Three minutes a day to learn about the hot spots in the VR AR industry.
A quick look at today's news
Vision Pro deliveries were delayed until March, but in-store availability remains.
Echo VR fans host servers at their own expense to keep them afloat.
The Meta Reality Labs research project demonstrates unimaginable AR capabilities.
Meta: Expressing "optimism" about Vision Pro, the company wants to be the "Android" of the AR VR world
Apple released a new promotional video for Vision Pro.
How ZEISS optical inserts work in conjunction with Vision Pro**.
Due to lack of funding, the Lynx R-1 has not yet begun mass production.
Songjiang Enterprise released VR dynamic training simulator.
Lang Lang Piano Metaverse** will be held in Chengdu soon.
Stephen Chow enters the metaverse and the "Nobody" series of NFTs he participated in the design will be launched soon.
Vision Pro deliveries were delayed until March, but in-store availability remains.
The Vision Pro pre-order began on January 19, and many people started waiting early to get ready to buy it, and those lucky enough to grab it were given a home delivery date of February 2, which is the official release date of the headset. But it didn't take long for the delivery estimate to start to be delayed. Based on a sample of Apple stores across the U.S., home delivery pre-orders are currently expected to be from March 4 to 11, a little over a month after the launch date. This is the case for all three storage sizes of the headset.
But oddly enough, in-store pickup orders are still relatively easy to find within a few days of the Vision Pro's launch. A sample of Apple stores in the 10 most populous cities in the U.S. shows that most cities still offer at least some in-store pickup. Of course, this is not the case everywhere. In places like New York City, Philadelphia, and San Jose, nearby stores are completely unable to pick up their orders.
Currently, the furthest date that investigators have seen for in-store pickup is Feb. 5, suggesting that Apple will not accept any pickup orders after Feb. 5. Perhaps this is because the company can't guarantee a pick-up date. Interestingly, in-store orders persisted even though delivery orders were delayed until March. Apple may guarantee a certain number of devices in each store, while keeping a portion of the stock only for delivery orders.
Echo VR fans host servers at their own expense to keep them afloat.
Recently, it was reported that the once popular but no longer serviced VR multiplayer game "Echo VR" is being kept alive through an active community, and some fans are continuing to operate by hosting servers at their own expense.
Echo VR used to be one of the most successful VR games. Between 2017 and 2023, Ready at Dawn, a development studio acquired by Meta, has built a sizable fan base. PC VR and Meta Quest 2 allow players to glide in zero gravity, introducing a form of movement to the game that is perfect for virtual reality. The two game modes, Echo Arena and Echo Combat, have even found their place in the world of eSports.
At the beginning of 2023, there was bad news: studio Ready At Dawn announced that it would be shutting down the Echo VR multiplayer servers on August 1, 2023. However, thanks to the enthusiastic dedication of the community, the game has been "resurrected" again. Two months after the game's servers shut down in August 2023, a completely homegrown relay appeared on GitHub, enabling fans to host their own servers.
In response to this new development, several small communities have formed around the game. The largest of these is the Echo VR Lounge, where many members voluntarily host servers at their own expense. Now, Echo VR Lounge offers servers all over the world and currently has over 7,000 members.
The Meta Reality Labs research project demonstrates unimaginable AR capabilities.
Recently, researchers at Reality Labs, Meta's XR division, just demonstrated a way to use augmented reality to interact with the real world through a project. According to the introduction, this method makes it possible to virtualize real objects so that they can be interacted with in real time. In particular, the method not only digitizes the object, but also seamlessly erases its real counterpart, creating an unimaginable fusion between the real and virtual worlds.
Researchers Mohamed Kari, Reinhard Schütte, and Raj Sodhi refer to this concept as "scene response," an approach that creates "the optical illusion that virtual action affects a physical scene."
In previous AR presentations, virtual objects seemed to be suspended in the room, or attached to a wall, and they would follow the physics of the room, such as rolling on a table and then falling correctly when they reached the edge - except that the AR content was completely virtual. However, digitizing real objects in space, giving users virtual control of them, and at the same time erasing real objects from where they were at the same time is a very interesting innovation. Now, this technology is largely just a proof of concept, but as the technology evolves, it's not hard to imagine that it will soon actually be built.
Meta: Expressing "optimism" about Vision Pro, the company wants to be the "Android" of the AR VR world
Recently, Meta is now pinning its hopes on the launch of Vision Pro to help promote its VR headset business. Wall Street**, citing "people familiar with the matter," said Meta hopes Vision Pro can "reinvigorate its $50 billion metaverse effort — a direction that has not yet been widely embraced by consumers."
The article explains that Meta executives, including Mark Zuckerberg, are "optimistic" about the launch of Vision Pro. They believe that Apple's entry into this space will validate their efforts in existing businesses and attract more consumers.
Wall Street** said Meta employees see Quest and its software ecosystem as Apple's main alternative in the space, filling the role that Google's Android plays in smartphones. Meta executives and industry insiders say the battle in the future will focus on software manufacturers, who will play a huge role in developing apps that attract more users.
In addition, although the Vision Pro has not really launched yet, the product has already "influenced Meta's thinking". The company is reportedly more focused on mixed reality now than it was initially.
Apple released a new promotional video for Vision Pro.
On January 28, local time, Apple officially released a new promotional video for Vision Pro. As the official release date on February 2 approaches, Apple has shown the product in more detail for users.
*, you can see that users can easily select and switch between the Vision Pro app interface through eye tracking, gesture recognition, and other interactions, with close-ups of both eyes and hands. The headset displays the image that can be pulled in and out, zoomed in or out with gestures. In addition, since there is no need to touch the buttons, you can operate the screen even while eating.
*Shows that users can wear Vision Pro to clean up their housework, operate the device at any time to make calls**, have a conversation with friends, and interact with family members at any time while working - this is the embodiment of Eyesight's capabilities.
How ZEISS optical inserts work in conjunction with Vision Pro**.
Earlier, we learned that when using the Vision Pro, users who need corrective lenses can buy ZEISS optical lenses. Recently, some VR enthusiasts shared the process of pairing ZEISS optical inserts with Vision Pro.
According to **, after attaching the lens to the Vision Pro, the user must put the headset back on and press the digital crown to continue. Next, Vision Pro will ask the user to look at the unique ZEISS optical insert pairing** in the lens package. Obviously, the ** can also be found in the Health app, but it is not clear exactly how to find it. This is very similar to an app clip. At least from the point of view of **, it seems that there is no way to skip the pairing process when installing a new lens.
After the Vision Pro has checked and paired the lenses, the user must recalibrate the eye tracking – the process is the same for users who do not need corrective lenses. Once the new optical plug-in is installed, the optical ID must also be reconfigured. The whole process takes about two minutes. Interestingly, if the user pairs multiple lenses, the system will automatically recognize the lenses being used when the user switches between them to select the best setting.
Due to lack of funding, the Lynx R-1 has not yet begun mass production.
It is understood that startup Lynx is still working to bring its first mixed reality headset to market, but it needs more funding to support it to start mass production.
According to a blog post by founder Stan Larroque, a batch of 300 devices arrived at Lynx in August last year and was considered "commercially viable" despite "minor issues" such as scratches, poor plastic finishes and unusable microphones. The next batch of 500 so-called PVT (Production Verification Test) units should not have these problems, and production is currently scheduled to begin in mid-February 2024, followed by series production immediately.
According to the blog post, they originally planned to start mass production at the end of 2023. "However, we decided to take a more cautious approach and postpone the PVT phase until the necessary funding is secured. It said the startup is currently in the process of raising the necessary funds and that the process should be completed between January and February. Only then will the start-up start production of PVT units, which is scheduled for February 10, and actual mass production will begin in March.
Overall, the financial side has been "challenging" and that consistently not getting enough funding has been a "source of frustration," Lynx wrote.
Songjiang Enterprise released VR dynamic training simulator.
China Imitation Intelligent Technology (Shanghai) Co., Ltd. recently released a new product - VR dynamic training simulator. Designed for flight training, the simulator uses virtual reality technology, combined with cockpit hardware and a six-degree-of-freedom motion platform, to provide pilots with a highly realistic simulation environment.
According to the technicians, the simulator is available in a variety of models, and the pilot can choose according to the needs of the mission. During the training process, it can be used for individual operation training or team cooperative drills, and the simulator also has the function of generating different training environments, such as terrain environment, meteorological environment settings, etc., to help pilots improve their ability to cope with various geographical environments and extreme weather. In addition, the simulator can also be used in firefighting, medical, rescue and other fields.
It is understood that the multi-station VR simulator is networked with the command console system and the 3D situation display system through the distributed computer network system. The command console system is the command and control center of the whole system, which is responsible for managing the training simulation system, planning, command and control, system monitoring, training ruling, data recording and evaluation, and the 3D situation display system can provide the commander and visitors with the virtual situation of the training scene in real time through the large screen.
Lang Lang Piano Metaverse** will be held in Chengdu soon.
On the evening of February 1st, the "Lang Lang Piano Metaverse" will be held in the multi-functional gymnasium of Chengdu Dong'an Lake Sports Park, and the ** will present a number of heart-warming tracks at the same time, it will also integrate cutting-edge hardware configuration and rich performance forms, and connect time and space with **, dedicated to Chengdu citizens A special New Year's gift, the new generation of singer "Little Ghost" Wang Linkai will serve as a special guest.
Recently, the organizers held a press conference in Chengdu, and some details of the first meeting were revealed on the spot. It is reported that the "Lang Lang Piano Metaverse" will be integrated with the popular metaverse digital technology concept through the innovation of guide technology, and use industry-leading visual communication technology to amplify the details of Lang Lang's playing fingering, which will be presented on every big screen at the performance site of Dong'an Lake Stadium, truly achieving a delicate visual experience of the venue, crossing the boundary between reality and virtuality, and allowing the audience to get close to the essence of Lang Lang's playing.
Stephen Chow enters the metaverse and the "Nobody" series of NFTs he participated in the design will be launched soon.
Since NFT set off a new wave of digital art, the single sheet has been speculated to millions of yuan. But it was only a flash in the pan, and in just a few years, the NFT market has become a double world. After a long silence, Stephen Chow, the king of comedy, will also enter the game, and the new NoBody NFT will be launched on February 1, 2024.
It is understood that Nobody is an AI&Web3 project invested by OKX Ventures, and as early as December 2023, Stephen Chow will be in the MV of Ouyang Jing's new song "Nobody" on ins**. In August 2023, Stephen Chow publicly announced his entry into Web3+AI and interacted with OKX for the first time. Its founding team said, "We will be committed to creating NoBody IP, combining Stephen Chow's past successful experience and integrating new mechanisms, bringing NoBody IP into the public eye through good works, and breaking the barriers that Web3 native IP could not enter the mainstream Web2 market in the past." ”
The sudden entry of Stephen Chow's NFT into the already cold rice has undoubtedly brought a glimmer of expectation to the industry. At the same time, there are many companies such as McDonald's, Mengniu, Moutai, etc., which use the sale of digital collections as an important channel to enhance the brand tonality. Although digital collectibles have lost popularity in the crypto market, there are also some new ways to play.
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