Category Archives: Virtual Reality

Augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) are often talked about in the same breath and that can make sense for, say, measuring the market for these related capabilities. AR and VR do share a lot of commonalities, saysTom Emrich, AR/VR expert and managing director ofAugmented World Expo. And in a future of head-worn devices, these technologies will feel more like two sides of the same coin; the same device will allow us to experience augmented reality or virtual reality, depending on how much of the real world is necessary.

For people whove never actually seen an AR or VR device, it's very easy to assume everything is VR.

However, AR and VR today are two distinct things more like cousins than twins. VR gets much more coverage and AR can be more nebulous given the various ways in which it can be deployed, says Leon Laroue, technical product manager of augmented reality solutions forEpson.For people whove never actually seen an AR or VR device, its very easy to assume everything is VR.

Since AR and VR are not one and the same, they require business leaders to devise different strategies for implementing these technologies in their organizations. Let's clarify the differences and look at some real-world examples.

[ Want a primer? Read also:How to explain augmented reality in plain English. ]

AR lets the user experience the real world, which has been digitally augmented or enhanced in some way. VR, on the other hand, removes the user from that real-world experience, replacing it with a completely simulated one.

Because VR requires complete immersion, VR devices shut out the physical world completely.

Because VR requires complete immersion, VR devices shut out the physical world completely. The lens on the smart glasses that deliver AR capabilities, on the other hand, are transparent. Understanding these differences is critical in determining the best use cases for each.

At a high level, AR applications are best suited for use cases where users need to be connected to and present in the real world, Laroue explains. Some AR enterprise solutions include remote assistance, on-the-job training, remote collaboration, and computer-assisted tasks.

In our research of both technologies, we have found AR to be well-suited for industrial use cases, particularly workforce training and product maintenance, says Michael M. Campbell, executive vice president, augmented reality products, atPTC. In particular, companies that are facing knowledge gaps and expertise loss as workers retire are capturing that knowledge digitally and sharing it with less-experienced workers via AR tools.

Maintenance professionals don AR headsets to record and narrate their tasks which will then be used to train millennial workers.

One example: Honeywellis dealing with an aging workforce. Instead of writing out training documents, its veteran maintenance professionals don AR headsets to record and narrate their tasks which will then be used to train millennial workers in a hands-on but digitally assisted way. The company says workers trained in this fashion tend to retain 80 percent of what theyve learned, compared to20 to 30 percent when they read a manual.

VR applications are best suited for simulation or complete immersion: Think remote collaboration with 3D elements, point-of-view training, and virtual tours. TheJohnson & Johnson Institute, for example, developed virtual reality software to improve training for orthopedic surgeons and nurses.Walmart uses VRto create both unlikely scenarios (such as weather emergencies) and common ones to give associates a first-hand training experiencewithout disrupting operations.

[ What are some other real-world examples?Read our related article:5 interesting AR/VR projects in action. ]

During the next three to five years, AR and VR will continue to be applied in different ways. They serve different purposes and offer different value propositions, says Laroue. However, Emrich notes, if wearables become more mainstream in the enterprise, these capabilities may converge more with time.

[ Want lessons learned from CIOs applying AI? Get the full HBR Analytic Services report,An Executives Guide to Real-World AI. ]

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Augmented reality (AR) vs. virtual reality (VR): What's the difference? - The Enterprisers Project

PARIS, FRANCE - JANUARY 19: David Guetta performs at AccorHotels Arena on January 19, 2018 in Paris, France. (Photo by David Wolff - Patrick/Redferns)

For some time, various players in the music-tech scene have been vying to become the true breakout to creatively integrate the traditional music experience with some facet of emerging technology.To date, the main spotlight has been on that of virtual reality. While many early attempts using this platform have clearly failed to scale, a new entrant on the scenejust may have cracked the code that not only drives the industry forward but also offers a solid business model.

Sensorium Corporation, in partnership with the notable Redpill VR, recently put the finishing touches on a new entertainment offering that leverages the power social virtual reality with that of traditional concert-going and club DJs to give music fans an entirely new experience.The charge is lead by Chief Visionary Officer at the company, Ingvar Goldman, who recently provided me with an private demonstration of the platform while here in the U.S.from The Netherlands.

LdC: What is the exact offering that music fans can expect from this new technology infusion in the space?

IG: We are creating a virtual universe that offers users direct and live access to major concerts and DJ club events from all over the world. Users can enter one of numerous virtual rooms. Each one is a different concert or club venue. Once inside, users can then engage with avatars and artists, watch and take part in the event and also interact with other users. These virtual events will then be broadcast live from world-renowned venues and clubs and feature famous artists and DJs. We are also creating a library of events so users can visit and engage in events that have taken place in the past.

LdC: The biggest challenge tech players have typically had with generating success is lack of true connection with the music industry. How are you planning to overcome such hurdles and create true partnerships in an industry known to be very insular?

IG: At the moment among our partners are the world famous club events such as Ushuaa Ibiza and H Ibiza. Were also working with some of the worlds largest electronic music festivals such as Mysteryland, Sensation, Awakenings, Defqon.1 and Thunderdome, Apenkooi. We are also in the final stage of signing an agreement with a number of leading global event agencies involved in organizing major events and festivals around the world.

DJ testing VR equipment for Sensorium's forthcoming platform.

LdC: But how easy is to convince venues and artists to join the platform?

IG: There are mutual interests that venues and artists can clearly see. This is a completely new, advanced and potentially huge platform for the music and entertainment industry. This technology will eventually attract millions of users. There will be previously unseen promotional opportunities for new and existing artists and unique ways for artists to interact with fans and for fans to access their favorite artist. And of course it is a new monetization channel too for everyone involved so naturally there is an enormous amount of interest.

LdC: Realistically, how affordable will it be for consumers? Will you have the typical subscription system and/or the ability to pay for individual events?

IG: Our business model is comparable to that of the payment models in gaming such as subscriptions and in-game payments. Different models can be applied at different stages of the project. Today we are considering all existing models. We will be experimenting with these, but our primary goal during the first stage is to get users on board so we will start with a freemium model.

LdC: Social virtual reality has been talked about to a large extent in the industry, but it seems like this is one of the first times that the market is seeing it made available on a wide scale, correct?

IG: Actually, there are several existing VR environments in which people can interact with each other such as online poker. However, we are focusing exclusively on the music industry, music content and artists so in this space, yes, were a unique and groundbreaking service. We already have four of the world's top 10 DJs involved, and we are in talks with the remaining six. We have agreed to jointly develop different virtual worlds, VR rooms with virtual DJs. This requires a huge amount of detailed and creative work. All the worlds will be different and they will all be in different environments such as an underwater cave, a sun soaked field, volcanic vents, historical locations, future events and so on. We plan to collaborate with top partners from the entertainment industry to create huge worlds and populate them with diverse, original and interesting characters. Everyone will be able to choose his or her own style, similar to the Burning Man event, bring it to the festival and participate in a wide range of activities we plan to develop.

LdC: Could you speak more to the social side of the platform?

IG:. Users can first enter a virtual room to attend the event as it is streamed live. They engage with other participants and avatars and watch and participate with the artist, for instance, dancing on the stage, and interacting with avatars. They can engage with hundreds of other SVR participants or a group of friends, its up to the user. This is the social aspect of virtual reality we believe it will add a radical new and world-leading dimension to the world of music entertainment, performances and concerts.

LdC: How do you plan to market the platform?

IG: We will allocate a significant part of our budget to promote the platform and form a global community. Further, we will have targeted promotions to attract fan communities. For example, world-famous DJ David Guetta comes onto the platform. He has 70 million fans. Jay-Z has 140 million. So one element of marketing is to focus on this fan community aspect.

The project also involves social influencers who have their own large fan followings. There will be millions of potential Sensorium users within these groups who will be reached via social influencers and social platforms like YouTube. The platform also allows users to generate their own content and display it on social networks such as Instagram and Facebook and post links on Twitter. In this way we are expecting to gain significant viral coverage.

The greatest challenge has been in mapping the extensive 3D elements and more that create the foundation for this product. Now that those have been overcome, were excited to give music fans a new level of interaction.

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How Social Virtual Reality Will Ramp Up The Music Experience - Forbes

Advancements in medical technology are giving critically sick patients their best chance of getting well.

That's especially true for babies born with congenital heart defects, which often require complex surgeries when babies are just days old.

Doctors at Children's Health in Dallas have developed new virtual reality tools so they can "virtually" operate on a baby's heart before they enter the operating room.

Rowan Sanders' smile can light up a room as it often does for her parents, Zachary and Haley.

At 15 months old, Rowan has spent half her life in the hospital. She's had countless appointments and procedures related to the congenital heart defect doctors discovered the day she was born.

"When you find out something that serious is going to happen with your baby, you kind of go into the flight or fight mode, where you don't have a chance to worry about you. It's more so, 'Let's do it. Let's get to it, whatever we have to do. Let's get it done," Haley said.

For Rowan, that meant complex, high-risk heart surgery at 18 days old.However, surgeons had a plan.

Rowan's surgeons used immersive virtual reality developed by Dr. Aashoo Tandon at Children's Health and UT Southwestern in Dallas. In this space, surgeons can "virtually" step inside a patient's heart, which in reality, is about the size of a walnut.

It's the latest advancement to the technology he showed NBC 5 two years ago.

"What you had was kind of like what you see what the movies, when you put on glasses and you get to see depth perception, but you can't be inside it. What we have developed is the ability to zoom in and be inside the heart," Tandon said.

Virtual reality is quickly becoming a popular tool at medical and nursing schools and for catheterization lab procedures, but Tandon said its impact will be most felt by families of these congenital heart patients, who make up the largest group of patients relying on surgeons to re-arrange the anatomy of the heart.

"The whole goal is that the surgeon spends more time thinking about the patient before the operation instead of during the operation," he said.

It gives peace of mind to the Sanders family, who will have to endure another surgery when Rowan is older.

"Think of where we will be by the time that she is 10! We could probably do this and not have to open her up," Zachary said. "Medical technology is just amazing."

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Virtual Reality Gives Sick Babies Their Best Chance - NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth

IRVINE, Calif. and SILICON VALLEY, Calif., Oct. 16, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- According to a new survey, commercial real estate brokers are not only currently using CRETech, they are planning to make additional technology investments in the next two to three years. The new annual "State of CRETech" survey found that 73% brokers rated technology investment as important to them, with imaging/VR and transactions being the top two technology investment areas.

Ten-X Commercial, the nation's leading transaction platform powering 90% of all online commercial real estate sales, today released findings from its new annual "State of CRETech" survey. Conducted in conjunction with theBrokerList, the survey examined CRE brokers' attitudes towards technology, technology use and investment. The survey found that though brokers are optimistic about CRETech overall, sentiment is mixed across factors such as customization, complexity, cost, and job security. Saving time, increasing productivity and generating more business were identified as the most significant benefits of CRETech.

When asked about implementing CRETech for one specific area of business, the top two choices were marketing (45%) and transactions (20%). Additionally, 28% of brokers currently use four technology solutions for key business activities such as listings, data and analytics, CRM, and financial analysis.

"We are excited to share our inaugural 'State of CRETech" survey data and I was especially pleased to see that the results highlight the continued adoption of CRETech," said Maureen Waters, President of Ten-X. "Brokers' plans to invest in new solutions in the next few years point to increased adoption in the industry. The survey results also underscore an opportunity for the Ten-X platform since brokers identified marketing and lead management as areas where they'd like to implement additional CRETech solutions. Our platform not only offers transaction capabilities, but also includes intelligent marketing, real-time data insights, and lead management."

Globally, venture-backed real estate tech (PropTech) companies raised $14 billion USD in 2019 Q1-Q2, a 309% increase from 2018 Q1-Q2. Despite the 13.7% decline in total companies funded (deal volume), average deal sizes increased by 50%. Reinvestments, or follow on investments, in early stage to mid-stage companies lead the majority of total companies funded with average check sizes increasing to $6.3 million (USD) per deal.

According to CREtech.com's 2019 Mid-Year report, venture-backed real estate technology companies raised $14 billion USD in the first half of 2019, a 309% increase year-over-year. The average deal size also increased by 50% to an average of $6.3 million USD per deal.

"The survey allows us to better understand the pain points for brokers including marketing, transactions, data analysis, and lead management and how they're looking to technology to make these areas more seamless and productive," said Linda Day Harrison, founder of the theBrokerList. "The survey demonstrates how much brokers rely on technology, and how its evolution is continuing to reshape their day-to-day work life."

Additional survey findings include:

For a complete look at the survey findings, click here.

Methodology:This online survey was conducted by The Content Funnel on behalf of Ten-X and theBrokerList during Q2 2019. Because the sample is based on those who agreed to participate, no estimates of sampling error can be calculated.

About theBrokerListFounded in 2011, theBrokerList is the commercial real estate community's first free online platform for finding brokers, deals, services and vendors. With more than 7,800 members, theBrokerList continues to grow rapidly, offering members pages where they can publicize their listings, property types needed and completed transactions. The website's marketplace lists carefully screened vendors, and its blog is a forum where members and visitors can read some of the latest ideas in commercial real estate.

About Ten-X Ten-X Commercial is the leading end-to-end transaction platform for commercial real estate that powers more than 90 percent of all online CRE sales. Our platform empowers brokers, sellers and buyers with data-driven technology and comprehensive marketing tools to expand market visibility and decrease time to close. Ten-X Commercial is headquartered in Irvine and Silicon Valley, Calif., with offices in key markets nationwide. Investors in the company include Thomas H. Lee Partners, L.P., CapitalG (formerly Google Capital) and Stone Point Capital.

SOURCE Ten-X Commercial

https://www.ten-x.com/

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New CRETech Survey Finds Brokers Most Likely To Invest In Virtual Reality/Imaging And Transaction Technology - PRNewswire

Extended Reality at Berkeley held its annual virtual reality experience convention Sunday, with multiple virtual reality companies showcasing their work and allowing the public to share the experience.

Anna Brewer, campus senior and president of Extended Reality at Berkeley, said while this event is annual, it took about four months to plan. The convention was held in the Pauley Ballroom in the Martin Luther King Jr. Student Union, where the public was able to interact with VR companies and hear Jack McCauley, keynote speaker and Oculus co-founder, at the end of the event.

Brewer said the club hopes this event can bridge the VR experience with the UC Berkeley community.

Its part of our mission to bring VR and (augmented reality) to the community and Berkeley, and beyond and this is a really great way to do that, Brewer said. Its super, super fun seeing people experience it. It gives you warm fuzzy feelings inside to share this awesome technology with everybody.

About 20 different VR companies were in attendance, including VIVE and Supermedium among others, showcasing many different technologies such as CRISPR VR. Attendees were able to speak with entrepreneurs, as well as put on headsets and hand consoles while games were displayed on flat-screen TVs, so attendees could experience the VRs themselves. Games ranged from interior design to more simulating scenarios, such as laser games.

Melody Mao, a campus graduate student, said she decided to come to the convention to gain some concrete experience with VR and augmented reality, as she is currently taking a class on the topic.

Brewer added that she has recently seen different applications of VR to biology and other fields, which made her want to experience VR firsthand.

Campus junior Kevin Zhang praised the accessibility of the VR experience at the convention.

It makes VR demos accessible to people because this stuff is pretty expensive youre not just gonna buy a headset and try it out in your house, Zhang said.

Berkeley resident Fill Geurman stressed the importance of the VR community, especially because of how small it is to begin with. He also explained that opportunities to experience VR are very scarce, but meeting people and seeing what Extended Reality at Berkeley does is comforting.

Brewer explained that no matter what you are interested in, VR touches upon every single field.

Whatever it is, its going to be changed by immersive technology, Brewer said. The potential to collaborate with people in a shared virtual space for work or for play is just a really powerful thing.

Contact Audry Jeong at [emailprotected] and follow her on Twitter at @audryjng_dc.

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Extended Reality hosts annual Virtual Reality Convention - Daily Californian

L.A. Noire: The VR Case Files (PSVR) the facial animation is still great

Rockstars period detective drama is reimagined for VR and brought to the PlayStation 4, but does it still have the same retro charm?

Originally released in 2011, L.A. Noire was justifiably praised for its landmark use of performance capture and was one of the first games to make characters look and sound human, rather than discomfiting residents of uncanny valley. It was also a beautifully observed snapshot of 1940s America, complete with casual racism, sexism, indoor smoking, and cars that handle like buses.

For The VR Case Files, which was first released on PC in late 2017, Rockstar hasnt bothered re-engineering the whole game in virtual reality, but have instead chosen seven of the originals cases, that show protagonist Cole Phelps rise from beat cop to superstar vice detective. Each one uses a mixture of immersive tasks to put you as firmly as possible in Phelps shoes, and while the plot may feel a bit disjointed to those unfamiliar with (or having completely forgotten) the main game, its highly effective.

Starting in Phelps office, smoking cigar in the ashtray, .45 on the desk in front of you, theres a lot to do before you even start any police work. For one, theres a full length mirror near the door, in which you can make Phelps body pop his arm waves really working some magic before heading off down the corridor to the war room where you can take on speedway challenges that let you drive ancient racing cars around three circuits, trying to improve your lap times.

The meat of the game is in its police procedural work, which has several distinct phases. To kick it off, youll usually need to examine a crime scene in search of evidence, getting around it using one of the games locomotion options. Those include teleportation and smooth movement, using either buttons or head tracking to determine where you look. Amusingly, you can also choose to swing your arms to walk, although that doesnt work terribly well with PlayStation VRs relatively puny tracking abilities.

Finding evidence means looking at absolutely everything in the vicinity, squatting down to pick things up off the ground, nosing about in bins, and taking time to look above and around you. Its a process thats immeasurably more interesting in VR, the sense of being in World War II-era America enhanced by myriad details, from the sounds to the architecture. L.A. may still be a massive urban sprawl, but in those days there were practically no tall buildings at all.

When you spot something, each piece of evidence you uncover is recorded in your notebook and you can act on that in various ways. The first is in following leads: find a suspect, get their address from a witness or gun shop owner, and then drive over there, assisted by your anachronistic dashboard-mounted 1940s sat nav, a convenient flag guiding you to your destination.

L.A. Noire is a wonderfully detailed simulation and driving is a great example of that. To start your journey youll need to climb into the car, choose an objective from your notebook, twist the key in the ignition, pull and release the handbrake, then put your hands in the 10 and two position, and off you go. Your creaky 1940s roadster barrels its way through the mercifully wide and mostly empty boulevards on your way to the next crime in progress.

Thats not to say its trouble free motoring however, because using the brakes on period cars are more of a suggestion than a firm instruction, and your car generally handles like a big bag of spuds. As a result, youll regularly find yourself inadvertently destroying dustbins, hotdog carts, fire hydrants, and other cars as you hurtle about, your siren only doing a certain amount to clear the path. Theres always the warp handle underneath the sat nav if things get too much though, beaming you straight to your next port of call.

The next step is interviewing suspects, a moment where L.A. Noire always shone. The VR Case Studies are just the same, although the process has been streamlined slightly. Now your three choices of response are good cop, bad cop, or accuse. They all need to be applied with care, and there are frequent moments where your intention isnt quite played out in what Phelps says on your behalf, but its rarely terminal and adds to the frisson of risk that permeates these encounters.

Questioning a suspect involves looking at the notes you made at the crime scene, each piece of evidence leading to its own line of questioning. You also need to pay careful attention to your interviewees facial expressions to look for signs of deceit or nervousness as they make a statement. Its a surprisingly realistic-feeling process, and the excellent voice and physical acting elevate the experience above the overwhelming majority of in-game interactions, VR making the whole thing especially immersive.

The final part of your work as detective is getting into fights. If the suspect is unarmed that means putting up your dukes and punching him into submission. Using your hands to block and ducking out of the way of incoming blows works exactly as it should, while snapping out return punches is extremely satisfying, your suspect soon enough landing on the floor, mildly concussed, and ready to be packed off in the meat wagon.

If the criminals have guns, youll be reaching for your shotgun or trusty revolver. Firefights are loud and gory, and having to reload your weapons in a semi-realistic fashion adds to the sense of period. Putting ammo into your .45 involves flicking open the cylinder, shaking out spent bullet casings, then inserting a new clip and clicking it shut. For shotguns youll need to put in each cartridge individually before cocking it with the pump action.

Shooting is just as involved, with finding cover essential to success. In VR the feeling of hunching behind a counter or column as chunks get blown out of it by incoming rounds gives a real sense of vulnerability you wont need your partner to tell you to keep your head down. Returning fire is fraught with authentic levels of inaccuracy but blowing a sufficient number of holes in whichever bad guy is resisting arrest is not as hard as it first seems.

The seven case files are over all too soon but while they last, the sense of taking part in police work in a historical recreation of 1940 Los Angeles is hugely impressive and it benefits from Rockstars usual levels of polish and attention to detail. The port to PlayStation VR has nixed some of the roomscale interactions previously possible on HTC Vive, but having to press square to squat rather than doing it in real life is a small price to pay for such a rich and involving recreation.

In Short: An immersive and engrossing trip to the seedy underbelly of World War II era Los Angeles, the police procedural work enhanced enormously by being in virtual reality.

Pros: Interesting and disparate cases to investigate, superb sense of place and time, realistic driving, fighting, and gun battles.

Cons: The discrete nature of the case files leaves the plot feeling fragmented, and some fiddly interactions can be a pain using the Move controllers.

Score: 8/10

Formats: PlayStation VR (reviewed), HTC Vive, and Oculus RiftPrice: 24.99Developer: Rockstar GamesPublisher: Videogames Deluxe and Rockstar GamesRelease Date: 24th September 2019Age Rating: 18

Email gamecentral@ukmetro.co.uk, leave a comment below, and follow us on Twitter

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L.A. Noire: The VR Case Files review the reality of police work - Metro.co.uk

Virtual reality might still be for early adopters, but as headsets get smaller and social norms evolve, more people are meeting, hanging out, having sex, and even getting married in virtual spaces.

Peter Rubin is a VR expert, author, and senior correspondent at Wired, where he covers VR social spaces. And while people have been socializing and getting kinky online for decades, Rubin believes that embodied presence (truly feeling that your body is physically next to another person in VR) is a breakthrough that differentiates VR spaces like Rec Room and VRchat, and will change interpersonal communication as the technology gets better and cheaper.

This week on 2 Girls 1 Podcast, Alli and Jen (actors who perform weird internet content on stage) talk to Rubin about VR platform culture, a couple that got married in VR, emerging tech that will soon let us touch and smell in VR, and the future of virtual sex.

Listen to episode 105 of #2G1P right here:

2 Girls 1 Podcast is supported by listeners. A lot of time and resources go into research, booking, editing, and publishing this show. If you love internet culture as much as we love casting about it, consider a contribution of $1 or $2 per month to help offset our production costs. Become a patron of #2G1P and earn some cool perks while youre at it:

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If you enjoy this podcast, consider sharing it with a friend or two, and use the hashtag #2G1P. Well be watching!

2 Girls 1 Podcast is hosted by Allison Goldberg and Jennifer Jamula, and is produced and edited by Matt Silverman in New York City. Production assistance is provided by thePodglomerate.

Matt Silvermanis the director of video and producer of2 Girls 1 Podcastat the Daily Dot. He has been making internet shows and viral videos for nearly a decade, and has directed top talent including John Oliver, Kevin Bacon, Kate McKinnon, Alton Brown, and the Sesame Street Muppets. Silverman is also the creator ofFREE DAD VIDEOS, a comedy and music channel with his young children.

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Virtual Reality: Sex, marriage, and the future of relationships - The Daily Dot

Look at how much fun they're having. That could be you!

Holoride began its pursuit of redefining in-car entertainment with Audi earlier this year. A new partnership with Porsche blossomed just last month. This week, Ford is the latest to work with Holoride, but in a pretty big way.

Ford and Holoride have teamed up to give the general public a taste of the technology startup's technology for the very first time. Thanks to some help from Universal Pictures, which created content for the public debut, anyone will be able to take a ride in a 2020 Ford Explorer outfitted with Holoride technology. Installed within is a new immersive experience based on The Bride of Frankenstein.

The "ride," so to speak, will take place during certain hours and start at the designated Universal CityWalk pickup point, situated at Universal Pictures in California. From there, with the VR headsets on, riders will be taken into the virtual world on a mission to deliver some sort of message to Frankenstein. The entire shebang is full of obstacles, virtual monsters and plenty of other twists and turns that adapt to the 2020 Explorer's movement while driving.

All these Explorers are ready to take riders on a VR experience.

Holoride's tech use navigation data and route timing to make this all happen, but it also looks at steering input acceleration and braking to keep the VR experience matching the ride.

The public fun kicks off on Oct. 14 and will be available Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays until the end of the month. The final week, Nov. 4 through Nov. 9, will run Monday-Saturday. Seriously, tomorrow's kids are going to have the coolest stuff to take advantage of during road trips.

Now playing: Watch this: 2020 Ford Explorer ST shows us the power of the EcoBoost

5:41

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Ford and Holoride bring in-car virtual reality to the masses - CNET

A virtual reality entertainment center plans to open this week at Tysons Corner Center more than a year after signs for the VR businesspopped up at the mall.

The Void is set to open on Friday, Oct. 18, and people can experience Avengers: Damage Control, which launches the same day, an employee at the business, told Tysons Reporter.

Coming soon signs have been at the mall for more than a year.

Tysons Reporter spotted that the VR company failed and then passed five inspections at the mall from June to October. Aspokesman for the mall wasnt able to confirm that the failed inspections caused the delay.

Its unclear if the year-long wait is typical for the company.

In June 2018, The Void announced several new locations the Santa Monica location opened at the start of this year, while the Minneapolis one opened this summer, followed by the Atlanta locationa few weeks ago.

The VR business, which isbackedin part by Disney,has locations in eight locations including the Tysons one in the U.S. and three in Canada.The company is looking toexpandin the U.S. and internationally.

Tickets are $39.95 per person and up to four people can take part in groups, according to the website. People can find The Void located on the first level by Barnes and Noble.

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Virtual Reality Coming to Tysons Corner Center This Week - Tysons Reporter

Aviation application

When it comes to the cost of training for pilots, headsets that make use of VR are but a few thousand dollars and are thus infinitely more accessible to organisations with limited training budgets than FFS are. They also offer the possibility of training in remote locations something that is of particular use to the military.

FFS have made use of VR for some time, but new uses of the technology are bringing more possibilities to the foreground. Toll Helicopters in Australia, for instance, has joined forces with Seeing Machines to launch an eye-tracking technology trial as part of Tolls AW139 FFS at the ACE Training Centre. The trial is based on Seeing Machines Crew Training System prototype, which incorporates modern eye-tracking technology. The system supports aviation training instructors, pilots and crewmen with evidence-based data to provide detailed insights into pilot scanning techniques and situational awareness.

The unique technology provides instructors [with] an objective assessment of what their trainees are looking at (such as speed tape, height, glide slope, heading, flight mode annunciator) at any given point in time during a flying sequence. The information can be used to quickly identify scan breakdowns, missed information, crew resource management (CRM) attention distribution, and standard operating procedure / Flight Crew Operating Manual (FCOM) adherence or deviation, said Toll Group spokesperson Diane Tremain.

Darryl Humphreys, AW139 Standards Manager and Flight Examiner, described the tool as a valuable asset for instructors and pilots. For instructors, the ability to see in real time where a students eyes are tracking is remarkable, he said. You can observe, analyse and interpret the pilots situational awareness. In addition, having the eye tracking auto-recorded for replay during training debriefs offers pilots a comprehensive review tool and the ability to self-remediate areas for improvement.

U.S. Air Force illustration by Senior Airman Benjamin N. Valmoja

Japan Airlines (JAL) is one of several that is making use of enhanced technology to train flight crew. According to a Microsoft spokesperson, JAL is using the Microsoft HoloLens to train both pilots and mechanics. For the pilots, who had until recently been using videos and printouts of cockpit panel instruments and switches, the HoloLens means that trainees can convert intellectual memory into muscle memory, according to Koji Hayamizu, Senior Director of Planning for JALs Products & Service Administration Department.

While pilots have been using simulators for years, and maintenance crew are starting to make inroads into its application, elsewhere in the air rescue sector, hoist crew are seeing more products come online that are being developed to aid in their skills development.

Off Planet Simulation is an offshoot of the Becker Group in Australia, which provides military flight training. In 2018, Off Planet Simulation was established with the task of developing training devices to meet specific needs, one of which was air crew training. Designed to meet the requirements of military and civilian SAR / EMS operators, the VR simulation device provides the ability to integrate rear crew procedural training and operational rehearsal in a virtual environment within a traditional static trainer.

Priority1 Air Rescue has two SAR Tactical Training Academies in the US and France. The company states: Increasingly, effective mission training is not only accomplished by focusing solely on live flight training, it is now significantly enhanced by employing blended programs utilising synthetic aircrew training and use of virtual simulation. It offers several courses, one of which is a virtual helicopter hoist SAR course using synthetic training devices.

augmented reality welding system US Air Force photo - Staff Sgt David Owsianka

The ACE Training Centre, run by Toll in Australia, offers training to operational and clinical crews from across the country, as well as internationally. The system was originally designed for military use, and Toll has taken the base line operating system and made it bespoke for their EMS requirements.

Colin Gunn told AirMed&Rescue more about how VR is used in the Centre: The VR component of our training programmes utilises the Complete Aircrew Training System (CATS), which provides a high-fidelity and immersive VR-based training environment for aircrew and air medical crew. Traditionally, operators and trainers are reliant on utilising a live aircraft for training to maintain currencies and proficiencies. Through VR simulation, ACE is achieving a majority of these currencies and proficiencies, with a level of reliability and realism that cannot be achieved safely using a live aircraft. For example, the aircrew can practise winching a simulated intubated patient in significantly degraded environmental conditions that cannot be achieved or simulated in the live aircraft.

This May, Canadas Bluedrop Training & Simulation Inc. secured an investment from Boeing to develop a next-generation Special Mission Aviator Ramp Trainer (SMART) for the V-22 Osprey. The program was funded under the Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada (ISED), Investment Framework Transaction program by Boeing. The development phase is expected to take between 12 and 18 months to build a full-sized VR ramp trainer with a high-fidelity immersive environment, and enhanced specific mission capabilities including ramp operation, hoisting systems, and various mission critical procedural training capabilities.

Bluedrop has also been tasked with developing hoist mission training systems (HMTS) to the Royal Canadian Air Force 19 Wing Comox for the CH-149 Cormorant. The VR simulator provides high-fidelity cable behaviour that responds to flight dynamics and operator inputs with accurate turbulent flow zone rendering and complex rescue co-ordination scenarios. Our HMTS is proving to be the standard for rear-crew training. We are so happy to be contributing to SAR operations training in Canada. Canadian SAR capabilities are a national asset and priority. Bluedrop values being able to improve operational readiness and mission effectiveness through improved training of these skilled operators in some of the harshest rescue environments, said Jean-Claude Siew, Vice-President of Technology & Simulation.

The Royal Flying Doctor Service (RFDS) unveiled a new training simulator in The Traeger Clinical Innovation and Learning Centre in Brisbane, Australia.

U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Kelsey L. AdamsReleased

In the US, the Tele-Critical Care Unit at Naval Medical Center San Diego is going one step further and using AR-capable helmets for their field medics. Personnel in San Diego can provide real-time guidance to providers in the field using this technology.

AirMed&Rescue spoke to Captain Konrad Davis, Director, Navy Tele-Critical Care and Acting Director of the Virtual Medical Center in San Diego, which is going to start a trial by the end of this year in which the use of AR by field medics will be examined.

Applications for the US Navy could be far-reaching, particularly onboard ships where there are no doctors or nurses onboard, but those who have medical training could be talked through complex procedures by a trauma surgeon on land, for example. The tools, technology and processes to extend specialist expertise into the operational environment is whats being trialled, explained Captain Davis. The Army and Air Force have been granted funding to explore the impact of AR as part of critical decision-making processes.

A trial using a reperfuse cadaver model will hopefully be completed by the end of 2020, the results of which will establish the future direction of the technology in the military. In addition, the US Army has a contract with Microsoft to develop a field-ready version of the firms HoloLens technology.

The funding of such trials is key, and probably why the military is going to be applying this technology before the civilian HEMS/rescue sector, although there is no doubt it will be of use to both. The military personnel are in an isolated environment, and so need the additional assistance from specialists, said Captain Davis. They may not have the tools or skills necessary to respond and AR can make a real difference to the medical resources available. The same could apply to HEMS operators that carry paramedics instead of doctors.

A challenge that must be overcome if the technology is to be successfully applied, though, is bandwidth, said Davis.

For the JAL mechanics, meanwhile, Hayamizu pointed out that VR means they can study and be trained just as if they were working on the actual engine. No more waiting for an appointment or available aircraft. A spokesperson for Microsoft told AirMed&Rescue: With HoloLens, customers can flexibly train employees at a lower cost and with high-quality results. Employees can learn by doing, with hands-on and interactive instructions, allowing them to learn new skills faster and with fewer errors.

Helicopter manufacturer Leonardo, meanwhile, has developed its HeliLink digital product support engineering assistant, which provides a remote video-call support for maintenance technicians with AR. The company said that this results in quick assistance for trouble shooting, improving helicopter fleet reliability and management.

United Technologies Research Centre is working with Pratt & Whitneys customer training division to invest in VR engine maintenance training for mechanics, with testing underway that allows personnel to go inside a Geared turbofan (GTF) engine to examine certain parts and view a running engine in motion.

Toll

NLR, based in the Netherlands, is working in its X-lab (X standing for eXperimentation and X-reality, which refers to a wide range of simulation technology) to create a mixed-reality training platform using VR and AR. The company points out that AR / VR technology allows for more flexible training than traditional Full Flight Simulators (FFS) do.

The trend I observe is that training and simulations are becoming increasingly cheaper, more flexible and simpler to use, noted Roy Arents, one of the creative minds behind X-Lab. Harrie Bohnen, Manager of NLRs Training, Simulation and Operator Performance department, explained that the company does not actually produce the training course that aviators or maintenance personnel would use, but instead brings together applied research, unique knowledge and expertise of aviation and new virtual technologies so as to develop new, innovative training concepts and simulations together with the user. NLR is working with the Royal Netherlands Air Force, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, the European Aviation Safety Agency and the US Federal Aviation Administration, which it says helps to promote the exchange of ideas between civilian and military operations.

Anneke Nabben, one of the training specialists from NLR, teamed up with KLM on a project involving maintenance personnel using Microsofts HoloLens. She explained: We wanted to devise something that would give students a greater insight into how one of the aircraft systems works. To do this, we focused the training more on cultivating understanding than on knowledge of facts. We came up with tasks that encouraged students to work with each other. We also got the instructor to impart the subject matter interactively to make it easier for the students to absorb. Technically, we supported this collaboration by interconnecting multiple HoloLens goggles to allow everybody to see the aircraft from his or her own perspective.

The pace at which AR technology is developing suggests that it wont be too long before there is an application for all staff members involved in SAR and airborne special missions. With many budgets becoming increasingly tight for operators, the ability to choose a more cost-efficient way of training all staff on one device, which can run multiple programs, is doubtless an attractive option.

This article originally appeared in the November 2019 issue of AirMed&Rescue

Mandy is the Editor of AirMed&Rescue. Shes worked in publishing for over a decade, and was previously Assistant Editor of the magazine before taking over as Editor in December 2017. Her favourite helicopter is the Chinook, having grown up near an RAF training ground!

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How virtual and augmented reality are being used in airborne special missions - AirMed and Rescue Magazine