asked about what the biggest barriers to digital transformation will be in 2019, the percentage of respondents citing the ‘inability to experiment quickly’ was 22 percent and ‘insufficient budget’ was 30 percent. However, ‘legacy systems’ was at 41 percent – making it the single biggest barrier predicted for 2019.  Lack of change management capabilities and relevant skills are also seen as key hurdles in 2019. As companies navigate their digital journey, the need to digitize their core and manage change at scale will grow in importance.

Comparing different industry sectors

The highest maturity levels were found in technology, manufacturing, telco and financial services sectors, while industries such as consumer goods, logistics and healthcare ranked near the bottom regarding their digital transformation progress.

Compared to other industries, retail is in the middle of the pack, with many legacy retailers not having made much headway. Perhaps surprisingly, the automotive sector lags other sectors in terms of its digital maturity. While autonomous and connected vehicles grab headlines, much work is needed to modernize legacy systems and integrate the automotive ecosystem.

As companies navigate their digital journey, the need to digitize their core and manage change at scale will grow in importance
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What action to take?

To become more like visionaries, companies should develop and implement a comprehensive strategy for using automation and AI to bolster human capabilities, rather than focusing shortsightedly on cutting costs. They need to put in place a formal digital transformation strategy, and share that plan with employees, customers and partners alike.

“2019 will be the year of ‘how’. The ‘why’ (customer experience, revenue impact, internal alignment) and the ‘what’ (emerging technologies) of transformation are now clear to enterprise leaders, after the intense debate of the last couple of years,” says Phil Fersht, CEO and Chief Analyst, Horses for Sources. “The findings of the Infosys Digital Radar 2019 point to the core need for enterprises to address the ‘how’ and focus on executing their digital transformation. Execution requires integration in every sense of the word – technology, talent, organizational change and leadership to achieve scale and deliver exponential benefits.”

Incumbent companies need to do three things well, and simultaneously: first – establish the technical foundations for digital transformation; second – build technological capabilities and talent; and third – innovate at the speed of agile development. Two ways that companies can enable themselves to do this are by amplifying their existing capabilities, by focusing on high-value projects with the greatest potential impact. And, by partnering with the ecosystem to gain access to complementary skills and resources. The research revealed that companies currently partner for two-thirds of their digital initiatives.

The Infosys Digital Radar 2019 reveals the digital transformation progress that companies have made since The New Champions of Digital Disruption: Incumbent Organizations report in 2018, which clustered companies into three personas: ‘visionaries’ (the most advanced in their digital transformation journey), followed by ‘explorers’ and then ‘watchers’.

• Over two thirds of UK businesses are explorers (69%), compared to the global average of 61%. Nearly a fifth (19%) of UK businesses are visionaries. Fewer UK companies than the global average are at the less advanced watcher stage (12% vs 18%).
• The biggest barriers to transformation in the UK are an inability to experiment quickly (45%), legacy systems (45%), insufficient budget (44%) and risk adverse company culture (41%).
• Overall the UK has a Digital Maturity Index of 60.7, significantly higher than the global average of 57.4. The UK is more digitally mature than the US (55.1) and Germany (54.8), but lags behind France (65.3) and India (77.9).
• The highest digital maturity in UK industries was found in telecommunication businesses (with a Digital Maturity Index of 76.9), followed by insurance (70.5), technology (70.2) and manufacturing (67.3) companies.

You can read the full report here and check out the infographic summarising the findings below:

Tech Trends offers a broad range of Digital Consultancy services to guide companies through their digital transformation journey, helping individuals and brands to effectively leverage 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 Infographic: Digital Transformation appeared first on Tech Trends.

As early as 2016, former Nintendo President Tatsumi Kimishima had already hinted that the company was “looking into” VR. In a later interview in 2017, that interest had been somewhat upgraded to say they were “studying” the possibility of perhaps adding a HMD accessory to the Nintendo Switch once they were convinced users could play for longer durations without experiencing issues. Yet it’s safe to say that overall Nintendo has been quite noncommittal about dipping their toes into immersive tech – at least in public.

Former Nintendo President Tatsumi Kimishima had already hinted that the company was looking into VR
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So the recent news that the videogame giant is to join a newly formed “VRM Consortium” is likely to get some fans excited. The consortium brings together several Japanese companies, which – from February this year – will coordinate activities with the aim to develop the Virtual Reality business.

Members of the consortium, which will officially launch in February 2019, include Unity Technologies Japan, several VR development companies as well as livestreaming and distribution platforms.More specifically, however, the consortium (as the name suggests) is actually championing the VRM file format and hopes to make it an industry-wide standard for 3D avatars (or 3D Humanoid Characters to be precise).

Nintendo has so far been quite noncommittal about dipping their toes into immersive tech
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Why is that a big deal? Because up until now, when creating such 3D models, the output depended on the modelling tools used, and varied greatly in terms of scale, expression, initial pose, and a range of other factors. For instance, when in first-person view, how do you obtain the coordinates for correct positioning of the body, which parts of the body should be excluded from view at which points, the list goes on. This makes it very labour-intensive for developers, limits user choice, and generally makes for poorer experiences.

The enduring popularity of platforms such as @SecondLife has taught us that people can become incredibly invested in their virtual personas
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Members of the VRM consortium, which will officially launch in February 2019, include Unity Technologies Japan
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Each company’s datasets are different and have often-complex specifications. It is also not uncommon for the full information about file formats not to be provided with the avatar, so importing and exporting can be pretty much impossible outside of a very limited ecosystem, and therein lies the problem.

Up until now, when creating 3D models the output depended on the modelling tools used, and varied in terms of scale, expression, and a range of other factors
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One of the main barriers to the mass consumer adoption of social VR is the fact that at the moment, each platform pretty much requires you to start from scratch. You have to create an avatar (often with limited options for customization) and can generally only use it within the confines of that specific world.

With VRM, however, the same data can be used across any application that supports the format, meaning that users can easily create and personalize them with a broad range of tools. They can then use that same avatar across different applications and platforms, moving seamleassly from one to the other.

This is possible because the format is platform agnostic and open source, allowing developers to integrate it in whatever product or platform they like. VRM is based on the 3D standard format glTF2.0, All data including textures and materials is compacted as one file. To import a VRM model, only one single file needs to be handled, an it carries not only metadata such as the title and the author name, but also the thumbnail and the license information, making each avatar traceable and unique, so it would be possible, for example, to send your avatar data to your friends so they can see your appearance in a shared virtual space just as you intended.

One of the main barriers to the mass consumer adoption of social VR is the fact that each platform requires you to start from scratch
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If the enduring popularity of platforms such as Second Life has taught us anything, is that people can become incredibly invested in their virtual personas, and see them as a true extension of themselves, a key part of their identity.

So the idea that your avatar would be truly “yours” to take anywhere in the virtual multiverse is a really powerful one, and something that might eventually tempt doubters into not only trying VR, but coming back repeatedly and sticking around for longer when they do.

The idea that your avatar would be truly yours to take anywhere in the virtual multiverse is a really powerful one
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For now, however, Nintendo remains ever cautious – they are joining the consortium in an “observer” capacity only – and there are no hints of an actual VR product from the company coming out in the near future, but then, you never know with these things…

This article was first published on VRScout

Nintendo Joins VRM Consortium As ‘Observer’ via @alicebonasio https://t.co/9mqNbnoHgW pic.twitter.com/SYRfpXJ7te

— VRScout (@VRScout) January 16, 2019

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 Will Nintendo Make a Play for VR? appeared first on Tech Trends.

Initial coin offerings, or ICOs for short, are the latest craze in the cryptocurrency world so let’s try to make sense of the current situation surrounding ICOs and their interesting market

One of the most hotly debated (as well as most controversial) aspects of the current cryptocurrency sphere are so-called initial coin offerings, also known simply as ICOs. These forms of digital fundraising employ the use of cryptocurrencies in a way that allows project owners to raise bitcoins or ethers from thousands upon thousands of future users interested in the app being developed.

ICOs employ the use of cryptocurrencies in a way that allows project owners to raise bitcoins or ethers from thousands upon thousands of future users interested in the app being developed
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Unsurprisingly, ICOs have become a popular means of fundraising for startups in recent years. The lack of regulation allowed them to raise money quickly in return for so-called tokens, also described as digital certificates – at least that was the case until recently.

Nowadays, the ICO boom is beginning to stall a bit as a growing number of regulators worldwide turned their attention to ICOs and have decided to come into action. China, which is a country that once led the world in the number of active ICOs, recently decided to ban these fundraising altogether.

China, which is a country that once led the world in the number of active ICOs, recently decided to ban these fundraising altogether.
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In the meantime, US SEC, Singapore, Hong Kong, and Russia followed China’s example to some extent, but – at least for now – they are still not ready to completely ban ICOs. They are, however, diligent in their efforts to heavily regulate them even if that means taking away some of the key elements that made this fundraising principle great in the first place.

This has obviously caused a lot of disruption among the ICO community. Consequently, the number of active projects keeps falling off and the general interest in ICOs keeps plummeting. This is, after all, rather logical – less and less people are encouraged to either invest in or launch an initial coin offering as regulations are stagnating some of the field’s most popular markets.

While many still see the benefits of ICOs, others think it may be time to pull the plug. So who’s right?
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And this is where we find ourselves at this point – while many still see the benefits of ICOs, others think it may be time to pull the plug. So who’s right? Should we already be looking for a new alternative to venture capital?

Here to help you make up your mind is an infographic by BTXchange, created to shed some light on the initial coin offerings. It takes an uncompromising look at ICOs, using layman’s terms to explain both what these kinds of fundraisings are and what they offer to project managers and investors.

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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