Category Archives: Virtual Reality

The polarization of the current era extends far beyond traditional politics to matters of taste, technology, the environment, and economics. The result is an increasing inability to engage in civil discourse on any number of subjects that have significant implications for our collective future. The title of a new book exploring the potential impact of virtual and augmented reality technologies "The Metaverse: And How It Will Revolutionize Everything" seems to reflect this tendency toward polemic and hyperbole.

Happily, however, the book written by consultant and investor Matthew Ball, the former global head of strategy for Amazon Studios demonstrates that a true believer can still make a meaningful contribution to everyone's understanding of an important topic.

Ball achieves this feat by being clear and transparent on his assumptions and grounding his discussion in real data and facts. His analysis then manages to integrate logic, humor, and an appropriate degree of skepticism of the most extreme claims, often made by those with vested interests. The result is an entertaining and thought-provoking guide to the coming alternative virtual world that should prove indispensable to not just users and developers but investors, competitors, and regulators.

The term "metaverse" itself was coined 30 years ago in a sci-fi novel called "Snow Crash" by Neal Stephenson. Despite being around for so long, there is still little consensus on what precisely it is. Ball suggests that this may be in part because the very companies who most view the metaverse as both a threat and an opportunity for their existing businesses Facebook and Microsoft are extreme examples each propose starkly conflicting definitions that fit "their own worldviews and/or the capabilities of their companies." The resulting confusion encourages conflation of these concepts with blockchain and Web 3.0, which "The Metaverse" does a particularly good job of untangling.

The almost 50-word definition of the metaverse offered up by Ball may be a mouthful, but it usefully highlights all the key attributes needed to establish a ubiquitous, fully-functional virtual 3D ecosystem that can accommodate an unlimited number of simultaneous participants.Ball closely examines the technical and practical constraints on realizing each of these essential features. This exercise may come across as too painfully detailed for some the longest chapter examines the payment mechanisms needed to support a parallel metaverse economy but it is critical to an informed view of what the metaverse can actually be.

Despite his overall optimism about the ultimately revolutionary impact of the metaverse, Ball does not downplay the monumental technological obstacles to achieving this vision. "Its arrival remains far off," Ball concedes, "and its effects largely unclear." Some of the constraints, like bandwidth and computing power, may be eventually overcome through creativity and persistence. Others, like the speed of light, which poses a significant challenge to maintaining real-time interactive renderings of multiple individuals separated by many thousands of miles, are likely to remain stubbornly resistant to human innovation.

As incumbent platforms and new disrupters scramble to build their own unique piece of virtual real estate, Ball also grapples with what may be the biggest challenge to creating an all-encompassing metaverse getting the resulting cacophony of independent virtual worlds to communicate with each other. Solving the problem of interoperability will entail the establishment of a raft of agreed technical standards and potentially a meaningful dose of government intervention. We will get a very small taste of what the latter may look like as the European Union interoperability requirements for messaging apps come into effect in the coming years.

As effective as "The Metaverse" is at describing the primary drivers and key elements of the billions being invested in what he refers to as "the next internet," it's less convincing on the claim that it will actually "revolutionize everything." The vast majority of economic value being generated today from these technologies relate to gaming applications. Although it is true that gaming is no longer primarily the province of antisocial teenage boys indeed the sector has now surpassed Hollywood and the music industry combined the relative paucity of compelling use cases beyond that makes one question just how truly revolutionary it will be. Indeed, for most of the other applications described or envisaged whether in medicine, education or otherwise it is less than clear that a full-blown metaverse is actually required.

What's more, for those of us concerned with the increase in anti-social behavior in the wake of a pandemic that discouraged face-to-face human interaction, the eventual rise of the metaverse elicits as much foreboding as awe. Ball is right to be focused on regulatory approaches to avoid corporate gatekeepers as dominant in the virtual as in the physical world. But an economically significant parallel universe that facilitates anonymity raises a host of regulatory and social concerns well beyond competition and innovation that require as much, if not more, attention.

Luckily, given how long it will be for the metaverse to become a reality, we have time to get its regulation right for a change. Anyone committed to trying to do that could do worse than starting with a copy of The Metaverse.

Jonathan A. Knee is a professor of professional practice at Columbia Business School and a senior advisor at Evercore. His most recent book is "The Platform Delusion: Who Wins and Who Loses in the Age of Tech Titans."

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Book Review: the Metaverse by Matthew Ball - Business Insider

HBO Documentary FilmsWE MET IN VIRTUAL REALITY, from director Joe Hunting, debutsWEDNESDAY, JULY 27 (9:00-10:35 p.m. ET/PT)on HBO and will be available to stream on HBO Max.

You can be who youve always wanted to be.

#WeMetInVR, the first feature-length documentary filmed entirely in virtual reality, tells stories of love, loss, and unexpected connection within the world of VR. The @HBO original documentary premieres July 27 on HBO Max.

Synopsis:Filmed entirely inside the world of virtual reality (VR), this immersive and revealing documentary roots itself in several unique communities within VR Chat, a burgeoning virtual reality platform. Through observational scenes captured in real-time, in true documentary style, the film reveals the growing power and intimacy of several relationships formed in the virtual world, many of which began during the COVID-19 lockdown while so many in the physical world were facing intense isolation. Although remaining wholly within the VR domain of avatars and imagined worlds, the film has elements of humor, serendipitous interactions and unexpected events that characterize real life. WE MET IN VIRTUAL REALITY tenderly documents the stories of people experiencing love, loss and unexpected connection, expressing vulnerability around mental health struggles and questions about identity, offering a hyper-real journey into the human experience of an online world that may soon shape the future.

Featured Subjects:The film follows Jenny, an American Sign Language (ASL) teacher, dedicated to building a welcoming community for deaf and hard-of-hearing VR Chat users, and two long-distance couples growing their relationships in VR as they prepare to meet physically DustBunny; a fitness dance instructor building a career in social VR dance classes and her partner, Toaster; and DragonHeart & IsYourBoi, a couple who met through an exotic VR dance community where they are both performers.

Director: Joe Hunting is a filmmaker and documentary photographer working inside social Virtual Reality (VR), directing artistic films that blend reality and fiction through joyful immersive worlds. Prior to the yearlong production ofWe Met in Virtual Reality, Hunting released two short documentaries,A Wider ScreenandClub Zodiac, and the comedy seriesVirtually Speaking, all filmed inside VR.

Credits:HBO Documentary Films presents a Field of Vision presentation in association with Cinetic Media; a Painted Clouds production; directed, produced, edited and written by Joe Hunting; executive producers, Charlotte Cook, Bryn Mooser, Kathryn Everett; made possible with support from XTR.

ABOUT HBO HBO is home to the shows and films that everyone is talking about, from groundbreaking series and documentaries to the biggest blockbuster movies. SUBSCRIBE TO HBO Subscribe to the official HBO Channel for the latest on your favorite HBO series, movies, documentaries & sports specials: https://itsh.bo/youtube

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New Doc We Met in Virtual Reality filmed in #VR exploring connections from love to loss, Coming to #HBOMAX July 27th #Trailer #WeMetInVR -...

Retired pathologist Lily Mauricio climbed to the summit of Mount Everest recently to bond with her daughter, who decades earlier, when she was in her mid-20s, had reached an Everest base camp 18,000 feet above sea level. The younger Mauricio shares her mothers name but goes by the nickname Ditas.

Though shes a seasoned climber herself, the elder Mauricio, now a 78-year-old living in the White Sands assisted living community in La Jolla, California, scaled the worlds tallest mountain virtually.

To do so, Mauricio donned a virtual reality (VR) headset provided to White Sands by Rendever, a Somerville, Massachusetts, company in theAARP Innovation Labs AgeTech Collaborative portfolio.Rendever has deployed VR headsetsin more than 400 older adult living facilities across the United States, Canada and Australia in the past five years.

Courtesy: Brenda Zielinski of White Sands La Jolla

I shared this experience mentally and with her, Mauricio said of Ditas. It was very moving. It was awesome. It was so realistic. You could see a panoramic view of everything below, above, to the right, to the left.

Some older adults are embracing VR to overcome the physical, mental and social challenges that come with aging. Theyre using VR for attending concerts, confronting phobias, doing physical therapy, exercising, playing games, rekindling memories,traveling to exotic localesand, yes,connecting socially.

The social part may seem counterintuitive, considering fully immersive virtual reality experiences begin when a person shuts out the outside world by placing goggles or a headset on their noggin.

VR knocks down every single barrier an older adult may have in experiencing the world, and it does that in a way that really beautifully allows seniors to check off bucket list items, says Kyle Rand, Rendevers chief executive. But more important is this missing ingredient: They get to do it together.

While VR is carving out a place in assisted living settings, theres also a push to reach older adults at home. In August, Dallas startup MyndVR will be launching a VR kit with HTC Vive Flow goggles, a companion tablet for caregivers or family, and access to a library of company-produced and licensed VR content.

Users can peer down at Earth from the International Space Station, ride a zipline or watch an intimate Broadway performance of The Lion King, among other fare. The cost is $495 for the glasses under a current promotion, plus $20 a month for the content; the price climbs to $645 with the tablet.

MyndVRs library also includes cognitive apps. In one, a person must correctly identify the source of sounds played in a kitchen, such as water running in the sink.

In Westchester County, New York, 67-year-old singer Nenad Bach regularly plays ping-pong virtually via the Eleven Table Tennis app on a Meta (Oculus) Quest headset. Its very social, because youre talking to the whole world, says Bach, who has competed against players in Africa, Canada, Germany, the Philippines and across the U.S.

Courtesy: Metas Community Voices film series

Bach, whos been diagnosed with Parkinsons disease, still performs in person, and he plays real ping-pong too, as a form of physical therapy. Some things are even better [in VR], because you dont need to pick up the ball from the floor, he says. You just press a button and its in your hand.

Stephen Harris, 39, used to bond with his dad, Jim, 76, over putt-putt golf, but thats no longer possible because his father has Alzheimers. Instead, father and son, who both live in Denver, play the Walkabout Mini Golf game on Quest.

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Virtual Reality Looks to Bring People Together - AARP

Tucked away in a gray state government building in downtown Baton Rouge, a vibrant world of virtual reality has come to life.

Developers and designers with FastStart, Louisiana Economic Developments workforce training program, have created a series of virtual reality training programs for ExxonMobil Baton Rouge. The petrochemical giant asked FastStart to help build the digital modules to train its workforce on the technical processes at its soon-to-be expanded polyolefins plant on Scenic Highway.

The programs lean heavily on the reality part of virtual reality. The 3-D worlds capture the sprawling nature of the winding pipelines and towers at ExxonMobils facilities, and they feature enough rust and chipped paint to make the environment seem real.

FastStarts team spent Monday morning in a ninth-floor studio at the Iberville Building testing an ExxonMobil module that is being adapted into an educational tool for the Louisiana Community and Technical College System. The module takes users through a delicate process with dozens of steps that can lead to catastrophic failure following a single slip-up.

We want them to see that real world, said Jeff Elliott, FastStarts senior manager of creative solutions.

Spurred both by FastStart and a healthy interactive design community in south Louisiana, the use of virtual reality for training programs is on the rise in the states industrial sector. FastStart officials said theyre talking to more companies about virtual reality, though they declined to divulge names because negotiations are ongoing. Some digital firms in the area are also seeing an uptick in business.

All parties involved are optimistic the trend will continue, assuming a wider audience begins to hear about the benefits the technology provides.

I think in Louisiana its still pretty nascent, said Brian Lozes, CEO of Kinemagic, a Metairie-based virtual and augmented reality firm. Its just beginning to get its traction in the state. I think it has a long way to go.

Andrew Rhodes, interactive training specialist at Louisiana Economic Development's FastStart program, uses a virtual reality headset and controllers moved by his hands to test for playthrough and bugs of a 'catalyst mixing and dumping' virtual reality module made for ExxonMobil that is being edited for use at community colleges, Monday, July 18, 2022. FastStart is a big driver of the of development of virtual reality programs for safety and operator training at Louisiana industrial facilities.

Companies with experience in virtual and augmented reality which differs from virtual reality by adding digital imagery to real-world environments were operating here well before ExxonMobils polyolefins expansion began in 2019.

In Baton Rouge, Pixel Dash Studios opened in 2011, and King Crow Studios followed in 2015. Kinemagic started five years ago under an engineering firm before branching out on its own in 2019. Top Right Corner, another New Orleans agency, began working in Louisiana in 2017. All four firms were ExxonMobil vendors.

Years ago, virtual reality wasnt widespread because the technology was too expensive, said Evan Smith, co-founder and creative director of Pixel Dash Studios.

Theyre more cost-effective now, and developers have more access to the hardware, he said.

The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated demand for virtual reality, though Lozes called it the most brutal gift because revenue from industrial clients just disappeared overnight in the pandemics early stages. As work-from-home programs endured, more companies saw the benefit of remote learning driven by XR, the industry term for augmented and virtual reality.

XR training is growing exponentially every year, said Cody Louviere, CEO of King Crow Studios. If you look at some market data, youre going to notice very quickly that your location-based training will most likely be replaced with enhanced things like AR, XR, VR in general in the next three to five years.

Louviere said the industrial sector has been using virtual reality for safety training procedures that cant be re-enacted live, like gas leaks.

Some of those companies, they kind of kept it close to the heart and that way they had that competitive advantage, he said. As more and more information gets out, people see the benefit of XR training in general, and theyre starting to reach out.

Mario Vaccari, the director of project operations at Louisiana Economic Development's FastStart program, which is a big driver of the of development of virtual reality programs like the one running on the monitor, at right, for safety and operator training at Louisiana industrial facilities, Monday, July 18, 2022.

Though it certainly isnt the only user of the technology, ExxonMobils entry into virtual reality helped spur the industry further in Louisiana.

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FastStart had experimented with XR technology for a while, but the ExxonMobil project offered an opportunity to put it into action, said Mario Vaccari, the programs director of project operations.

ExxonMobil used a significant portion of its FastStart grant for the polyolefins expansion to build virtual reality training for new and existing employees, said Ken Miller, a retired engineering manager who led the companys virtual reality efforts in Baton Rouge.

The company sought out local firms to help build its training modules. It worked with FastStart to identify eight companies seven of which were based in Louisiana.

We were surprised to find, frankly, that the capability was very, very high but a surprisingly small percentage of their work was coming from the local area and within Louisiana, Miller said.

FastStart partnered with the firms to create about 20 digital training modules for ExxonMobil. They took anywhere from a few months to two years to build based on subject complexity and stakeholder availability.

FastStart and ExxonMobil identified which plant processes needed a training program, then determined which programs would be best suited for VR. From there, FastStart mapped out what those worlds would look like, then brought in the outside firms for programming and interactive expertise.

The purpose of the modules is to train inexperienced employees in a safe environment before they head into potentially hazardous assignments some of which might only happen once a year. Its also meant to engage users in a meaningful, visual way so theyre more likely to retain their teachings.

Youve got to get them engaged, said Elliott, of FastStart. The old school way of doing it in a classroom or just sitting there with a manual, thats really falling away.

Andrew Rhodes, interactive training specialist at Louisiana Economic Development's FastStart program, looks for edits of a 'catalyst mixing and dumping' virtual reality module made for ExxonMobil that is being modified for use at community colleges, Monday, July 18, 2022. FastStart is a big driver of the of development of virtual reality programs for safety and operator training at Louisiana industrial facilities.

Miller hopes the modules built in Louisiana can be adapted for the corporations other sites, as well as for high school and college students interested in industrial careers.

ExxonMobil corporate officials agreed. The company is already using VR in one way or another at its Baytown, Beaumont and Corpus Christi sites in Texas.

Virtual reality is relatively new in the whole process of enterprise scale, said Kyle Daughtry, digital and extended realities architect at ExxonMobils headquarters. Were doing it well. We want to do it better. We want to be able to scale these things out even further.

Other companies are slowly but surely catching on, according to digital firms in Louisiana.

Lozes, of Kinemagic, said his company has also worked with Shell and is in preliminary talks with Marathon, Koch Industries and BASF.

What will help his company, and others, in the future is a faster process. Kinemagic built a platform called Stratus that takes in 3-D models and images from industrial companies to recreate a plant environment virtually. Lozes said his firm no longer builds custom programs from scratch because they take too long.

I think theres a lot of expansion ahead of us with this industry, he said. Louisiana, I think to be frank, is trailing some of the other states in doing this. I dont know thats because of the nature of the state or just because a lot of the customers that we work with, their headquarters are in other places.

Meanwhile, Top Right Corner worked with the University of New Orleans to build a virtual chemistry lab, said Dan Clifton, the companys founder and creative director.

Clifton, who has worked in New York and California, said he senses more support for virtual reality in Louisiana than other states. He credited the FastStart program for identifying best practices to create VR programs.

I think people are really trying to use these new technologies as soon as possible, he said. For us theres been tremendous interest, especially over the past few years.

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Virtual reality training is growing in Louisianas industrial sector. Will the momentum continue? - The Advocate

James Lozano, left and Stephanie Aliman, right, wear VR headsets as they play the virtual reality game Far Cry at Zero Latency in Vancouver, a 1,900-square-foot space in a mall.Rafal Gerszak/THE GLOBE AND MAIL

At Zero Latency VR arcade in Vancouver, a group of gamers face down a horde of zombies. The group rushes through an abandoned skyscraper, making their way up the floors, dodging, and shooting the undead, all to reach the helicopter on the roof. When they meet the chopper, one of the post-apocalyptic survivors makes a jump for it but falls over. In the real world, they leapt into thin air and onto the floor. But with the free-roam VR game, it felt real.

What shocks first-timers, Zero Latency Vancouver owner Winston Cabell says, is how immersive it really is. You feel like youre a part of it, and not in a 1,900-square-foot space in a West Coast mall. Social media pages for the arcade show videos of users, fully invested in their digital escape, struggling to cross non-existent ramps high in the air or experiencing the shock and horror of monster armies careening toward them.

The availability and accessibility of virtual and augmented reality has accelerated over the past decade as consumer-grade headsets such as the PlayStation VR, the Oculus Meta Quest Two and the HTC Vive Pro 2s full kit system hit the mainstream with retail prices of $299, $459 and $1,849, respectively. These headsets remain a niche gaming product in the eyes of most consumers.

But major investments from tech giants like Google, Meta and Amazon have garnered headlines and stoked public curiosity over the eventual mass adoption of the technology.

Facebook, which formally changed its name to Meta last October, has bet on VR after purchasing the Oculus headset company for US$2-billion in 2014 and announcing a US$10-billion investment in its Reality Labs in 2021.

Metas Project Cambria, announced late last year, will offer an all-in-one VR setup designed for work-related uses. Google previously invested in Google Glass, a set of AR glasses, while Amazon announced an AR virtual try-on function that shows how a new pair of shoes may look on your feet through your phone screen.

Researchers, while thrilled by the potential of VR and believing it to be on the cusp of mainstream saturation, say the technology is still in a stage of experimentation and development.

We have pretty good consumer-grade tech, and now is the time where its going to be really exciting, says Tony Tang, director at University of Torontos RICELab (Rethinking Interaction, Collaboration and Engagement), which studies human-computer interaction and technologies like VR. Still, though, Mr. Tang says, its a bit of a mixed bag.

At this stage, he says, VR and AR dont solve any evident problems that smartphones and computers cant. For many of the things that we do, the phone you have in your pocket is perfectly capable of doing all the things that you want.

However, Mr. Tang acknowledges the same could have been said in the early days of smartphones and touch screens. Lets be honest, many [early apps] were crappy games, but through that we were able to identify what kinds of games would work well on mobile, he says, which ultimately drove the innovations for the apps we use and rely on every day.

You might argue that VR and AR technologies havent found that killer app, that really niche thing that everybody actually needs.

James Lozano helps Stephanie Aliman put on a headset.Rafal Gerszak/The Globe and Mail

In the search for that killer app, companies like Meta, Google and others have pursued partnerships with developers and research facilities such as Mr. Tangs RICELab, which received $30,000 from Meta to explore emerging use cases. For example, RICELab member Warren Park is studying how business or academic presentations can be optimized in VR settings. RICELabs $30,000 grant was part of a larger $510,000 Meta sent to 17 labs across the country.

Many of these ideas are going to fail completely, Mr. Tang says, though those failures can lead to future breakthroughs. With other ideas, there could be a little nugget where its like: oh, that might be kind of interesting. And then we build on that.

University of Waterloo professor Lennart Nacke says that while it hasnt reached mainstream, [VR is] thriving in health care, automotive and all of these industries. But to take that step beyond industrial or business-to-business applications and into the consumer realm, he says developers must leverage the immersion of VR with a strong narrative in their game, film or software.

Mr. Nacke, director of the Human-Computer Interaction Games group at Waterloos Games Institute who previously studied animation, draws comparisons between VR and CGI (computer-generated imagery) technology in video games and film. After 20-plus years of innovation and experimentation, it wasnt until the release of Jurassic Park in 1993 that CGI would capture the publics imagination. The film not only earned nearly US$1-billion at the box office but started a dinosaur-themed craze throughout the 90s that would even inspire the naming of the Toronto Raptors.

The seamless blend of advanced technology and gripping narrative propelled interest in CGI beyond the world of developers, programmers and animators and into pop culture. It was one of these aha moments, Mr. Nacke says.

For VR to pierce its way into public consciousness, it must have a similar cultural moment, he explains. But this whole idea of: how do we make the next Jurassic Park moment for consumers? That hasnt happened.

From the printing press to radio, film, television and video games, the public appeal of these technologies has always been rooted in the universal pull of storytelling.

Enabling that storytelling to the best of the ability of that technology is always what pushes forward that technology, Mr. Nacke says.

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Why virtual reality hasn't hit the mainstream yet - The Globe and Mail

Google AR glasses prototype

Google

Google will test augmented reality prototypes in public settings, the company said in a blog post on Tuesday.

Some prototypes will look like normal glasses and will be equipped with microphones and cameras as well as transparent displays.

The new glasses aren't a product yet and aren't available to the public, but Google wants to test apps like real-time translation or showing the user directions inside glasses lenses, especially in environments like busy intersections.

The tests represent a significant advance in Google's development of augmented reality, a technology that many in Silicon Valley believe could be a major shift in computing like the smartphone and PC before it. Augmented reality superimposes computer-generated images over the real world, unlike virtual reality, which completely immerses the viewer in an artificial world or "metaverse."

By announcing plans to test in public, Google is also trying to get ahead of the kind of privacy concerns that helped sink Google Glass, one of the first augmented reality devices, almost a decade ago.

Google Glass was equipped with a front-facing camera, and critics worried about users recording people without their permission. Glass wearers received a derogatory nickname, and in 2014 a woman wearing the glasses said she was attacked at a San Francisco bar. Eventually, Google repurposed the glasses to focus on business customers rather than consumers.

"It's early, and we want to get this right, so we're taking it slow, with a strong focus on ensuring the privacy of the testers and those around them," Google product manager Juston Payne wrote in the blog post about the new product.

"These research prototypes look like normal glasses, feature an in-lens display, and have audio and visual sensors, such as a microphone and camera," Google said in a support page about the testing.

The device features an LED light that turns on when the glasses are recording image data. Google says the glasses will not record video or take photographs for users to store and view later, but they may capture and use image data to perform functions like identifying objects or showing directions. Testers won't wear the glasses in schools, government buildings, healthcare locations, churches, protests, or other sensitive areas, Google said. The testing will be conducted by "a few dozen Googlers and select trusted testers" and will take place somewhere in the U.S.

Google revealed its AR glasses at its developers conference in May with a focus on translating speech in real time, so that a person would see a foreign language translated in front of their eyes. One Google employee called the glasses "subtitles for the world" during the presentation.

Google is fiercely competing with other tech giants including Apple, Meta, and Microsoft to build the first next-generation augmented reality glasses. All four companies have invested billions in augmented reality software and hardware, hoping for a breakthrough that could enable a new computing platform, but current products have yet to catch on.

"The magic will really come alive when you can use them in the real world without the technology getting in the way," Google CEO Sundar Pichai said at the announcement.

Apple is reportedly preparing to announce a mixed reality headset as soon as next year. Meta has announced an advanced mixed reality headset that supports augmented reality features releasing later this year. Microsoft's Hololens is the most advanced augmented reality hardware on the market from a big tech company for now.

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Google will once again test augmented reality glasses in public - CNBC

MetaX has joined the ranks of companies suing social media giant Meta over its name, according to CNN.

MetaX, an immersive reality company founded in 2010, is suing Meta for trademark infringement. The company claims in a lawsuit that Meta "obliterated" the company's business, CNN reported. "Meta's small business stands no chance against the corporate behemoth," the complaint said.

Facebook's parent company changed its name to Meta in October.

Meta declared at the time it would represent the shift to virtual reality and augmented reality, "the next evolution in a long line of social technologies."

The "metaverse" has already struggled with safety and is still in its early stages.

According to CNN, MetaX filed the complaint Tuesday in the Southern District Court of New York and is looking to get an injunction to get Meta to stop using the name.

"Facebook's actions, illegally usurping our name and mark, have not only put our business in jeopardy, but that of the entire industry and the intellectual property rights of the innovators that have helped build it," Justin Bolognin, MetaX's CEO, said in a press release Tuesday.

The suit further argues Meta, even though it tried to say the companies were different, has copied its strategy for events -- and has permanently connected MetaX with "the toxicity that is inextricably linked with the Facebook brand," CNN added.

It's not the first time Meta has been accused of brutally edging out the competition. Virtual reality startups are struggling to sell products that can compete with the $299 headset from Meta, Recode reported in 2021. Meta has also been on a buying spree focused on VR companies, the outlet reported.

Stephanie Llamas, a metaverse researcher, told the outlet that Meta's involvement and approach could also be scaring away startups.

"I've spoken to a lot of developers who feel they don't even have a chance to enter the market because Facebook is buying up the technology that they're trying to develop," she said.

Multiple regulators are looking into the overall issue, sources told Bloomberg in January.

Meta has also been aggressive in pursuing metaverse-related patents, Insider reported in January.

At least one other company with a similar name, Meta Company, planned to sue Meta, Business Standard reported in November. (The company's website says it has "proceeded to file the necessary legal action.") Meta acquired the domain MetaPay.com from MetaBank in December 2021 for $60 million, according to Payments Cards & Mobile.

At Meta's most recent earnings call in April, CEO Mark Zuckerberg said a "web version" of the metaverse would come out "later this year." That means you could see it without a VR headset.

The company's stock is down about 46% year to date. "While we're focusing on the biggest opportunities and challenges of today, I think it's important to build the foundation for the next era of social technology as well," Zuckerberg added in the call.

A representative for Meta did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

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Meta-Facebook Sued By Virtual Reality Startup Over Its Name - Entrepreneur

A close call for tortoises at Anderson sanctuary

Tortoise Acres Rescue & Sanctuary co-owner Katie Hoffman said flames from the Peter Fire nearly burned down her ranch but the tortoises were saved.

Mike Chapman, Wochit

A Shingletown health worker-turned-contractor has plans to open a virtual reality arcade in Redding later this year.

The city's Board of Administrative Review approved a development permit for the virtual reality gaming center at its meeting in late June.

Entrepreneur Katherine Nerbonne said the new VR "lounge" will be called Nano VR Escape.

Someone immersed in one of the games could go downhill mountain biking, she said, and "when you look around, you're looking over the hillside and when you look behind you, you're looking at the path you've already gone down. Obviously in the real world, you're sitting in a chair."

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Nerbonne said some virtual systems will be handicap-accessible, enabling people to do something they might not be able to "accomplish in the real world."

"If someone who's quadriplegic turns their head, the chair's going to turn also in the 3D experience. We're trying to give our disabled people something to do and our youngsters something to do," she said.

Earlier this week, Nerbonne was in New York, picking out the specialized equipment needed in order to avoid lengthy delays if she ordered them from manufacturers in China.

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She aims to open the establishment in September in a 2,700-square-foot space in the Hilltop Landing Center near the Chuck E. Cheese family entertainment center on Hilltop Drive.

The VR center will have 10 entertainment bays, various VR games, VR headsets and a small, octagon-shaped platform device that lets players walk, run and crouch as they immerse themselves "inside" a video game.

The VR lounge is being aimed at teens who feel they're too old to join younger siblings on family outings to the nearby Chuck E. Cheese entertainment center, said Nerbonne, who said she has two children, aged 13 and 20.

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She's hoping that while younger children and their parents visit Chuck E. Cheese, the family's teens will head to the VR lounge, rent a headset and play VR games. "That way, when everybody goes home from that shopping center, everybody's happy," Nerbonne said. "You don't have that mad teenager in the back seat."

The cost to visit the VR center varies, from $40 per hour for headset equipment to play some games to $100 for 90 minutes in the party room.

While it sounds pricey, parents are already shelling out plenty to bankroll their youngsters' gaming adventures, she said.

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With industry analysts estimating the global VR gaming market is expected to reach $12.13 billion this year, establishments including restaurant-entertainment venue Dave & Buster's have added virtual reality offerings.

Produced by computers, VR enables users to experience a simulated three-dimensional environment. Those worlds are accessed through a virtual reality headset.

In addition, the technology can rely on specialized gloves and bodysuits.

Besides gaming, VR technology is already being used train professionals including airline pilots and mechanics, according to a market report from industry tracker Grand View Research.

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Nerbonne said she owns a construction company and has renovated and sold houses in Shingletown, where she lives, and in New Jersey, where she is a licensed contractor.

Down the line, she said there's opportunity to offer VR rehabilitative services to disabled people.

Nerbonne once worked as a certified nursing assistant, providing care to clients who were physically disabled but very mentally aware. "When you talk with them, you get to hear the distress, the fact that they have nothing to do," she said.

"My longer goal is (after) the gaming part of it wears off and new headsets come out is to transfer mostly to medical (uses)," Nerbonne said.

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Entrepreneur approved to open Nano VR Escape in Redding - Record Searchlight

Can video games be a workout? Yes, experts say, and virtual reality (VR) technology is ushering in a whole new way to exercise.

Pop on a VR headset, load up the right game, and suddenly youre in sparring in a boxing ring or skiing in the Swiss Alps, says Aaron Stanton, founder and director of the Virtual Reality Institute of Health and Exercise, an independent research organization launched in 2017 to study the effects of virtual and augmented reality technology on fitness. (Since its founding, the organization has partnered with San Francisco State University and the virtual reality platform VIVE.)

VR exercise isnt different from other types of aerobic exercise, according to Stanton. Youre getting your heart rate up, working up a sweat, and burning calories but its not as monotonous as logging miles on a treadmill.

The best exercise is the one with the highest amount of painless minutes, Stanton says. Youre going to keep doing the workouts that dont feel like a chore and instead feel like something you actually enjoy, he says. That is where VR comes in. Its fun, so you forget youre even exercising.

Heres more about what the research says, as well as everything you need to know to get started with VR fitness.

Virtual reality is a computer-simulated environment; hardware (a VR headset) allows users to navigate and interact with the simulation. VR can be used for many purposes, such as medical care and research, training, entertainment, and yes, fitness.

With VR fitness, you use hardware (the VR headset) and software (a collection of games) to immerse yourself in virtual surroundings, explains Mathias Sorensen, an American College of Sports Medicinecertified personal trainer and curriculum manager at the American Fitness and Nutrition Academy. Sorensen, an avid gamer, says he started using VR fitness games in 2015.

In a video game, you control your player or character in the game with a handheld controller. In VR fitness, you control your player or character by moving your body. That means you might be up on your feet hopping for several seconds or minutes as you jump over laser beams, or doing a few squats and side lunges as you ride a VR roller coaster, or swinging your arms intensely as you use a sword to fight a monster, Sorensen says.

Youd be surprised at how quickly your heart rate jumps up when youre doing a minute of jumping in a game, Sorensen says. Depending on the game and how much youre moving, he says, the energy expenditure can be similar to other types of cardio you might do in a more traditional workout or even more intense.

While some VR games are purely for entertainment (though you may burn some calories or work up a sweat while playing them because you are moving), others are made specifically for working out, says Jeff Morin, CEO and cofounder of Liteboxer VR, which dubs itself a fitness-first boxing game.

Personal trainers designed the library of workouts in Liteboxer VR, for example, with new exercises added daily, Morin says. Workouts feature music from artists such as Machine Gun Kelly and Lady Gaga, and a coach instructs users about proper form.

The workouts in Liteboxer VR are similar to those in a workout video or app, except now youre fully immersed in the simulation. So, rather than looking at the boxing ring, you feel like youre actually in it, for example.

Liteboxer VR tracks players timing, accuracy, and velocity of punches, allowing them to improve upon their personal best. They can even go head-to-head with fellow players in sparring matches. On average, players burn about 300 calories per 30 minutes.

Research says yes, virtual reality games can be just as intense as other workouts.

In a paper published in Games for Health Journal in 2018, researchers put three virtual reality games (Audioshield, Thrill of the Fight, and Holopoint) to the test on 41 healthy men and women between ages 18 and 39.

Each participant played each game for 10 minutes while researchers measured their heart rate and oxygen consumption with VO2 max testing equipment (a face mask and tube system thats worn during exercise to measure physical fitness and the number of calories burned).

The physical activity required for all three of the games met energy expenditure benchmarks for moderate- to vigorous-intensity exercise, says study coauthor Jimmy Bagley, PhD, an associate professor of kinesiology and research director of the Strength and Conditioning Lab at San Francisco State University, where he studies virtual reality health and exercise. (Dr. Bagley is part of the Virtual Reality Institute of Health and Exercise partnership, for which he helped measure the calorie expenditure of hundreds of VR games, comparing each one to its equivalent in traditional exercise and rating them on the organizations website.)

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends 150 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise per week. Brisk walking is an example of moderate-intensity exercise, while jogging or running is an example of vigorous-intensity exercise, per the CDC.

In Thrill of the Fight a boxing game where players punch, lunge, and duck to dodge hits participants burned an average of 9.74 to 15.32 calories per minute, which is on par with the calories burned while rowing.

Some of the participants were working at 80 to 90 percent of their max heart rate. They were definitely sweating, Bagley says.

In Holopoint, players are archers, shooting arrows at opponents while jumping, lunging, and squatting to escape attacks. Bagley says participants burned roughly 7.6 to 12.69 calories per minute, which is similar to the amount of calories youd burn playing tennis in real life.

In the Games for Health Journal study, the team also found that people exercising in virtual reality often underestimate how much energy they are exerting. They rated jogging on a treadmill as moderate exercise, whereas playing a VR fitness game felt like a light workout to them.

Bagley suggests that this is because players are absorbed in the game, focusing on earning points or beating the boss to get to the next level.

Astudy published in Psychology of Sport and Exercise in 2019 compared two groups of adults doing biceps curls: 40 people did the exercises in a gym and another 40 people exercised with a VR headset, viewing a simulated room that was a virtual copy of the real-life gym. Both groups used 20 percent of the max weight they were able to lift, and they had to hold the biceps curls for as long as they could.

The data showed that the VR group reported a pain intensity that was 10 percent lower than their peers in the gym. They also had a lower heart rate, at three fewer beats per minute, and they were able to keep lifting for two minutes longer.

A review published in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health in 2020 analyzed studies that had evaluated the effectiveness of VR exercise and concluded that VR workouts helped improve physical fitness, muscle strength, and balance.

Tim Donahey, an Ohio-based National Academy of Sports Medicinecertified personal trainer, turned to VR fitness in August 2016 to help him lose the 15 pounds he had gained when he became a father for the first time earlier that year. Chronicling his 50-day weight loss journey on Reddit, Donahey committed to one hour of VR exercise five days a week ashis sole source of physical activity.

I knew immediately what the benefits were going to be every time I played, it got my heart rate up, I was sore afterward, and I could feel the effects on my body, he says.

VR workouts can be great for anyone who enjoys gamified workouts or virtual workout classes. They can be ideal for people who arent currently physically active (particularly if they find the specific VR game or program theyre using more enjoyable than a traditional workout) or for regular gym goers who want to supplement their workout routine, Donahey says.

Its a great way for people who hate exercise to get moving and burn some calories while they play, he says.

Be conscious of your mobility and fitness levels, though. If you have a medical condition or injury that may limit your ability to exercise safely, talk to your doctor before starting any new exercise program. In that same vein, if you arent physically fit, test the waters with the easy setting on whatever game you play, so that you dont overstrain your body, Bagley says. (You still run the risk of real-life overuse injuries when working out with VR, just as you would with other sports or activities.)

Bagley notes that people who arent necessarily tech-savvy may need a hand with setting up their headset and game.

And if you tend to struggle with motion sickness, dizziness, or vertigo, start with games with less movement, Bagley says.

Here are a few things to consider before getting started with VR fitness:

Here are some tips to get you set up to jump into a VR exercise routine:

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VR Fitness: Can My Virtual Reality Game Be a Workout? - Everyday Health

You probably know of Robin Hood, the heroic outlaw who stole from the rich and gave to the poor of Nottingham. What you probably didnt know was that he had to evade two sheriffs because, in the late middle ages, Nottingham city was split into two boroughs, each with its own laws and ways of life.

History is sometimes selective and important facts can easily be forgotten. This is the case in the history of Nottingham city. Few people are likely to be aware that for 700 years after the Norman colonisation in 1068, the town was split into two boroughs: one populated by Normans, the other by Anglo-Saxons.

Fascinated by this lesser-known history, last year, I decided to make this hidden secret of Nottingham, and its intangible heritage as the city of the towns, more known using augmented reality (AR) technology. Using historical maps and archaeological data, I led a research team at Nottingham Trent University to recreate in 3D the original shape and position of the Market Wall that separated the Norman borough from the Anglo-Saxon borough in Nottingham.

The large market square, which is still there and is the second largest market square in the UK, was shared by the two boroughs but was divided by a wall around 1.6 metres high. The wall was to separate livestock from other goods and to define different administration and laws. People were, however, allowed to move freely from one side to the other, as is clearly shown in historical maps of Nottingham and archival documentation.

The purpose of the Nottingham Market Wall was as an administrative boundary between the two boroughs and was very different from many other segregation walls, like the Berlin Wall. In medieval Nottingham, both sides could cross the border any time they wanted, living together in peace, sharing their culture, and creating a melting pot that is probably the secret behind the character of this unique town.

My interest in the wall started when I noticed in the old Market Square a long water drain with a grill that had a strange shape. I later discovered that it was inspired by an old map of Nottingham depicting the Market Wall. I immediately thought that this important yet unknown aspect of Nottinghams heritage should be visually revealed. The best way, I believed was by using augmented reality technology, not just for the possibility to have a realistic view of the historical wall blended right into the users view of the real world, but also because AR is a technology available on our smartphones so that anyone can easily discover and interact with the deep roots of the city.

The project aimed to invite Nottinghams citizens and tourists to experience and interact with the historical roots of the city through virtual archaeology, using their smartphones or tablets. After downloading and installing the free AR app from http://www.themarketwall.com users can go into the Old Market square and visualise through their smartphone where the Market Wall was and interact with it, getting closer and around, walking along its length.

The app also includes two other historical elements, the Malt Cross, a pillar on a pile of ten steps where public announcements and punishments (whipping) were made that were located at the crossing between Long Row and Market Street. The other element is the ducking stool, a tool to punish mainly women for scolding or backbiting (talking behind someones back) by bonding them to a chair fixed on a pole so that they could be immersed in a pond that was originally located where the fountain in the Old Market square now is.

These landmarks of public announcements and punishments can help users immerse themselves in medieval Nottingham, experiencing the role of the historical Saturday Market, the old name of the square, in the social and political life of Nottingham, beyond trade and commerce.

Using the AR app in the Old Market square, visitors can see how the Market Wall, Malt Cross and ducking stool once looked and virtually interact with them. AR technology can contribute in an easy, enjoyable way to reveal the identity of places and the intangible attributes of heritage that are not physically visible anymore.

The app created interest in the local and national press, but it also generated curiosity in the citizens. Over 100 users to date have downloaded the app.

With smartphones becoming more powerful, AR technology is developing and creating more possibilities to integrate virtual reality with our real world. Digitally enhancing natural environments, the built environment and heritage sites, AR on smartphones and tablets are extending museums and exhibition beyond their traditional parameters and possibly also audiences.

Connecting reality with the metaverse, a collective virtual open space that is believed to be the next evolution of the internet, could make each city a museum that is ready to be experienced across the past, present and future.

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Revealing Nottingham's secret history through augmented reality - The Conversation