Category Archives: Virtual Reality

The UK Armed Forces are set to begin trials for a new virtual reality training platform, built on the same gaming engine as video game Fortnite.

The new platform will look to use the latest technology in gaming to provide personnel with realistic and immersive training, while lowering the costs, according to the Ministry of Defence (MOD).

A virtual simulator will be part of the Armed Forces' wider training programme to support and enhance real-life training exercises.

SimCentric, a veteran-run software company, has been awarded 300,000 by the Defence and Security Acceleratorto develop and trial the simulator.

Ex-Army officer Tom Constable,now Director of Innovation at SimCentric, said: "I joined the British Army in 2006 and later served in Afghanistan.

"This gave me a passion for building technology that will reduce the risk to our Armed Forces and improve the quality of training, with the ultimate aim of saving lives."

The simulator, which can be used by more than 30 personnel at the same time, uses intuitive gesture control designed to match real actions on the battlefield.

HD surround sound and realistic visuals aim to bring virtual reality training scenarios to life.

Personnel will be able to hold a gun,crouch and even crawl, just as they would on a real-life exercise.

Professor Dame Angela McLean, chief scientific advisor to the MOD, said: This new simulator is just one way we are bringing training into the next generation, using technology drawn from the world of gaming to support our troops in training.

After initial successful trials with the Parachute Regiment and officers at the Infantry Training Centre, Catterick, further tests with the British Army, RAF and Royal Marines will take place later this year.

Cover Image:Service personnel trial the new virtual reality equipment (Picture: MOD).

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Could Fortnite-Style Virtual Reality Benefit The Armed Forces? - Forces Network

Space Popular is exploring how virtual reality and mass production are set to disrupt architecture. Founders Lara Lesmes and Fredrik Hellberg talk Dezeen through six of their experiments.

Lesmes and Hellberg founded Space Popular in Bangkok in 2013. Now based in London, they work on a diverse range of projects, including exhibitions and installations, as well as architecture, interiors and furniture.

Several of their projects explore the idea that VR is going to revolutionise architecture in the near future, as people increasingly spend time inside virtual buildings and augmented spaces.

"This technological ability for you to be in many places simultaneously impacts the kind of buildings that you want to see, the buildings you want to build and the type of environments you want to have," said Hellberg.

"You look at social VR platforms and 90 per cent of them include some kind of enclosure, even though you could just be on some plane" addedLesmes. "Ithighlights the role that architecture plays in structuring behaviour."

Hardware and software of architecture

The duo apply the same kind of systems-based thinking used in VR to their architectural projects. They believe that standardisation and mass production can facilitate new forms of craftsmanship.

"We're interested in the software of architecture, the effect it has on culture, but we also really enjoy projects that dealing with hardware issues, like fabrication techniques," said Hellberg.

Here,Lesmes and Hellberg talk through six projects that embody their ideas:

Value in the Virtual

This installation atArkDes in Stockholm in2018 was Space Popular's first exploration of how physical and virtual architecture can be overlaid. It suggested that existing spaces around the city could be transformed by the arrival of the digital.

"It's a very large thesis on the coming of the virtual and what that will mean for architecture," said Lesmes.

"The focus was on how we assign value to physical architecture and seeing how much of that can translate to virtual," she continued.

"We realised that things that are quantifiable, such as the location orthe materiality, do not apply to the virtual.The only things that apply are the immaterial and qualitative aspects. It's all about the experience."

The Wardian Case

This large container takes its cues from the devices used to transport rare plants in the 19th century. Here, the container is carrying history from its setting, the Palazzo Reale in Milan, into a new digital future.

The tapestries that hang in the palazzo illustrate the Greek mythology of the Argonauts. When visitors put on headsets, they saw the same characters through the new medium of VR.

"We were interested in looking at the tapestry as the floppy disk or USB stick of its day," said Hellberg. "We createda virtual reality experience where you could interact with the Argonauts, allowing them to continue travelling through history."

The Venn Room

Just like a Venn diagram, this installation from the Tallinn Architecture Biennale 2019 suggests what might happen when virtual reality allows two or more physical worlds to combine.

It imagines that, whenpeople in separate places communicate with one another through VR, a new environment will be created that is an average of their two homes.

"We were speculating that, over these years, these intersections become sentimental," saidHellberg."So like grandpa's dresser and your IKEA table, and the way that they meet every single day, becomes meaningful."

"This will be a real life IKEA problem in 10 years. It will be a big deal," he added.

Brick Vault House

Space Popular's first completed building is a four-bedroom house shaped by a bright green steel frame and shallow vaulted ceilings.The building's unconventional superstructure is designed to be easily adapted to suit any site, allowing the building to become an attractive prototype for standardisation.

"It's about making experiences in ways that actually make sense in the way they are produced," said Lesmes. "It doesn't necessarily mean that you go for 'the less is more' approach."

"Others in our generation who do stuff that looks similar would often be referred to as extravagant," added Hellberg."But actually all the built work we do is incredibly efficient."

The Timber Hearth

At the Venice Architecture Biennale in 2018, Space Popular presented a model for a new construction system using engineered wood. It is based on the idea that someone might buy a half-built home and finish it to their specification.

The design consists of a timber "hearth", offeringheat, ventilation, water, electricity and structure. The rooms of the house would then be built around the outside.

"There have been a lot of really exciting projects in the last 10 years thinking about how a house can be affordable if you skin it out. What we're trying to do is the reverse," said Hellberg.

"You have a framework that gives you some basic order, whilst leaving a lot of freedom," added Lesmes.

Freestyle

Space Popular's latest exhibition, currently on show at the RIBA in London, charts the last 500 years of architectural history. Using VR, it explores howarchitectural style has always been shaped by changes in mass media, from the magazine to the video game.

With the arrival of VR, the pair suggest that architectural style is about to change more radically than ever before.

"We think that there's a shift coming in the next 20 years, where we will be able todraw a line in the history of media in architecture," addedHellberg.

"In the past, we were interacting with our body being removed. From now and onwards, the body is being brought into the medium, and the medium itself becomes architectural. This is why it is so urgent for us to be asking these questions."

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Space Popular explores virtual reality and mass production in architecture - Dezeen

Written by Jacqui Palumbo, CNN

Two decades after artist KAWS released his first collectible "Companion" -- an 8-inch figurine riffing on Mickey Mouse with black X marks for eyes -- the character has become a worldwide sensation.

His work appears as paintings, sculptures, toys, and inflatables, often referencing characters from "The Simpsons," "Spongebob Squarepants" and "Sesame Street."

His subversive take on beloved characters has attracted a cult-like following, prompting a rush to buy smaller collectibles as well as massive works of art.

On Thursday, KAWS has taken his Companions to the virtual realm with "Expanded Holiday," an augmented-reality (AR) project that includes limited and open editions of AR Companions and a free exhibition that will place massive AR sculptures in major cities across six continents until March 26.

In theory, the Acute Art app allows users to place a KAWS Companion anywhere they like -- including Taipei. Credit: Courtesy KAWS and Acute Art

The project is a collaboration with tech company Acute Art, which has worked with artists like Jeff Koons, Ai Wei Wei, Marina Abramovi and Olafur Eliasson to realize ambitious virtuality-reality (VR) projects.

Visitors to the free exhibitions, titled "Companion (Expanded)," will be able to view a giant, levitating Companion through the Acute Art app at 12 locations including Times Square in New York, The Louvre in Paris and Shibuya Crossing in Tokyo. They'll be encouraged to take photos and share the work with others.

It's also possible to lease an AR Companion via the app for 7 to 30 days for under $30. Users can then see the art at any location for a limited time. Twenty-five limited-edition AR Companions are also for sale via the website, for $10,000.

While working with Acute Art, Donnelly said, "I instantly got excited about what the possibilities of (working with AR) could be that couldn't exist in a traditional medium." He was drawn to "the scale, (and) the ability to create an experience that feels real and can occupy a real space but exist digitally."

The AR KAWS Companion drifts over a field in Tanzania. Credit: Courtesy KAWS and Acute Art

Flipping through his phone in his Brooklyn studio, Donnelly shows how he has played with his AR Companions. He recorded a video of his wife and kids in the ocean, the cartoon figure hanging over them in the sky; at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, he placed a Companion on an temporarily vacant plinth block, making it look as if it were part of the exhibition. In his studio, he adds one to his table among his physical sculptures. "After I look at an AR piece through my phone in a space, I (associate it) with that space," he said.

KAWS sculpture appears on Hong Kong waters

But beyond these unusual times, Acute Art CEO Jacob de Geer emphasizes that the tech company has always promoted the idea of mounting art outside of traditional spaces. "(Acute Art) was founded on the vision of bringing art to places where it could not be before, and creating experiences that are not replicable without technology," he said. "It's always been about creating a piece that could not be painted or sculpted."

Users can lease the AR 'At This Time (Expanded)' for 7 to 30 days, so they can choose their own backdrop for the floating KAWS design. Credit: Courtesy KAWS and Acute Art

While De Geer's team has worked with major artists to produce immersive VR content, those projects require the use of a headset. Donnelly's collaboration marks their first foray into AR, or, more specifically, mixed reality (MR), which allows nearly seamless interaction with a digital object in a physical environment -- while AR imagery sits on top of anything in the camera's view, the Companions can be placed in front of or behind objects and look fully three-dimensional and grounded in space.

"Technology has arrived at a point where it's actually possible to build an AR or an MR experience that is completely convincing and really works as an artwork," De Geer said.

AR artworks have become increasingly ubiquitous in art museums. Last year, Tamiko Thiel's "Unexpected Growth," showed visitors to the Whitney Museum of American Art what the building might look like if New York were submerged underwater due to the climate crisis and rising sea levels. But artists have also used it to stage cheeky interventions.

In 2018, artists designed the MoMAR Gallery app, digitally manipulating Jackson Pollock works in the Museum of Modern Art. That same year, when street artist Escif was invited to the Palais de Tokyo to add AR graffiti to the walls, he left some playful surprises, including AR shopping bags on a Kiki Smith sculpture. Donnelly's inclination to perch his own Companion in the Met follows the same spirit of blurring the boundaries of art museums. With AR, art can exist anywhere.

AR puts the 3-D KAWS sculpture in Brooklyn, New York. Credit: Courtesy KAWS and Acute Art

"In a way, it's really democratizing art," De Geer said. "It's also allowing the person enjoying the art to interact with (it) to place the art themselves -- to be a curator."

The demand for Instagrammable art experiences has led to a growth in pop-up exhibitions over the past few years.

"Expanded Holiday" goes one step further and removes the need to experience art at a predetermined location. "I like that a work like this can exist in your home and you can interact with it on a very candid level," he said.

He believes it's the natural next step in the mobility of his Companion characters. "People take my small works and bring them places and take pictures of them," he said. "I think this is going to be like (that), but tenfold."

KAWS' Companion (Expanded) exhibition will be held in major cities worldwide from March 12.

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Large augmented-reality figures hover over Times Square - CNN

Press release content from ACCESSWIRE. The AP news staff was not involved in its creation.

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NAHF to create an immersive and informative experience through Virtual Reality for visitors

DAYTON, OH / ACCESSWIRE / March 10, 2020 / The National Aviation Hall of Fame (NAHF) has partnered with DigiDrub, to modernize visitor experience through Virtual Reality. DigiDrub is an award-winning digital agency focusing on web, digital content creation, and creating custom immersive experiences (AR/VR).

According to NAHF Chairman Michael Quiello, The NAHF has begun the transformation of our Heritage Hall and Education Center (HHEC). This partnership is the first step in reinventing our current space into a cutting-edge interactive and informative experience that makes NAHF a preferred destination for domestic, national and international visitors. Our HHEC will capture the imagination of the next generation of aerospace leaders through an evolving storyline of Enshrinees challenges and accomplishments in a realistic, hands-on, immersive environment so engaging that it becomes an inspirational and educational destination.

The VR experience is titled Return to the Moon; NAHF visitors will undertake an unforgettable experience where they will be flying with NASA Astronaut and NAHF Enshrinee Fred Gregory; they will learn some important history of lunar voyages and also complete a few tasks as part of the mission.

Aninda Bose, Managing Partner of DigiDrub said, we are honored that NAHF chose us to create this Virtual Reality experience. This will be an interesting and an exciting project for us to execute.

Since our foundation through an Act of Congress in 1964, the NAHF has been dedicated to honoring Americas aerospace pioneers, says NAHF President and CEO Amy Spowart. Our goal is to promote the vision, innovation, skill and courage of the national heroes who lent their genius to further our nations aerospace legacy. With our partnership with DigiDrub, we will inspire young people and educate them on our rich aviation history through modern technologies.

About NAHF

Founded and based in Dayton, OH, the NAHF Heritage Hall & Education Center is committed to informing the public of American aviation heroes, their accomplishments and their impact on advances in aviation from Early Flight to Space Travel. The NAHF ( http://www.nationalaviation.org ) strives to create a distinctive educational resource that will inspire future generations to appreciate our nations extraordinary aviation heritage and the men and women who created it.

About DigiDrub

DigiDrub ( http://www.digidrub.com ) is an award-winning digital agency which helps organizations brand and market better in the digital world; the agency focuses on website design and development, and SEO; Online content creation and social media management, and creating enterprise-grade custom VR/AR. The company has adopted a suite of Artificial Intelligence (AI) platforms to build predictive outcomes for its clients.

MEDIA CONTACT

NAHF Heritage Hall & Education Center

Amy Spowart

1100 Spatz Street, Dayton, Ohio 45433

(937) 256-0944 ext. 11

DIGIDRUB MEDIA CONTACT

Subhadeep Datta

+17329158530/+919830908099

SOURCE: NAHF Heritage Hall & Education Center

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National Aviation Hall of Fame Partners with Digidrub - Associated Press

ABBOTSFORD, British Columbia, March 11, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- ML-TRUCK is taking on B.C.s rails, recycling, and forests, and doing some high-tech heavy lifting. Effective immediately, the company will be carrying the entire range of LOGLIFT heavy-duty cranes and accessories from HIAB.

HIAB is a global leader in truck-mounted cranes proven and tested in the harshest conditions in Canada and worldwide. One thing that has led to that position is its reputation for innovation. And one of the most exciting of those innovations is HiVision LOGLIFT, the first timber crane to be controlled by virtual reality (VR). As the driver turns their head, the VR headset gives the operator an impressive 270-degree field of vision. The operator can direct the crane from the passenger seat with comfort and safety and without the need for an extra crane cabin than can weigh up to 400 kilograms, dramatically increasing payload and profit, and substantially increasing driver safety.

B.C.s rail lines are critical for transporting goods and people, on heavy trains for long distances and light rails. B.C. is one of the leaders in recycling, an early-adopter of extended-producer responsibility (EPR), and one of the largest plastic bottle recyclers. And forestry is a vital part of the B.C. economy. Ensuring those important industries continue to grow and prosper requires a lot of heavy lifting and high performance. And no brand is better positioned to do that than LOGLIFT, said Stirling Robertson, General Manager, ML-TRUCK Equipment Ltd.

LOGLIFT cranes come in a range of customizable solutions specifically designed to handle the unique needs of these specialized industries. These include SafetyPlus, hydraulic pilot, a wireless scale, HiVis for the highest possible visibility, boom and capacity options, and many features designed for long-life and rugged durability. From full-length harvesting to the most delicate energy forestry and specialized railway logic, LOGLIFT cranes deliver efficiency, strength, precision, performance, rugged reliability, and maximum payload without fail.

The addition of the full LOGLIFT crane range is a tremendous addition to our offerings in B.C., said Robertson. "These cranes are the epitome of smart controls, smart ideas and next-generation technology. They expand our ability to meet the growing high-tech needs of some of B.C.s largest industry sectors, and help us to be growing right there alongside them.

About ML-TRUCKML-TRUCK is BCs authorized dealer for Canadas #1 truck-mounted equipment brands: HIAB articulating cranes, Moffett forklifts, and Multilft hooklifts, and now the HIAB family of LOGLIFT and JONSERED forestry and railway cranes. The company is a partnership between Atlas Polar, Canadas #1 truck- mounted sales and service network, and MasonLift, B.C.s industry leader in equipment parts and service together, established in Canada for over 150 years. ML-TRUCK provides sales and service through locations spanning the province, as well as through MultiLifts extensive mobile fleet service. For more information, please visit http://www.mltruckequipment.com

Contact ML-Truck Equipment Ltd.Stirling Robertson, 604 425 3505, srobertson@mltruckequipment.com

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ML-TRUCK Takes on Heavy Lifting, HiVision and Virtual Reality with LOGLIFT - GlobeNewswire

Ken Baker, Ph.D., Columnist Published 10:24 a.m. ET March 10, 2020

Ken Baker and Cocoa(Photo: Submitted)

We Americans sure like our dogs. But do they like us?

Its not as easy a question to answer as it might seem at first blush. That tail-wagging, bouncing up-and-down, open-mouthed, tongue-lolling, goofy expression they greet you with at the front door after youve been gone for an hour to the Kroger as though youve just returned from a three-month excursion to Antarctica

That sure looks like affection. Common sense suggests it is and now, thanks to a raft of controlled studies over the past decade, most scientists would agree. Perhaps a more interesting question might be, do our pets know that we love them back? And here the unsatisfying answer seems to be: Maybe, but maybe not.

A 2018 study by the American Veterinary Medical Association reported that 38.4 percentof U.S. households were home to one or more pet dogs, amounting to a canine population of some 76.8 million animals. In purely economic terms, that translates into a whole lot of dog food, trips to the Vet, chew toys and way too many hours bent over with a pooper-scooper in the backyard.

Canine cognition laboratories are making significant inroads into the once unapproachable question of, Whats it like to be a dog?(Photo: Chewy)

We must love them. And a lot of research suggests they do appreciate the attention and care we give them and even love (its not too strong a word) us for ourselves, aside from the food and treats. But again, do they have a sense as to how we feel about them? Do they have, in the parlance of behavioral science, a theory of mind the ability to recognize that others (as well as they themselves) have their own active mental and emotional lives?

Not an easy concept to grasp. Human social interactions are founded on the assumption that others fundamentally think and feel much as we do ourselves. But that level of mental awareness requires a physiologically complex brain that dogs, and indeed most if not all, other animals, may not possess. But what if animal brains are complex enough to experience the world much as we humans do?

Its an area of active research and one with significant ethical implications. What if, for example, those untold millions of mammals and birds we house in industrial production facilities for human consumption, do have the neurological wiring to experience the world with an internal mental and emotional life at least somewhat approximating our own?

This is one reason many have opted for a vegetarian life style. Alternatively, such concerns are commonly viewed as unwarranted and overly sentimental anthropomorphisms by many others, while its likely that most of the rest of us have opted to not think too closely about the question at all.

Because of their size, tractability and obvious intelligence, the thinking and emotional aspects of dogs have been the subjects of more scientific study than any other group of animals, with the possible exception of chimpanzees. Canine cognition laboratories established in countries across the globe have made significant inroads into the once unapproachable question of, Whats it like to be a dog?

In some ways, it appears, not all that different from being a 3-year-old human toddler.

The two hemispheres of all mammalian brains possess similar structures, with lobes and parts bearing the same names and basic functions. Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) studies can identify which components of the brain are activated when an animal undergoes a given mental or emotional experience (by locating the regions receiving enhanced blood and oxygen flow).

Dogs (and other mammals investigated so far) process fear, anxiety, happiness, memories and spatial awareness in the same parts of the brain as do humans.

Some of the most interesting work in canine cognition over the past decade has come from studies conducted in neuroscientist Gregory Burns lab at Emory University. Since 2012, he has trained some 100 dogs to willingly submit to fMRI examination of neurological activity in their brains under a variety of circumstances. (YouTube has an intriguing TEDxAtlanta video on how the dogs were trained.)

Burns work provides strong evidence that dogs probably experience many of the same emotional highs and lows in a similar way that we do. But there are, of course, important differences.

Dogs may have the same basic brain structure as humans but their overall brain size and complexity of certain areas (especially of the cerebral cortex) is much smaller. One result is that while dogs appear to experience the full array of basic (gut) feelings that dont require much thought e.g., fear, affection, anxiety they never develop the so-called reflexive emotions like guilt, pride, contempt, shame or grief, which require conscious thought.

They dont experience guilt? What about that hang-dog expression when you come home to find shredded paper all over the kitchen? The research is pretty clear thats more a function of fear of punishment than a recognition of having been bad.

University of British Columbias Stanley Cohen indicates that the mind of an adult dog is roughly comparable to that of 2-to 3-year old human child. At that age a child has some, but not the full range of emotions she will eventually develop.

And yes, dogs do have an active dream life. Curiously enough, small dogs are much more active dreamers than larger ones, with small poodles experiencing as many as six short dreams per hour compared to a Great Danes one longer dream during that span.

Ken Baker is a retired professor of biology and environmental studies. If you have a natural history topic you would like Dr. Baker to consider for an upcoming column, please email your idea to fre-newsdesk@gannett.com.

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Essays on Non-virtual reality: Do dogs know that we love them? - The News-Messenger

Volkswagen's Chattanooga, Tenn., plant is undergoing some major changes in preparation for the upcoming onslaught of new electric vehicles. To alleviate logistical stress, VW developed a new augmented reality tool that allows technicians to see setups and plans before they exist.

The tool is essentially a software program that works with a set of goggles. While on the factory floor, workers and technicians can view various parts, equipment, and machinery that were developed and created within a computer program. This allows problem prevention before anything is physically changed or built. VW says one example is identifying "pinch points between machinery and parts that weren't previously visible."

This helps us to make decisions quicker, and spot potential issues sooner, Volkswagen Chattanooga Digital Factory Specialist Steffan Nunn said in a press release. As we integrate new models into the existing factory, we need to make sure our virtual design data matches the reality in the plant.

Implementing augmented reality into factories was a natural step for VW, as the company has been using virtual reality to build factories and vehicles for years. This technology simply takes what was previously seen on a digital screen and brings it into the "real world." The program was created by VW employees in about six weeks and will be implemented across numerous factories for years to come. Next, VW plans to use it for improving ergonomics and maintenance in the Chattanooga plant.

VW is one of many manufacturers using the technology, which will quickly become a new standard. Porsche uses it in dealerships and Ford already uses it for car design, for example.

Volkswagen plans to have its Chattanooga production lines ready to build electric cars starting in 2022. For now, it's busy with the new Atlas Cross Sport.

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VW begins using augmented reality to design production lines - Autoblog

By Akanksha Rana and Arriana McLymore

(Reuters) - Global downloads of business apps including Tencent Conference, WeChat Work, Zoom, Microsoft Teams and Slack have risen nearly five fold since the start of the year, data showed, as the coronavirus outbreak changes how corporations work.

While such apps attracted 1.4 million new users across the App Store and Google Play in the first week of January, that figure jumped to a record 6.7 million in the first week of March, according to app analytics firm Sensor Tower.

The outbreak, which reached global pandemic status this week, has forced companies to rely heavily on business conferencing tools as workers stop commuting to offices.

These services range from video conferencing apps such as Zoom and Google Hangouts Meet to cutting edge tools inspired by "Star Wars" to make remote work more manageable.

Some of these newer services such as Rumii and Spatial, which let users attend meetings in digital rooms where they can see and interact with digitized, 3D versions of their coworkers.

Zoom Video Communications Inc's daily active user base grew by 67% since early January, data from Apptopia showed. Analysts, however, warn that not every business app would see a corresponding financial gain from the demand surge.

"Most of them offer a freemium version so why would users pay when they can use for free," Summit Insights Group analyst Jonathan Kees said, pointing to services like Microsoft Teams and Zoom, which recently expanded their free offerings.

Zoom last week said it had seen a jump in usage, but added it was early to say whether such users will convert into paying customers.

Shares of the company have surged more than 60% since the beginning of this year, even as broader markets have been volatile on fears that the fast-spreading virus could lead to a global recession.

VIRTUAL REALITY

Rumii, a virtual reality training and education platform by Doghead Simulations, which costs $14.99 per month per user, last week began offering its services for free after noticing an uptick in use as the coronavirus spread in the United States.

New York-based augmented reality software company Spatial also saw usage of its service double over the last month.

Spatial Chief Executive Officer Anand Agarawala said that coronavirus concerns have led to a 400% surge in requests for the company's licenses in the last month and a 50% increase in usage within the past week.

Some analysts say the accelerated adoption of business apps cannot be dismissed as a blip.

"We have to consider that some of these changes may be irreversible, when (hopefully) things return to normal," DA Davidson analyst Rishi Jaluria said.

"You'll see more companies adopting these technologies and using them on a regular basis. So the benefit is more long-term in nature."

(Reporting by Akanksha Rana in Bengaluru and Arriana McLymore in New York; Editing by Arun Koyyur)

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Teleconference apps and new tech surge in demand amid coronavirus outbreak - KFGO News

Ethereum-focused event Ethereal will be hosted virtually, as a result of the coronavirus. Ethereal is an annual event run by production studio ConsenSys, which funds an editorially independent Decrypt.

In a statement, ConsenSys said, "Weve decided to postpone the Ethereal Summit New York in-person event to the fall of 2020. In the meantime, weve already gone to work reimagining Ethereal NY as the first-ever Ethereal Virtual Summit 2020, which will take place on May 7-8."

Ethereal will now be held virtually. Image: Ethereal.

As a virtual event, people will be able to watch talks and interact with other attendees from their own homes. The talks will be available in virtual reality, so those with virtual reality headsets will be able to explore the digital venue.

This year's event will feature Taylor Monahan, founder of MyCrypto, and Robert Leshner, founder of Compounda crypto lending platform.

Despite the setback, ConsenSys is hoping that the virtual event will be available to more people.

"While were disappointed we wont be able to host an in person gathering in May, were excited that well be able to offer access to the Ethereal Virtual Summit 2020 to a wider array of individuals who might have been previously unable to attend because of cost or travel."

Many other crypto events have been canceled or delayed including Paris Blockchain Week, which was scheduled for later this month. Many crypto events in Asia, including NiTROn2020 in Seoul, Hong Kong Blockchain Week 2020 and Token2049 were postponed last month.

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Ethereal crypto conference goes virtual in light of coronavirus - Decrypt

One of the iPhones set to be released this year will have some impressive augmented reality capability according to a report by Fast Company.

According to the report, one of the upcoming Apple iPhones will be fitted with a 3D depth camera attached on its back. This world-facing 3D scanner will offer users better augmented reality experiences. The feature has been rumored for years and this must be the year it finally comes to fruition. The Fast Company report quotes Apple-related sources.

The rear-facing camera will be a laser, sensor and a software system and it will work on the time-of-flight principle. A time-of-flight sensor sends out a light pulse and then measures the time it takes for the pulse to reach the object and travel back to the camera sensor. Using the principle, the camera is able to measure the rooms and objects in 3D.

The detailed and accurate depth information captured by the time-of-flight camera allows for the creation of new photo as well as video effects. It also provides much improved AR experiences.

Apple has been working on a rear-facing (world-facing) 3D camera for two years now and rumors had been rife that it would be installed on some of the previous iPhone launches. For close to two years, it was one of the features on the shortlist of tech analysts as next in line to be added to the iPhones. This has not materialized, however. From these reports, the feature is in the design and we will see it later in the year if COVID-19 outbreak doesnt interfere with Apples production schedules and launch plans.

Apple is purchasing the laser needed for the working of the new 3D time-of-flight camera from Lumentum, which is based in San Jose. This is the same company supplying the laser used in iPhones front-facing 3D cameras.

Some manufacturers have already incorporated rear-facing depth cameras into their smartphones. Samsungs Galaxy S20+, Galaxy S20 Ultra and the Galaxy Note 10+ already have the 3D depth cameras. So do a constellation of other Android-based smartphones. It is hoped that Apple will bring out new novel ways of leveraging the time-of-flight camera technology to enable new user experiences. Going by past experience, Apple is also more likely to be showy in how it brands and markets the 3D camera/AR experiences.

iPhones already have the front-facing depth cameras (TrueDepth). These are mainly used in FaceID security feature as well as in some of Apples fun messaging effects like Animoji.

Last year, Apple launched the iPhone 11 Pro and the iPhone 11 Pro Max which feature three camera lenses on the back: a 12-megapixel wide angle camera, a 12-megapixel 2X telephoto lens as well as a 12-megapixel ultra-wide-angle lens. All these three lenses give end users a breadth of photo-taking options but the 3D depth camera would provide depth information thereby taking it a notch higher.

The main depth effect that is currently available in the iPhone is its Portrait mode. This provides the photos with a bokeh effect. This blurs the background layer and positions the foreground subject in a sharp focus.

The 3D depth camera will add the depth data that allows for the creation of better-looking bokeh effect and makes it easier to more accurately distinguish the foreground from the background layers. It also adds additional depth layers that blur or focus. This functionality could make it possible to in the future adjust the layers of photos that are blurry and the ones that are now focused after editing mode.

3D mapping could also be used together with the photo software features of the iPhone. The 3D depth camera will have the biggest impact on the quality of the AR apps. Apples ARKit framework for building Augmented Reality apps was released three years ago although it is yet to pick up with consumers. The depth information enabled by the 3D sensing allows for greater accuracy in the functionality of the apps as they are able to more precisely place objects in space. This is likely to result in very powerful app functionality.

Apple is also building an Augmented Reality app for iOS 14 that will make it possible for users to point their smartphones at items in Apple Stores and Starbucks and they will subsequently see digital information about the items displayed around those items via the phone screen.

The rear-facing 3D cameras also allow users to create content that is easily shareable on social media. The phones camera and software can, for example, be used to share images of one interacting with holographic projections of celebrities or even animals. This is not so different from the functionality of the Holo app developed by 8i. With depth data, however, it can deliver much improved experiences. For instance, with depth sensing, it could show the feet of the hologram relative to the tabletop, in a very convincing way.

The 3D camera technology in Samsung phones powers AR features such as Live Focus that enables the user to blur out backgrounds in still images and videos thereby placing an emphasis on the image in the foreground. There is also the Quick Measure feature that can be used in approximating the dimensions, area and volume in the camera frame. Apples depth sensing camera feature may follow a similar path by highlighting features that can be activated by the rear-facing 3D camera.

AR on smartphones unlocks lots of opportunities but there is always the limitation of awkwardly viewing the AR effects via a smartphone screen held in front of the users face. The better AR experience would be via normal-looking AR glasses or headsets which Apple is reportedly silently working on. In the future, this might be Apples primary spatial computing device.

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New iPhone to be Released This Year to Have a Rear-Facing 3D Camera - Virtual Reality Times