What was covered in the VR/AR Association's European summit? Biometric XR tools, discussion about the metaverse's framework, and more.
Also, Canon released a lens for shooting 3D XR video, and Verizon showcases 5G with a metaverse treasure hunt.
Keep on reading!
The VR/AR Association's Global European Summit roundup
The VR/AR Association's Global European Summit, held from 29th to October 1st, united over 300 speakers across numerous sessions, keynotes and virtual booths. The event featured ideas on extended reality solutions and practices.
HP's New technology Business Development Manager, Cécile Tezenas du Montcel, opened the event with a speech on tools to incorporate groundbreaking 'intelligent' biometrics for HP VR Headsets. HP's platform allows XR developers to produce adaptive immersive experiences that react to a wearer's physical response in real-time.
Many speakers revolved around the metaverse, by no surprise after Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg turning the theme into a trending topic. For example, a discussion hosted by Marcin Klimek, Chief Executive and Co-founder of ExplodedView, sparked debate on whether it should operate as an open or closed platform. The panellists called for a global standard to stop large companies from monopolising the metaverse, similar to the internet.
In a key panel exploring 5G XR use cases across military, medical, and entertainment verticals and the future of 5G-powered XR solutions, Leslie Shannon, Head of Ecosystem and Trend Scouting at Nokia, spoke on the importance of cloud computing in the emerging 5G XR landscape. According to her, 5G is the "necessary link" for edge computing enabled networks to offload data usage from XR devices. 5G is "taking the processing off the end device and moving it into the network."
Canon launched a lens for shooting 3D VR video
Canon has announced a dual fisheye lens that can shoot 3D 180° video when paired up with the EOS R5 camera. With an estimated retail price of $1,999, the camera company will start shipping the lenses in late December 2021.
The Canon RF5.2mm F2.8 L Dual Fisheye lens will debut alongside a subscription-based software utility and Adobe Premiere Pro plug-in "for completing the post-production process." Canon says the lenses were engineered with an interpupillary distance of 60mm to deliver about 190 degrees field of view onto a single full-frame sensor.
Canon's cameras are in widespread professional use, and the company is pitching a "simplified workflow" for processing captures with its hardware.
Verizon showcases 5G with a metaverse treasure hunt
After Apple rolled out its latest smartphone models, Verizon Communications dipped its virtual toes back into the metaverse with an augmented reality activation. The multimedia experience offered a chance to win an iPhone 13 and leveraged spatial audio and gamified social media.
The centrepiece of the campaign was a treasure hunt called H1DD3N. It included a recently released music track from pop singer Halsey and digital imagery from the FriendsWithYou art collaborative. Participants who found a hidden number 13 among the virtual imagery, and shared it on Twitter, were given a chance to win the new iPhone.
"AR allows us to meet our consumers in a new metaverse, reimagining our worlds and how we engage on a deeper level," said Andrew McKechnie, Chief Creative Officer at Verizon.
Verizon's AR and audiovisual experience builds on its past efforts to showcase 5G technology with immersive content.
That's all for now, see you next time!
