I'm writing to you on behalf of Lex Dreitser who is putting together a tech team for the Future of Storytelling Festival and Summit (https://futureofstorytelling.org/) from Oct. 2 - 9. The team will need to A) instruct other volunteers on how to use various VR Headsets and to troubleshoot problems with the PCs that run them; B) troubleshoot issues on the days of the summit and festival; and C) communicate the various projects to volunteers.
Lex was wondering if you might have some students who are interested in volunteering.
Also: They must attend a training event eitherMonday (Oct. 2) in the evening to then train others on Tuesday and other days, or they have to arrive at 8:30 AM to be trained on the first day they are volunteering.
If you know of any students who are interested, please have them email me. Many thanks.
Hope you're all doing well! Next Friday, we are hosting a student mixer with Clive Davis (CDI) and would like to ask if everyone could please help promote the event to your classes. The event will be Friday, October 6th from 6PM - 8PM in the MAGNET Lecture Hall, and additional information can be seen on the flyer attached and image below.
You recently wrote a recommendation for The Data Incubator. We were very impressed by the caliber of applicants you know.
Our application is currently live. I would be extremely grateful if you could forward this opportunity on to master and PhD students and graduates whom you think would make good applicants.
Program: The Data Incubator is an intensive 8 week fellowship that prepares masters students, PhDs, and postdocs in STEM and social science fields seeking industry careers as data scientists. The program is free for Fellows and supported by sponsorships from hundreds of employers across multiple industries. In response to the overwhelming interest in our earlier sessions, we will be holding another fellowship.
Who Should Apply: Anyone who has already obtained a masters or PhD degree or who is within one year of graduating with a masters or PhD is welcome to apply. Applications from international students are welcome. Everyone else is encouraged to sign-up for a future session.
Locations: In addition to the below in-person locations, we will have a remote online session:
New York City
San Francisco Bay Area
Seattle
Boston
Washington, DC.
Dates: All sections will be from 2018-01-02 to 2018-02-23.
Data Science in 30 minutes: Learn how to build a data-science project in our upcoming free Data Science in 30-minutes webcast. Signup soon as space is limited.
Stereo camera company Stereolabs has launched pre-orders for the ZED Mini, a smaller version of their stereo depth-mapping camera which fits on a mount made to attach to VR headsets like the Rift and Vive. When attached, the camera provides stereo pass-through video and real-time depth and environment mapping, turning the headsets into dev kits emulating the capabilities of high-end AR headsets of the future. The ZED Mini will launch in November.
Apple’s ARKit and Google’s ARCore may be bringing AR tracking capabilities to smartphones, but it will be years yet before high-end immersive augmented reality headsets hit the consumer market. Today’s AR headsets, like the HoloLens and ODG R8, have very small fields of view compared to today’s VR headsets (~40 degrees compared to ~100).
The ZED Mini camera, attached to a VR headset, effectively emulates the sort of experience that AR glasses will hopefully achieve in the future—an immersive, wide field of view with real-time tracking and environment mapping.
With a special mount designed to attach to the Rift or Vive, the ZED Mini has two cameras spaced at 65mm (close to the human IPD average), allowing for comfortable pass-through stereo video into the VR headset. In addition to pass-through video, the camera compares the two different images from each camera to build a depth-map of the scene. The company claims the camera can detect depth out to an impressive 15 meters (49 feet). The camera also builds a geometric map of the environment in real time and fuses the data with an onboard IMU enabling positional tracking of the headset within the AR environment.
I got a chance to try the ZED Mini attached to a Rift for myself at VRDC Fall 2017 last week and came away quite impressed. Although the camera’s own field of view isn’t quite wide enough to completely fill the Rift’s field of view, it still presented a large, immersive view of the real world in front of me, far surpassing today’s AR headsets.
At first I was just looking at the crowd standing in front of me. Then I saw a floating menu representing several different demo experiences I could launch. I launched the droid attack game which began to spawn spherical, floating droids in the world around me. As they approached, I saw convincing occlusion as the drones flew behind people and objects nearby. That meant I could duck behind the table in front of me and the drone would be hidden from my field of view by the table, as if the drone was really behind it. As I moved my head around to get a feel for the occlusion, the inside-out positional tracking held up fairly well in my time testing the device, though I’d want a more extensive testing session to get a better feel of the tracking and pass-through latency; I was quite distracted by the impressive occlusion. In another demo I held a lightsaber prop which was sensed by the camera and a properly glowing end was overlaid on top of it. Using the prop I was able to bat the drones and send them flying to an explosive death. A strong swing would send them flying fast while a gentle poke would be reflected as a mere shove; a rather convincing fusion of an arbitrary, unmarked prop into an AR scene.
Image courtesy Stereolabs
Image courtesy Stereolabs
There’s pros and cons to doing pass-through AR instead of transparent AR. For one, the augmented parts of the world can look quite a bit more real because the pixels are drawn directly on top of the image of the real world, eliminating that semi-transparent ‘hologram’ look that you’ll find on transparent AR displays (caused by the fact that it’s difficult to create pixels that can occlude 100% of the light from the outside world when dealing with a transparent display). On the flip side, our eyes have excellent resolution and contrast ratio, which generally means we limit our dynamic range (the ability to see dark and light areas of a scene at the same time) and visual fidelity when using pass-through AR (not to mention the potential to introduce latency).
Either way, if devs want to get a head start on AR development for high field of view AR headsets of the future, the ZED Mini seems like it warrants serious consideration. Image courtesy StereolabsLast week the company launched pre-orders for the device priced at $450, with plans to begin shipping in November. As an add-on to the Rift or Vive, it’ll appeal moreso to developers who already own those headsets, while developers just getting starting in the world of immersive computing might also consider the Meta 2.
Message from Membit ---- Tell people to bring photographs of someone they care about or a moment they remember on campus and i’ll show them how to make them into membits!
Above: A passenger plays the augmented reality mobile game 'Pokemon Go' by Nintendo inside a bus in Hong Kong, China August 12, 2016.
Image Credit: REUTERS/Tyrone Siu
The potential of AR is firmly into the spotlight for global technology companies. Keen not to miss out on what some say could be bigger than the smartphoneitself, Chinese tech juggernauts Baidu, Alibaba, Tencent, and others are investing heavily in AR through mobile games and advertising experiences. In this piece, we’ll share three key things you should know about AR in China.
AR in China is mobile-first
China’s giant base of mobile users makes the smartphone the dominant platform through which AR is distributed. This mobile-first approach is similar to Apple’s approach with ARKit, Apple’s AR SDK for developers. This may be the fastest way to promote AR usage, as Chinese consumers are already engaged with companies such as Tencent through their smartphones; the company has 938 million monthly active users on its mobile messaging platform, WeChat.
Baidu, for example, has created AR experiences for its suite of apps that collectively reach more than 1 billion monthly active users. Its DuSee AR platform, launched last year, enables consumers to interact with 3D images overlaid onto the real world. Users of its Baidu Search engine can, for instance, view AR effects when they type in certain keywords. Baidu believes AR can be applied to other areas too, such as tourism. Last year it teamed up with the Hubei provincial government to create an interactive 3D map of the Shennongjia travel site, complete with directions to hotels and hiking routes.
Even foreign companies are getting in on the action. San Francisco’s Osterhout Design Group recently partnered with China Mobile to deploy its AR smart-glasses in China to China Mobile’s 800 million users. Because the Chinese mobile and internet markets — the rails on which AR run — are expanding at a rapid rate, we expect the Chinese AR market to ride on their coattails.
AR marketing is already viable in China
Chinese technology companies are already running marketing campaigns via AR experiences. These experiences provide incentives for consumers to come into retail stores by placing virtual coupons in shopping areas in China that can be found through AR apps. Take Baidu: The company joined forces with Yum! Brands last year to launch an AR smartphone game to 300 KFC outlets in Beijing. The game incentivized consumers with the offer of winning discounts on meals. They played by scanning stickers on tables in selected restaurants with their smartphones. Baidu said that the game was played 400,000 times within three days of going live.
Both Tencent and Chinese e-commerce company Alibaba have also launched AR smartphone games for China’s Lunar New Year holiday, which enabled consumers to try AR experiences using Alipay and Tencent’s QQ messenger app. Users of both games scanned physical objects with their smartphone cameras to find digital packages containing financial rewards.
Alibaba and Tencent reported that they invested $29 million and $43 million, respectively, on these mobile AR campaigns. While this may seem like an exorbitant sum of cash for a marketing initiative, Tencent was able to acquire 200 million new users for its WeChat communication app in 2014 as a result of a similar campaign.
One of the most unique features of the Chinese internet sector is that it is tightly controlled by China’s government, which has not shied away from restricting internet services in the past – most notably those owned by foreign companies. Google, Facebook, Twitter and other U.S.-based internet giants have been banned from, or had their services restricted in, China. Any foreign AR company interested in breaking into the domestic Chinese market may be treated in a similar way — that is, not very favorably.
The potential of the Chinese market, however, may prove too tempting to pass up. China’s huge mobile consumer base could entice US-based AR companies, despite regulatory concerns. They would do well, though, to study the struggles of those who came before them.
Michael Park is the CEO and founder ofPostAR, a platform that enables you to build, explore, and share augmented realities.
IR INSIDER is the official journal powered by the International Relations Society at NYU. Our purpose is to create a platform for the IR community of interest at NYU to pursue digital/investigative journalism. We will have a prominent advisory council in addition to the entire IR E-board for your professional consultation. Should you wish to be published, increase your knowledge base, or stay on top of international news, IR Insider will be your place to be.
We are seeking two regular contributors to our Science and Technology section. Though the fields of Science and Tech may seem out of place in a political journal, we at IR INSIDER feel that globalization affects all aspects of our lives and is influenced from many corners. As a contributor, you would be required to submit one short form piece (500 words max) every week on any subject of your choosing within the fields of Science and Tech. For anyone wishing to go into science journalism, this is a great opportunity to gain experience and publish your work. If you are not accepted as a regular contributor, you are still encouraged to submit any and all work to IR INSIDER.
FoST Volunteering<volunteer@futureofstorytelling.org>
My name is Jackie. I'm the volunteer coordinator for Future of Storytelling and an NYU grad!
We are looking for student volunteers for this year's Summit (Oct 4-5) and Festival (Oct 6-8) and would love to have your students involved!
This is a great opportunity to work first-hand with the latest new media and tech such as VR, AR, AI, games and interactive films.
I've attached a flyer and a social media graphic with copy below that can be distributed:
Future of StoryTelling is looking for all-star tech and new media enthusiasts to volunteer at FoST Summit (Oct. 4-5) and FoST Festival (Oct. 6-8) in NYC. To fill out a volunteer application, visit https://futureofstorytelling.org/volunteer #FoST2017
Thank you so much, please let me know if you would like to discuss this further! We look forward to hopefully working with your students.
Creative Debuts is a leading creator platform championing emerging artists and designers from around the world. Their aim is to make art more accessible and to tackle the hurdles faced by undiscovered creatives. Creative Debuts helps to do this by showcasing and commissioning artists, selling unique artwork, hosting events, and connecting artists with businesses.
This opportunity is part of Creative Debut’s ongoing showcase series in conjunction with Whitechapel Gallery First Thursdays in the heart of Shoreditch, London. For over 2 years Creative Debuts have hosted regular exhibitions that are focused on making art more accessible and championing emerging talent.
Creative Debuts x Ello is a collaborative showcase of international talent as we transform The Black & White Building into an inclusive, forward thinking celebration of jaw dropping talent. Exhibition opening February 1st, 2018.
How to Enter
Click the SUBMIT button above. Include three images that show a distinct artistic point of view, a short statement about you and your work, and a link to your website, or Creative Debuts portfolio . Only complete submissions will be considered.
Opportunity
• 20 - 30 selected artists to exhibit at Creative Debuts x Ello in London. • Support with producing Limited Edition Prints of your work. • Features on Creative Debuts website and social media. • Features on Ello’s website and social media. • Artists will also be interviewed, featured on the Ello Blog and in an Ello newsletter. • Selected artists will be featured on the Ello homepage.
Selection Process
Submissions will be reviewed by the Creative Debuts curatorial team and announced on the Artist Invite.
Computing Conference 2018 - Call for Papers 10-12 July 2018 - London, United Kingdom Technically Co-Sponsored by IEEE
We'd like to invite you to submit your papers/posters/demo proposals for the Computing Conference 2018 to be held from10-12 July 2018 in London, UK.
Computing Conference (formerly called Science and Information (SAI) Conference) is a research conference held in London, UK since 2013. The conference series has featured keynote talks, special sessions, poster presentation, tutorials, workshops, and contributed papers each year. View previous conference videos here.
The goal of the conference is to be a premier venue for researchers and industry practitioners to share new ideas, research results and development experiences in computing and related fields.
All Computing Conference 2018 presented papers will be published in the Conference Proceedings and submitted for indexing to IEEE Xplore and various international databases like Scopus, Inspec, Google Scholar and more.
Looking forward to your contributions.
Regards, Professor Kohei Arai Program Chair, Computing Conference 2018
The Holodeck, which opened in June in Stamford Town Centre in Connecticut, is opening a second location on October 9th at the Palisades Centre in West Nyack.
The Holodeck is a Mixed Reality Lounge & Innovation Center. You can try out and play games on the Microsoft Hololens, as well as the HTC Vive and Xbox One Stations; developers can code in one of the Holodeck's work areas with access to the hardware and experts to bring your experiences to life.
CURRENTS is an international NEW MEDIA ART festival. We showcase a variety of work that pushes the boundaries of art and technology. This is a call for our 9th annual exhibition - June 8-24, 2018 in Santa Fe, New Mexico. 8,000 visitors attended CURRENTS 2017 / 2,500 Opening Night.
We are accepting submissions in the following categories:
• New Media Installations
• Outdoor New Media Installations and Projections
• Single Channel Video and Animation
• Multimedia Performance
• Experimental Documentary
• Web-Art / Art-Gaming / Mobile Device Apps
• Virtual Reality Environments
• Robotics
• Digitally Generated Objects (ie. 3D Printing)
• Interactive Installations for Children
Selected artists in the New Media Installation, Outdoor, Multimedia Performance, Virtual Reality, Robotics, and Installations for Children Categories will be considered for full lodging, travel, and shipping support.
CURRENTS serves as a platform for artistic experimentation. It promotes exploration into all forms of new media art, providing the public with an opportunity to experience an outstanding selection of innovative work. CURRENTS is committed to making this extraordinary form, at the intersection of art and technology, available to everyone.
It seems that it could soon be the end of the line for Microsoft’s first generation HoloLens, as Intel is reportedly ending production of its Intel Atom semi-custom SoC before the end of the year. The news comes from the folks over at AnandTech, who explained yesterday that the chip maker will take its last orders for the chip in September and shipping final units a month later.
According to the report, Microsoft was likely one of the last company to use the chip and may have negotiated its EOL with Intel. With this crucial component now on the way out, a new HoloLens model will likely be released in the coming quarters. The report noted:
Intel asks its customers to place their final orders on the Atom x5-Z8100P SoC (belonging to the Cherry Trail family) by September 30 and says that the final shipments will be made on October 30. Given the fact that Intel seems to have only one customer using the microprocessor, the short amount of time between the announcement of the product discontinuance and the actual EOL was probably negotiated before. Moreover, since we are talking about a semi-custom chip, Microsoft was probably the initiator of the EOL, which indicates that the company is on track with its next-gen HoloLens.
However, Microsoft declined to say at the time when the next generation HoloLens headset would be ready, and earlier reports suggested that we could have to wait until 2019 to see it.
As of today, the $3,000 HoloLens Development Edition is available in nine markets, and the official website still says that Microsoft is working to “expand our international reach.” The company never shared sales numbers, so it’s hard to know if Microsoft planned enough supply to meet developer demand in the coming quarters. Anyway, the fact that Microsoft is already communicating about future HoloLens components suggests that the next generation could arrive earlier than expected.
In another demo I held a lightsaber prop which was sensed by the camera and a properly glowing end was overlaid on top of it. Using the prop I was able to bat the drones and send them flying to an explosive death. A strong swing would send them flying fast while a gentle poke would be reflected as a mere shove; a rather convincing fusion of an arbitrary, unmarked prop into an AR scene.
