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Tech NewsMicrosoft
Microsoft’s Sending a Confusing Message With Its HoloLens 2
When Microsoft introduced HoloLens four years ago, it allegedly changed the industry. But did it really? I mean, you can’t really buy a HoloLens, and its applications have largely been relegated to an assortment of niche enterprises purposes and potentially the military. To me, HoloLens was incredibly promising tech that always seemed like it was … Continued
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Tech NewsGoogle
Google Maps AR Is Being Tested by Some Users—But the Rest of Us Will Have to Wait
Last year, Google I/O gave us a glimpse of what augmented reality in Maps might look like, teasing a future in which our phones orient us using our cameras. The demonstration showed us improved navigation tools to properly direct users as well as pop-ups indicating surrounding businesses and shops. There was even a bouncy fox … Continued
By Catie Keck -
Tech NewsFacebook
Facebook’s AR Glasses May Be Getting Closer to Becoming a Reality
Facebook is reportedly dumping resources into developing nifty new augmented reality hardware—but don’t put money on seeing its products anytime super soon. Business Insider’s Rob Price has revealed in a report published Thursday that Facebook shifted hundreds of its employees from its research outfit Facebook Reality Labs over to a team—led by Michael Abrash and … Continued
By Catie Keck -
io9Games
Seedling on Magic Leap Is the Most Relaxing Space Gardening Game You’ll Never Play
Testing out a new augmented reality game is typically hard enough. From the beginning, you’re thrust into a world that sort of looks and feels like reality, but inherently operates on a slightly different set of rules. But when you’re forced to play the same game on what is essentially a prototype headset, the line … Continued
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Tech NewsGadgets
Bose Actually Turned Its Funky Sunglasses Headphones Concept Into a Real Gadget
Earlier this year, Bose showed off a product concept that seemed like the Snapchat Spectacles of the audio world, complete with buzzwords such as augmented reality and digital assistants littered throughout this description. But for a company like Bose not normally known for taking a lot of chances, it seemed like the glasses were just … Continued
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Tech NewsGoogle
Google’s Virtual Vermeer Museum Is a Legitimately Cool Use of AR
It used to be that the fastest, easiest way to view the paintings of Johannes Vermeer was a Google Image search. Now you can just download an app and view the 36 works widely attributed to the artist in an augmented reality museum from the comfort of your home. The AR museum was created by … Continued
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Tech NewsMicrosoft
Microsoft Wins $479 Million Army Contract for Augmented Reality Systems
Microsoft has secured a $479 million-plus contract with the U.S. Army for Integrated Visual Augmentation System (IVAS) prototypes, Bloomberg reported Wednesday, expanding its relationship with the military and beating out a slew of other companies competing for the contract. According to the government proposal, the program is intended to “accelerate lethal defensive and offensive capabilities … Continued
By Catie Keck -
Tech News
The Magic Leap Con
“Today, our world feels divided.” Rony Abovitz, CEO of the infamous mixed reality startup Magic Leap stood awkwardly on a circular stage, surrounded by hundreds of attendees of his company’s first developer conference, and first major public-facing event, eyeing a teleprompter, arms behind his back. “It feels broken,” he said. “Our new medium of spatial … Continued
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io9MoviesStar Wars
ILMxLab’s Next Augmented Reality Experiment Is…Porgs
The Porgs have invaded Star Wars at the box office, they’ve invaded it in the world of merchandising, and now, they’re gunning for reality itself. Virtually speaking, of course. ILMxLab’s latest experiment in the world of mixed and augmented reality is coming in the form of a new experience dubbed, of course, Project Porg. Set … Continued
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EartherClimate Change
Ominous New Art Exhibit Shows Coral Reefs Transformed by Trash
Corals are some of the most stunning organisms to have graced the planet, but they’re almost incredibly threatened. Now, an artist has re-created their bright colors and squiggly formations in a manner that’s ominously appropriate for the 21st century: with plastic garbage. Opening to the public Friday at the Whitney Museum in New York City, Unexpected … Continued
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Tech NewsGoogle
Report: Google and Imax’s VR Camera Project Is Kaput
A joint Google-Imax venture to build a line of virtual reality cameras that’s been in the works since 2016 has been axed, according to a report on Monday from Variety. According to Variety’s report, while Google declined to comment on the matter, an Imax spokesperson told the magazine that the company has “currently paused the … Continued
By Tom McKay -
Tech NewsAmazon
Amazon Imagines Future Employee Surveillance With Patent Application for AR Goggles
Amazon was criticized earlier this year for a controversial patent application that detailed an “ultrasonic bracelet” that could be used to surveil workers. The company’s newly public application for augmented reality goggles made specifically for warehouse workers is far more alarming. The purpose of “Augmented Reality User Interface Facilitating Fulfillment” is, on its face, a … Continued
By Avery Ellis -
Tech NewsApple
All the New AR Features Coming to iPhones This Fall
Apple’s World Wide Developer conference kicked off on Monday and among the refinements that we’re seeing for iOS is increased support for augmented reality. A brand new ARKit is dropping and along with it some impressive apps and features could make mixed reality more than just a novelty. We’re still a long way from seeing … Continued
By Rhett Jones -
Tech NewsGadgets
Leap Motion’s New AR Headset All But Guarantees Your Public Humiliation
Leap Motion, the company behind the weird gesture-tracking controller for PC and VR, is showing off some pretty interesting tech in the form of an AR headset reference design. Whether or not you’ll be able to get your hands on the concept, which incorporates the company’s gesture control hardware, is another story. After all, it’s … Continued
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Tech NewsApple
Snapchat’s Long-Awaited iPhone X Lenses Won’t Make Me Forget Rihanna’s Decree
iPhone X owners who still use Snapchat are in for a pleasant surprise today. The camera company, famously annihilated by Rihanna after it approved an ad mocking domestic violence victims, is finally releasing its previously announced lenses designed for the iPhone X. The feature was teased nearly seven months ago, so it’s about time. The … Continued
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Tech NewsNews
Magic Leap’s Secrecy Obsession Is Reportedly Making Devs Say Screw It
At some point, Magic Leap is going to have to let people play around with its ultra-secret mixed reality device. Dev kits are now shipping to select partners, so it would seem that time is now. But the chosen few are required to take extra security precautions that make it unlikely you’ll bump into one … Continued
By Rhett Jones -
Tech News
Augmented Reality Instruction Manuals Would Make Building Ikea Furniture Way Less Painful
Adam Pickard is a big fan of Ikea’s augmented reality app that lets you try out furniture in your home before buying it. But Pickard apparently thought a smartphone could be just as useful during the assembly process, so he mocked up a demo of an app that uses augmented reality to make building Swedish … Continued
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Tech NewsDesign
The First Great iPhone App Grows Up
The very first iPhone apps were universally dull. And then Bloom came out. Brian Eno and Peter Chilvers built the app and released it just a few months after Apple opened the App Store in July 2008. It was immediately obvious that something special was happening. The app was interesting on an artistic level, one … Continued
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Tech NewsApple
This AR Street Fighter II Lets You Brawl in the Real World
Augmented reality experiences are oftentimes a dud, and the really mind-melting ones require hardware that costs a shit-ton of money. But Abhishek Singh seems to have figured out a way to make AR both accessible and really fucking cool. His latest project brings the classic arcade game Street Fighter II to life as a multiplayer … Continued
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Tech NewsGadgets
Bose Wants to Fundamentally Change How You Interact With Your World
There are no practical applications yet for AR—your mom isn’t using it to navigate a grocery store—but AR has become wildly popular in the tech community. Slap AR on a pitch and get some VC funding. Or, slap AR on the side of a product and bask in the AR buzz from tech publications. Bose, … Continued
By Alex Cranz