Virtual & Augmented Reality and 3D News - Page 4

Apple has been in the headlines for a while when it comes to its upcoming AR or MR headset, with the company set to kick off its upcoming WWDC 2022 conference on June 8.

I recently reported on the company seemingly teasing its "realityOS" operating system for its upcoming headset, with a shell company by the looks of things... you can read more on that here. But now, analyst Ming-Chi Kuo has chimed in to waste down our expectations, and the hype.

Ming-Chi Kuo tweeted: "It still takes some time before Apple AR/MR headset enters mass production, so I don't think Apple will release AR/MR headset and rumored realityOS at WWDC this year. Apple's competitors worldwide can't wait to see the hardware spec and OS design for Apple's AR/MR headset".

Apple is gearing up for a huge event at its WWDC 2022 on June 8, where we are now seeing reports of references to "realityOS" in recent trademark filings.

Apple is still working on its AR headset, which has been plagued by issues in the last few months but ahead of its Worldwide Developer Conference (WWDC) we are ramping up for a tease of its AR headset on June 8. Vox Media product manager Parker Ortolani tweeted that "It cannot be a coincidence that the "realityOS" trademark owned by a company that seemingly doesn't exist and is specifically for "wearable computer hardware" is being filed around the world on June 8, 2022".

Ortolani shared not one but two filings to the United States Patent and Trademark Office, which he noticed was registered by a company called Realityo Systems LLC... which is probably just a shell company so that no one sniffs to close to Apple and discovers what's going on... until now. It's not the first time Apple has used a shell company for a product release: previous versions of its macOS share the same address as Yosemite Research LLC, the shell company hiding those macOS operating systems.

If you can imagine a not-too-distant dystopian future where crimes like VIRTUAL murder are punished in the REAL WORLD as REAL crimes... well, don't read this news... because that's exactly what some of the most influential people on the planet are talking about right now.

The United Arab Emirates minister of artificial intelligence, Omar Sultan Al Olama, said that he believes people who commit "serious crimes" in the metaverse should be punished as real-world criminals. Al Olama said at the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos: "If I send you a text on WhatsApp, it's text right? It might terrorize you but to a certain degree it will not create the memories that you will have PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder) from it."

He added: "But if I come into the metaverse and it's a realistic world that we're talking about in the future and I actually murder you, and you see it ... it actually takes you to a certain extreme where you need to enforce aggressively across the world because everyone agrees that certain things are unacceptable".

ZOTAC has just unveiled its new 4th Generation of VR backpacks with the introduction of the new VR GO 4.0 backpack. Check it out:

The new ZOTAC VR GO 4.0 backpack has been designed with the most advanced technologies, with some upgrades to the hardware, design, and more. We have an Intel Core i7-11800H processor (8C/16T), an NVIDIA RTX A4500 with 16GB GDDR6 memory, 16GB of DDR4 RAM + 512GB M.2 SSD + Windows 11 Pro pre-installed.

ZOTAC does provide the ability to upgrade your storage + RAM, adding in some top and side-loaded I/O ports. The company has used an "intelligent thermal design" with padded support and strap, as well as "sweatproof wearable materials". It wouldn't be a new VR backpack without ZOTAC's in-house SPECTRA 2.0 RGB lighting, with a battery good enough for up to 50 minutes of playtime.

The military's version of a metaverse doesn't quite align with Mark Zuckerberg and Meta's vision for a virtual world for us to inhabit.

Credit: Red 6

Using augmented reality (AR), two fighter pilots completed a high-altitude drill a few thousand feet high over the desert of California on May 10th. Flying a pair of Berkut 540 jets and donning custom AR headsets, the pilots were shown virtual refueling aircraft in the sky, allowing one of the pilots to practice a refueling maneuver with the virtual aircraft while the other observed.

The augmented and virtual reality (VR) technology, head-mounted displays and artificial intelligence (AI) powered environments are being developed by Red 6 and allow pilots to take part in virtual dog fights against enemy aircraft and more while pulling several G's. Red 6 is developing a platform that will allow them to display various scenarios in AR and VR, while using lower latency and higher reliability hardware than consumer-grade AR and VR headsets.

AMD's new low-power APU with Zen 2 CPU and RDNA 2 graphics has been spotted, this time inside of the Magic Leap "Demophon" augmented reality (AR) headset.

The new AMD Mero APU has been referred to as a "silicon copy" of Van Gogh, the APU that powers Valve's portable Steam Deck gaming console. AMD Mero packs a quad-core Zen 2-based low-power CPU, with an integrated RDNA 2-based GPU.

Locuza, who provides die shot analysis, says that Van Gogh has more IP blocks enabled -- including more Compute Vision hardware, or more PCIe lanes -- so Mero could be a custom variant of Van Gogh, made for the Magic Leap AR headset.

Amazon is building a headset or smart glasses that they're describing as "magical and useful, new-to-world XR consumer product" in new job listings, even calling it a "new-to-world smart-home product".

One of the job listings reads: "You will develop an advanced XR research concept into a magical and useful new-to-world consumer product". Another job listing says they're looking for someone for their "XR/AR devices" and that whoever secures the job will be part of a "greenfield development effort" that includes "developing code for early prototypes through mass production".

Amazon is after a UX designer, someone that will be tasked with "the core system interface along with end-user applications spanning from multi-modal interfaces to 3D AR entertainment experiences" and that applications should be able to "think spatially, with 3D design experience in motion design, animation [and] AR/VR, games" and more.

The project has been unveiled by ICON, a 3D printing construction company based out of Texas.

Named House Zero, the 3D-printed home is located in Austin, Texas, covering over 2,000 square feet. It has three bedrooms, two and a half bathrooms, and an attached dwelling with an additional bedroom and bath. To build the house's walls, ICON used its proprietary cementitious-based material, "Lavacrete," with steel to reinforce the structure and insulation.

"House Zero is ground zero for the emergence of entirely new design languages and architectural vernaculars that will use robotic construction to deliver the things we need most from our housing: comfort, beauty, dignity, sustainability, attainability, and hope," said Jason Ballard, co-founder and CEO of ICON.

Apple's upcoming AR headset has been in the headlines in a confusing way lately -- first, it was launching this year, then it wasn't -- and now it's completed important production tests, and could launch later this year.

The upcoming AR and VR headset from Apple has completed its second-phase engineering validation tests (EVT 2) which ensures that the prototype headsets meet Apple's strict design goals and specifications. The new report is coming from DigiTimes and its usual industry sources, who added that Apple's upcoming AR headset could launch by the end of 2022.

In the reports just weeks ago, the Apple AR headset was reportedly going through overheating problems and could be due to the two chipsets inside -- one of them being a 4nm chip, the other a 5nm chip -- both designed by Apple and made by TSMC (Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company). We could see a very limited launch, with small numbers by the end of 2022, but I guess we'll have to wait and see how this plays out over the coming months.

Sony has finally revealed the design of the PS VR2 headset. We've previously seen an early version of Sony's new 6-DoF Sense controllers, and now we have the final look of the headset to go with it. The Sense controllers have a distinctly round shape, and the new headset keeps the same aesthetic. Sony said the "orb" look of the hardware is meant to represent the 360-degree view that players experience inside the headset.

As you would expect, the PS VR2 headset shares the same styling as the PS5 console, with its white and black contrasting accents. Sony said that it put a significant amount of time and effort into refining the ergonomics of the headset. The weight of the PS VR2 is balanced between the headband and the visor to ensure it stays comfortable for long game sessions. The new headset will include a lens distance adjustment dial and a pupil distance adjustment to help you get the right fit for your eyes. Sony said the PS VR2 is a more compact device than the previous version despite the additional features like the IPD adjustment and the force feedback rumble motor. Sony also made a point to note that the new headset has improved ventilation.

"When I started to work on the design for the PlayStation VR2 headset, one of the areas I wanted to focus on first was the idea of creating a vent in the headset to let air out, similar to the vents on the PS5 console that allows airflow. Our engineers came up with this idea as a good way to allow ventilation and avoid having the lens fog up while players are immersed in their VR games. I worked on many design concepts to achieve this, and in the final design, you can see there is a little space in between the top and front surface of the scope that contains the integrated ventilation. I am really proud of how this turned out and the positive feedback I have gotten so far. I hope our PlayStation fans will also agree, and I can't wait for them to try it out."

- Yujin Morisawa, Senior Art Director, SIE