AR and VR Prove Valuable Across Different Industries
By: Quantious Team
Tags: Technews, Emerging Technology, Technology, Technology News, Tech

Emerging Tech Roundup — August 07

The Quantious team’s top picks for timely trending news in the tech world.

This week in tech: Two companies partner to expand the augmented reality industry, AR is used for autonomous drones, virtual reality tackles neurological diseases, a high-tech face mask comes to market, a new feature is discovered on Oculus Quest, and Netflix offers a new virtual experience.

Scope AR and ServiceMax Partnership Expands Augmented Reality Remote Assistance

(AR Post, August 6)

Scope AR recently announced a partnership with field service management company, ServiceMax. Scope AR offers augmented reality solutions in aerospace and defense, life sciences, manufacturing, and remote assistance. ServiceMax, on the other hand, provides field service management solutions for a wide range of industries such as engineering, aviation, and construction. The partnership will enable service experts to utilize a centralized software suite in the field, rather than needing separate programs. Companies will benefit from data and insights provided by both solutions for research purposes, including to monitor response time and gauge the effectiveness of information collected.

Researchers Show Holographic AR Control System for Autonomous Drones

(Venture Beat, August 6)

An intriguing new solution has been revealed by researchers, Chuhao Liu and Shaojie Shen, from the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. Using holographic augmented reality hardware, they have created live 3D terrain maps that help drone pilots visualize and point at targets above any flat surface. The interface relies on a Microsoft HoloLens headset that produces augmented reality content as a colorful voxel map. This map was designed to be viewed from all angles, making drone flying a bit easier.

A Trio of Faculty Members Explore How VR Can Help Combat Neurological Diseases

(USC News, August 4)

The University of Southern California’s SensoriMotor Assessment and Rehabilitation Training in Virtual Reality (SMART-VR) Center is tackling neurological diseases. Using virtual reality, they aim to find solutions to combat diseases like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s. Leveraging big data, they’re able to create individualized models of stroke recovery. Using VR, the SMART-VR Center has developed a way to trick the brain into thinking it’s moving by showing users an avatar that looks like them moving in a virtual setting. Then, using the center’s computer interface and collected data to develop reliable predictive models, researchers can scan and read brain activity. The information collected from the scan then portrays how patients could possibly respond to various therapies.

A Japanese Robotics Startup Has Invented a Smart Mask That Translates Into Eight Languages

(CNN, August 3)

When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, Japanese startup, Donut Robotics, created a smart mask. The smart mask is a high-tech upgrade to the typical cloth masks, and it was created to make communication and social distancing easier. Using an app, the C-Face Smart mask can project your voice so that you sound louder, transcribe dictation, and translate speech into 8 different languages. Though high-tech, the smart mask is designed to be worn over a standard face mask because it does not protect against the COVID-19 virus.

Oculus Quest Dev Discovers Replay, Passthrough Features in System Software

(Venture Beat, August 1)

Oculus Quest developer, Gerald McAlister, was digging inside the Quest system software and found a potential “Guardian Couch” feature. This new code he uncovered indicates that instant replay and “passthrough portal” features are in the making. In a tweet, McAlister shows code from the Quest system that alludes to an Instant Replay feature. This feature would enable the headset to record continuously the last 15 seconds of VR, permitting users to capture their most recent actions at any time.

Netflix Welcome FYSEE 360

(Netflix Awards, August 2020)

Netflix recently launched a virtual experience for Emmy voters to engage with their favorite nominated shows. On the website, the experience starts with you beginning in a lobby with several doors. Each door represents an entrance into a Netflix show or film, including titles like “Bojack Horseman,” “Big Mouth,” “Queer Eye,” “Ozark,” and more. After choosing a door entrance, you can then click, scroll around, and observe an entire set from the show of your choice.