One step closer to reality: introducing 360-degree live streaming and spatial audio on YouTube — from youtube.googleblog.com

Excerpt:

We first launched support for 360-degree videos back in March 2015. From musicians to athletes to brands, creators have done some incredible things with this technology. Now, they’ll be able to do even more to bring fans directly into their world, with 360-degree live streaming. And after years of live streaming Coachella for fans around the world who can’t attend the festival, this year we’re bringing you the festival like never before by live streaming select artist performances in 360 degrees this weekend. Starting today, we’re also launching spatial audio for on-demand YouTube videos. Just as watching a concert in 360 degrees can give you an unmatched immersive experience, spatial audio allows you to listen along as you do in real life, where depth, distance and intensity all play a role. Try out this playlist on your Android device.

 

 

Could HoloLens’ augmented reality change how we study the human body? — from edtechmagazine.com by D. Frank Smith
Case Western Reserve University is helping to revolutionize medical-science studies with a new technology from Microsoft.

Excerpt:

CWRU was among the first in higher education to begin working with HoloLens, back in 2014. They’ve since discovered new ways the tech could help transform education. One of their current focuses is changing how students experience medical-science courses.

“This is a curriculum that hasn’t drastically changed in more than 100 years, because there simply hasn’t been another way,” says Mark Griswold, the faculty director for HoloLens at CWRU. “The mixed-reality of the HoloLens has the potential to revolutionize this education by bringing 3D content into the real world.”

 

 

 

Virtual reality invites a new era of learning to higher education  — from edtechmagazine.com by D. Frank Smith
A team of technology experts at the University of Maryland see an endless horizon of opportunities in education through virtual reality applications.

Excerpt:

“Imagine a physics class where you’re able to show how friction works. Imagine being able to experience gravity on Mars — by moving around virtually,” he says. “VR can make science, technology and art come alive.”

VR will soon become an open canvas for educators to create learning experiences. Eventually, fitting VR into the curriculum will be limited only by an instructor’s imagination and budget, says Christopher Sessums, the program director of research and evaluation at Johns Hopkins School of Education.

 

 

 

NYU Holodeck to be model for year 2041 cyberlearning — from kurzweilai.net
The role of VR and AI in future integrated living, learning, and research environments

Excerpt:

In an open-access paper in the Journal of Artificial Intelligence Education, Winslow Burleson, PhD, MSE, associate professor, New York University Rory Meyers College of Nursing, suggests that “advanced cyberlearning environments that involve VR and AI innovations are needed to solve society’s “wicked challenges*” — entrenched and seemingly intractable societal problems.

Burleson and and co-author Armanda Lewis imagine such technology in a year 2041 Holodeck, which Burleson’s NYU-X Lab is currently developing in prototype form, in collaboration with colleagues at NYU Courant, Tandon, Steinhardt, and Tisch.

“The “Holodeck” will support a broad range of transdisciplinary collaborations, integrated education, research, and innovation by providing a networked software/hardware infrastructure that can synthesize visual, audio, physical, social, and societal components,” said Burleson.

It’s intended as a model for the future of cyberlearning experience, integrating visual, audio, and physical (haptics, objects, real-time fabrication) components, with shared computation, integrated distributed data, immersive visualization, and social interaction to make possible large-scale synthesis of learning, research, and innovation.

 

 

 

Virtual tour honored Shakespeare’s legacy — from thejournal.com by Richard Chang

Excerpt:

…British television presenter Diane-Louise Jordan will guide students on a tour through Shakespeare’s hometown of Stratford-upon-Avon, including his childhood home and school; and the bard’s view of London, including the famous Globe Theatre where his plays were performed. (Shakespeare actually died April 23, which this year falls on a Saturday.)

 

Also see:

VirtualShakespeareTour-April2016

You can register to see the recording on that page as well.

 

 

 

The current selection of Mixed Reality and Virtual Reality related hardware
As of April 2016; from https://www.wired.com/2016/04/magic-leap-vr/

 

MR-and-VR-selections--as-of-april-2016

 

 

Film Students To Compete in Virtual Reality Production Contest — from campustechnology.com by Michael Hart
One of the first ever competitions involving virtual reality production will challenge college film students to create their own 360-degree films.

Excerpt:

360fly, which produces single-lens cameras to capture 360-degree video, will sponsor the 360 VR (virtual reality) Film Contest for film students at New York University and the Rhode Island School of Design along with Drury Design. The students will use 360fly HD cameras, which they were briefed on during an April 9 presentation on the NYU campus.

 

 

 

HBO and Discovery are partnering with a startup to develop holograms — from theverge.com by Ananya Bhattacharya
Going beyond the TV screen

Excerpt:

HBO and Discovery Communications announced today that they are partnering with 3D-graphics startup OTOY — both companies taking equity stakes. The partnership marks an effort by the two networks to evolve entertainment experiences beyond two dimensional television. Virtual reality, augmented reality, and even holograms were all highlighted as areas OTOY would help its traditional media partners explore.

 

 

TV knows it must push toward virtual and augmented reality

 

 

 

Also see the various items re: Augmented & Virtual Reality from:
Rutgers Office of Instructional & Research Technology

Excerpts:

 

 

 

Mark Zuckerberg says augmented reality glasses are ‘what we’re trying to get to’ — from theverge.com

 

 

 

Facebook plans to build augmented reality glasses — from mashable.com

 

 

 

 

Apple patents new augmented reality technology — from mobilesyrup.com by Rose Behar

Excerpt:

Apple was granted a patent today for a type of live interactive augmented reality (AR) video to be used in future iOS devices, indicating the company may soon enter the AR/VR game. The patent does not appear to be directly related to an AR/VR headset, but is certainly a step in that direction.

The patent describes Apple’s planned augmented reality technology as layered, live AR video that users can interact with via touchscreen. In the live video, objects can be identified and an information layer can be generated for them.

“In some implementations,” the patent text notes, “the information layer can include annotations made by a user through the touch sensitive surface.”

 

 

 

AltspaceVR wants to make VR chat sessions part of everyday life — from by Adi Robertson

 

 

 

 

 

Virtual & Augmented Reality: Blooloop’s Guide to VR and AR — from blooloop.com
Visitor attractions are racing to embrace Virtual and Augmented Reality technologies.  But what are the potential opportunities and possible pitfalls of VR and AR?