Paul Patrick – Page 90

Virbela Creates Virtual Cannes Lions Festival With PwC

Events, featured, virbela, virtual reality / Paul Patrick / June 19, 2023

This year is the 70th annual Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity. The event takes place in the iconic town in the south of France but why should a festival of creativity not also take place in the virtual world? To extend opportunities for clients and customers to experience the event, PwC worked with Virbela to create a virtual option.

The virtual Cannes Lions Festival coincides with the in-person event from June 19-23, but I got a private advance tour of the custom Virbela campus, from two of the event’s creators, Virbela President and co-founder Alex Howland, and PwC Global Metaverse Leader Roberto Hernandez.

Welcome to the (Virtual) Cannes Lions

When you think of Cannes, you might not immediately think of a company like PwC. While the Cannes Film Festival attracts the most media headlines, the Lions is an event of a much broader scope as it recognizes creativity across everything from film and music to brands and marketing.

The Cannes Lions Festival is naturally associated with the city in which it takes place – which sits on the southern coast of France on the Mediterranean Sea between Marseille and Nice. Some events consist of the traditional sort of panels and presentations, but companies also present on the beach or on docked boats. Of course, not everyone can make that kind of trip.

Recreating Cannes

“What we are doing with this collaboration is giving people from around the world the opportunity to see what can be done with these kinds of immersive environments,” Hernandez said. “We also wanted to give people the opportunity to join remotely, but not just through a video call.”

Virbela and PwC Cannes Campus Outside

Hernandez acknowledged that remote events already exist around the Cannes Lions, but that they usually consist of someone giving reports day-by-day via a video. Virbela is able to get a lot closer to the real thing – boats and all.

“We wanted to give the campus that you know so well some French Riviera flare,” said Howland.

The intention was never to create an exact twin of the Cannes Lions venue, but to create a festive atmosphere in the familiar campus.

“It really takes you to a different place in a way that video conferencing doesn’t allow you to do,” said Hernandez. “I’m convinced, particularly when I talk to large-brand clients, that venues like these allow you to stretch the experience.”

Virbela With an Accent

That familiar Virbela campus (which got a sweeping redesign and beautiful graphics overhaul last year) is already an island complete with sand beaches, speed boats, volleyball nets, campfire sites, and tall pines. The bespoke world created for the Cannes Lions has more palm trees and yachts, making it a little more Mediterranean and a little less Pacific Northwest.

Virbela and PwC Cannes Yacht

Some of the buildings, particularly the ones more inland, are in the classic Virbela style. However, the main event buildings near the venue’s entrance have gotten a European facelift as well. Combined with flags, photo backdrops, and a red carpet (of course), the campus’ main stretch is decidedly more cosmopolitan.

“It was a match of very creative people from both sides (…) everyone approached this not as different teams working together, but as one team working on a dream experience,” said Hernandez. “We didn’t want this to be just inviting people to an auditorium to hear someone lecture.”

Hernandez, who was particularly excited about driving speedboats in Virbela, specifically mentioned assembling a team consisting of both experienced developers and younger developers who would be able to work together on an attractive, interactive, and engaging experience.

“PwC’s experience with these events and events like it has been very valuable,” said Howland.

Virbela in the Browser

As someone who has been covering Virbela and its events for a number of years, something about this experience excited me that might not register with some of the people joining the virtual Cannes Lions. I joined in a browser.

Jon in Virbela Cannes campus

Historically, Virbela has been app-based – even for limited-time events like iLRN or AfroTech World. WebXR experiences have been handled by a special branch of the company called Frame.

Frame comes with some smaller venues built in, but has been growing in its ability to create larger and more visually impactful virtual spaces. For someone who knows their way around the metaverse, connecting a Ready Player Me avatar is quick and easy. The platform also recently got an avatar upgrade, though the avatars still aren’t as customizable as Virbela’s.

To use the full modular Virbela campus and its more nuanced avatar generation engine, the team worked with NVIDIA to stream the world in-browser rather than require an app download. This also helped to make the experience more accessible for visitors.

“We have a number of clients with very strict firewalls and procedures,” said Hernandez. “For some of them, being able to download anything at all is a big challenge.”

Exploring the Virbela Riviera

While the actual event will obviously have a lot more energy when all of the attendees sign in, a number of attractions were already up and running for me to explore. One of the recurring ironies in immersive worlds is that events meant to replicate in-person events also provide experiences that no in-person party would allow. The virtual Cannes Lions are no different.

Virbela and PwC Cannes Theatre Inside

PwC didn’t just work with Virbela on this one activation and Virbela doesn’t just do events. Virbela offers virtual offices for global companies and distributed teams, including PwC. One exhibit in the Lions campus allows visitors to see the digital twins of PwC offices around the world.

Another experience allowed by the event streaming online works with a Frame integration to transport users into a series of more interactive virtual worlds. These show the effects that climate change could have on the cities around the world where PwC has offices. Visitors can also explore different climate scenarios and the results of potential intervention methods.

An Exclusive Event

Virbela is making the Cannes Lions more accessible than ever before. However, it’s still not open to everyone – select PwC clients and partners received email invitations.

“We never conceived this to be something attended by hundreds of thousands of people,” said Hernandez. “We want it to be special.”

The expected headcount? Around a thousand or so. It might sound like a lot for one virtual world, but Howland isn’t worried. Virbela has been tested at higher pressures than that.

“We regularly get over two thousand people in a campus,” said Howland. “One of the benefits of our new avatar system is that it’s a bit more performant, so we’ll be able to see that play out.”

Maybe One Day…

This is an ambitious project and it will be interesting to see whether it scales over time. While this extension of the Cannes Lions isn’t for everyone, we’ve already seen events like Fashion Week and Burning Man grow into immersive worlds and make them accessible to just about everyone. Maybe someday soon we will all be able to attend this event across the metaverse.

Virbela Creates Virtual Cannes Lions Festival With PwC Read More »

Leaked Quest 3 Setup Videos Show ‘Smart Guardian’ Room-scanning in Action

Lunayian, Meta Quest 3, meta quest 3 setup, News, quest 3, quest 3 leak, quest 3 setup, samulia / Paul Patrick / June 14, 2023

Meta unveiled Quest 3 earlier this month, its upcoming standalone VR headset that not only promises to be thinner and more powerful than Quest 2, but also offer color passthrough for augmented reality. Now renowned dataminer ‘Samulia’ has uncovered what appears to be an early video of the headset’s ‘Smart Guardian’ feature in action.

Samulia published four videos showing off what seems to be a work-in-progress look at a new user experience (NUX) for Quest 3. The videos below seem to show how a new user might setup and use the headset’s guardian function, which is designed to keep users safe from bumping into objects.

The clips, which appear to be early prototypes, look similar to other videos which Meta includes in its headsets to explain basic functions, such as how to use hand-tracking, guardian setup, how to fit the headset for best comfort, etc. Here are those videos, courtesy Twitter user @Lunayian:

https://twitter.com/Lunayian/status/1667717804223610880

https://twitter.com/Lunayian/status/1667717805905526784

In the first two videos, it appears a user is using the headset’s inside-out sesnors to scan their playspace, which includes recognition of objects such as couches, coffee tables, desks, TVs, desktop computers, and decorative items—all of which seem to be recognized and individually meshed.

https://twitter.com/Lunayian/status/1667717807730032641

https://twitter.com/Lunayian/status/1667717809999101952

In the last two videos we see the Smart Guardian in action, which notifies the user of close-by objects. There also appears to be a primary workspace marking function similar to what we see on Quest 2 and Quest Pro in addition to a quick clip of the user playing with a ball in mixed reality, which notably accounts for the user’s furniture as play surfaces.

Meta hasn’t detailed its Smart Guardian system, a naming scheme first mentioned in a leaked roadmap which was allegedly presented by Mark Rabkin, Meta’s VP of VR. The company has however said Quest 3 will “seamlessly blend your physical world with the virtual one,” and that its system will be capable of “intelligently understanding and responding to objects in your physical space and allowing you to navigate that space in natural, intuitive ways that were nearly impossible before.”

Samulia also has a good track record of mining data from Quest firmware releases well before their official announcements. They’re credited with uncovering NUX video in 2021 showing off the first glimpse at Quest Pro in addition to extracting the Meta logo before it was officially unveiled at the company’s February 2022 pivot announcement.

Leaked Quest 3 Setup Videos Show ‘Smart Guardian’ Room-scanning in Action Read More »

Germany set to make it easier for international tech talent to get work visas

Ecosystems, Future of Work, Government and policy / Paul Patrick / June 13, 2023

Story by

Aoife Barry

Aoife Barry is a freelance journalist and broadcaster based in Dublin, Ireland. She is the author of the bestselling non-fiction book Social (show all) Aoife Barry is a freelance journalist and broadcaster based in Dublin, Ireland. She is the author of the bestselling non-fiction book Social Capital, about Ireland’s relationship with social media.

A great work-life balance, excellent transport, a chosen spot of major tech companies, and a social culture featuring currywurst and Oktoberfest… welcome to Germany, a country that’s trying to make itself a top choice for workers keen to move abroad.

Germany badly needs more skilled workers, but one major barrier to attracting international talent has been the country’s love for bureaucracy. In the face of an ongoing skills gap, it’s having to move with the times. That’s why Germany recently decided to make it easier for people from outside the EU to move there for work, with new legislation on the way to help attract fresh foreign talent.

Reform on the way

The move to reform the Skilled Immigration Act (which was cleared by the Cabinet in March) has been spurred on by the fact that the country is suffering from a major skills gap. Federal Minister of Labour and Social Affairs, Hubertus Heil, told the Financial Times that if it doesn’t take action, Germany will be short a whopping 7 million workers by 2035.

Some of the skills the country’s missing are in the IT sector, which is interesting given that tech companies love Germany. Major industry leaders like Apple, Amazon, and Airbnb have already been tempted to set up offices there. Meanwhile the country is an incubator for a range of startups alongside homegrown tech behemoths such as SAP and Zalando.

But traditionally, it hasn’t been easy for workers from outside of Europe to move to Germany. Heil is determined to change this. He fears the skills shortage will put a “brake” on Germany’s economic growth, particularly as experienced baby boomers retire in the coming years and their roles go up for grabs.

To help attract more workers from abroad who can bring much needed skills, he’s in the process of reforming legislation. This will make it easier for foreign workers to look for a job in Germany, without the need for a German professional qualification.

Take a “chancenkarte”

Part of this new system will involve what’s called a “chancenkarte” or “opportunity card.” It sets out the criteria for entry involving a points system based on factors like vocational training or a degree, experience, and age.

If applicants have enough points, they’ll be allowed to look for a job in Germany. The government will issue a certain number of these cards every year.

Moving to a new country can bring some challenges, but it’s also an excellent opportunity to immerse yourself in another culture. In the past, Germany tended to treat people moving from outside the EU for work as “Gastarbeiter” or “guest workers.”

But Heil says he wants the focus to be on making people feel welcome and integrated in society, not treated as temporary members of the community.

The government launched a portal—Make it in Germany—several years ago, aimed at workers from abroad. Last year, the Federal Minister for Economic Affairs made a direct appeal in a new YouTube video for the portal, telling skilled workers: “We need you.”

Key tech hubs

With a population of 83 million, Germany is a huge country with a number of fast-growing tech hubs. But where should you base yourself if you move there for a job in tech?

A Deloitte study found that Munich is the key hub in the country, where you can find the highest number of STEM jobs and the highest level of specialisation in the ICT sector.

Berlin came second, while Hamburg was also a highlight. But it’s not just the well-known German cities that are good options for tech workers—the same research found that Darmstadt, a city near Frankfurt with the moniker of “city of science” was also a top location for tech roles.

Major tech players have been flocking to Germany to set up bases there. Along with a wealth of startups, in Berlin you’ll find Zalando, Google, and Facebook; Munich is where Apple set up its European Silicon Design Center and where Amazon Web Services has offices, while Hamburg is home to Dropbox, Microsoft, and Airbnb.

You can see why they’re attracted to the country—it has a strong welfare system, a low crime rate, good wages, excellent childcare, and a great healthcare service. Its proximity to other European countries means travel across the EU is easy.

Interested? Here are three tech jobs based in Germany that are now open for applicants:

DevOps Engineer, Astriol Academics GmbH, Munich

This recruitment agency is looking for a DevOps Engineer (m/f/d) who wants to work in a job where “no two days are the same.” They offer the freedom to work independently alongside the security of being an employee. The ideal candidate has a degree in computer science or a comparable qualification—check out the full job spec here.

Senior IT Consultant, Xenium AG, Berlin

Xenium AG is looking to add to its IT consultant team, with new hires expected to work directly with a customer in Germany or Austria. This full-time, permanent position is aimed at a person who has several years of professional experience in the IT environment and who can communicate confidently in German and English. More details here.

Principal Fullstack Engineer, Trusted Shops AG, Germany

This role would allow you to work from home anywhere in Germany, adding a remote twist to the job. Trusted Shops develops SaaS solutions for companies all over Europe, and is looking for a highly skilled and experienced Principal Fullstack Engineer to join the team and work with one of its 13 cross-functional product teams. Find out what your day might look like here.

Take a look at the House of Talent Job Board for a full list of Germany-based jobs

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Zuckerberg Gives His First Reaction to Apple’s Vision Pro

apple mr, apple vision, apple vision pro, Apple VR, apple xr, mark zuckerberg, meat quest 3, Meta, meta quest, News, quest 3 / Paul Patrick / June 9, 2023

Meta founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg hasn’t been shy about addressing the elephant in the room: with Apple Vision Pro, the Cupertino tech giant is officially entering a market that, up until now, Meta has basically owned. In a meeting with Meta employees, Zuckerberg thinks that while Apple Vision Pro “could be the vision of the future of computing […] it’s not the one that I want”

As reported by The Verge, Zuckerberg seems very confident in the company’s XR offerings, and is less impressed with Apple’s design tradeoffs. During a companywide meeting, Zuckerberg said that with Vision Pro, Appe has “no kind of magical solutions” and that they haven’t bypassed “any of the constraints on laws of physics that our teams haven’t already explored and thought of.” He calls that “the good news.”

Largely, Zuckerberg says Apple is making some telling design tradeoffs, as its higher resolution displays, advanced software, and external battery comes alongside a $3,500 price tag—or seven times more than Meta’s upcoming Quest 3 mixed reality standalone.

But it’s also about ethos. Zuckerberg says the companies’ respective headsets represent a divide in company philosophy, as Apple products are typically developed to appeal to high income consumers. “We innovate to make sure that our products are as accessible and affordable to everyone as possible, and that is a core part of what we do. And we have sold tens of millions of Quests,” he said.

“More importantly, our vision for the metaverse and presence is fundamentally social. It’s about people interacting in new ways and feeling closer in new ways,” Zuckerberg continued. “Our device is also about being active and doing things. By contrast, every demo that they showed was a person sitting on a couch by themself. I mean, that could be the vision of the future of computing, but like, it’s not the one that I want.”

The Meta chief echoed some of these statements on the Lex Fridman podcast where he spoke about his opinions on Apple Vision Pro, noting that Apple’s mixed reality headset offers a “certain level of validation for the category.” Because Vision Pro will cost so much though, Zuckerberg maintains Quest 3 will overall benefit as people inevitably gravitate to towards the cheaper, more consumer-friendly option.

Here’s Zuckerberg’s full statement, sourced from the companywide address:

Apple finally announced their headset, so I want to talk about that for a second. I was really curious to see what they were gonna ship. And obviously I haven’t seen it yet, so I’ll learn more as we get to play with it and see what happens and how people use it.

From what I’ve seen initially, I’d say the good news is that there’s no kind of magical solutions that they have to any of the constraints on laws of physics that our teams haven’t already explored and thought of. They went with a higher resolution display, and between that and all the technology they put in there to power it, it costs seven times more and now requires so much energy that now you need a battery and a wire attached to it to use it. They made that design trade-off and it might make sense for the cases that they’re going for.

But look, I think that their announcement really showcases the difference in the values and the vision that our companies bring to this in a way that I think is really important. We innovate to make sure that our products are as accessible and affordable to everyone as possible, and that is a core part of what we do. And we have sold tens of millions of Quests.

More importantly, our vision for the metaverse and presence is fundamentally social. It’s about people interacting in new ways and feeling closer in new ways. Our device is also about being active and doing things. By contrast, every demo that they showed was a person sitting on a couch by themself. I mean, that could be the vision of the future of computing, but like, it’s not the one that I want. There’s a real philosophical difference in terms of how we’re approaching this. And seeing what they put out there and how they’re going to compete just made me even more excited and in a lot of ways optimistic that what we’re doing matters and is going to succeed. But it’s going to be a fun journey.

Zuckerberg Gives His First Reaction to Apple’s Vision Pro Read More »

This AI-powered platform could predict the next big flood

Investors and funding, Startups and technology, Sustainability / Paul Patrick / June 7, 2023

Story by

Siôn Geschwindt

Siôn is a reporter at TNW. From startups to tech giants, he covers the length and breadth of the European tech ecosystem. With a background (show all) Siôn is a reporter at TNW. From startups to tech giants, he covers the length and breadth of the European tech ecosystem. With a background in environmental science, Siôn has a bias for solutions delivering environmental and social impact at scale.

The European floods of 2021, which affected large areas of Germany and Belgium, took the lives of 209 people and cost over €30bn in damages. Catastrophic floods like these are becoming more and more common as climate change increases the frequency and intensity of extreme weather events.

While there is no easy fix for preventing floods, there are ways in which we can be more prepared for them. One company tackling this challenge head-on is Norwegian climate tech startup 7Analytics.

Founded in 2020 by a team of data scientists and geologists, the startup aims to help municipalities and businesses better predict flooding and minimise damage to infrastructure.

The startup’s main offering, FloodCube, applies AI and machine learning to vast quantities of terrain and land use data in order to predict how a future flood will unfold.

Whereas the weather forecast tells you when a storm is approaching, 7Analytics will tell you exactly how the water from this storm will travel through your community, to a metre-scale accuracy.

Recent advancements in computing power and AI couldn’t have come at a better time for the startup. “These technologies enable us to analyse data and generate predictive insights in a way that was impossible just a few years’ ago,” says Jonas Aas Torland, co-founder and CCO of 7analytics.

Jonas Aas Torland, geologist and co-founder and CCO at 7Analytics. Credit: 7Analytics

While there are a handful of other companies operating in this space in the US and Australia, Jonas says that none of them offer such high resolution data nor do they constantly reprocess data to account for physical changes in the landscape.

For governments or businesses looking to minimise damage to infrastructure, the value of these predictive insights cannot be understated. “Knowing how a flood will occur in the future gives you the gift of time,” Jonas told TNW.

“Our platform can tell you if a flood will occur in your area of interest and issue alerts 72 hours in advance so you can take all the necessary actions to protect employees and assets,” he says.

These insights are also of interest to insurers, who are always looking for more accurate ways to predict future risks to assets.

So far, 7Analytics has secured contracts with the likes of the Municipality of Bergen, construction giant Skanska, and, most recently, French oil conglomerate Total Energies.

The startup raised a €2.5m secured its first funding round last year, looks to grow its customer base both in Europe and the US.

Adapting to the new climate reality

Investors are pouring trillions into climate mitigation technologies like renewable energies and EVs in an attempt to reduce carbon emissions. While essential, there is increasing acknowledgement that investing in technologies that help humanity adapt to a changing climate is an equally urgent priority.

In 2021, however, less than $50 billion — or just 10% of all climate finance — was allocated to adaptation measures such as flood and wildfire prevention, resilient agriculture, and clean water supply.

This is partly because climate adaptation tech investment has often been regarded as the realm of NGOs and government, not private capital, partly due a false perception that there is no money to be made. But this outlook appears to be shifting.

Bill Gates’s Breakthrough Energy Ventures pledged last year to expand its scope to climate adaptation technologies, while water tech firm Gradiant — which helps companies reduce water usage — hit ‘unicorn’ status last month after a $225m raise.

Michiel de Bruin, portfolio manager for Dutch investment firm Robeco, says that recent climate disasters are a “wake-up call,” directing “more attention to adaptation.”

Jonas believes that solutions like his flood prevention platform are part of this new wave of climate adaptation tech. The startup is now plotting its Series A funding round for next year, and looks to expand its offerings to predict landslides and other natural hazards.

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Robot chef learns to cook by watching humans make the recipes

Corporates and innovation, Deep tech / Paul Patrick / June 7, 2023

Story by

Ioanna Lykiardopoulou

Ioanna is a writer at TNW. She covers the full spectrum of the European tech ecosystem, with a particular interest in startups, sustainabili (show all) Ioanna is a writer at TNW. She covers the full spectrum of the European tech ecosystem, with a particular interest in startups, sustainability, green tech, AI, and EU policy. With a background in the humanities, she has a soft spot for social impact-enabling technologies.

As a lover of good food, but someone who dislikes cooking, I’ve always fantasised about having a robot chef at home. Now, thanks to the work of researchers at the University of Cambridge, my dream may soon come true.

The research team has succeeded in training a robot to watch cooking videos, learn from them, and then recreate dishes. “We wanted to see whether we could train a robot chef to learn in the same incremental way that humans can — by identifying the ingredients and how they go together in the dish,” said Grzegorz Sochacki from Cambridge’s Department of Engineering, the study’s leading author.

To test that, the scientists created eight simple salad recipes and recorded videos of themselves preparing them. Then, they trained the robot using a publicly available neural network, which had been pre-programmed to identify a variety of objects, including the fruits and vegetables used in the salads.

The robot chef analysed every frame of the video, using computer vision methods. It was able to identify not only distinct objects, such as knives and ingredients, but also the human demonstrator’s actions. The recipes and the videos were converted into vectors and, doing mathematical correlations, the robot recognised similarities between a demonstration and a vector. As a result, it was able to determine which of the recipes were being prepared.

The mechanical chef watched 16 videos in total and managed to identify the correct recipe 93% of the time. In addition, it was able to recognise variations in a recipe and the demonstration of a new, ninth salad, which it added to its cookbook and recreated.

For now, the robot’s success requires recipes that aren’t complex, while fast-paced food videos on social media would simply be too hard to follow. “But as these robot chefs get better and faster at identifying ingredients in food videos, they might be able to use sites like YouTube to learn a whole range of recipes,” Sochacki said.

The research team notes that the robot chef’s capacity is still limited with many bottlenecks to be overcome. But they have succeeded in showing that the robot can incrementally learn how to cook from human demonstration on video — enabling the easier and cheaper deployment of robotic chefs.

I know I’ll be waiting impatiently for that day to arrive.

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Why the future won’t look like a sci-fi movie

Corporates and innovation, Future of Work, Startups and technology / Paul Patrick / June 7, 2023

Story by

Andrea Hak

Andrea is TNW’s Branded Content Editor and, as a writer, she’s covered a wide range of topics from ClimateTech to AI and gender bias. She’s (show all) Andrea is TNW’s Branded Content Editor and, as a writer, she’s covered a wide range of topics from ClimateTech to AI and gender bias. She’s always on the lookout for stories that explore the social and political impact of emerging technology.

This article features an interview with Nick Foster, former Head of Design for Google X. Foster will be speaking at TNW Conference, which takes place on June 15 & 16 in Amsterdam. If you want to experience the event (and say hi to our editorial team!), we’ve got something special for our loyal readers. Use the promo code READ-TNW-25 and get a 25% discount on your business pass for TNW Conference. See you in Amsterdam!

When we think about the future, our minds tend to conjure up images of cyberpunk cities where flying cars zoom overhead, 3D hologram advertisements pop up as you walk by, and everyone is dressed in sexy post-apocalyptic gear with unidentifiable tech gadgets hanging from Batman-style utility belts.

“We’re sort of stuck in a science fiction fantasy land,” says Nick Foster, former Head of Design at Google X.

Foster has been a designer and futurist for 20 years, working for a wide range of tech companies from Dyson to Sony to Nokia. What he’s discovered over two decades of working in future and speculative design is that:

“Science fiction has really colonised the world of technology futures to an unhelpful degree. It’s very rare that you can build something that came from a book, a movie, or a series that would actually be useful.”

But it’s natural for us to imagine a future of hoverboard skateboards and lightsabers, of evil empires and galactic alliances.

“Whenever we look at the future, because it doesn’t exist yet, by its very nature it has no manifest reality. So we have to tell stories and those stories tend to fall back on the natural tropes of storytelling. They have a hero, they go through an arch, they’re made for entertainment, and they’re mostly dominated by science fiction — exciting space operas and flying machines,” Foster says.

But what’s the problem with living in a sci-fi fantasy vision of the future?

At CES this year, there was a curious exhibition called The Gallery of Flops including long-lost products like the ill-fated Sony Google TV remote featuring a confusing collection of 88 buttons, magnified Nike sunglasses for runners that required the wearer to glue magnets to their forehead, and a horrifying Jason-like face mask that was meant to restore youthful looks through electric stimulation.

The future may not be sexy, but it sure as hell will be practical for you and me.

What all of these varied products had in common was that they cost their companies millions in lost revenue. Foster states,

The highway of history is littered with the corpses of products like that, where people haven’t done the rigorous work and really thought about how it’s going to fit into people’s lives.

Technology can be intoxicating. Those things become ossified into everyone’s brain both in the consumer space and the creator’s space. So that just becomes the primary dominant method of stimulus for creating new products for the future. I’ve worked in this space long enough to see that happening almost homogeneously across the board.

It’s my job to actually design for the future. If you just tell a fantasy and produce sexy renderings of futuristic vehicles, it just doesn’t go anywhere. It gets clicks but it’s essentially the work of marketing, rather than new product development.

The future mundane

Two NOVAFOOD cans featuring Italian style protein with antiviral wheat pasta

Over the last 10 years, Foster’s switched over to the dark side so to speak. Rather than hoverboards and jet packs, he’s been drawn towards the nuts and bolts of everyday life in the future.

“Thinking about what a middle-income family might be experiencing in 2040 is way more exciting than thinking about the most extreme virtual reality life on Mars,” explains Foster.

What he’s talking about is the future mundane: Trying to think about the future in ways that are relatable, ordinary, and normalised, rather than escapist science fiction fantasy futures.

If we are gonna make flying cars, we have to talk about: where we can park them? How old do you have to be to fly one? Are there motorways in the sky? How do we regulate that? What’s the cost? How do these things refuel? We have to really ask those rigorous questions, otherwise, it’s just a fun escape for the afternoon.

Essentially that means, the future may not be sexy, but it sure as hell will be filled with practical and affordable inventions aimed at making your life and my life better (and for all those who don’t have 10k to shell out for a flying skateboard).

Science fiction has polluted our potential for thinking about the future.

That doesn’t mean we can’t have nice things. Amongst the remnants of product flops past, there was an early Nintendo VR headset from ‘95. Aside from its gender non-inclusive branding (“Virtual Boy”), as we see today, it wasn’t an implausible idea. However, in the 90s, the massive price tag this technology came with was simply not worth the rudimentary 3D graphics (nor the neck and eye spasms it induced in some users). And it was certainly not an option for most of Nintendo’s target audience (children and pre-teen boys).

It is possible to get to some of the ultra-futuristic tech you’re dreaming up, Foster says. But you need to take small steps forward and build on existing architecture. For Nintendo, this would have meant waiting until the technology and price tag had developed enough to make it a viable option for their audience — even if that would take another 30 years. (Which by the way also happens to coincide with the time when their target audience — now full grown adults — has the money to buy said virtual toys).

How to start thinking about the mundanity of everyday life in the future

A dinner receipt showing the bill in USD and ETH

As Foster explained, for companies, it’s just good economics. If you’re just talking at theoretical and abstract levels and not engaging with the lives ordinary people lead, from their desires to the dinners they eat, and the friend and family circles they interact with, you’re not going to convince them to spend money on something new.

His number one tip is to be pluralistic:

We live in such a volatile and changing world now that accurately saying this is where we’ll be in the future is impossible. The further you move out from today, the more uncertain you can be. The way futurists approach long-term projects is by populating them with many different scenarios. As the world changes, you reassess each one. It’s a bit like scenario planning.

Science fiction has gotten into our brains and has polluted our potential for thinking about the future. You need to free yourself of that to build truly useful and sustainable products that real people will use in the future.

Check out Nick Foster’s talk at TNW Conference on June 15-16 to learn more about how to think about the future when designing brand-new products. Use the promo code READ-TNW-25 and get a 25% discount on your business pass for TNW Conference.

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European startup funding to drop 38% in 2023 — but there’s cause for hope

Ecosystems, Investors and funding, Startups and technology / Paul Patrick / June 6, 2023

Story by

Ioanna Lykiardopoulou

European tech startups will see a 38% investment drop in 2023 compared to 2022 levels, the latest report by Atomico finds. Specifically, startups are expected to raise $51bn in funding — down from $83bn in 2022 and $106bn in 2021.

But Europe isn’t alone in navigating a tough year for tech. The US and China are also looking at a 49% investment decrease in 2023 compared to 2021. According to the report, this global retraction in funding has a domino effect on the flow of capital between the regions. For Europe, this translates to a significant reduction of capital from US investors, which will mostly impact companies raising larger later-stage rounds.

While the funding slowdown is visible across all European countries, the biggest fall between H2’22 and H1’23 is expected in the UK with a 57% investment drop. This is followed by France at 55% and Germany at 44%.

As a result, founders are adjusting to the new reality, which, according to Atomico, means that layoffs were accelerated in Q1 2023, while valuations are dropping and down rounds are increasing.

Don’t worry, it’s not all doom and gloom

Despite the rough funding landscape, the European tech ecosystem’s total value is forecast to reach $1tn this year — climbing back to (the highest ever) 2021 levels.

The ecosystem also accounts for 29% of the global funding going to early-stage companies — almost at parity with the US (at 36%), after nearly halving the gap in the past five years. At the same time, Europe is leveling with the US in terms of startup creation, although the pace has slowed somewhat.

In addition, startups in the continent continue to lead in “purpose-driven tech” that meets the UN’s sustainability goals. Specifically, investments in “climate and purpose” have so far reached an all time high, representing 18% of the total funding.

Notably, the flow of capital in generative AI is also on the rise. This year to date, companies developing the technology have secured 35% of all funding going to AI/ML — the highest share ever — jumping from 5% in 2022.

“We should think about this period as a return to first principles,” said Tom Wehmeier, Partner and Head of Insights at Atomico. “From this cycle we have the opportunity to build an even healthier ecosystem, with a clearer focus on quality. In the short-term, there will be fewer companies started, but the ones that break through will more likely be winners, with a strong foundation of senior talent and greater share of the region’s resources.”

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Label AI-generated content ‘immediately,’ EU urges big tech

Deep tech, Government and policy / Paul Patrick / June 6, 2023

Story by

Thomas Macaulay

Senior reporter

Thomas is a senior reporter at TNW. He covers European tech, with a focus on deeptech, startups, and government policy. Thomas is a senior reporter at TNW. He covers European tech, with a focus on deeptech, startups, and government policy.

The EU is pushing big tech to apply a new method for tackling AI disinformation: labels.

The bloc wants online platforms to mark any AI-generated photos, videos, and text, a top official announced on Monday.

“The labelling should be done now — immediately,” said European Commission Vice President Vera Jourová, per DW.

The request was made amid explosive growth in synthetic media. ChatGPT has been named the fastest-growing consumer application in history, while the rise of image generators has sparked claims that “art is dead.” Jourová warned that “malicious actors” can use these services to spread fake news.

The EU’s impending AI Act aims to allay the risks, but compliance with the regulation is unlikely to be mandatory before 2026. In the interim, the union has launched a voluntary code of practice on disinformation. Tech giants including Google, Meta, Microsoft, and TikTok have all signed up to the code. Jourova now wants all of them to stamp the synthetic content on their platforms.

“Signatories who have services with a potential to disseminate AI-generated disinformation should in turn put in place technology to recognise such content and clearly label this to users,” she said.

Her demands, however, could prove ambitious. As the disinformation code is merely voluntary, the signatories have no obligation to comply — and those that try will face major obstacles.

To detect and mark all synthetic media in real-time, platforms will have to overcome immense technical challenges. Furthermore, their labels could be erroneous, edited, attacked, manipulated, or forged.

Jourová, however, said Google has already expressed confidence that it can fulfil her request. She told reporters that she recently asked Sundar Pichai, the Big G’s CEO, whether his company could identify and label AI-generated content.

“His answer was: ‘Yes, but we are developing technologies further’,” she said.

Yet not every tech giant has been so amenable. The most notable rebel is Twitter, which recently opted out of the EU’s anti-disinformation code. Ominously, Jourová said the social media giant had “chosen the hard way.”

“They chose confrontation,” she warned.

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Dutch students use iron balls for safe hydrogen storage and transport

Corporates and innovation, Sustainability / Paul Patrick / June 5, 2023

Story by

Ioanna Lykiardopoulou

Green hydrogen will almost certainly play a key role in the energy transition, but it does come with a number of inherent challenges. It’s highly flammable and must be stored at high pressures or cryogenic temperatures, which makes hydrogen storage and transport complex and expensive.

A student team at Eindhoven University of Technology, called SOLID, is trying to solve this problem by using small iron balls (iron pellets) as hydrogen energy carriers.

To achieve this, the team has developed a steam-iron process. When iron is exposed to a flow of hot steam under high pressure it reacts with the water molecules, producing hydrogen and iron oxide — also known as rust. Hydrogen can then be extracted to be used as an energy source, while the remaining rust can be regenerated back to iron with the addition of hydrogen. That way, iron works as a circular carrier of hydrogen.

According to the students, the fact that iron is stored and transported in the place of hydrogen brings numerous benefits.

First off, iron has higher energy density and can store approximately three times more energy per volume compared to pressurised hydrogen. In addition, iron pellets can be stored and transported in a safer and more compact way, minising logistical challenges.

“Iron is also one of the most abundant elements on earth, which means that our technology can offer a cheaper alternative for the large-scale storage and distribution of hydrogen in the future,” said Timme Ter Horst, Business Manager at SOLID.

In collaboration with its partners, the student team has built a test installation, the Steam Iron Reactor One (SIR One), to explore and showcase the potential of the technology.

In the next period, the students will use the reactor to improve the efficiency of the process and extend the pellets’ lifespan. They’re also planning to scale up the current system to SIR Two, which will have a fifteen times larger capacity than SIR One at 500kWh.

The aim is to realise a demo in the port of Rotterdam in 2027 and demonstrate the technology on an industrial scale for relevant end-users.

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Meta Shows First Glimpse of Quest 3 Mixed Reality Gameplay and Improvements Over Quest Pro

Meta Quest 3, News, quest 3, quest 3 ar, quest 3 mr, quest 3 passthrough, VR Headset / Paul Patrick / June 2, 2023

With Quest 3 now officially announced, Meta is emphasizing the device’s improved MR capabilities.

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg took to Instagram to share a first look at mixed reality gameplay on Quest 3 which was announced yesterday.

The video shows the headset’s full color passthrough MR mode, which allows it to present a view of the outside world while selectively adding virtual content to the scene.

We also see some shots of virtual objects attached to the wall, like a glass window into an undersea world, or a zombie jumping through a window into the room to attack the player. While Quest 2 and Quest Pro have done the same in the past, Quest 3’s new depth sensor should make attaching virtual objects to walls, floors, and ceilings more convincing thanks to a more precise map of the world around the headset.

We also see Meta CTO Andrew “Boz” Bosworth jump into the action, showcasing a co-presence experience where both Zuckerberg and Bosworth battle each other virtually but in the same physical space.

Beyond Quest Pro

It’s difficult to tell from the footage how Quest 3’s passthrough resolution compares to Quest Pro. However, it’s notable that the footage doesn’t show any of the obvious color fringing that was an artifact of Quest Pro’s passthrough architecture, which used multiple black-and-white cameras that were fused with the color from a single RGB camera. That ought to be solved now that Quest 3 will include two RGB cameras which will allow stereoscopic capture of color information, rather than monoscopic like with Quest Pro.

Another common artifact of Quest Pro (and Quest 2) passthrough is the warping of objects (especially hands) that are close to the headset. This is caused by a breakdown of the computer-vision depth estimation which struggles with near-field objects, especially when they’re moving.

It’s difficult to tell from the footage we have so far, but there’s a good chance that Quest 3 significantly reduces these passthrough warping artifacts thanks to its included depth sensor. Whereas Quest 2 and Quest Pro estimate the distance to objects and surfaces around the headset with computer vision, Quest 3’s depth sensor will provide much more reliable distance measurements which the system can use to judge how far it should render each part of the scene.

It will be interesting to see if the prior issue with color fringing on Quest Pro manifests in the same way with depth. With a single depth sensor, the headset only has a monoscopic depth view, whereas it will have a stereoscopic visual of the real world. Ostensibly the stereoscopic view of the world will be projected onto the depth map, and ‘depth fringing’ may occur around near field objects for the same reason that we saw color fringing on Quest Pro.

Meta Shows First Glimpse of Quest 3 Mixed Reality Gameplay and Improvements Over Quest Pro Read More »

‘Ghostbusters VR’ Co-op Game Coming to Quest 2 & PSVR 2 This Fall, Gameplay Trailer Here

ghostbuster, ghostbuster vr, ghostbusters, ghostbusters vr, ghostbusters vr rise of the ghost lord, Meta Quest Gaming Showcase, ndreams, News, quest gaming showcase, sony pictures virtual reality, sony vr, VR Game / Paul Patrick / June 2, 2023

During Meta’s Quest Gaming Showcase today developer nDreams and publisher Sony Pictures Virtual Reality announced that the long-awaited ghostbusting VR game, Ghostbusters: Rise of the Ghost Lord, is set to launch this fall.

nDreams, also known for Fracked (2021), Phantom: Covert Ops (2020), and upcoming PSVR 2 exclusive Synapse, also released a new trailer featuring a few snippets of gameplay, showing off some of the game’s four-player co-op in action.

In it, we see some a bunch of the franchise’s iconic stuff, such as proton packs, ghost traps, P.K.E. meters, and even the Ecto-1.

If you’re just hearing about Ghostbusters’ first at-home VR title, here’s how the studio describes it:

Strap on your proton pack and step into the world of Ghostbusters in immersive virtual reality. Run your Ghostbusters HQ in a new city, San Francisco, and unravel a rich mystery in a new chapter for the Ghostbusters universe. Wield iconic equipment as you track, blast, and trap ghosts in gripping encounters across an extensive and engrossing campaign. Go it alone, or as a team with up to three friends in co-op to defeat a ghastly new threat – the Ghost Lord. Continue the Ghostbusters’ legacy, protect the city from fiendish ghosts, and experience all the humor and frights from the beloved franchise.

Ghostbusters: Rise of the Ghost Lord is set to launch on Quest 2 and PSVR 2 at some point this fall. Notably, the game’s trailer was captured on PC, so it’s possible we may also see a release on SteamVR as well, although nDreams hasn’t confirmed as much.

In the meantime, you can wishlist the game on PSVR 2 here and Quest 2 here.

‘Ghostbusters VR’ Co-op Game Coming to Quest 2 & PSVR 2 This Fall, Gameplay Trailer Here Read More »

Author name: Paul Patrick

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Beyond Quest Pro