Several AR Links

Interesting use of language in here.

When the glasses you "dream about" are a ways away, doesn't mean version one isn't imminent.. 

Facebook Confirms AR Glasses

TechCrunch Sessions... AR



Oculus big plans to expand in greater Seattle Area

Verizon to offer new Video Streaming service

This is pretty interesting. This would probably be an ad-driven model for profit. That is one of the reasons that the Yahoo acquisition is important to it.


TechCrunch

Verizon CEO Lowell McAdam confirmed the company’s plans to launch an over-the-top streaming service later this year, according to a report from Variety, citing remarks the CEO made at a telecom conference in Boston this week. Verizon (which owns TechCrunch parent company AOL), will use the combined platform of AOL and Yahoo – and their 1.3 billion users – to test the new platform, McAdam said.

The company expects to close on its acquisition of Yahoo mid-June, so the over-the-top service could arrive any time after that.

MobiTV raising money, doing interesting things

They raised money, and they're going to use it to stream pay TV over mobile networks...

Providing those users looks like a great place to be.

Not all about mobile, but enough about mobile.

TechCrunch

It plans to use the funds for further development and marketing of its MobiTV ConnectTM Platform — a product for pay TV and on-demand TV providers to stream broadcast TV and offer other services, like catch-up and recording, without the need of a set-top box.
(It also can be incorporated into products like the Fire TV stick from Amazon, or Apple TV, to add live TV services to these.)

******

Nooney said that MobiTV anticipated all of these changes and that it would eventually try to shift its own service to other kinds of screens beyond mobile. “But the shift to IPTV has happened slower in the U.S. compared to other markets, so we shifted our focus, too.”

One place where MobiTV has been testing its newer service is in India, where it’s working with Reliance on its 4G service Jio to deliver a TV offering with 350 live channels, catch-up TV for seven days and DVR recording capabilities.

Nintendo NX

Another thing to watch more closely. 

This is good noise. ( But keep it basic! )

Been watching Pokemon Go since last year around here, because of Microvision's interest and position in augmented reality. Pokemon Go is also connected to Nintendo. 

The Nintendo NX has been interesting for a long time (following this thing for a few years now.) It is interesting because since the conversation about it began, there was talk of blurring the lines between "console" and "mobile." -- The way I see it, that involves primarily the screen you play on -- and the ONLY way to blur that line is with projection.

It's now clear, that people outside Nintendo are starting to see the Nintendo NX. It's interesting timing, coinciding with the release of Pokemon Go.

SoftBank's Masayoshi Son could have gotten more from a ten-billion investment here than a 32 Billion investment in ARMH. When it gets to the internet of things, everything tiny that needs a screen is going to need MVIS.

From TechCrunch   (more at the source)

The Nintendo NX is one of the most long-teased console releases I can ever remember, especially as an officially acknowledged thing. Speaking on his company’s quarterly earnings conference call yesterday (via IGN), Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot shared some tantalizing impressions about the NX: It’s “really great,” and it should “help the industry continue to grow,” particularly by bringing “more casual players back” into the console gaming fold.

* * *

Guillemot’s comments don’t reveal what the console will look like, but do give us clues about who it’s intended to impress: casual players. Nintendo’s biggest console success, the original Wii, did well primarily because it struck a chord with a non-traditional console gaming audience, thanks to accessible gameplay and unique use of motion controls for participatory play.

The Wii U had the potential to repeat, but since the heydays of the original Wii, the attention of the casual game player has shifted — to mobile. I wouldn’t read too much into Guillemot’s vague statement, but the rumors suggesting Nintendo’s device combines portability with living room chops make a lot of sense if indeed the idea is to recapture the company’s casual appeal.

Magic Leap about to produce millions of AR devices -- UPDATED

I've scraped this because I don't want to lose it. The source is TheVerge.

This DOES appear to have MicroVision fingerprints, but it it not confirmed. I have been watching Magic Leap closely for updates -- but again, there isn't confirmation yet.

The key terms I watch here is that the images are "projected onto the retina." 

Also at Mashable

Also at IBTimes

At TechCrunch

At TechInsider    (UPDATE -- good article) 

Magic Leap, which has raised half a billion dollars from investors including Google, has been building its technology in secret for years. But it's getting closer to show us its version of mixed-reality computing. "We're actually gearing up to build millions of things," said Rony Abovitz, the company's president and CEO, speaking at the WSJD conference in Laguna Beach, CA. The company is using part of an abandoned Motorola factory in south Florida and is now developing its manufacturing processes, he said. "We're not ready to announce when we're shipping, but it gives you a signal that we're not far," Abovitz said.

Little is known about Magic Leap's device, but Abovitz described it as a small, self-contained computer that people will feel comfortable using in public. It is believed to involve retinal projection, and evolved out of surgical research. (Abovitz's previous business involved medical devices.) And when it arrives, Magic Leap will likely compete with Microsoft's HoloLens, which is now taking applications for its development kits.

"ANYTHING YOU CAN DO ON A SMARTPHONE, YOU CAN DO ON MAGIC LEAP."

Magic Leap has a working software development kit and has invited several teams of developers to its Florida offices to begin making apps, and is regularly holding hackathons there, Abovitz said. Among the apps built for Magic Leap so far: a simple game that lets you throw a digital ball back and forth, and an app that projects a hand and a digital stove to teach you how to make macaroni and cheese.

The ultimate vision for Magic Leap is to create "a broad-based platform for visual computing," said Rio Caraeff, the company's chief content officer. That's one reason why Google CEO Sundar Pichai sits on its board — and why the company was valued at $1.2 billion last year, not counting its $542 million investment. "Anything you can do on a smartphone, you can do with Magic Leap," Caraeff said. "Where the world is your screen."

The company also showed a video today meant to mimic what you'll see when you're using the device. One clip of 10 seconds or less showed a robot named Gimbal hiding under a desk; the other showed a model of the solar system projected on a desk. Neither was anywhere near as dramatic as the shooter that the company revealed in June.

Augmented Reality Image Problem?

Check the article out at the source. Basically, Augmented Reality has enormous potential. 

MicroVision leads in Augmented Reality Patents.

From TechCrunch

To date, Augmented Reality (AR) has been referred to as “the biggest technological advancement of our lifetime” by some, a mere “gimmick” by others or, worst yet, the next iteration of the QR code. The divisive term was introduced more than 25 years ago (although elements of AR technology have been used in science labs around the world since the mid-20th century), but if there’s one thing AR proponents and its naysayers can agree on, it’s the simple fact that AR, as we know it today, has an image problem.

...AR, in all its many forms, will be at the forefront of the next revolution in the way we connect with the world around us.

...Education provides perhaps the most tangible example of the power of AR. AugmentedReality technology in the classrooms — from today’s tablet- and mobile device-based approach to tomorrow’s heads up displays — empower the sort of visual and contextual learning proven to improve information retention to the extent that an estimated 80 percent of visual content is retained by short-term memory compared to an estimated 25 percent for spoken content.

...Take for example APX’s Skylight that offers a hands-free, AR-powered solution to empower workers across various fields to directly connect with each other and their environments to create a more efficient workforce. Companies like Daqri and WaveOptics are creating devices to enhance visual knowledge of the work environment while keeping both hands free.