Welcome back to Spatial Beats, where we round up all the top news and happenings from around the spatial computing spectrum, including its escalating infusions with AI and other emerging tech. Let’s dive in…
The Lede
Meta and Snap To Debut New AR glasses Next Month. Snapchat has been the underdog to Meta in social media since turning down its $1 billion acquisition offer. Now, their rivalry is turning to hardware. Meta and Snap will showcase their visions for the future of AR glasses, but neither plans to sell the devices yet. Snap’s Evan Spiegel will unveil the fifth generation of Spectacles on September 17th according to leaked source information reported by the Verge’s Alex Heath (Snap has not confirmed the rumors). Mark Zuckerberg will meanwhile debut Meta’s Orion glasses on September 25th. Both companies face challenges in making AR glasses ready for mainstream use, with Meta investing billions in Orion and Snap’s financial stability in question. The demonstrations highlight each company’s strategic bets on AR as the next major computing platform.
Feeling Spatial
Browser-based HTC Viveverse is gunning for Epic’s UEFN. HTC’s VIVERSE platform has launched VIVERSE Create, a tool suite enabling users to build and share interactive multiplayer worlds across devices without coding. Creators can easily design virtual spaces and share them via secure links for access on VR headsets, mobiles, PCs, or Macs. VIVERSE Create offers two building methods: a no-code web-based tool with access to Sketchfab’s model library and an advanced PlayCanvas game engine for more interactive experiences. This launch follows HTC’s Polygon Streaming, enhancing 3D model integration across various devices.
GTA San Andreas Isn’t Coming to VR. In his dramatic and deeply embarrassing launch video for the name change from Facebook to Meta in October, 2021, CEO Mark Zuckerberg breathlessly announced that Grand Theft Auto, GTA, his “favorite” game, would be coming to the Quest Metaverse. Publisher Rockstar games has never commented on this. A VR world where we simulate committing crimes, brutalize people, and fight police is the definition of the dark Metaverse, and an obvious threat to public safety. This virtual world will no doubt someday exist, but legitimate companies should take an active role in preventing it. We are sunk if Meta is not among them.
Roblox is Already the Biggest Game In The World. Why Can’t It Make a Profit (And How Can It)? (Matthew Ball)
Beats & Bites
- Tesla Leverages VR for Robotics Development
- Pico Reveals ‘Pico 4 Ultra’ Headset, Launching in China Next Month
- New York surgeon uses augmented reality for hip replacement surgeries
- Troubled Army IVAS mixed reality goggles to undergo big changes
- Samsung Odyssey 3D offers a glasses-free 3D experience for gamers and creators
- How Augmented Reality Glasses Could Replace BMW’s Head-Up Displays
- Meta Acquires Tilda Swinton VR Doc ‘Impulse: Playing With Reality’
- Augmented Reality for Enterprise Alliance Appoints New President
- Qualcomm Joins AR Alliance, Following Meta, Essilor Luxottica, Google and More
- HTC’s Viverse announces no-code virtual world builder
- Palmer Luckey says he’s a ‘crusader for vengeance’ after his Facebook firing
- Are you more likely to buy a property if you can first take a virtual tour of it?
- RayNeo Air 2S Review: Refined XR Glasses With A Few Old Demons
Follow the Money
VividQ Secures $7.5 million Series A. London-based VividQ’s flagship product creates immersive 3D and holographic visual experiences that don’t need screens. The company has partnered with industry leaders like JVCKenwood to integrate its technology into next-generation displays and automotive head-up displays. Foresight Group LLP led the Series A funding round, with participation from new investors including GameTech Ventures and Ruttenberg Gordon Investments (RGI), along with existing investors. Since its founding in 2017 VividQ has raised over $30 million.
The AI Desk
Condé Nast Inks Deal with OpenAI. Their portfolio of brands includes Wired, Vanity Fair, Vogue, and The New Yorker. Conde joins other publishers and news organizations that have made deals with OpenAI, a list that includes the Associated Press, Axel Springer, The Atlantic, Dotdash Meredith, Financial Times, LeMonde, NewsCorp, Wall Street Journal, Time and Vox Media. OpenAI offered to pay the The New York Times, too, but the company refused, alleging OpenAI and Microsoft engaged in copyright infringement. OpenAI will create new models that exclude non-licensed content long before this case comes to court, limiting damages and other remedies that might be imposed.
Inside The Visual Dome, A World Prompted Into Existence with AI. Conceived by Tony Rapacioli, a music producer turned visual artist, The Visual Dome is an entire universe painstakingly crafted through the lens of AI. With a rapidly growing global following (700K on Instagram), The Visual Dome has become a phenomenon in the world of AI art, attracting both fans and professionals from across the creative spectrum.
Space Vets from Storybook Studios is an animated show for kids made With AI. To be clear, the kids don’t care if it’s made with AI. They care if it’s good. There are still writers and voice talent. Parts of the process use special effects tools. “This hybrid process is what makes “Space Vets” one of the first actually consistent narratives in this space, as opposed to trailers and tech demos,” said Storybook Studios Creative Director Albert Bozesan. You can see a full episode on their website.
The Dor Brothers Catch Candidates in the Act. It doesn’t matter what guardrails the Image Generators have, you can use Faceswap to have your favorite celebrity or politician commit crimes, seemingly catching them in the act. Honestly, I’m surprised deep fakes aren’t yet overwhelming the socials on the way to the US election in November, but there’s still time.
The Hustle 🔫🔥
Somebody said uncensored? Thank you @grok for letting us all have some fun 🙌💯
Note: We don't hold any political stance, just having some fun 😊 @elonmusk#GROK #GROK2 #grokimages #Grok2images pic.twitter.com/w5y428fVJ9
— The Dor Brothers (@thedorbrothers) August 21, 2024
“La Fenêtre” a personal film made exclusively with AI tools, is a Runway Staff Pick. The thoughtful and elegiac AI documentary, produced by creative technology shop SpecialGuestX (SGX), and directed by its creative director, Lucas O. Estefanell, is a contemplation of the worlds that live “within” AI, which gradually reveal themselves to the prompter. SGX used Midjourney 6.1 for images, Runway Gen-3 for animation, and created voices with Elevenlabs.
These ‘living computers’ are made from human neurons — and you can rent one for $500 a month. (Jordan Kinard/Livescience)
Listen & Learn
For more spatial commentary & insights, check out This Week in XR, hosted by author Charlie Fink, Ted Schilowitz, former studio executive and co-founder of Red Camera, and Rony Abovitz, founder of Magic Leap. This week our guest is Akash Nigam, CEO & Founder of Genies, An Avatar Technology Company. You can find it on podcasting platforms Spotify, iTunes, and YouTube.
Charlie Fink is an author and futurist focused on spatial computing. See his books here. Spatial Beats contains insights and inputs from Fink’s collaborators including Paramount Pictures futurist Ted Shilowitz.
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