Apple AR: Houzz ARKit App Beats IKEA to the App Store
With the official release of iOS 11, the availability of an app that uses the much-hyped ARKit platform to place virtual furniture in one's home was expected.
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News: Next Edition of Qualcomm Spectra ISP Brings Features to Support AR
Chipmaker Qualcomm introduced the second generation of its Qualcomm Spectra image signal processor (ISP), which has gained capabilities that will enable smartphones to facilitate augmented reality apps.
News: Facebook's Plans for AR Smart Glasses Previewed in Patent Filing
A patent application for waveguide-based smart glasses submitted by way of their subsidiary Oculus sheds light on Facebook's plans to escalate their augmented reality efforts.
Apple AR: Chase After & Scare Pigeons with New Upcoming Mobile Game
I'm going to be honest with you. I hate pigeons. They're always in the way and I don't think they're afraid of anything because if they don't want to move, they're not moving no matter who comes their way. So a new game made with Apple's ARKit called "Pigeon Panic" sounds right up my alley.
News: AR Developers Emboldened by Facebook & Apple During Second Quarter
According The Venture Reality Fund, the introductions of Facebook's camera platform and Apple's ARKit catalyzed increased activity among companies developing consumer applications.
News: Lenovo Previews Augmented Reality Concepts at Tech World Conference
Artificial intelligence and augmented reality go together like spaghetti and meatballs, and Lenovo has some ideas on how to spice up the recipe.
News: This IG Account Will Expose Your Staged Camping Pictures
Don't even think about posting a fake camping picture to Instagram because this account is committed to calling you out. The account entitled @youdidnotsleepthere is exposing fake pictures posted by travel bloggers to its over 36,000 followers.
News: Mindfulness App Aura for Sale on Android
Aura, a highly rated app for mindfulness and mental health, just became available on Android and is currently on sale.
It's Official: CEO Cook Confirms Apple Is Developing Driverless Software
Apple is working on autonomous systems for vehicles, which could then be implemented with the help of car manufacturers.
News: Baidu Teams Up with Leading Chinese Tier-Ones for Driverless
Baidu signed a cooperation agreement on June 7, the first day of the CES Asia conference, with multiple companies in the autonomous vehicles industry. The companies listed in the press release include Desay SV, United Automotive Electronics, and Hangsheng Electronics, as well as possibly additional auto manufacturers. Baidu plans to "jointly develop" upcoming intelligent driving production plans.
News: Officials Shocked to Find West Nile in Las Vegas Mosquitoes
Las Vegas is known as the city of sin, a place for gambling, fine dining, and decadence. Now, you can add another notable characteristic to that list: West Nile. You may want to hold off on scheduling your trip to the Sin City — or at least stock up on bug spray — because health officials have reported that mosquitoes in Southern Nevada have tested positive for the virus.
News: Continental to Supply Driverless Tech to Startup NIO in China
Driverless partnerships continue to appear as Continental AG, leading German automotive manufacturing company, has signed a strategic cooperation agreement with global electric startup, NIO. The goal of this partnership is to research, share, and develop autonomous technology, among other developments.
News: Honda Sets 2025 Target for Level 4
Honda president Takahiro Hachigo has just announced that Honda will complete development of fully self-driving cars by 2025. While the company aims to have level 3 — or conditionally autonomous cars requiring human intervention only in emergencies — on the road in time for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, these level 4 cars would require no intervention in most environments and thus bring Honda one step closer to producing fully driverless cars.
The Leaks Were Right: Launch Date of OnePlus 5 Has Been Revealed
Finally, the much anticipated OnePlus 5 has got a release date. A few days ago, a leaked image from OnePlus suggested that June 20 might possibly be the launch date for the Chinese smartphone and today those leaks were confirmed.
Market Reality: Outlook for Augmented & Mixed Reality Remains Favorable
With many of the companies working in augmented and mixed reality focused on the Augmented World Expo, the finance side of the industry has been relatively quiet.
News: Guess Who's Back? Sherif Marakby Returns to Ford After Uber Stint
Sherif Marakby has returned to Ford as the VP of AVs & Electrification after a brief stint with Uber. Marakby's VP title will be effective June 12.
News: Microsoft Demonstrates Holograms with Phase-Only Displays
Microsoft Research has published a technical paper reviewing their work with near-eye displays for virtual and augmented reality to project phase-only holograms.
News: Increasing Road Deaths Due to Smartphone Use Make the Case for Driverless Vehicles
You would think most people would agree that you shouldn't use your smartphone while driving. Apparently, most people would be liars, according to recent data from the National Safety Council (NSC) and Zendrive.
News: Magic Leap Has Been Making Big Deals Ahead of Highly Anticipated Launch
Magic Leap is no stranger to hype and speculative advancement—when their name pops up in the news, all focus turns to them. And the company is making news again this week, with the knowledge of an acquisition of a startup founded by former Apple employees, and by hiring animators from an Emmy and Oscar award-winning studio.
News: UK Government Invests $38 Million in Driverless Cars
With the British exit from the European Union looming, the UK is looking to the auto industry to help boost their economy and secure jobs through the upcoming years. Today, Business Secretary Greg Clark and Transport Minister John Hayes announced the government investment of $136.7 million (£109.7 million) across 38 different automobile projects, as a part of the Plan for Britain.
News: Mercedes Is Bringing New & Updated Advanced Driver Assistance Features to the 2018 S-Class
While not quite a true self-driving car, Mercedes is gearing to release a vehicle with a plethora of assistive-driving features, some that might have you excited about what autonomous vehicles can do in the future.
News: John Hanke, CEO of Pokémon GO Maker, Says AR, Not VR, Should Be the Way of the Future
It isn't too hard to see John Hanke's bias towards augmented reality. His company, Niantic, created the astronomically profitable game Pokémon GO, which revolves around AR technology. However, Hanke has a case against virtual reality—he believes it just won't be healthy, in more than one sense of the word.
News: ASUS Rumored to Turn AR & VR Departments into Independent Startup
ASUS is gearing up to move its augmented and virtual reality departments into an independent startup named Glamorfy, according to a recent report from tech news site Fudzilla.
News: Android Co-Founder Andy Rubin Gives Us a Sneak Peek into Essential's New Bezel-Less Smartphone
Andy Rubin, the cofounder of Android, departed Google in 2014 to go on and start his own smartphone company, Essential. Rubin first gave us a clue at what he would be working on when he announced in January that he wanted Essential to create a premium smartphone with a bezel-less edge-to-edge display.
News: Bob Iger Says AR, Not VR, Is the Way of the Future for Disney Parks
Disney Chairman and CEO Bob Iger has out and out rejected Virtual Reality (VR) as a component of any Disney Theme park. While Knott's Berry Farm, why-hasn't-this-chain-shut-down-yet Sea World (seriously, RIP Tillikum), and Six Flags have all invested in VR to help spice up their parks in this theme park depression period, Iger has "ordered his team not to even think about it." Iger instead is very much onboard the Augmented Reality (AR) train.
News: The Nokia Brand Is Officially Revived & US-Bound
In case we haven't beaten the '90s revival to death enough, now Nokia is coming back to the US market. The three Android midrange devices that made their debut at Mobile World Congress last month are set for a global release, meaning they will also make their way stateside.
News: Adobe Integrates with HoloLens for Personalized Marketing
At Adobe Summit 2017 this week, Adobe announced they are looking to occupy a new space in the market by combining their analytic capabilities with augmented reality. Teaming up with Microsoft, the company has combined Adobe Sensei software with the HoloLens, reports GeekWire. Together, the tech and software create a new tool for retailers to track their consumers' habits.
News: French Art Exhibit 'Mirages & Miracles' Combines Sculptures, Drawings & AR
The conversation around augmented reality has largely been focused on apps and gaming, and how AR can be used as a marketing tool. However, a new exhibit at France's Scène Nationale Albi is using AR for more artistic expression.
News: OnePlus Introduces the 3T Colette Edition in Black with 128 GB of Storage
OnePlus just unveiled a new version of their popular OnePlus 3T—a limited edition all-black "colette" version for the boutique's 20th anniversary today. The slick device will feature the iconic colette logo on the back.
News: Savannah College of Art & Design Publishes First College Catalog with AR Capabilities
When it published its 2016-2017 catalog last year, Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD) became the first college to leverage augmented reality technology for a college catalog.
News: This Insanely Fast Robot Solved a Rubik's Cube in Just 0.637 Seconds
In December of last year, Australian Feliks Zemdegs broke the human world record for solving a Rubik's Cube with a time of 4.737 seconds. Well, this robot did it way, way faster by solving one in under 1 second. Don't tell me a robot takeover isn't real possibility.
News: A New Project Lets Scientists Strap on a Vive & Walk Right into a Cancer Cell
Cancer is a complicated illness, but the more we understand it, the likelier we are to beat it. The 3D Visualisation Aesthetics Lab at the University of New South Wales took to virtual reality to help improve our odds by allowing scientists to walk through virtual representations of actual cancer cells.
News: Apple's Dual-Lens Camera May Serve as the Foundation for Their Future VR & AR Tech
Apple announced their new iPhones today, and the 7 Plus features two camera lenses on its backside. That could push smartphone photography ahead in a major way. It may also serve as the basis for their foray into virtual, augmented, and mixed reality.
News: Apple Just Patented This Silly Sunglasses-Lookin' VR Headset for the iPhone
Apple's plans for virtual, mixed, and augmented reality have remained a mystery for some time, but now we at least have some idea of what they're thinking about. UploadVR uncovered a patent showing a VR headset design that looks like a thick pair of sunglasses and utilizes an iPhone to provide an experience similar to the Samsung Gear VR.
News: ARails Lets HoloLens Users Build Holographic Roller Coasters in Any Room
As people experiment with mixed reality software, we're seeing applications that cover the entire spectrum of human interest. Anything that can exist in the physical world has a place in the holographic one. And just as we enjoy building various contraptions with real parts, a new app called ARails knew we'd feel the same about digital ones.
News: Life-Sized Mannequin Holograms Make Clothing Design Easy
Creating a dress, or any other clothes for that matter, takes quite a bit of design, planning, and manufacturing to get it just right. Fashion designer Jim Reichert put on a HoloLens and saved himself a bunch of time designing a dress through the use of a life-sized holographic woman.
News: Can You Play Pokémon GO While Driving?
Do I really need to tell you that it's a bad idea to play Pokémon GO while you're driving? I really hope it's not necessary, but just in case it is, here you go: It's a bad idea to play Pokémon GO while you're driving.
News: Here's Your First Look at This Year's New Nexus Phones
A "reliable source" divulged specs of Google's new Nexus phones made by HTC, the Sailfish and Marlin, to Android Police, who used the information to create what they believe is an accurate render of the new phones.
News: This App Streams Custom Holograms from a Computer to the HoloLens
The Microsoft HoloLens has a good amount of content available, but it's fairly limited in terms of what you can customize. You can access a built-in library of holograms, but if you want to create your own you have to do that with code.
News: HoloTube Brings YouTube to the HoloLens, but It Needs to Be Way Better
HoloTube, a new unofficial YouTube app for the Microsoft HoloLens, brings a whole bunch of new content to the mixed reality headset. While it's nice to have, the experience feels focused on quantity, not quality. HoloTube has a simple interface most people will recognize. You get a page of video categories, and as you drill down through each option you're presented with videos to watch. You can view regular, flat videos on the wall (or wherever you like)—which has its merits.