Author name: Rejus Almole

indie-vr-gem-‘compound’-set-to-release-on-quest-2-next-week

Indie VR Gem ‘COMPOUND’ Set to Release on Quest 2 Next Week

First released in early access on Steam in 2018, VR roguelite COMPOUND hit its 1.0 release on PC VR earlier this year and is now set to launch on Quest 2 for the first time next week on December 8th.

Compound is a VR roguelite with a unique pixel-art style and an arsenal of fun weaponry with which to experiment. And though little-known, it’s something of a cult hit as the 6th best-rated VR game according to Steam (with an ‘Overwhelmingly Positive’ 97% rating) and the 9th best-rated according to Steam250 (which uses its own algorithm to determine rankings).

Created by one-man indie developer Bevan “NotDead” McKechnie, Compound was originally released in early access on Steam in 2018 and saw slow but steady development right up to its 1.0 release on PC VR earlier this year.

Now McKechnie has announced that Compound is set to launch on Quest 2 next week on December 8th for $20, the same price as the PC VR version.

McKechnie says the Quest version of Compound includes the full contents of the PC VR version, except for leaderboards and achievements. Visually he says he “didn’t need to make any compromises” and still managed to get the game to run at 80Hz. Unfortunately Compound will be available on Quest 2 but not the original Quest.

Indie VR Gem ‘COMPOUND’ Set to Release on Quest 2 Next Week Read More »

razer-launches-free-haptic-authoring-tool-for-quest,-ps5,-&-more

Razer Launches Free Haptic Authoring Tool for Quest, PS5, & More

Razer, the popular peripheral company, today announced the free release of the Interhaptics haptic authoring tool which is designed to make it faster and easier for developers to create compelling haptic effects for multiple haptic devices.

Razer acquired haptic software tool company Interhaptics earlier this year. Having gotten its start building VR haptic peripherals under the name Go Touch VR, it’s no surprise that the Interhaptics tool is compatible with Meta’s Quest headset controllers, in addition to PS5 and non-VR game platforms like Android and iOS.

Now free for developers to use, the Haptic Composer tool from Interhaptics provides a visual authoring system for developers to build haptic effects for various controllers and devices.

Different devices have different types of haptic engines in them which means different haptic capabilities and different methods for triggering them. Instead of dealing with a different haptic tool for each controller or device, Interhaptics allows developers to build and test their haptic effects through one common interface.

To author haptic effects, the Haptic Composer allows developers to base the effect on an imported audio file. This works as a starting point for a haptic effect that can match a sound effect played in the game at the same time. From there developers can iterate the haptic effect using keyframe authoring and test on the actual hardware until they get the result they’re looking for.

Presently Razer says the Interhaptics tool supports Quest, PS5, iOS, and Android. Notably lacking at the moment is support for other major VR controllers like Vive wands and Index controllers, as well as the other major consoles, Xbox and Nintendo Switch. While the Interhaptics tool says it supports PS5’s DualSense controllers, it isn’t clear if this will extend to the upcoming PSVR 2 controllers which include similar haptic capabilities. We’ve reached out to Razer for clarification.

Razer Launches Free Haptic Authoring Tool for Quest, PS5, & More Read More »

spatial-formalizes-exclusible-and-polycount-relationship,-announces-new-features

Spatial Formalizes Exclusible and Polycount Relationship, Announces New Features

 

Spatial doesn’t sell NFTs. But, since it pivoted out of enterprise last year, it’s become a meeting place for NFT enthusiasts and even a gallery for their works. So the company is working with an NFT outfit, Exclusible, to offer that flavor.

That’s not all. Recent (and impending) updates to Spatial’s platform are also giving more social tools and interaction options. To learn more, we talked with representatives of both Spatial and Exclusible.

It’s a Long Story

Spatial started life in 2016 as an enterprise platform. When ARPost first met Spatial a few years after that, enterprise was still their bread and butter. During this period, the company became aware of a design studio called M2 Studio (now known as Polycount) which specializes in designing and selling immersive environments.

“When we were still in that intermediary period where we still had a lot of enterprise clients, M2 was very popular with our enterprise clients, so we became very friendly with them,” explained Spatial’s Head of Growth, Jacob Loewenstein.

Meanwhile, Exclusible is in the business of selling NFT luxury goods. However, their NFTs don’t have to be one-to-one. A lot of their projects use the replicable nature of digital goods to make premium digital items available to a large number of buyers at a lower price. This connected with Spatial when members of the two companies met at a conference.

“At that time, people were uncomfortable with the idea that we weren’t selling land,” said Loewenstein. “[Exclusible wasn’t] trying to sell one space for a million dollars, they were trying to sell something that a lot of users could afford.”

Lowenstein recommended Polycount to Exclusible for help with virtual environments. Exclusible reached out, and the two clicked. Exclusible’s Metaverse Analyst, Hugo Gesbert, took the story from there:

“After a few internal discussions, we decided to acquire the full Polycount studio because we thought it could be very beneficial for our clients to have the full ability to develop in-house,” said Gesbert. “When we’re building a metaverse experience, it’s all about how we’re going to make it useful. This is where Polycount is bringing their expertise.”

The Road So Far

Late last year, Spatial officially pivoted to serve the NFT and cultural community. This has meant more rather than less work with custom space designers. A company looking to have remote meetings is more likely to be happy with a copy-and-paste space than an artist or gallery is.

“When you want to do something no one has seen before, the experience needs to be bespoke and custom almost by definition,” said Lowenstein.

Spatial, Exclusible, and Polycount have worked together on a number of activations including the first film premiere in VR, and a more recent collection of virtual penthouses. The penthouses can be used as they are, or used as templates that are modified or otherwise “reskinned” to fit the owner or the event.

Paris Penthouse - Spatial & Exclusible

“The latest topic that we’re dealing with is how to define the metaverse as also a product,” said Exclusible’s NFTs and Metaverse Marketing Manager Sara Teixeira.

The next step on the journey together in part formalizes their ongoing professional relationship.

“We’re honored to formalize a long-term relationship with the Exclusible team to create extravagant and design-led spaces for any individual or brand to experience a slice of luxury in the metaverse,” Spatial co-founder and Chief Product Officer, Jinha Lee, said in a release shared with ARPost.

Metaverse Yachts. No, Not Like That.

About a year ago, a virtual yacht sold for over half-a-million dollars worth of Ethereum. While some metaverse pundits described it as an illustration of how digital objects can have most real-world value, most commentators found the event laughable largely because the artifact itself has been described as “comically hideous.”

So, the decision of Polycount, Exclusible, and Spatial to christen their now-official relationship with virtual yachts and beach houses might be questionable. Except, of course, for a few key differences in tact.

First, as was pointed out above, these aren’t one-to-one products with unnecessary scarcity driving up the price. We don’t have numbers on how many of these sites will be available and at what price, but we anticipate that they will be made en masse and sold at a price that reflects that.

Yacht - Spatial and Exclusible

Second, we’ve seen the kinds of environments that this team makes and they are anything but “Minecraft-esque” as the previously-mentioned virtual yacht had been described. These are environments that took lots of time, a large team, and plenty of expertise to execute. Again, the price reflects this but these are luxury items because of their beauty and complexity, not their artificial scarcity.

Finally, one of the largest questions about last year’s virtual yacht was “who wants this?” This initiative was inspired by user feedback collected by both the Exclusible and the Spatial communities. These are environments that users have explicitly asked for.

More Coming to Spatial

Partnerships and locations aside, Spatial is in the midst of a major redesign – perhaps the biggest since their market pivot almost a year ago. These are also inspired by user feedback.

For one, the website is being redesigned to promote the discoverability of spaces. How spaces are ranked for discovery is also now a direct reflection of how many visits and how many positive user responses those spaces have received.

Further, users are getting their own profiles that can be used for more than just logging in. Users can also now follow one another, whether that be friends that they already know, or some of their favorite world builders.

Going forward, the Spatial team is also working on making spaces that are more interactive and allowing more dynamic interactions between user avatars. The team is also working on increasing the number of users that can occupy a space at one time. Some of these changes are already in place, while some will be rolling out over the next few months.

Soak Up the Virtual Sun

Virtual yachts and beach houses are fun. But, they’re not the biggest news here. This story is largely a story of evolution. Some believe that NFTs are the future of the metaverse. Others believe that NFTs are destroying the metaverse. Wherever you stand, there are things that immersive tech stands to gain from adopting or at least learning from the NFT space.

When people plow ahead making NFTs for the sake of NFTs, they usually create more problems than products. But, companies like Spatial are working with experts in the space as well as members of their own communities to incorporate elements of the NFT world in a way that is responsive to users and responsible in the market.

Spatial Formalizes Exclusible and Polycount Relationship, Announces New Features Read More »

qreal-launches-multi-brand,-multi-category-ar-virtual-try-on-app-tryo

QReal Launches Multi-Brand, Multi-Category AR Virtual Try-On App TRYO

 

Virtual try-on is not an entirely novel concept. Converse, for one, first offered this shopping experience back in 2010 through The Sampler iPhone app which leveraged augmented reality. However, limitations on technology and devices hampered the adoption of virtual try-on.

With the rising popularity of online shopping today, virtual try-on is getting the spotlight. As it helps address challenges in online shopping, it enables consumers to get the best possible experiences when shopping on digital platforms.

Addressing Challenges in Online Shopping

In 2021, online retail sales in the United States amounted to $1.050 trillion. However, the amount of merchandise returned accounts for approximately 20.8 percent of this figure. That’s a whopping $218 billion in returns.

One contributing problem to this loss is the difficulty shoppers face in finding out how an item will fit or look on them without trying it on. This results in ill-fitting clothing, wrong shades, unmet expectations, and other issues that compel buyers to return the products.

Leveraging advanced AR and VR technology, virtual try-on presents an effective solution to this problem. This digital tool lets shoppers try on items before purchasing them. A smartphone, an app, and a few taps of their fingertips are all they need to make better selections when shopping online.

A Snap research substantiates how effective virtual try-on is. In their recent research, 80% of shoppers said that they feel more confident in their purchases as a result of using AR. The same research shows that 2 out of 3 shoppers are less likely to return a product after using AR.

Still, shoppers have limited options when it comes to using this functionality. Not all brands have virtual try-on apps. Also, shoppers have to visit different online boutiques or download multiple apps to use the virtual try-on.

This is something the newly-launched TRYO – a virtual try-on experience that lets shoppers view multiple brands and multiple categories in one library – could help with.

QReal AR Virtual Try-On App TRYO

TRYO’s Virtual Try-On: Revolutionizing How People Shop Online

TRYO strives to become the engine that powers the next evolution of shopping. It is creating a vast library of 3D branded models including products from Gucci, Cartier, and Adidas to name a few.

TRYO provides online shoppers with a one-stop shopping experience. Through advanced AR tech, shoppers can virtually try on footwear, watches, hats, eyewear, and other merchandise. From over 500 items at the time of the launch, TRYO’s library of ultra-realistic branded models will be growing fast with new products planned to be added weekly.

TRYO AR virtual try-on app

As TRYO offers brands an easy way to provide exceptional shopping experiences, we can expect more rapid adoption of virtual try-on technology across the industry.

“We want to show brands how easy it could be to embed a virtual try-on experience into their own websites,” said Mike Cadoux, co-founder of TRYO, and Managing Director at QReal, in a press release shared with ARPost.  “It may seem like a daunting task, but we’re able to do it. TRYO shows it can be done.”

Developed by QReal, The Glimpse Group subsidiary, TRYO features world-class 3D and AR capabilities. It is now available for download in the App Store. Shoppers can also view the 3D models in the TRYO digital showroom.

The Future of Shopping Is More Exciting

Virtual try-on apps bring value to both brands and shoppers. Brands are able to deliver memorable shopping experiences that delight shoppers and make their buyer journeys seamless and enjoyable. They are also able to ensure customer satisfaction and lessen the need for returns. Ultimately, utilizing virtual try-on technology impacts the entire industry and makes shopping more exciting.

QReal Launches Multi-Brand, Multi-Category AR Virtual Try-On App TRYO Read More »

expressvpn-survey-explores-immersive-tech-in-the-workplace

ExpressVPN Survey Explores Immersive Tech in the Workplace

 

ExpressVPN has conducted a survey of 1,500 employees and 1,500 employers to learn about attitudes toward immersive work. Remote collaboration has been one of the biggest promises of immersive technology as it relates to work but employers seem to be more excited than employees. One potential reason: surveillance fears.

Who Wants to Work in the Metaverse?

Remote work was already trending upward before the pandemic. However, as more and more offices closed, remote work started to seem like part of the “new normal.” It was also an explosive opportunity for the immersive tech industry with many promoting the metaverse as the new office water cooler.

While immersive tech gained some traction during this period, video conferencing remains the standard alternative to in-person meetings. About a third of employees and almost as many employers who participated in the survey prefer video conferencing to in-person meetings.

As for immersive meetings, 17% of employers and only 9% of employees surveyed preferred them over other communication methods. So, metaverse was less popular than in-person meetings, video conferencing, instant messaging, and email among employees, but more popular than social media, phone calls, and project management platforms.

On the other hand, it’s interesting that metaverse was the second-preferred method of communication among employers, with video conferencing being the top pick.

Which communication method makes you feel most connected and engaged with your co-workers
Source: ExpressVPN

Why Not Bring Immersive Tech Into the Workplace?

Why the low numbers among employees? First, they aren’t that low. After all, project management platforms were literally designed for remote collaboration, and immersive tech beat them out. And better than the telephone? That’s pretty good for an emerging technology.

Another potential explanation is that most people still haven’t tried an immersive meeting. The survey report didn’t ask (or didn’t include) how many people have experienced a meeting in the metaverse.

While virtual office meetings are becoming more common, they’re still not part of most people’s work week. Further, these platforms are improving but a lot still have hiccups. Even those that work as intended aren’t what most people are used to, which can lead to a learning curve if not plain old friction.

However, the study also found that over half (57%) of polled employees and over three-quarters (77%) of polled employers are interested in immersive work. So, while not all employees are already convinced, a good number of them are at least curious.

There’s still one more reason that employees in particular aren’t sold on the metaverse for meetings. It’s actually a concern that they already have about more conventional remote work solutions.

Surveillance of employees working remotely is already fairly common practice, particularly in large businesses. Immersive technology platforms, particularly those incorporating VR hardware, offer more opportunities for surveillance. Employees seem largely convinced that more opportunity means more abuse.

Sixty-three percent of employees are concerned about data collection, and 61% about being monitored by their employer in the metaverse.

More than half of surveyed employees responded that they’re concerned specifically about real-time location (51%) and real-time screen monitoring (50%). To be fair, under 40% of employers surveyed said that they intended to use emerging technologies in these ways.

Okay, Boomer

Digging too deep into what these numbers mean can be tricky for one more reason. Zany demographic information. Specifically, Boomers. To understand how confusing their responses are, one other piece of demographic information is required: Gen Z is typically the most supportive and least skeptical about the metaverse.

Boomers are the second most curious about the metaverse – they’re also the least excited and the least optimistic about it. They’re the least convinced that it will positively impact productivity but the second most convinced that it will positively impact work performance.

How do different generations feel about the meatverse and how do they think that the metaverse will positively impact work
Source: ExpressVPN

They’re the second least concerned about employee surveillance but the most concerned about overall digital privacy and security. Finally, they’re the most excited about remote collaboration and working remotely, but well under half of them think that immersive tech is the future of work.

Does any of that make sense to you? No? That’s a relief.

More Problems With Trust

There’s one more area worth looking at that helps to illustrate the complicated relationship between employees and immersive work. That has to do with trust. Sixty-one percent of respondents trust Microsoft, 58% trust Google, 57% trust Apple, and 36% trust Meta. Most have never heard of other immersive tech companies like Magic Leap and NVIDIA.

That said, Google and Apple are doing very little when it comes to (publicly) developing (the user side of) the metaverse for work. Meanwhile, the most trusted company (Microsoft) and the least trusted company (Meta) are working together on their immersive work strategies. The survey report suggests that this reflects a lack of information on service providers.

The survey report concludes by saying that employers should be wary that trust plays such a large role in adoption and employees – particularly those already familiar with workplace surveillance – just don’t trust employers with immersive technology in the workplace.

Why would employers care about the adoption of immersive technologies? They might not. But, if avoiding enhanced workplace surveillance means that employees work somewhere else, employers may want to think twice about how close an eye they keep on their talent.

The Future? Yes. Tomorrow? No.

Please do read the original survey for yourself. There was a lot in there that we didn’t cover here and there are places where you might be able to make more sense of it.

No matter how one reads the numbers, immersive tech may well be the future of work but it may not be the immediate future of work.

ExpressVPN Survey Explores Immersive Tech in the Workplace Read More »

with-music-in-new-realities,-we-can-go-deeper-together

With Music In New Realities, We Can Go Deeper Together

 

A look around the media landscape will make it clear that virtual reality has become a major player in the music industry and virtual concerts are on the rise with performances by mainstream artists in popular games and other platforms.

Yet, with all the hope promised by the “metaverse,” not only do these events fail to optimally leverage the innovation of VR, but they also fall short in using music to help create immersive social spaces for people to gather virtually where they feel connected to each other and their humanity.

Today, music-related virtual reality and augmented reality content falls into 3 major categories:

  1. Virtual concerts and music videos by mainstream, popular artists represented by their avatar likeness;
  2. “Rhythm games” and music-making apps focused on popular music;
  3. Music visualizers.

Audiences and Artists Still Adjusting

In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic and social distancing, many artists are including virtual and hybrid events as part of their tour schedules.

Last year, United Talent Agency (UTA) polls indicated that three out of four people attended online events during the pandemic and, of those, 88% planned to continue even when in-person events came back.

Given the investment in this virtual space by companies including Meta, HTC, ByteDance’s Pico, and soon… Apple with their anticipated headset likely to be announced in 2023, the AR/VR market is a major player in the music industry, even spawning the “Best Metaverse Performance” category in the 2022 MTV VMAs.

With virtual concerts on the rise, major artists like Eminem and Snoop Dogg, Travis Scott, Ariana Grande, and BTS are presenting in-game music events—albeit with mixed results.

Some of these events are being called nothing more than a “kiddie cash grab,” leaving audiences wanting more out of the virtual experience that will truly make use of VR as a medium and a new form of expression.

Possibility for a New Mode of Discovery

There are, however, burgeoning examples of innovative and thoughtful approaches to VR/AR music experiences. The 2018 Sigur Rós and Magic Leap collaboration, Tónandi, demonstrated what can be possible with an immersive and interactive AR music experience, though not currently available on all platforms. This ambitious project featured the Icelandic pop-rock band in a music experience for a high-end AR device that brought music, visuals, and interaction together equally to create a synesthetic experience.

Tónandi - an interactive audio-visual exploration
An interactive audio-visual exploration Tónandi

One of the promises of the metaverse is to bring people together virtually. Traditionally, live music events have been a place where people could gather for a communal experience. This is the missing piece to current VR music events, which have yet to find an organic way for audience members to interact both with the artist and with each other.

Then, there is the possibility of bringing composed scores into virtual spaces, to connect with people’s psyches and emotions as music has done in concert halls, films, and television shows for a long time.

Music and… Miniature Golf?

While not a music-centered app, Mighty Coconut’s Walkabout Mini Golf – a virtual reality game for which I compose the original scores – gives an example of how VR/AR can become a gathering space for people to experience visuals and music while exploring the virtual world or just hanging out together.

VR and music - game Walkabout Mini Golf
VR game Walkabout Mini Golf

Each course presents a captivating world with a distinct mood, created by the music, visuals, and course design that present an alternative to typical VR/AR games and music experiences. Players consider it a place as much as a game, and their connection to the soundtrack has led them to stream it on various services just to bring them back to that sense of place.

VR Music Experience Is Here to Stay

Virtual reality music experiences are here to stay. While VR/AR is currently most strongly associated with games and major companies, there is much to hope for with content put out by independent studios and artists, who are able to be more flexible in adapting to changes in technology and audience demographics. This virtual space will offer new and exciting possibilities for musicians and audiences.

Anyone invested in music going forward—artists, academia, fans, bookers, labels, music supervisors, and even advertisers—would be well advised to keep an eye on VR/AR and to start learning what’s happening in this space.

Like music albums and films, these tools are just another mode of expression for artists to connect to audiences and, hopefully, encourage people to connect with each other.

Guest Post


With Music In New Realities, We Can Go Deeper Together Read More »

how-ar-and-vr-technologies-help-create-phygital-experiences

How AR and VR Technologies Help Create Phygital Experiences

 

The widespread adoption of the so-called “phygital experiences” in consumer markets shows that they have now become the standard. By delivering highly personalized and seamless experiences, they ensure consumers’ unique needs are met and their expectations are exceeded. For brands, phygital is no longer just a trend. It’s also now integral to business sustainability and future growth.

The Increasing Demand for Phygital Experiences

One report shows that a majority of shoppers today feel more comfortable using digital technology. Currently, consumers are going back to in-store shopping post-pandemic. And they continue to look for digital options that make their buying journey more enjoyable. They have come to expect the same personalized experiences that brands offer online when they visit physical stores.

Contactless payments, curbside pickup options, and in-store ordering kiosks are some of the ways brands are delivering these phygital experiences. They offer seamless transitions between digital and physical touchpoints.

These solutions are now commonplace in airports, banks, restaurants, and many other establishments. To enhance in-store experiences, some brands leverage immersive technologies that elevate the digital experiences of consumers.

The Role of AR and VR in Creating Phygital Experiences

To create immersive experiences while ensuring smooth omnichannel journeys, AR and VR play a crucial role. Innovative AR and VR applications effectively meet the consumer demand for phygital experiences in the various channels they use.

Many of us already use these technologies at home. Farfetch, L’Oreal, Wacoal, Warby Parker, and other brands transformed online shopping with virtual try-ons.

Apps like IKEA Place use AR to enable shoppers to virtually place realistically rendered and true-to-scale furnishings into their real physical space.

Marriott International uses VR to help customers plan their events. Used with a headset, their VR app renders three-dimensional views of hotel venues with setups customized for specific social and corporate events.

Brands are bringing these at-home phygital experiences consumers have come to love into their brick-and-mortar shops. For instance, BMW makes car shopping more fun with an AR app that allows shoppers to customize the colors and styles of cars. They also offer VR headsets that let customers experience what it feels like to drive the cars.

Many Nike outlets today are equipped with AR solutions that allow shoppers to scan items to view more detailed information about them. A few years ago, Adidas also launched a unique AR experience in its Paris flagship store. Today, shoppers enjoy immersive experiences at home and in-store through the Adidas app.

Toms offers a similar VR experience that transports shoppers to Peru to see how their contributions to Toms initiatives are helping communities there. This type of immersive experience deepens the connection of consumers to a brand as they get fully immersed in the actual impact of the brand’s advocacy on society.

Other AR and VR applications also elevate shopping experiences. These include in-store navigation, immersive product catalogs, and customization tools. They make phygital experiences more captivating. They also connect consumers to brands on an immersive and more emotional level.

Immersive Technologies Are the Core of Phygital

Phygital experiences will be an inherent part of our future. People will come to expect seamless transitions between digital and physical modes in virtually every aspect of life.

Immersive technologies are fundamental to delivering these experiences. Thus, brands that haven’t done so yet must incorporate immersive solutions into their growth strategy. Aside from allowing brands to meet new consumer demands, immersive tech also enables them to deliver more value that gives them a competitive advantage.

How AR and VR Technologies Help Create Phygital Experiences Read More »

coming-product-from-valkyrie-industries-could-put-haptics-on-double-duty

Coming Product From Valkyrie Industries Could Put Haptics on Double Duty

 

Usually, when people talk about haptics we’re talking about making interactions more realistic or immersive. Of course, this is huge for VR. However, as VR develops as a fitness tool, haptics can take on a whole new dimension. Take a recently announced product from Valkyrie Industries as an example.

Understanding EMS

I used to write for health and wellness blogs, so entertain a little physiology rundown. The two branches of this product build on two facts about your body. First, your muscles work through electrical impulses generated by your body. Second, your muscles grow by working against resistance.

As to the first point, your muscles can be stimulated by electrical impulses not generated by your body. Electrical Muscle Stimulation (EMS) uses controlled electrical impulses applied to the muscles, typically in physical training.

As to the second point, resistance can come from an external force like gravity. This is mechanical resistance, which is the basis of most workouts. However, EMS can also provide a different kind of resistance that works out your muscles without the use of some physical source like weights or bands.

So, together, EMS doesn’t just make you feel like you’re doing something – your muscles actually get that benefit. So, what is Valkyrie Industries doing in this field?

This has two big potential benefits for VR: fitness, and general immersion. Valkyrie Industries is primarily focused on fitness, so we’ll start there.

Haptics in VR Fitness

Fitness has been a major use case of VR, primarily through cardio. To dust off my health blogger hat again, cardio is good for your heart and lungs but it doesn’t necessarily do a lot for muscle growth because it doesn’t involve a great deal of resistance. But, it’s the ideal match for VR because VR solves so many of the problems of conventional cardio.

Conventional solo cardio also tends to be boring. Switching things up requires a partner, access to specialized equipment or areas, and other obstacles. VR has largely removed these various barriers by “simming in” items, venues, and even partners. The ability to gamify these activities also makes them more attractive, particularly when paired with social features.

But it still doesn’t do much for muscle growth. Right?

Valkyrie - haptics - EIR Armbands

Valkyrie Industries recently announced Valkyrie EIR. These are bands worn around the upper arm that provide muscle stimulation to the biceps and triceps during your cardio workout in VR. This helps to bring muscle activation into cardio without incorporating weights or bands to get in the way.

Valkyrie also announced EIR Training, VR fitness courses specifically designed for use with the Valkyrie EIR armbands.

Valkyrie - haptics - EIR Training

“The powerful feeling of resistance is integral to the best workout routines,” Valkyrie Industries co-founder and CTO, Ivan Isakov, said in a release shared with ARPost. “We wanted to push the boundaries of immersion for the millions of fitness fans that work out in VR every day. Valkyrie EIR is the next step in that journey, as we build on our expertise with haptic technologies.”

Haptics in VR Generally

Now, let’s talk about general immersion as a potential benefit of EMS. This requires a little extrapolation from the actual Valkyrie Industries releases. But, as we saw above, EMS creates the feeling of physical resistance from a virtual activity. That is here, being used to increase a workout. It could also be used to increase immersion.

In EIR Training, EMS replicates the feeling of resistance from a cable pull. It could also replicate the feeling of resistance from drawing a bowstring, reeling in a fish, climbing a mountain – whatever you like to do in VR.

Haptics as a form of feedback is one of the great pursuits of hardware developers – usually focusing on the hands and body. However, Valkyrie Industry’s armbands only cost $150 – significantly below the price of other haptic solutions.

So, why aren’t I playing Archery Dungeon with EMS right now? There are a few reasons. First, While Valkyrie EIR was announced last month, it isn’t scheduled to ship until next summer. Second, strapping on an armband doesn’t automatically make it reactive to whatever experience you’re enjoying. That would require SDKs and APIs that we haven’t seen yet. But, it’s still early.

Plus, we know that companies like Meta are working on EMG. That’s “electromyography” – tech that detects the electrical impulses in muscles. In VR, it’s a potential input method of future devices. A headset that you communicate with through EMG input and that communicates with you through EMS haptics could have incredible potential for human-computer interaction.

Both Eyes Open

Valkyrie EIR for VR fitness is exciting. The idea of Valkyrie EIR providing haptic feedback for more diverse VR applications? That’s thrilling. But that’s often the problem with emerging technologies: If we keep looking at what might come next, we forget to appreciate what we have today.

Coming Product From Valkyrie Industries Could Put Haptics on Double Duty Read More »

artebinaria-open-air-museum:-imaginary-museums-without-walls-in-augmented-reality

Artebinaria Open-Air Museum: Imaginary Museums Without Walls in Augmented Reality

 

Sponsored content

Sponsored by Artebinaria

 

Artebinaria Open-Air Museum is a brand new technological platform – designed, developed, and curated by Artebinaria – for setting up and opening to the public a collection of imaginary museums in augmented reality, geo-locatable anywhere in the world, and visitable through the app Open-Air Museum, available for iPhone and iPad.

A series of open-air exhibition spaces come to life in augmented reality, offering an unparalleled experience for art enthusiasts, with exclusive installations that evolve over time with new proposals.

Meet Artebinaria

Artebinaria is a tech company based in Florence, Italy, founded by senior software engineer Alessandro Bemporad, operating internationally since 2019 in the field of augmented reality applied to the world of art. The company develops its own solutions on Apple devices and Cloud Computing platforms.

The team is composed of software engineers and art historians, all with many years of experience in their respective professional fields.

Artebinaria believes in augmented imagination – the symbiosis of creativity, knowledge, and technology.

Artebinaria Open-Air Museum in Florence, London, and Paris

The first three imaginary museums are already open at Piazzale Michelangelo in Florence, at Primrose Hill (The Regent’s Park) in London, and at Place-Vendôme in Paris, and offer a selection of 100 masterpieces of painting from the 13th to the 20th century.



The selection of the artworks, and the original content of the information sheets, illustrating the artworks, have been curated by an art historian, the Art Director of Artebinaria, Maddalena Grazzini.

How to Visit Artebinaria Open-Air Museum

A visit to one of Artebinaria’s Open-Air Museums takes place via the app Open-Air Museum by Artebinaria, which allows visitors who are in one of the geo-located museum locations to explore the artworks in augmented reality.

Visits to the Artebinaria Open-Air Museums are free of charge and are offered by selected sponsors, whose logos are visible in 3D directly within the augmented reality scenes.

artebinaria open-air museum augmented reality florence

Each of Artebinaria’s Open-Air Museums is arranged in a series of ‘Pavilions’ and ‘Exhibition Rooms,’ which over time will house new thematic exhibitions.

Inside the virtual rooms, visitors can admire the artworks, displayed in life-size, as if they were hanging on invisible walls which do not conceal their surroundings.

Moving within each imaginary room, visitors can admire the artworks from any perspective. In particular, it is possible to get close to an artwork to discover all its details or touch an artwork in space to view its information sheet.

100 Masterpieces in Augmented Reality

In this first edition, located in London, Paris, and Florence, the Pavilions of Artebinaria Open-Air Museum are dedicated to the themes of everyday life, portraits, mythology, and sacred art. Inside the exhibition rooms are shown 100 paintings of more than 60 great masters such as Giotto, Vermeer, Rubens, Van Gogh, Leonardo da Vinci, Rembrandt, Gauguin, Renoir, Degas, Monet, etc.

artebinaria open-air museum augmented reality london phone

Artebinaria Open-Air Museum in Your City

With the opening of the first museums without walls in Florence, London, and Paris, Artebinaria invites all art history enthusiasts to visit them, and also to propose new locations for the opening of fantastic new Open-Air Museums in augmented reality all over the world.

Why don’t you propose to Artebinaria the opening of an Open-Air Museum in your city, too?

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