News & Views

With August’s news that they had collateralized a funding round with their patent portfolio, we regret to inform you that this looks like the beginning of the end, or maybe even the middle of the end, for Magic Leap. Having raised approximately $2.6 billion, including April’s Series D round of $280 million, it seems that Magic Leap may soon join a long list of over-hyped and under-delivering xR companies stretching back to VPL Research’s stunning bankruptcy in 1992.

Varjo™ Technologies, a leader in industrial-quality xR headsets, has announced general availability for its XR-1 Developer Edition HMD.

Rune Jensen, Microsoft’s General Manager for HoloLens, gave us the opportunity to “crawl around inside the device.” The conversation got deep, literally looking into the construction design constraints and choices and the performance enhancements that HoloLens 2 provides.

The main problem with virtual reality? It’s almost as humdrum as real life. Just a few years ago, virtual reality (VR) was being showered with very real money. The industry raised an estimated US$900 million in venture capital in 2016, but by 2018 that figure had plummeted to US$280 million.

Big Data is a big deal these days. With an ever-growing multitude of devices and websites collecting and collating data ever minute, many organizations are looking for better ways to use this data in business decision-making and planning. However, sometimes it still takes a human in the loop to find the insights and revelations that the data promises to provide.

Trimble announced that it is taking orders for the Trimble® XR10 with HoloLens 2 system, a worksite-ready mixed-reality solution that enables workers to visualize 3D data on project sites for easier and more efficient planning, collaboration and reporting.

UL, a leading global safety science company, announced today that it will pursue a new Standard, UL 8400, addressing safety for augmented and virtual reality (xR).

VRgineers has announced that Dassault Systèmes’ 3DEXPERIENCE platform, including its popular applications CATIA, SOLIDWORKS, ENOVIA, DELMIA and SIMULIA, is now compatible with the XTAL VR head-mounted display. Engineers are now able to utilize a powerful VRgineers' solution capable of work in an immersive environment in the popular 3DEXPERIENCE platform.

Aircraft de-icing is a critical aspect of winter operations in cold-weather climates. A system developed by the Lithuanian VR developer Inlusion, trains airport workers to correctly de-ice aircraft.

Having identified a vital services gap in the rapidly expanding xR business sector, several Bay Area Virtual and Augmented Reality experts have launched ImmersivEdge Advisors, a new consultancy to provide strategic services for businesses in immersive technology. With a team history of results for clients on four continents, advising companies ranging from Apple to Xerox, ImmersivEdge has the ‘Tomorrow Now’ expertise needed by start-ups and rapidly growing companies.

xRS Week 2019 xRSWeek.com) wrapped up October 18, 2019 in San Francisco. More than 300 business leaders saw and herd about new applications for xR in every aspect of business, from visualizing key data to training for welders.

NUS researchers have developed a novel bodysuit and mixed virtual reality game that simultaneously engages a player's senses of sight, hearing, touch and smell to complete challenges. This novel technology could be used to recreate realistic scenarios for training and education purposes.