HTC VIVE opens its Metaverse offering, Viverse, and so does The MTN Group, Africa's largest telecoms provider.
Also, the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County and La Brea Tar Pits have teamed up with researchers from the University of Southern California to develop 3D animals from the Ice Age.
Read on!
HTC VIVE debuts its new metaverse offering with Viverse
HTC VIVE's latest additions to its Metaverse platform, Viverse, allow attendees to enter Viverse via browsers of devices such as tablets, PCs, smartphones, and the VIVE Flow, HTC VIVE's VR glasses.
"VIVERSE is the next chapter of our VIVE Reality vision. Viverse provides seamless experiences, reachable on any device, anywhere. It is enabled by virtual and augmented reality, high-speed connectivity, AI, and blockchain technologies," said HTC's Co-Founder and Chairwoman Cher Wang.
Viverse is built around open standards like WebXR to ensure an open experience for users. Users can enter Viverse through VIVE Browser and VIVE Connect, the cross-platform space that allows users to enjoy other worlds, apps, games, and other content.
As the Metaverse continues to expand, the XR industry must look at ways to keep its citizens safe. The company has introduced Vive Guardian - parental controls to help protect children from inappropriate behaviours and contents in the virtual world.
HTC also plans to launch VIVE Create - a browser-based, code-free XR content creation platform.
MTN Group hosts Africa's first Metaverse
The MTN Group, Africa's largest telecoms provider, announced it had purchased 144 plots of digital real estate on Metaverse platform Ubuntuland. The announcement says it is the first time an African company has purchased digital real estate.
The MTN Group has not revealed how it will use its digital land but could use it for digital showrooms, brand awareness campaigns, or immersive customer outreach.
Ubuntuland, Africa's first Metaverse, is developed by Africarare and Mann Made Media. NFTs play an integral role in the Ubuntuland ecosystem. They encourage users to monetise and sell digital assets such as art, music, and videos on the platform. The service runs on the Ethereum blockchain to power its $UBUNTU cryptocurrency token, allowing Ubuntuland users to pay and play.
Ubuntuland's users and businesses can host digital showrooms, shops, wellness rooms, concert stages, film festival spaces, and more on the 204,642 plots of digital land across the platforms. Ubuntuland plans to introduce avatars, a decentralised autonomous organisation (DAO), and blockchain-based play-to-earn immersive gaming experiences later this year.
Scientists resurrect extinct animals using AR technology
The Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, La Brea Tar Pits, and researchers from the University of Southern California (USC) have teamed up to develop a series of scientifically-accurate 3D animals from the Ice Age.
According to the team, scientific accuracy is often an afterthought when creating artistic works depicting prehistoric life. As a result, many museums and exhibits may often feature inaccurate representations. So, the organisations partnered to develop scientifically-accurate 3D models of 13 legendary animals brought to life using AR technology.
"We think paleoart is a crucial part of paleontological research. That's why we decided to publish all the scientific research and artistic decisions that went into creating these models. This will make it easier for other scientists and paleoartists to critique and build off our team's work," said Dr Davis, lead author of the study.
You can check the study out here.
"Our approach allows us to create scientifically accurate artwork for the Metaverse without overcommitting to details - where we still lack good fossil evidence," added La Brea Tar Pits' senior author of the study and assistant curator Dr Emily Lindsey.
The AR models are available via a handful of apps, including Snapchat, Instagram, and Sketchfab.
That's all for now, see you next time!
