Category Archives: Virtual Reality

Last week, I met documentarian Joe Hunting in a wooded clearing near a burbling stream. Chirping birds flew overhead in the azure sky as a Shiba Inu pawed at the ground a few yards away. Hunting got to work readying three cameras to film us during the interview. His spiky bangs blew in the breeze.

My hair didnt blow, however, because I didnt have any, and my skin was the texture of a microphone. I had giant, cat-like ears, and bug eyes with no irises. Joes right eye kept popping out of its socket, and his tripods and cameras were completely invisible.

This wasnt some demented dreamit was my first-ever interview conducted in virtual reality (VR), where Hunting is very much at home. His documentary, We Met in Virtual Reality, was released on HBO Max last month to critical acclaim. The film follows a set of real people as they live their lives within VR taking sign language classes, embarking on road trips, staging raucous weddings, and delivering heartfelt eulogies, all within the app. The filming took 14 months, with Hunting often spending 15 hours a week inside the app VRChat. For our interview, I put on an Oculus Quest headset and immersed myself in his world.

Many metaverse skeptics wonder why anyone would forsake the real world in favor of a false one. Many are similarly concerned by buzzword-filled metaverse visions from major companies, who want to monetize the next era of digital life. Questions about data collection, privacy, and the selling of digital objects linger.

Neither Hunting nor his film have the answer to all of those worries. But the film does offer a compelling look at the playfulness and joy people are already finding in virtual worlds. And Hunting himself is a living testament to how virtual reality can change lives. While shooting the film, Hunting, now 23, found his footing as a filmmaker, forged close friendships, and even fell in love with his now-significant other. For him, virtual reality is not a dystopian rabbit hole or a marketing gimmick but a fundamental, seamless aspect of his 21st century life. In VR, I felt the most present Ive ever felt, he says. Ive found a family through this process.

We Met in Virtual Reality is Huntings full-length debut. Already an avid gamer, Hunting entered VRChat while in film school four years ago and was immediately intrigued by the energy emanating out of its participants. My documentary film brain lit up, seeing all of these people, learning their stories, and seeing their creativity, he says.

While at home in a small town 40 miles outside of London, Hunting met a hot dog, a space bear, and an anime bodybuilder with a dragon tail. He met VR comedians, salsa instructors, and fashion designers. Most of the people Hunting met in VRChat used full body tracking equipment, or small VR sensors that attach to your ankles, elbows, and hips, allowing your corresponding avatar to gesticulate, dance, and exercise. To film their activity, Hunting paid $9 to upgrade VRChats standard camera function to something more high-endthe equivalent of a filmmakers fancy rig.

Hunting immediately felt comfortable among VRChat users and was soon spending over 15 hours a week inside the app. Meeting someone in VR is much more playful than meeting in the real world, Hunting says. Youre immediately on a wave of freedom, fluidity, and playfulness. Youre speaking to someone personality-to-personality before anything else. Youre not worried about how you look or how your body might be positioned in that moment. Youre just in it.

One of the people that Hunting met in VRChat was a sign-language teacher named Jenny, who appears as a glowing anime-style avatar with bubblegum-pink hair. Jenny is perhaps the central protagonist of We Met in Virtual Reality. She delivers poignant monologues about how her VRChat community helped pull her out of mental health crises and taught her new skills. Making friends here is sometimes what saves peoples lives or is what gets them up out of bed in the morning, she says in the film.

After Hunting finished the documentary, he says that he and Jenny very quickly realized that we didnt want to stop spending time with each other. The pair are now in a relationship. When I call Hunting for this interview, hes staying with Jenny in Los Angeles; she pops into the room at one point to remove a file from her computer. Falling in love in VR, it can be very special to see someone for their expression of themselves, Hunting says. Before meeting the person, you know the person that they want to be. And it felt like a strength and an excitement to help them get there.

Even when Hunting and Jenny are in the same room, they still don their VR headsets to take dance classes, meet up with old friends, and explore different new worlds. VR is still a core part of our lives, Hunting says.

The VRChat app costs $10 a month, but theres no buying and selling inside of the game. This has benefits and drawbacks: while it keeps the space free of ads and focused on hobbyists who truly want to be there, it also limits dance instructors from getting paid for their classes, for example.

This stands in sharp contrast to other present and future conceptions of metaverse worlds. The online game Roblox has an in-game currency which can be used to buy things for your avatar. Crypto virtual worlds like Decentraland are anchored by NFTs designed to be bought and soldmillions of dollars changed hands over virtual real estate there and in other worlds this year. These transactions add up. Nick Clegg, Metas president of global affairs, forecasted in May that the metaverse could eventually become a $200 billion industry employing 770,000 people. Meta, accordingly, is spending billions of dollars with the hopes of being at the forefront of that revolution.

Hunting is ambivalent about the increasing financialization of virtual spaces, and he appreciates the simplicity of VRChat. The aspect of owning property or an avatar or a certain item the value doesnt mean anything to me, he says. I care about my communities, my friends, my family, the creative freedom and the fluidity that we have in this space.

Hunting acknowledges the potential drawbacks of worlds like VRChat, including worries that it will be hard to return to the real world. Frances Haugen, a Facebook whistleblower, voiced concern about potential mental health and body image issues in a TIME interview last year: When you go into the metaverse, your avatar is a little more handsome or pretty than yourself. You have better clothes than we have in reality And you take your headset off and you go to brush your teeth at the end of the night. And maybe you just dont like yourself in the mirror as much.

Read More: Why Frances Haugen Is Super Scared About Facebooks Metaverse

Hunting says he hasnt heard that concern expressed by any of his virtual friends. Taking off the headset is just leaving that fantasy truth behind, and coming back to your authentic truthbut carrying that into yourself and being one with your avatar, he says.

Hunting acknowledges that hyper-sexualized avatars of female bodies can reinforce stereotypes. But, he says, my intention is to celebrate the positive aspects and to reflect upon the negatives and how we can improve on them.

I didnt love my VR experience as much as Hunting loved his. Ive only explored my Oculus headset a handful of times before this, and found that its weight pinches my temples and the bridge of my nose in a way that keeps me from feeling fully immersed.

After sorting out some logistics over Zoom, Hunting decided to bring me into the park, which I immediately found both surreal and soothing in its tranquil lushness. I love this worldits great therapy, I find: coming in, stroking dogs, playing fetch, Hunting said. As Hunting set up his invisible cameras, I toggled through options for avatars before settling on a microphone cat, which I felt fit with my journalistic purpose.

Hunting looked like a cartoonish Wii character but was clearly a real guy. He lacked a tongue but nodded along to my questioning and moved his hands expressively. The sensory overload was sometimes so disorienting that I couldnt follow what he was saying. I also had to surreptitiously take off my headset from time to time to look at a Google Doc, where Id prepared my notes. (Anybody know if VRChat has a notepad function?)

At the end of the interview, we walked around the park and towards the virtual Shiba Inu, who looked up, panting. Hunting found a stick and chucked it. The dog bounded over to pick it up, then delivered it back to Hunting, sticking its tongue out and closing its eyes in bliss when Hunting patted it on the head. The dog was undeniably cute and fun to interact with, but for me, it felt like wed landed in a hollow middle ground: better than not having a virtual dog, but nowhere near the real thing.

At the same time, I saw how naturally Hunting moved through VRChat; how it allowed him to tap into newfound aspects of his persona, creativity, and craft. For Hunting and the people who use it, VR has enabled them to find community and identity, even if they dont feel at home in the real world.

Hunting believes that virtual realitys appeal will continue to increase as headsets get lighter and graphics improve. And he will continue making films that serve as gateways into this new world and era. If we want to take a meeting or catch up with family or friends, we can be in an embodied space where we are physically presentand we can have a much richer sense of presence in connecting, he says. I think VR will be as accessible as a smartphone.

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How a Filmmaker Made a Movie and Fell in Love in VR - TIME

VR (Virtual Reality) technology is already starting to impact our lives in major ways. The military, health care industry, and government all use virtual reality to simulate things, mainly for training purposes. Since all of these departments and institutions have a significant impact on our lives, its fair then to say that, by extension, virtual reality does too.

In the coming years, analysts predict that virtual reality will start to have a more meaningful impact on our lives on a more personal basis, however. This post will tell you why.

If you have been following whats been going on in the VR world, then you will already be familiar with the Metaverse, a platform thats run by Facebook. Many believe that the Metaverse platform is the future of social media. The Metaverse is an interactive virtual world, accessed using virtual reality technology. According to information from this website, another platform thats similar to Facebooks Metaverse is Decentraland. Both of these platforms are very popular with users of virtual reality technology because it gives them places to network with other people and makes new friends. Its clear to see that interactive virtual spaces are the future of social media. If you are a social media user, then at some point in your life, its likely that you will have to use a platform like Metaverse or Decentraland in order to communicate with your friends on the internet.

Educational institutions are beginning to use virtual reality technology to streamline teaching and the classroom experience. If youre reading this, then you have probably left school or college. However, just because you are no longer a student, that doesnt mean that this wont impact your life. If you have children or plan on having children, then you will eventually have to use this kind of technology to help your child to understand their classes better. You may even have to invest in this kind of equipment so that your child can learn from home in the event of another pandemic, which scientists say is very likely.

During the COVID-19 pandemics first lockdown, various stores and boutiques, especially high-end ones, began offering virtual shopping experiences. You didnt need a virtual reality headset to access these online environments, although they did help. Having one made it easier for people to determine whether or not they liked what they were looking at. In the future, its expected that virtual shopping is going to become a lot more common. After all, virtual shopping is a lot easier and simpler than driving to stores to buy things, especially clothes. Virtual shopping allows people to handle and examine clothing items they want to buy without physically being there.

The online gambling industry is starting to utilize virtual reality technology now, too. You can visit digital casinos, using your virtual reality headset. While this kind of thing has existed for a very long time, with a lot of people visiting Bitcoin casinos in the virtual reality space, its starting to filter down and become a lot more common among ordinary people. Before, virtual reality gambling was something that only tech experts and investors made use of. Now its something that anybody can use, especially since virtual reality headsets are a lot cheaper.

Since the internet was first made public, people have been using online dating sites. Because people from all over the world have access to the internet, it is possible for people to meet each other, despite living in different countries and even continents. International long-distance dating is a lot more common today because communication has been made easier. Virtual reality dating is becoming more common, because it allows people who live in different countries to still have real dates, without being in each others presence physically. This allows people to determine whether or not they like each other, before making commitments.

Finally, if you have tried to buy a house in the last year and a half, you may be familiar with virtual viewings. Many realtors insist upon virtual viewings first, so that they can be sure that the people that are viewing properties are confident that they like what they are viewing first. This is so that they do not waste the realtors time. The real estate industry has benefitted tremendously from the use of virtual reality. Virtual reality technology has made the lives of realtors much easier.

Virtual reality technology has had a great impact on our lives already. In the future, its clear that it will be even more impactful. Virtual reality will, in the next half-century, become an important part of everybodys lives. Virtual reality headsets are also becoming a lot more affordable, making them more accessible to people on budgets.

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Top Reasons Why VR Technology Will Have a Great Impact on Our Lives - Tekedia

For decades, gaming has been an influential part of our culture, creativity, and connection. Some of todays most forward-looking leaders grew up in packed mall arcades, dreamed of being stuck in a film like Tron, and faced off around the family computer or console of choice, from the Atari 2600 to Xbox, and everything in-between.

Fast-forward, and gaming now includes online, mobile, social, cloud, augmented reality, virtual reality, and the metaversea market that is on track to surpass $200 billion in 2023.

For over 20 years people have collaborated in games like The Sims and Second Life and most recently Fortnite, Roblox, Minecraft, Pokmon Go, and more. These are more than just games; they are shared virtual play spaces designed to meet up, build worlds, battle on, buy virtual goods, dance off, and jam out.

But what does this trend mean for the future of work? Surprisingly, quite a bit.

Companies can now embrace work in a variety of ways to build belonging and foster a culture of connection, community, creativity, and productivity. In fact, those who want the most innovative, diverse, and exceptional talent must know how to collaborate and leverage technology for a multitude of arrangements and employee realities at any given time.

Balancing needs and interests has taken on new meaning in a world where 73% of teams will have remote workers by 2028. Its all about accessibility, flexibility, and continuous feedback loops to improve experiences and enable productivity, while also combating challenges like those cited in the latest State of Remote Work report: poor communication/collaboration (17%), loneliness (19%), and difficulty staying motivated (12%).

Companies will begin offering up places and spaces for collaboration in cities where multiple team members reside, providing a base outside of the home to support team members in the best ways for them. It will be important for companies to accommodate a mixed and merged workforce, creating safe spaces where businesses can both set expectations and manage employee well-being.

According to a recent Deloitte study, the vast majority of Generation Z (87%), millennials (83%), andGeneration X (79%) play video games weekly on personal and household devices. While some might think that Fortnite is childs play, more than 60% of the Fortnite community is between the ages of 18 and 24the very demographic entering the workforce. In another recent survey, more than 50% of Gen Z participants plan to own their own business within the next 10 years.

This generation grew up buying virtual goods or power-ups for their mobile gamesand is native to online engagement and collaboration, community-building, and problem-solving. Its no surprise that gaming and play are informing new business models and shaping the future of work in all kinds of settings. The future of hybrid work is changing, and adding virtual reality into the mix of remote and in-office collaboration can create a new, dynamic workspace that gives businesses the best of both worlds.

Brands are exploring the creation of their virtual identities to help personify their values and beliefs into a virtual being that can show up live, in real time,on any channel. The behaviors of the rising workforce will continue to drive these innovations and brand evolutions.

Already we see companies expanding their organizational structures to include new roles such as director of metaverse engineering, head of Web3, avatar creator, virtual architect, builder, and real estate agent.

The metaverse is not quite here, but it is near. The metaverse and evolution of Web3 are reminiscent of the early days of the internet: The potential is enormous, and there is no set playbook.

We are creating the future of work every day. A multitude of collaboration platforms have been rolled out so far, each with its own flavor and features. Some are VR only, some are AR only, events only; some are inspired by retro gaming and others may even replicate a traditional office suite.

Immersive platforms are pushing the traditional work setting into mixed-merged worlds with team onboarding, virtual showrooms, virtual test labs, gamified gatherings, company celebrations, and moreall accessible from almost any device via laptop, mobile, or VR headset.

With the rise in remote work, companies are looking for new ways to collaborate and create a better-connected culture. The sense of community the metaverse brings is no longer limited to just gaming. As workplaces evolve, workers will increasingly collaborate, create, and communicate in the metaverse.

As workspaces catapult into the future, the metaverse will help maintain the innately human sense of connection and community that so many of us crave, while enabling the kind of flexibility and balance that weve also come to know.

Val Vacante is senior director of product innovation at Merkle.

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The metaverse is replacing the office. Meet the gamified workforce of the future - Fortune

Few events capture raw aggression more than pugil sticks, a rite of passage for Marines at boot camp that involves two recruits trying to clobber each other with padded pole weapons whilst their brothers or sisters and arms cheer with each hit.

Looking at the foam-covered carnage, one might be tempted to recall Theodore Roosevelts famous quote about The Man in the Arena, or the now defunct television show American Gladiators, both of which capture the brutal intimacy of hand-to-hand combat.

Now the Marines are simulating the pugil stick experience to give people interested in joining the Corps a taste of what they would do in boot camp. Earlier this month recruiting station commanders tested out how to use the pugil stick simulator as part of Battle Position, a mass recruiting event that also includes challenging potential poolees to max out their scores on pull-ups and ammunition can lifts, according to the Defense Visual Information Distribution Service.

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The Aug. 11 event was held at Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base Fort Worth, Texas, and included Marine recruiters from Texas, Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, and Utah. One image from the event shows a Marine wearing a virtual reality headset and wielding what looks an awful lot like a Klingon pain stick.

The pugil sticks simulator allows potential recruits to use Oculus Quest 2 gaming technology to battle a virtual opponent, said Alan Whitley of the marketing agency Wunderman Thompson in an August 2021 video about the simulator.

Im an old man, I feel like, but it was a blast getting in there and getting to do battle, Gunnery Sgt. Jacob Fuller, a Marine recruiter, said in the video. It was pretty awesome. I cant wait to do it again.

It is possible that other Marines as well as grizzled veterans may not be impressed by virtual pugil stick fighting. Indeed, taking the violence out of pugil sticks is a bit like giving a Dodge Charger an electric motor.

But retired Marine Master Sgt. Tony Villa, who served as a recruiter from 1994 to 1997, said he believes that the pugil stick simulator can be a useful tool for the Marine Corps to reach out to qualified young people.

When Villa was a Marine recruiter, he only had a few options to get attention for recruiting events, such as pull-up challenges, videos, and local airshows, he told Task & Purpose on Monday.

I think that virtual pugil sticks are a great idea: A good way to feel it without getting your mouthpiece knocked out, Villa said. Its probably a great cardio workout as well. The population that the recruiters are trying to reach in 2022 are well versed in this type of tech and I think its a great way to start the conversation.

Former Marine Cpl. Scott Whisler also said the pugil sticks simulator sounds like an interesting idea, but nothing can simulate the disorienting experience of taking a hit to the head or body, even when you are wearing protective equipment.

It cant replicate the jarring of the arms when striking your opponent either, said Whisler, a contributor to Task & Purposes Gear section. While it would be a fun and exciting experience, it would potentially set up recruits for failure.

Whisler said nothing could have prepared him for pugil stick fighting short of actually doing it. While pugil stick competitions may look as though they resemble football drills, they are actually far more chaotic, he said.

In 2006 we had to wear a soft padded helmet, similar to those worn by boxers, and a padded chest plate, Whisler said. I remember locking my hands onto the pugil stick via the built-in gloves, nervous as all hell when it was my turn. Any plan or strategy I had went out the window immediately as my opponent swung wildly. So, I swung as hard as I could as fast as I could hoping to create distance and land as many solid strikes as I could. It was equally riveting and disorienting.

Former Marine Lance Cpl. Peter Schaub said it might be more realistic and perhaps cheaper if recruiters had people use pugil sticks to hit mannequins or another physical target.

Schaub, who admitted that he despised pugil stick fighting, also asked who the target audience would be for this pugil stick simulator.

The Marines have been able to (mostly) meet their recruitment goals when other branches fall flat because they lean into the toughness aspect, Schaub told Task & Purpose. Does this experiment fit the bill? I dont think so.

Ultimately, the Marine Corps and other services need more than gimmicks to attract recruits, Schaub said. The military branches need to make institutional changes to remedy longstanding issues, such as poor housing and the lack of any sort of work/life balance, he said.

Potential recruits have seen the way the government has failed Vietnam vets, and now Iraq and Afghanistan vets, Schaub said. They are hesitant to put themselves through the same bullshit. So, in the end, these toys might be fun for potential recruits to play with, but theyre not convincing anyone to join.

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Marines are using virtual reality pugil sticks to recruit the next generation - Task & Purpose

Virtual reality goggles that can transcribe patient appointments directly to electronic records are to be trialled by community nurses in Northern Lincolnshire and Goole.

The NHS pilot scheme, which is set to launch next week, aims to allow community nurses to spend more time during home visits on patients clinical needs and less on administrative tasks.

These goggles will really help to cut down the time we need to keep for admin

Becky Birchall

The Queens Nursing Institute said it would be very interesting to learn from the trial and see how beneficial the goggles may be, however it warned that any new system needs time and investment to prove its viability in practice.

NHS England has awarded the Northern Lincolnshire and Goole NHS Foundation Trust 400,00 to test the new goggles this summer as part of a wider innovation project, which includes a further 16 pilots in the coming months.

With patient consent, the virtual reality style headset can transcribe an appointment directly to electronic records and can share live patient footage with hospital colleagues to gain second opinions and help avoid further appointments or admissions, according to NHS England.

The goggles also use thermal imaging to help assess how wounds and injuries have healed and can be used by nurses tolook up their next appointment that day and check how long it will take to get there based on live travel updates.

According to NHS England, community nurses are estimated to spend more than half of their day filling out forms and manually inputting data something this trial aims to combat.

It said the pilot would help to expand their capacity and provide more time for clinical tasks.

Clinical nurse specialist Becky Birchall said her team were thrilled to be the first in the country to take them on community visits.

"We currently spend a considerable amount of time writing up our visits to patients and these cutting-edge goggles will really help to cut down the time we need to keep for admin, supporting us to care for our patients, she said.

The glasses have a thermal imaging feature, which I think will be particularly useful for us when we are examining wounds and these features are going to really help us provide the best possible care for our patients.

Meanwhile, a spokesperson for the QNI, said: The possibility of emerging technology to assist community nurses is growing all the time and we have seen a steady shift away from paper-based to digital systems.

Different people adopt new technologies in different ways and at a different pace, so any new system needs time and investment to prove its viability in practice.

It will be very interesting to learn from this trial and see how these goggles benefit the nursing process and support good patient outcomes.

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Community nurses to trial virtual reality goggles aimed at reducing admin time - Nursing Times

In what is being billed as the largest M.C. Escher exhibition ever, the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, is presenting more than 400 works by the beloved graphic artist, providing a fresh look to an artist who was once called a one-man art movement.

Born Maurits Cornelis Escher in the Netherlands in 1898, Escher would come to define a 1960s aesthetics inspired by psychedelic culture known for creating mental images that drew on mathematics, physics, and various branches of science and architecture.

The exhibition contains a survey of the artists most well known works, including an impressive array of prints, drawings, watercolors, printed fabrics, constructed objects, wood and linoleum blocks, lithographic stones, and sketchbooks.

The bulk of the material is on loan from the private collection of Michael S. Sachs, a former clinical psychologist based in Connecticut, who acquired 90 percent of Eschers oeuvre from the artists estate in 1980 for about $1 million. Now 84, Sachs said he has sold about half of the original collection, with the Art Newspaperreporting earlier this year that together with Jan Vermeulen, Eschers business advisor and executor, the two had begun selling Escher prints as early as the 1970s.

M.C. Escher, Symmetry No. 62 (1944). The M.C. Escher Company, The Netherlands; courtesy of Michael S. Sachs.

Today, prints of Eschers works continue to adorn dorm rooms from Toronto to Tbilisi, with Eschers unique and original style borrowing elements from both Op-Art and Surrealism, and forging them into meticulous dreamlike creations distinctly his own.

The artist eluded easy categorization by crafting a career as an illusionist who instead intended to re-make the rules of a three-dimensional vanishing point on a two-dimensional surface. The result is a riveting rabbit hole for the senses, as astonishing trompe loeil that attempts to deceive not only the eye, but also the mind.

Perhaps most well known for his series Impossible Constructions, which include the paradoxical staircases of Ascending andDescending (1960), also included in the show are examples from his Transformation Prints series, which include Metamorphosis I, Metamorphosis II, and Metamorphosis III (1939-1968), and depict animals and shapes gradually transforming into one another.

The exhibition in Houston is organized both chronologically and thematically, and because this is 2022, and immersive Van Gogh-esque touring installations are basically the art-world equivalent of off-Broadway now, the exhibition includes several interactive auxiliary rooms where visitors may play with optical illusions inspired by Escher.

By spanning Eschers entire career, this extraordinary exhibition explores Eschers detailed thought process, the exhibitions curator, Dena M. Woodall, said in a release. It reveals, in a way, the magic behind the final prints, with the inclusion of preparatory drawings and progressive printing proofs as evidence of his working process.

Virtual Realities is on view at MFAH through September 5. See images of the exhibition below.

M.C. Escher, Virtual Realities, exhibition view, courtesy the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, 2022.

M.C. Escher, Virtual Realities, exhibition view, courtesy the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, 2022.

M.C. Escher, Sky and Water. The M.C. Escher Company, The Netherlands; courtesy of Michael S. Sachs.

M.C Escher, Relativity (1953). The M.C. Escher Company, The Netherlands; courtesy of Michael S. Sachs.

M.C. Escher, Hand with Reflecting Sphere (1935). The M.C. Escher Company, The Netherlands; courtesy of Michael S. Sachs.

M.C. Escher, Drawing Hands (1948). The M.C. Escher Company, The Netherlands; courtesy of Michael S. Sachs.

M.C. Escher, Castrovalva (1930), The M.C. Escher Company, The Netherlands; courtesy of Michael S. Sachs.

M.C. Escher, Day and Night (1938). The M.C. Escher Company, The Netherlands; courtesy of Michael S. Sachs.

M.C. Escher, Reptiles (1943), The M.C. Escher Company, The Netherlands; courtesy of Michael S. Sachs.

M.C. Escher, Virtual Realities, exhibition view, courtesy the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, 2022.

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In Pictures: Before Virtual Reality, There Was M.C. EscherSee Mind-Bending Drawings From a Major New Survey of This One-Man Art Movement - artnet News

Big Rock Creative, Golden Apple Productions and Partikle Digital are teaming up for FanConXR, which is being billed as the first ever VR fan convention. Attendees will be able to access it via either on headset or a PC. And with more than 11 million VR headsets sold in 2021, there is obviously an audience for it.

The virtual event will be held September 24th and even with live events coming back, theres still a lot of interest in online events, and FanConXR hopes to fill that need with a full line-up of panels, guests and more.

And admission is FREE!

The event is being produced by Big Rock Creative, producers of an officialVirtual Burning Man Experience, content experience thought leader Partikle Digital, and Los Angeles based Golden Apple Comics, known for its area signings and events.

Participants thus far include Aftershock Comics, Heavy Metal, and Stranger Comics, with creators and additional exhibitors to be announced in the coming weeks! OH and FULL DISCLOSURE, I will be moderating several panels for the event.

Why did I sign up to help out with this? Well, I like the people involved, and as much as I love live events, virtual events have their own advantagesand this one will be taking it much further than a Zoom room, with all the possibilities of virtual reality, including a lot more fan interaction. Ive been intrigued by attempts at VR fan events, so I thought it would be educational to participate in one.

FanConXRs origin is something of a family affair. When most of us experience something transcendent, we naturally want to share it far and wide. After one visit to the virtual Burning Man space in 2020, I was blown away and sought to get other communities involved says Kari Dietrich of Partikle Digital. I immediately reached out to Kendra and Ryan Liebowitz of Golden Apple Comics, who just so happen to be my sister and brother-in-law. We met with Big Rock Creatives Athena Demos and Doug Jacobsen, also a long-time friend, and together, were working to create a singular virtual con experience open to comic fans around the globe.

Golden Apples Ryan and Kendra Liebowitz continued We are so excited for people all over the world to visit our store virtually and have a con experience with other fans socially without any of the costs or lines but all the fun!

Athena Demos and Doug Jacobsen of Big Rock Creative added We are thrilled to bring our community and world building expertise in VR to convention goers around the world, and are certain they will say they truly have never experienced anything like it.

FanConXR will take place on September 24, with exhibitors, Hollywood talent, and comic creators announcements coming. Attendees will be able to participate from either headset or laptop, easily set up through AltspaceVR and streaming through FanConXRs YouTubepagewith programming running at various times throughout the event.

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FanConXR to be held in virtual reality on September 24 - Comics Beat

Even in virtual reality, Surplex knows the importance of quality footwear. The VR companys latest innovation is a set of footwear that can replace the need for a base station or straps. Known as Full-Body Tracking Shoes, the silver sneakers are ideal for gaming or a simple stroll in the metaverse. The project is only a Kickstarter campaign for now, but Surplex also sees potential for use in 3D animation and the medical field.

Each individual shoe is equipped with 240 flexible pressure sensors that work in tandem with an inertial measurement unit. The shoes then sync with Surplexs deep learning algorithm system to track the wearers movement and directly mirror it in real-time in VR. A single charge can last up to six hours, although we dont recommend spending six hours in virtual reality at once.

Surplex also promises an easy set-up for the system. Unlike other cyber footwear, there are no base stations, dongles, or straps involved. Because of the complex sensors, the shoes offer 360-degree coverage, zero blind spots, and no drifting. A one-minute demo video depicts how the shoes movement translates to the mirrored VR character, but Surplex also notes that the algorithm is still undergoing some fine-tuning.

The power of Surplex lies in our self-developed flexible pressure sensors under each foot and proprietary deep learning algorithms to infer human 3D skeletons accurately, Surplex founder Axl Chan said in a press release. The result is the most natural and highly accurate way to interact with the virtual world. Surplex is more than a VR accessory, it represents true freedom for a fascinating new world.

Stepping toward the future Surplexs website gives a peak into whats in store for the system, including the ability to rig your characters in film productions, game development, etc. More interesting is its medical analysis potential. Surplex plans to make a public interface for athletic performance and rehab analyses with access to pressure information and other kinematic data.

Accessing fully digital spaces through bulky headsets and stiff bases doesnt prioritize comfort as much as functionality. Chan said the shoe idea stemmed from his realization that the interactive tools available on the market to navigate VR are pretty limited. The shoes will also be compatible with various games and apps, including VRChat, Blade and Sorcery, and Neos VR.

Surplex will launch its campaign for the Full-Body Tracking Shoes via Kickstarter soon. Because the project is still in development, a price, full list of supported platforms, or release date have yet to be revealed.

Original post:

Surplex wants to bring body-tracking shoes to virtual reality - Input

A new interactive augmented reality experience has arrived in Melbournes CBD, supporting city traders by offering visitors more reasons to stay longer and see more.

Image: Patricia Piccini artwork

Creativity and technology combine to see world-class artworks adorn Melbournes arts precinct with the launch ofAR. Trail a collaboration between Fed Square, Koorie Heritage Trust, ACMI and NGV that has created the citys largest, free augmented reality (AR) art trail.

The cutting-edge art experience features 22 digital works with new commissions by celebrated Australian artists Reko Rennie, Ron Mueck and Patricia Piccinini, alongside a star-studded line-up of international artists including KAWS, Olafur Eliasson, Cao Fei, Koo Jeong A, Nina Chanel Abney and David Shrigley.

Art lovers can download the app for free on their smartphone, and discover a menu of virtual artworks, ranging from small sculptures to architectural-sized moving images.

Marking the first timeAR.Trail has been in Australia, the experience is developed in partnership with renowned London-based digital art organisation Acute Art known for delivering a string of highly successful augmented reality exhibitions in Singapore, New York, London, Tokyo and more.

This initiative has been supported through the Melbourne City Revitalisation Fund a partnership with the City of Melbourne and is part of a $9.8 million suite of creative events and experiences which continue to attract visitors to Melbournes CBD.

AR. Trail runs from 22 August to 30 September at Fed Square. Visitors can download the free Acute Art app via the Apple Store and Google Play or find out more at fedsquare.com.

Original post:

Melbourne's largest ever augmented reality art trail - Creative Victoria

To mark the expansion of Metas bland virtual reality platform, Horizon Worlds, into France and Spain, Mark Zuckerberg recently shared a selfie. The graphic, featuring the boyish CEO in front of a low-res model of the Eiffel tower, quickly struck a nerve, sparking sneers, jeers and sighs from quippy social media users. And honestly, can you blame them?

If the image offended you and personally, Id find that reasonable given Metas influence over our virtual past and present then perhaps you can find solace in this: Mark Zuckerberg hears you. He sees you. And no, he more or less says, the metaverse wont look that wack. At least, not forever.

Mark Zuckerbergs Horizon Worlds avatar, looking just awful. Image Credits: Facebook

Major updates to Horizon and avatar graphics coming soon. Ill share more at Connect, the CEO said on Instagram on Friday, referring to Metas upcoming developer conference. Also, I know the photo I posted earlier this week was pretty basic it was taken very quickly to celebrate a launch, the executive added, showing signs of humanity. The misstep echoed something wholly relatable: the act of posting a late-night selfie, only to regret it in the morning.

The Meta boss response included another avatar and an ancient-looking cafe, with fine details that evoke a bit more Pixar and a little less e-card. Zuckerberg went on to reassure his followers that Metas graphics and avatars are capable of much more even on headsets and Horizon is improving very quickly.

Indeed, for all of our sakes, I sure hope hes right.

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Mark Zuckerberg says the metaverse wont be as cringey as his cursed selfie - TechCrunch