Big news this week, in terms of AR, Microsoft has promised customers the new HoloLens; NASA has established the Joint AR project, planning to add AR functions to the spacesuit helmet; OPPO Air Glass 2 is released, with a two-eye waveguide of only 38g; Rokid opens the world's first brand flagship store; Google develops a ring for AR glasses . In terms of
VR, John Carmack resigned from his position as Meta VR consultant; Meta launched the App to App Travel function; Quest Pro anchor supports cloud sharing; Steam restores VR game tags; Sharp will display the VR headset prototype in CES 2023. In terms of mergers and acquisitions of
, BehaVR and Oxford University in the UK announced a merger of the derivative company OxfordVR and announced a US$13 million Series B financing. In terms of financing of
, flexible motion catcher StretchSense completed a US$7.6 million Series A financing; VR education and training company iXRLabs received a US$800,000 seed financing; Japanese 3D content developer NEIGHBOR received new financing; Singapore public transportation operator SBS Transit invested US$1 million to establish the XR Railway Training Academy.
AR｜Microsoft: Promulgated for the new HoloLens
Microsoft Microsoft Microsoft VP Scott Evans said: The new HoloLens will appear at the right time, and Microsoft has made a promise to customers.
AR｜NASA established the Joint AR project
Public information shows that NASA Glenn Research Center established a joint AR visual information system project (Joint AR), with the purpose of developing a certain AR display system compatible with aviation suits, so it hopes to seek technology suppliers and solutions through RFI.
AR｜Epic develops an open programming language Verse
Epic Engineering Fellow Simon Peyton Jones revealed in a recent speech that he is developing the Metaverse programming language for Epic Games: Verse. It is reported that Verse is an open programming language that promises that all descriptions, specifications and tools are open and unrestricted.
AR｜ARCore Geospatial API Challenge
In order to promote the LBS AR ecosystem, Google launched the ARCore Geospatial API Challenge to provide a total prize of US$50,000 for AR applications developed based on this API. It is reported that there are 12 awards in this challenge, with the corresponding prizes ranging from US$1,000 to US$12,000. The award categories include AR navigation, AR gaming, AR local discovery, AR entertainment and other categories.
AR｜OPPO Air Glass 2 releases
OPPO announced this week a new generation of AR glasses: Air Glass 2. The main changes are: 1. Upgraded from last year's monocular to binocular; 2. The weight of the whole machine is maintained at 38g. This weight is almost rare in binocular waveguide all-in-one machine, so it is very concerned about its mass production; 3. optical waveguide uses a resin solution, which helps reduce weight to a certain extent.
AR｜Rokid opens the world's first brand flagship store
This week, Rokid's world's first brand flagship store officially opened, located in the Wensan Digital Life District of Hangzhou City. It integrates brand display, product experience, interactive communication and other functions, and will display Rokid's latest series of AR products.
AR｜Google develops finger rings for AR glasses
to5Google Revelation that Google is studying ways to control AR glasses with finger rings, wristbands or bracelets. According to people familiar with the matter, Google is testing the existing North Loop prototype and plans to replace the physical rocker with an optical sensor. Users can enter through gestures and clicks, supporting vibration feedback to confirm the input.
AR｜Apple UWB smart gesture shopping patent
USPTO has announced Apple a related patent for shopping related to UWB devices such as smartphones. It can assist shopping or interact with gestures. It can be a non-wearing terminal such as a smartphone, or a smart ring/ring, smart watch, smart glasses, etc.
AR｜Blippbuilder supports ML 2
Blippar announced that its codeless AR development platform Blippbuilder will support Magic Leap 2 and Quest Pro.
AR｜Assisted Reality Telemedicine Solution
RealWear, OPTAC-X and Kopin collaborate to develop Assisted Reality Telemedicine Solutions. OPTAC-X is a telemedicine provider, while RealWear is a developer of assistive reality glasses, and Kopin is a manufacturer of micro-displays and wearable headsets.
AR｜NBA All World will be launched next month
Niantic announced that it will launch the LBS AR game "NBA All World" globally on January 24 next year. It is reported that the feature of this game is that it integrates elements that young people love, such as NBA, virtual fashion, and other elements, allowing players to experience the fun of basketball while walking.
VR｜John Carmack resigned from Meta
John Carmack announced this week that he would resign as a Meta VR consultant and also issued an internal open letter expressing his dissatisfaction with Meta's internal promotion of VR work.
VR｜Meta launches App to App Travel
Meta begins to provide developers with a brand new App to App Travel API (with the V47 update). Simply put, it allows developers to provide one-click access to another VR application in their own VR applications, realizing fast and seamless switching of VR applications.
VR｜Quest Pro Anchor Cloud Sharing
Meta Quest Pro officially supports the anchor cloud sharing function, which is simply implemented through Shared Spatial Anchors. Previously, this feature is only available on Meta Quest Pro, and Quest 2 is expected to be supported early next year.
VR｜Reality Labs Vulnerability Bounty Rules
Meta updated the Bug Bounty Rules, added Quest Pro headset and Touch Pro controller to the device scope, and increased the bonus to up to $45,000.
VR｜Steam restores VR tag
Valve changed the page of the Steam platform VR game, directly deleted the sidebar that displays compatible VR headsets. After arousing dissatisfaction among netizens and developers, the tags "VR support" and "VR exclusive" were added again, which seemed to be to simplify the classification of VR games.
VR｜Sony opens PS VR2 pre-order channel
Sony official website officially opens PS VR2 pre-order channel. There is no need to apply for reservation qualifications. Anyone with a PlayStation account can directly book PS VR2.
VR｜Sharp will showcase the prototype of VR headset
Sharp announced that it will showcase the ultra-thin and ultra-clear VR headset prototype during CES 2023. In addition to VR prototypes, ToF sensors and more will be displayed.
VR｜Resolution Games' new work
Popular VR game developer Resolution Games released two new works this week, Spatial Ops and Racket Club. The former is a multiplayer FPS game that supports 1-8 players online and is currently in the beta version; this is a tennis game that supports 2v2 online gameplay and is expected to be released in 2023.
VR｜Resolution Games Update
Resolution Games has undergone a series of updates this week, among which Demeo launches Reign of Madness adventure, adding NPC Uhrak; launches derivative Demeo Battles, supporting PvP mode, is expected to be released in 2023; Bait! supports multiple people online, and supports up to 12 people; Blaston is changed to free, etc.
VR｜VR Foreign Language Learning Application Noun Town
A foreign language learning VR application called "Noun Town" is online. It supports learning 6 languages, including: Chinese, Spanish , French, German , Italian , and Japanese. Each language contains about 1,000 basic words or phrases, and basically they are learning while watching and practicing simultaneously.
VR｜Beat Saber Rock Music DLC
"Beat Saber" launches a new rock music collection DLC (Rock Mixtape), which includes 8 classic rock songs. It is worth noting that there is a nearly 9-minute track in this DLC (Lynyrd Skynrd's "Free Bird") that contains 3,000 notes in Professional+ difficulty.
VR｜Resident Evil 8: Village launched in February 23,
Capcom announced that it will launch the VR mode of "Resident Evil 8: Village" on February 22, 2023, and will be launched simultaneously with PS VR2.
VR｜Relieve VR vertigo OVR software release
VR enthusiast kurohuku recently released a VR overlay tool: OVR Locomotion Effect, currently only supports PC VR content. It is reported that this is a VR vignetting effect superposition tool. When you move in VR, the tool will superimpose the vignetting effect in your afterglow. The advantage is that it can alleviate VR motion sickness.
VR｜Virtual Desktop Update Version 1.25
"Virtual Desktop" begins to push version 1.25 update (test). This update will optimize the parallel computing power of GPU, and it is expected to improve the performance of PC VR streaming by 20%. It is reported that this update is mainly aimed at VR all-in-one, so it is only pushed for Quest and PICO devices.
Financing | BehaVR merged with OxfordVR, new financing
American VR medical service provider BehaVR announced that it had merged with Oxford University in the UK to merge with OxfordVR, and announced that it had received a US$13 million Series B financing. It is reported that this round of financing is led by Optum Ventures and Oxford University , and the funds will be used to develop evidence-based digital medical VR delivery platforms and provide comprehensive VR treatment solutions for psychological and behavioral health.
Financing | StretchSens received US$7.6 million in financing
Elastic motion catcher StretchSense completed US$7.6 million in Series A financing, led by Par Equity. It is reported that this round of financing will be used to develop new sensor technology , as well as expand the global market, and apply accurate gesture tracking technology to emerging fields.
Financing | iXRLabs received US$800,000 in financing
VR education and training program company iXRLabs received US$800,000 in seed round financing. This round of financing comes from angel investor in an infrastructure development industry, and the funds will be used to expand the scale of the product.
Financing | NEIGHBOR received new financing
Japanese 3D content developer NEIGHBOR received new financing (scale is not disclosed). It is reported that this round of financing is equity financing . The purpose of this round of financing is to recruit and strengthen organizational structure.
Financing | SBS Transit established XR Railway Training Academy
Singapore public transportation operator SBS Transit announced an investment of US$1 million to establish a railway training Academy to train employees with AR/VR technology. It is reported that the technology of the project will come from education/training provider NTUC LearningHub.
