Facebook just launched its first dedicated VR App called Facebook 360. Some features:
Here's a screenshot:
Facebook Inc. said Palmer Luckey, the co-founder of Oculus VR who had been sidelined for several months after a series of scandals, is leaving the company.
This comes after a series of gaffes that strained his relationship with virtual-reality developers and Facebook.
It was a long time coming, and given Facebook is keeping smooth relationships with founders of companies it acquires, it's pretty clear that the Daily Beast piece revealing his involvement and funding of a pro-Trump troll group called Nimble America had a major role to play in this. What do you think about the departure?
The AR app guides passengers through the airport using the camera view of their smartphone, making it easier to locate check-in areas, departure gates and baggage belts. This is significant as satellite-based GPS systems are usually blocked in the terminal. The app can be used both to send reminders to passengers and to locate them in the terminal. So if a passenger is running late, the airline can use the location from the beacon to decide whether or not to wait for the passenger to board.
Google/Daydream Labs released a demo of its Headset Removal Technology that first scans and constructs a 3D model of a user's face and then replaces the VR headset with the face(with real time eye movements, of course) in a green screen recording of the user. Puts the Tilt Brush artist's face back into their creation as they create it, instead of having their face covered by the headset.
The video is by the The Try Guys from Buzzfeed. The interesting stuff starts around 4:43.
Love this. Like a more advanced Snapchat faceswap filter. While not perfect, it does a great job of removing that layer of separation b/w the audience and the performer - after all, the eyes are the window to the soul :P
This article talks about as big brands are increasingly look for ways to incorporate VR into their marketing, there are also pitfalls — from cost to tepid audience reaction — that make the decision to enter the virtual reality world a bit more complicated than it may first seem.
Although a few firms like Alibaba, Dos Equis, Evel Knievel Museum, Marriott International etc. have commissioned VR experiences and some others have experimented with AR, it remains to be seen how successful VR marketing will be beyond the travel and entertainment industries.
What are your thoughts on this?
The traditionally film-focused company IMAX has partnered with businesses like Acer and the Creative Artists Agency to establish a $50 million fund with the goal of financing at least 25 interactive VR experiences in the next 3 years.
I wanted to take this opportunity to get your thoughts on how movie theatres are going to be transformed in the near future as VR/AR go mainstream. Do you think they will survive at all, and if so, what would they look like?