Author name: Rejus Almole

catching-up-with-varjo-partnerships-and-experiences-around-the-world

Catching Up With Varjo Partnerships and Experiences Around the World

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Varjo hasn’t been hibernating over the winter but they’ve definitely had a very active spring. ARPost typically reports on the Finnish XR company’s groundbreaking hardware and software developments, but the company also helps develop and distribute XR experiences and solutions ranging from operas to flight simulations.

An Opera Produced Entirely Through XR

The Finnish National Opera and Ballet (FNOB) spent two years producing Turandot opera with Sweden’s Malmö Opera. The ambitious international product involved designing complex sets and orchestrating intricate scene transitions. FNOB has commented before that Varjo is the only headset manufacturer that matches their high-quality requirements.

Varjo x FNOB and Sweden’s Malmö Opera - Digital Twin vs real-world comparison
Varjo partners with FNOB and Sweden’s Malmö Opera – Digital Twin vs real-world view comparison

FNOB, which has been gradually implementing XR production tools over the last three years, started with two things: the in-house Unreal Engine-driven “XR Stage” visualization tool, and a 3D model of the main stage created by ZOAN – a 3D content agency that uses the same hardware to bring employees into their virtual headquarters.

“Our artists were only open to using virtual tools if models would be photorealistic and it was an intuitive user experience,” FNOB Production and Technical Director Timo Tuovila, said in a release shared with ARPost. “We have been able to create a digital twin of our stage that actually is true to life, matching the expectations of our ambitious artistic and technical teams.”

The virtual stage was used collaboratively between the two opera houses to virtually design and redesign sets – a process that would normally have taken tremendous time, resources, and materials. It is estimated that using XR preproduction instead saved over $82,000 and 1,500 hours of production time, not to mention enhanced crew safety.

Varjo x FNOB and Sweden’s Malmö Opera.png
Varjo partners with FNOB and Sweden’s Malmö Opera for Turandot

This is the eighth FNOB production using XR preproduction, but this is the first time that they – or anybody – have used the technology at every step from proof-of-concept to final production, according to the release. It would be interesting to see XR also being used in recording and distributing live content at this level.

Twinmotion Programs Come to Varjo Devices

The virtual production of Turandot is a highly artistic example of using Varjo for architecture and design. That use case is about to get a big leg up as the company recently announced support for its hardware on Twinmotion. Users of the real-time visualization platform’s most recent update will be able to view its high-fidelity models on Varjo devices.

According to the hardware manufacturer, Twinmotion works with all headsets including Aero – the closest thing that the company offers to an entry-level headset. The headset, priced below the company’s other offerings but still within the almost exclusively enterprise range, comes without mandatory software subscriptions making compatibility with other solutions crucial.

Advancing Brain Health With MachineMD

Aero also plays an important part in a partnership with Swiss medical device company machineMD. The partnership’s goal is the development of “neos™” – a proposed device that would use eye-tracking technology for earlier diagnosis of brain disorders. In addition to helping specialists, the device could also be more accessible to doctors that aren’t neuro specialists.

“As a neuro-ophthalmologist, I use the eye as a window to the brain,” said michineMD Medical Director Professor Mathias Abegg in a blog post announcing the partnership. “The Varjo Aero provides me with the most powerful and precise view through this window.”

Varjo and machineMD
machineMD’s solution will be based on Varjo Aero to perform comprehensive eye exams for the diagnosis of brain disorders

Between the advancement of the technology and healthy financial support, machineMD expects neos to be ready by the end of this year. Of course, Varjo is also excited to be a part of the important work which could have far-reaching benefits in the brain health world.

“VR-based eye tracking in combination with ophthalmology and neuroscience is opening up important new avenues for researchers and the larger medical community,” co-founder and CTO of Varjo, Seppo Aaltonen, said in the post. “A rare window into the brain is possible with the Varjo Aero headset and we are proud to partner with machineMD to make this technology a reality.”

Hardware Built for Flight Simulation

Varjo is also a leading player in the simulation world, particularly automotive and flight simulation. In fact, one of its premiere headsets, XR-3, was recently released in a specially-tooled edition with cockpit simulations in mind. The variable-passthrough headset has a specially calibrated focal plane to optimize the display of the user’s immediate surroundings.

More recently, Varjo partnered with Leonardo – an aerospace, defense, and security developer. The relationship is intended to “enhance the capability of Leonardo’s aircraft training devices.” The above-mentioned XR-3 Focal Edition headset is already being used.

Varjo and Leonardo
Varjo and Leonardo partner in developing and deploying immersive solutions for flight training

“Leonardo simulation and training experience, coupled with advanced Varjo technology, will allow our products to increase pilots’ training experience, bringing it into a more immersive environment, both within the specific customer training pipelines and within the scope of International Flight Training School,” said Leonardo Aircraft Division’s Head of Simulation and Training Systems Giuseppe Pietroniro.

Jumping Off of Virtual Cliffs

Simulation has a special place in the consumer space as well, where it allows individuals to experience convincing replications of activities that are costly, dangerous, or both. A recent experience offered by Varjo and Red Bull recreates diving from an 80 ft cliff.

“The VR cliff diving experience is really something that you cannot miss,” real-life cliff diver Orlando Duque said of the activation. “It places you right there in the location, in the middle of the action. It’s probably the closest thing to the real deal.”

Varjo and Red Bull - mixed reality watersports experience
Varjo and Red Bull partnership – Mixed reality watersports experience “Water – Breaking the Surface”

The experience is still not coming to a living room near you anytime soon. In addition to using the XR-3 rather than the more consumer-available Aero, the experience is currently only being offered as part of an exhibit at the Swiss Museum of Transport. The complete exhibit also uses AR technology and virtual production to replicate activities like surfing.

While available materials don’t mention plans for a more widely available version, it sure sounds like it would be a step up from Richie’s Plank Experience.

A Virtually Imagined Real World

Varjo is still pushing the limits of extended reality technology – and that means that a lot of its experiences and hardware aren’t available to just anybody. While some people get to put on the headset and jump off of a cliff, the benefits of the technology are definitely benefiting more and more people through the ramifications of work in design, defense, and the arts.

Catching Up With Varjo Partnerships and Experiences Around the World Read More »

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Denny’s Celebrates Its 70th Anniversary With AR Food Menu That Enhances Dining Experience

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While celebrating its 70th anniversary, Denny’s partnered with QReal to produce AR menus where food items seem to leap off its pages. You don’t need to install the restaurant chain’s app on your phone for the AR food menu to work. Just activate your phone’s camera and launch 8th Wall‘s web-based AR platform from your phone’s browser to watch the images come alive.

AR food menu Denny's

Denny’s AR Food Menu: What to Expect

With the new AR food menu, you’ll see flames surround the classic Moons Over My Hammy egg sandwich and hear the new Mac N’ Brisket Sizzlin’ Skillet sizzle as it emerges from a barbecue smoker. Also making an appearance is a 3D model of the original diner in 1953—then known as Danny’s Donuts—before becoming the beloved establishment it is today.

Denny's AR food menu

Denny’s AR food menu, only accessible when dining at physical outlets across America, is part of Denny’s “It’s Diner Time” brand platform. The campaign also involves the remodeling of its kitchens, the rollout of improved food offerings, and the unveiling of new staff uniforms.

AR Food Menu: Denny’s Latest Foray Into AR

When Denny’s shared its 2022 results in February, CEO Kelli Valade said that one of the company’s strategic priorities is “to lead with technology and innovation.” She also mentioned that “Denny’s is skewing towards younger generations with Millennials and Gen Z currently representing about 45% of our customer base.” So, augmented reality makes perfect sense.

However, this is not the first time the company has tapped into the world of AR. The last time it used this type of computer-generated content was in late 2016 when the diner chain launched its “Shrek the Halls” campaign for the Christmas and New Year holidays. Using the DreamWorks COLOR app, the restaurant’s customers saw characters from Shrek, The Penguins of Madagascar, Puss in Boots, and Turbo Fast arise from the kids’ menus as their phones scanned its pages.

QReal and the Appeal of the AR Food Menu

QReal (formerly Kabaq.io) specializes in creating lifelike, 3D, and AR content for e-commerce platforms and social media campaigns. It works for various industries, from real estate and automotive to fashion and beauty. However, its original passion was food, becoming the first company to make photorealistic AR models of cuisine in 2016 with its KabaQ AR Food Menu app.

“The traditional way people interact with menus is being transformed utilizing [AR and life-like 3D models], leading to an enhanced experience, strong branding, and potentially higher order throughput,” said Mike Cadoux, QReal’s General Manager.

Researchers from several universities who studied QReal’s AR food models attest that such presentations can improve “decision comfort” or “craveability,” spread positive feedback about products, and increase the desire for “higher-value” types of food. Because QReal’s app hardly uses post-production, its users can see their order in advance from different angles in the most realistic way possible.

How the AR Food Menu Will Transform the Restaurant Industry 

If we are to believe Cadoux’s forecast, “high-fidelity digital cuisine” will only increase in demand due to its strong potential to boost branding and sales.

Businesses predict that AR food menus will enable customers to order more smartly because AR renders the item’s size and quantity more accurately. Another benefit of such transparency is lower food waste.

Moreover, establishments can use AR to promote new products and enhance engagement with prospects and loyal clientele through behind-the-scenes tours, which can include how they prepare and cook food.

Denny’s Celebrates Its 70th Anniversary With AR Food Menu That Enhances Dining Experience Read More »

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This AR Drum Kit Makes a Compelling Case for the Future of Music Lessons

ar drumming, augmented reality drums, augmented reality music lessons, News, paradiddle, paradiddle ar, vr drumming, VR Game, VR Music / /

There’s a million things you could do to enhance your life if you had the power to seamlessly augment the world around you with digital and interactive information. And while we’re far from the “seamless” part of that reality, we’re getting early glimpses of how the world could be better with this power.

Take, for example, this project which uses augmented reality to turn a regular electronic drum set into a fully functional rhythm ‘game’ that provides real practice for drum players.

This isn’t a concept—it’s a live demo running on a Quest Pro headset, powered by the VR drumming app Paradiddle. While the app already allows players to play a fully virtual drum set of their dreams, or align virtual drums with their real ones, in the future this AR mode will be added to the app to give drummers a view of their real drums while retaining all the benefits of the digital overlay.

And what benefits are those? Well practicing existing techniques is obvious, but imagine learning entirely new songs in this interactive way, complete with gamified metrics for how well you’re doing and how quickly you’re improving. And how about turning down a song’s speed until you get the fundamentals, and then slowly cranking it up until you’re hitting every note?

While we might think of drum lessons as a fairly niche use-case for AR, it’s easy to imagine how similar systems could apply to almost any instrument. And what do you know—there’s already a similar project for piano players! Somebody give me one for the sax because I’ve been saying I’d pick it up for years!

There’s still a lot of work to be done to make experiences like these easy enough that anyone can use them, but there’s a real possibility that the future of ‘rhythm games’ could actually teach players how to play real instruments at a high level.

This AR Drum Kit Makes a Compelling Case for the Future of Music Lessons Read More »

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Joy Way’s New Roguelike Shooter Looks Like Spider-Man Meets ‘DOOM’, Coming to Quest May 18th

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Joy Way, the studio behind STRIDE and AGAINST, revealed a new VR game which seems to combine the web-slinging action of Spider-Man with the demon-slaying melee carnage of DOOM.

Called Dead Hook, the studio calls the upcoming Quest title an “explosive mix of roguelike and shooter genre with brutal combat and captivating storytelling.”

Prior to Dead Hook, Joy Way released a game called Outlier on Steam Early Access for PC VR, which was then cancelled shortly thereafter. At the time, the studio cited “overestimated demand” as a reason for pulling the plug on the alien-centric roguelike. Joy Way says it has since reworked the mechanics, storyline, and overall gameplay of Outlier to create Dead Hook.

In Dead Hook, you take on the role of Adam Stone, a mercenary, smuggler, and thief. In it, you explore the elder planet Resaract, collect legendary weapons and customize your character with what the studio says is “100 buffs and permanent upgrades to make each run unique.”

Enemies include regular and elite elders, which try to stop you in the air and on the ground as they defend their tombs, the studio says. Joy Way also says there’s bosses too which have “multiple phases, making each encounter feel tense and exciting.”

The roguelike shooter is also set to have a story. In it, you’ll “uncover the secrets of Resaract and AI duality, facing tough choices and unexpected twists along the way,” the studio says.

Joy Way, which late last year also released two games on Quest’s App Lab—RED FLOWERS and STACK—is slated to launch Dead Hook on the main store on May 18th.

Additionally, the studio confirmed with Road to VR that it’s still actively developing RED FLOWERS and STACK.

Joy Way’s New Roguelike Shooter Looks Like Spider-Man Meets ‘DOOM’, Coming to Quest May 18th Read More »

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The world’s first self-driving bus fleet will soon hit Scotland’s streets

Corporates and innovation, Government and policy, Next Featured, Sustainability / /

Next time you board a bus in Scotland and it’s driving itself, don’t freak out — this is all part of a government plan to bring self-driving tech into the mainstream.

Five fully autonomous buses will be taking to the streets near Edinburgh next month, announced Stagecoach, the UK’s largest bus and coach operator, who will be managing the fleet.

The UK government said the project, named CAVForth, would be the world’s first full-size, self-driving public bus service. CAV stands for “connected and autonomous vehicles.”

The service, which aims to transport 10,000 passengers weekly, will initially run a 22.5km circuit route, including a stretch across the iconic Forth Road Bridge – one of Scotland’s major landmarks. 

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The vehicles have sensors enabling them to travel on pre-selected roads at up to 80kph. The buses will be operating at AV Level 4, meaning they have a trained safety driver onboard, but the driver will not be expected to touch the controls whilst the vehicle is in autonomous mode.

Fully driverless cars are not legally permitted in the UK. A safety driver is required at all times in all autonomous vehicles, although the government is working on an updated legal and assurance framework.

The iconic Forth Road Bridge connects Edinburgh to Fife. Credit: Ian Cardwell

Scottish Minister for Transport, Kevin Stewart, said the “innovative and ambitious project” was an “exciting milestone” that will help Scotland “establish its credentials on the world stage.” 

Estimated to cost around £6.1m, Project CAVForth is part-funded by the Centre for Connected and Autonomous Vehicles (CCAV), delivered in partnership with Innovate UK. It is part of the UK government’s £100 million Intelligent Mobility Fund, which aims to speed up the commercialisation of self-driving transport technology. 

CAVForth’s rollout of the autonomous bus fleet next month will mark a culmination of over four years’ of research, planning, and development. Similar CAV projects are planned in Sunderland and Belfast.  

Driverless buses are not a new concept. In 2021, a new driverless electric bus began operating in Malaga, Spain, in a project presented as a first in Europe.

In the UK, the Cambridge Connector project, which aims to deploy 13 automated electric vehicles across the city, is set to launch next year. 

Perhaps Europe’s biggest self-driving car project is ULTIMO, which has a budget of over €55m and will test autonomous public transport services in three European cities: Geneva, Switzerland; Kronach, Germany; and Oslo, Norway. 

Fully autonomous vehicles have long been a goal for major automakers and companies, with plenty of startups vying for a stake in the industry. It is, however, unlikely that self-driving cars without safety drivers will be spotted on public roads within the next decade. 

The world’s first self-driving bus fleet will soon hit Scotland’s streets Read More »

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Digital twins could save your life. Here’s how

Deep tech, Government and policy, Next Featured, Startups and technology / /

Digital twins — virtual replicas of real-world things — are already commonplace in manufacturing, industry, and aerospace. There are highly complex digital models of cities, ports, and power stations — but what about people? 

The idea of digital doppelgängers has long been confined to the realm of science fiction. But a new book presented at London’s Science Museum last week suggests the concept could be coming to life.  

In Virtual You, Peter Coveney, professor of chemistry and computer science at University College London, and Roger Highfield, science director at London’s Science Museum, show how far researchers have already got in their quest for accurate digital simulations of people. 

At the book launch, the authors were joined by leading experts in healthcare digital twins from the University of Oxford, UCL, and the Barcelona Supercomputing Centre (BSC). The panel discussed the opportunities and challenges in creating a digital twin version of the human body, and its implications for medicine.  

The BSC has already created virtual models of living cells and whole organs. The most notable example is Alya Red, a digital twin of a heart comprising around 100 million virtual cells. 

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The heart beats not within a person but inside MareNostrum, one of the most powerful supercomputers in Europe. Working with the medical technology company Medtronic, the Alya Red simulations can help position a pacemaker, fine-tune its electrical stimulus, and model its effects. 

MareNostrum is located in the Torre Girona chapel, Barcelona. Credit: Karolina Moon Photography.Perhaps one of the most striking examples is Yoon-sun, a 26-year-old Korean woman whose entire circulation — a 95,000km-long network of vessels — has been mapped virtually through an international collaboration using several supercomputers. Researchers are using the model to study blood pressure and the movement of clots throughout the vascular system.

In silico 

These digital twins are not just confined to the lab. Several are already in use and, in some cases, approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA). 

So far, these models have been deployed mainly for in silico trials — when a drug or disease is tested virtually rather than on real human or animal tissue. 

These trials allow companies to test their drug in ‘virtual patients’ before testing them in humans. This can help companies detect a “failure in the making” early on in the drug development cycle, says François-Henri Boissel, CEO of French clinical trial simulation platform Novadiscovery. This can result in significant time and cost savings for companies undertaking clinical trials. 

In silico trials also eliminate the ethical issues associated with animal testing, explained Blanca Rodriguez, professor of computational medicine at the University of Oxford, during the panel discussion last Wednesday. 

Rodriguez’s team has created a digital twin of a heart that is used to simulate the effects of different drugs and diseases on heart function. In one virtual trial, her team tested the effects of 66 different drugs on over a thousand different heart cell simulations, and were able to predict the risk of abnormal heart rhythms with 89% accuracy. Comparable research on animals was 75% accurate.  

These trials can also help fight the next public health emergency. During the COVID-19 pandemic, supercomputers were used to simulate nearly everything, from potential treatments to predicting how the virus might spread, as highlighted in the video below.     

Fruit Ninja VR 2 is available starting today on the Quest Store for Quest, Quest 2 and Quest Pro. It’s not live yet, although we expect it in the next few hours.

This comes along with a price increase from $20 to $25 for the PC version, which Halfbrick says in a Steam update will bring it in line with Quest Store pricing.

A version is also said to launch on the Pico Store, however we haven’t seen a listing for that yet, so stay tuned.

In the meantime, you can see all of the 1.9.2 patch notes here, which details a number of bug fixes and performance optimizations the studio has made in preparation for the Quest launch today.

‘Fruit Ninja VR 2’ Comes to Quest Today as Arcade Fruit-slicer Leaves Steam Early Access Read More »

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Smart Contact Lens Company Mojo Vision Raises $22M, Pivots to Micro-LED Displays for XR & More

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Mojo Vision, a company once noted for its work on smart contact lenses, has raised $22.4 million in a new Series A investment round which it will use in a pivot to develop and commercialize micro-LED display technology for consumer, enterprise, and government applications.

The funding round is led by existing investors NEA and Khosla Ventures, with participation from other investors including Dolby Family Ventures, Liberty Global Ventures, Fusion Fund, Drew Perkins, Open Field Capital, and Edge.

The new Series A comes months after the company was forced to put its smart contact lenses on hold, which also included a 75% downsizing in the company’s workforce.

Prior to the pivot, the company had amassed $205 million in outside investment, with its most recent in January 2022 bringing to the company $45 million.

Its new focus is on displays for AR/VR, automotive, light field, large format displays and others that require high performance micro-LED displays. Mojo’s prototype smart contacts made use of its own in-house displays, which at the time included a monochrome display capable of over 14,000 pixels per inch (ppi).

Now the company is developing its own High Performance Quantum Dot (HPQD) technology to make a “very small, very bright, very efficient RGB pixel,” the company says in a press statement.

The company is boasting a number of advances in its proprietary technology, including dynamic displays with up to 28,000ppi, efficient blue micro-LED devices at sub-μm scale, high efficiency quantum dot ink for red and green, high brightness at 1M+ nits, and a display system that incorporates an optimized CMOS backplane, wafer-to-wafer bonding, and custom micro-lens optics.

Mojo Vision’s new CEO, Dr. Nikhil Balram, is said to bring semiconductor and display technology expertise to the company:

“The market opportunity in the display industry is big – over $100 billion. Sometimes in order to do something very big, you have to start very small. That is exactly what we are doing at Mojo,” said Balram. “We started by developing the world’s smallest, densest dynamic micro-LED display, and now we are applying that innovation to power the next generation of displays. Mojo is combining breakthrough technology, leading display and semiconductor expertise, and an advanced manufacturing process to commercialize micro-LEDs for the most demanding hardware applications.”

“This round of funding will enable us to deliver our breakthrough monolithic micro-LED technology to customers and help bring high-performance micro-LEDs to market,” concluded Balram.

Smart Contact Lens Company Mojo Vision Raises $22M, Pivots to Micro-LED Displays for XR & More Read More »

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Mammoth meatball beef exposes foodtech’s patent problem

Insider, Next Featured, Startups and technology, Sustainability / /

A bitter feud has erupted over who first resurrected the woolly mammoth — as a meatball.

The de-extinct delicacy was unveiled last week at Nemo Science Museum in the Netherlands. Naturally, no mammoths were harmed in the making of the product. In lieu of dead flesh, an Australian startup called Vow produced the meatball from DNA.

First, the team identified the DNA sequence for mammoth myoglobin, a protein that creates a meaty taste. To fill in some gaps in the sequence, they added genetic data from the African elephant — the pachyderm’s closest living relative. Using a low-current and high-voltage charge, they then inserted the gene into stem cells from a sheep. Finally, they multiplied and moulded the cells into a pasty.

The mammoth meatball was made from extinct animal DNA
The mammoth meatball was made from extinct animal DNA. Credit: Aico Lind

It certainly looks the part, but did it pass the taste test? It seems an essential question, but it’s sadly one that remains unanswered. To the disappointment of daring diners, the meatball isn’t ready for human consumption.

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That anticlimactic outcome sparked accusations that the whole endeavour was a publicity stunt. But the project team insists that their experiment serves an important purpose: showcasing cultivated meat’s potential to transform the food industry. They note that food production creates copious greenhouse gases and biodiversity loss. Cultivated meat, they argue, offers a sustainable alternative.

“Our aim is to start a conversation about how we eat, and what the future alternatives can look and taste like,” said Bas Korsten, a marketing executive who initiated the project. “Cultured meat is meat, but not as we know it. It’s the future.”

The meatball was created as a launchpad for the tech — and for Vow. With apparent justification, the company now claims it’s rewriting the rules of food. But a rival claims it’s also rewriting the rules of decency.

Mammoth meat
A pack of meat that you can’t eat. Credit: Aico Lind

As Vow was being lauded in the Netherlands, a very different reaction was brewing across the border.

In Belgium, a scaleup called Paleo was considering legal action. The company was enraged by claims that Vow had showcased a mammoth protein for the first time.

Paleo argues that it developed the myoglobin tech two years earlier. The company had also filed patent applications at that time, which Paleo says have been publically available to competitors for almost a year.

Paleo contacted Vow before the event in the Netherlands. According to the Belgian scaleup, Vow’s legal team argued that the mammoth meatball “was not food” and dismissed Paleo’s claims.

“When we learned about the event, we were surprised,” said Hermes Sanctorum, CEO of Paleo. “We sent out a press release nine months ago to announce that we developed the exact same mammoth protein (myoglobin), based on our fundamental research and innovation.

“When Vow claim that no one has tasted mammoth myoglobin, this is simply not true. We developed the mammoth myoglobin and we tasted it in our lab.” 

Paleo co-founders: CEO Hermes Sanctorum (left) and COO Andy de Jong.
Paleo co-founders Hermes Sanctorum (left) and Andy de Jong had their patent application published by the World Intellectual Property Organization. Credit: Paleo

Vow has dismissed the allegations.

“The technology and innovation involved in Vow’s creation and presentation of the ‘mammoth meatball’ owes nothing to any technology or alleged invention by Paleo,” the company said in a statement.

“The ‘mammoth meatball’ was conceived, developed and created entirely by the hard work and ingenuity of Vow’s own scientists (and collaborators) and using a combination of publicly available genetic data and Vow’s own proprietary production processes.”

Paleo expressed some satisfaction with the response. The company said Vow had confirmed that it had not, in fact, showcased mammoth myoglobin for the first time. Nonetheless, Paleo feels that Vow crossed a red line — but the patents could prove difficult to enforce.

Paleo develops different animal heme proteins through precision fermentation.
Paleo develops different animal heme proteins through precision fermentation. Credit: Paleo

According to Vow, it has only been accused of adopting the idea of creating something with mammoth myoglobin. Vow argues that Paleo has no basis to claim that idea as its own.

In addition, the startup notes that an examiner at the European Patent Office deemed Paleo’s patent application was likely invalid.  The Australian company described the application as an “attempted landgrab of outrageous proportions.”

“Patent rights exist in order to protect innovation and can (if granted and valid) protect truly new, innovative and proprietary ideas; but Paleo do not have any such patent rights,” Vow said in its statement. “Paleo has no granted patent in relation to mammoth myoglobin and therefore has no legitimate claim.”

Vow also criticised the pending application. If granted, the startup warned that the patent would prevent companies from using myoglobin from a wide range of animals — including pig, sheep, cow, chicken, tuna, and, of course, mammoth — as a meat substitute or food ingredient.

The feud will rumble on for now. Regardless of the outcome, the dispute has exposed the complexities of patenting food innovations.

Mammoth meatball beef exposes foodtech’s patent problem Read More »

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Everything you need to know about building a career in the gaming industry

Future of Work / /

It may seem like the fantasy of every ’80s kid who ever picked up a Game Boy but being obsessed with video games can actually offer you an array of career opportunities.

The industry continues to go from strength to strength, and powering it is a global network of game-players, creatives, technologists, and many others whose skills bring games to life.

According to the International Software Federation of Europe, 52% of Europeans between the ages of six and 64 play video games. And it’s not the kids who dominate the stats either. More than three-quarters (76%) of these gamers are over 18, and the average age of a video game player in Europe is 31.3 years old.

While the industry has matured in many ways, it’s still behind the times when it comes to diversity. Though women and girls make up almost half (48%) of all gamers in Europe, this representation is not yet reflected among those working in the sector with the global average sitting at about 22% of women employed in gaming. This is a gap that organisations such as UK-led Women in Games are trying to bridge.

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With more than 98,000 jobs in Europe’s gaming sector in 2020, there are plenty of roles on offer for creative, technical, and support staff. Opportunities range from small indie studios to multinationals producing blockbusters that rival Hollywood’s production values.

Being such a desirable industry, it can be hard to get started in gaming. Getting a foot in the door with no experience can be the biggest challenge, and so aspiring gaming employees are advised to be active in forums, communities, and events, and to try their hand at building up a portfolio for potential employers.

Tech jobs in gaming

Technical roles in gaming will typically require a degree in computer science or even a specialist qualification in video game programming and development, which some universities offer. This investment in a gaming career can pay off with one of the highest paid roles in the industry.

In smaller studios, developers will need to be flexible and able to take on diverse challenges, while large companies have capacity for highly specialised roles. However, don’t be surprised if your choice of indie studio gets swallowed up by a bigger player, as this is a common occurrence across the industry.

Beat Games, an award-winning VR games studio in Prague, was snapped up by Meta in 2019. It’s now part of Meta’s Reality Labs division, and is currently looking for a senior game developer for Beat Saber, a VR sensation that’s a bit like Dance Dance Revolution for your arms.

Developers in gaming can expect to work hard at building, testing, and debugging programs, as well as processing updates in response to user requests and demands.

Some developers will specialise in specific operating systems or will be expected to work across multiple platforms, optimising games for each. While platforms may differ, common programming languages used by game developers across the industry include C#, C++, Java, JavaScript, and Python.

Creative roles in gaming

Games also need artists and specialists in sound and vision to create their immersive worlds. Graduates in interactive media design, sound production, and graphic design can find their skills will apply here, but a fundamental understanding of gameplay will lead to a top role.

While game developers focus on the code, game designers need to generate stories and ideas that work. Games also need a variety of writing talent, with some titles requiring movie-like scripts and others needing clear and concise copy to guide users fluidly from one stage to the next.

Animators with skills in coding and 3D modelling to match their artistry are brought in to give movement to the gameplay. Composers and audio programmers then create and implement the soundscapes that provide grounding for different actions and keep players engaged.

And all that audio needs great sound engineers doing the behind-the-scenes work to ensure everything is recorded and mixed just right.

The tools used by creative teams in gaming will vary from studio to studio but commonly used software includes After Effects, 3ds Max, Unity, and Unreal Engine.

Support jobs in gaming

As with any business, gaming requires entire teams behind the creative and technical workers in order to bring products to market. From finance to marketing to in-game monetisation, there are many roles for those who can’t code or create but have other valuable skills to offer.

Market analysts in the games industry keep tabs on shifts in audience behaviours and devise the strategies needed to reach them. They need an eye for trends, an ability to budget, and can even be called on to model forecasts for release. This is a career choice for passionate gamers who have their finger on the pulse of the sector at large.

But perhaps the ultimate dream job in gaming is that of the tester. Essential to the process of bringing a well-formed game to market, testers give development teams the fresh eyes they need before a final release.

They have to be skilled gamers, first and foremost, but with a keen eye for detail to catch inconsistencies, glitches, and bugs. It’s also a role that requires good communication skills, as testers need to report their findings back to the team behind a game.

Gaming is global, so testers with fluency across many languages are needed to perfect games for different markets. For example, Dublin-headquartered games studio Keywords Studios is currently looking for games testers in French, Portuguese, Polish, Turkish, Czech, and many more languages.

Testers can expect the job to be more of a short-term gig with flexible contracts dictated by project needs, but it can certainly be a fun way to make a living, if you’re a super diligent gamer.

And it can be a way to hone your skills as a professional gamer. The phenomenal growth of esports has seen many talented gamers carve out a career in playing games competitively to win prizes and sponsorship.

To find more career opportunities in gaming, check out the House of Talent Jobs Board

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‘Half-Life 2: Episode 2’ VR Mod Gets Launch Trailer Ahead of April 6th Release

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Following last month’s release of the Half-Life 2: Episode 1 VR mod, the Source VR Mod team is set to release Episode 2 on April 6th. A launch trailer shows how the episode has been fully adapted to be played in VR.

After years of starts and stops on various attempts to turn Half-Life 2 into a fully playable VR game, the Source VR Mod Team released the Half-Life 2 VR Mod to major acclaim last year. Since then the team has followed up with an equally well received VR mod for Episode 1.

Less than a month later, the team is set to release the Half-Life 2: Episode 2 VR Mod on April 6th, including a full set of VR features like hands-on weapons, comfort options, real ladder climbing, and—of course—a crow bar you can actually swing.

The Source VR Mod Team released a launch trailer for the game ahead of release, showing the classic Episode 2 action that players can now relive in VR.

The Half-Life 2: Episode 2 VR Mod is free, but requires that players own the original Episode 2 game in order to play. The mod supports all SteamVR headsets like Index, Vive, and Quest via Oculus Link.

Image courtesy Source VR Mod Teamsou

All three of these Half-Life 2 VR mods are built by volunteers who make up the Source VR Mod Team. If you want to support their current and future work, they accept contributions on their Ko-fi page.

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