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Army Shifts Testing Of HoloLens-Based AR Gear To 2022

From uploadvr

The United States Army says it recently conducted a test of its Microsoft HoloLens-based AR platform and will move further testing of the hardware to 2022.

The Integrated Visual Augmentation System or IVAS is based on Microsoft’s HoloLens AR technology and the contract to supply the United Stated military with the technology represents a major vote of confidence in Microsoft’s platform and a key testing ground for the company to develop ruggedized AR tech. A report from Janes suggested the Army is “essentially doing a reset of” the program to figure “out what is the appropriate timeline and where is the technology.”

“The Army is fully committed to its partnership with Microsoft to advance specific technologies to meet operational requirements and maximize warfighter impact,” a press release from the Army states. “The Army conducted an Adversarial Electronic Warfare and Cybersecurity Test in September 2021, and plans to execute testing regularly throughout FY22. This decision allows the Army and Industry team to continue to enhance the IVAS technology platform ensuring Soldiers achieve overmatch in Multi Domain Operations. The Army intends to continue developing and fielding this revolutionary, first-of-its-kind technology in FY22.”

The U.S. Army provided a project timeline with May 2022 listed as the month for an operational test and September of 2022 for the first unit equipped with the hardware. Here’s the full timeline as provided by the Army:

Project Timeline:

  • OCT / NOV 2020: Soldier Touchpoint 3 (STP 3) & Distinguished Visitor Days
  • DEC 2020: Rapid Fielding Decision
  • JAN 2021: Vehicle Integration VE2 – Stryker & Bradley
  • FEB 2021: Cold Weather Test
  • MAR 2021: Production Award
  • MAR 2021: Tropical Weather Test
  • APR 2021: Soldier Touchpoint 4 (STP 4)
  • JUL 2021: OT Entrance Criteria User Jury
  • SEP 2021: Vehicle Integration VE3 – Bradley
  • SEP 2021: Adversarial Electronic Warfare & Cybersecurity Test
  • MAY 2022: Operational Test (IOT)
  • SEP 2022: First Unit Equipped (FUE)

Magic Leap 2 Teased For 2022 With Taller Field Of View

From uploadvr

Magic Leap teased the first images of its next generation AR headset, Magic Leap 2.

A blog post by Magic Leap CEO Peggy Johnson features an image, pictured below, comparing the field of view of the first and second generation AR headsets. While Magic Leap 2 seems to have small gains in horizontal field of view, vertically the augmentation of your vision should be far more significant with the new device. The company is said to have raised another $500 million to roll-out the second generation product focused toward business markets in 2022. “Select customers” are “already leveraging its capabilities through an early access program,” according to the company.

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We can also see in the images of the new device that it apparently keeps its wired design. The original Magic Leap One headset shipped starting in August 2018 priced at $2,295 with a single handheld controller and wired computing puck accompanying the lightweight glasses.

magic leap 2

Here’s the first generation device for comparison:

Apple, Facebook, and Microsoft are just a few of the companies working to develop next-generation AR headsets geared toward different use cases. A new generation of VR headsets are also likely to have advanced AR passthrough modes likely to overlap with the feature sets of systems like Magic Leap 2. We’ll be curious to see, then, what price Magic Leap’s second generation system arrives at when it launches, and how it holds up against other products available at the time it ships.

“Magic Leap 2 will be the industry’s smallest and lightest device built for enterprise adoption,” Johnson wrote. “This more advanced headset boasts critical updates that make it more immersive and even more comfortable, with leading optics, the largest field of view in the industry, and dimming – a first-to-market innovation that enables the headset to be used in brightly lit settings, in addition to a significantly smaller and lighter form factor. These updated features lend themselves to achieving our goal of all day, everyday use, which is what the enterprise market has been asking for – a device that you can put on your head in the morning and wear all day long.”

Magic Leap appointed Johnson as CEO in July 2020 after former CEO Rony Abovitz stepped down, citing a need for the company to pivot to a new ‘focused’ direction.

How NASA Astronauts Use VR & AR Aboard The International Space Station

From uploadvr

A recent blog post from NASA detailed various ways that VR and AR technology is used aboard the International Space Station and back on Earth to prepare astronauts for take-off.

According to NASA, VR/AR tech is becoming an increasing strong staple in life aboard the ISS, often used to help astronauts complete tasks or activities in new or easier ways. There’s nine examples in the full blog post, alongside some photos showing a few VR and AR headsets you’re probably familiar with.

The most common headset pictured in the blog post is the HoloLens, Microsoft’s enterprise-only AR headset. The HoloLens has been used in projects such as Sidekick, which used high-definition holograms to help show crew members 3D schematics and diagrams while they work. It was also used for T2 AR, a project that will help guide astronauts through maintenance tasks for their space station treadmill, avoiding the need for real-time communication with ground crew back on Earth.

It’s not all AR though — VR is also adopted across the ISS. Some astronauts are pictured using Oculus Quests to test whether adding VR environments might improve astronauts’ exercise bike experience, while others are pictured using Oculus Rift and other headsets for a variety of tasks like operating robotic arms or piloting space vehicles.

The post also mentions The ISS Experience, a multi-episode immersive VR series by Felix & Paul Studios and TIME Studios, filmed over multiple months aboard the ISS. NASA says the series  gives people on Earth insight into life aboard the ISS, along with potentially sparking ideas and inspiration for further research and improved conditions for astronauts. The series won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Interactive Program recently, and the first two out of four planned episodes are available now through the Space Explorers app for Oculus Quest and Rift.

You can read NASA’s full blog post, detailing all the ways they use VR and AR technology aboard the ISS, here. 

Apple CEO Tim Cook: AR Is One Of ‘Very Few Profound Technologies”

From uploadvr

In a recent interview with YouTuber iJustine, Tim Cook called himself “AR fan #1” and said he thinks it’s one of “very few profound technologies” that have the potential to permanently embed themselves in day-to-day life.

The comments on AR, prompted by a question from Justine, start around the 9:15 mark. Here’s a transcription of what he had to say (emphasis is our own):

You know, I am so excited about AR. I think AR is one of these very few profound technologies that we will look back on one day and, ‘How did we lives out without it?’ And so right now you can experience it in thousands of ways, using your iPad or your iPhone, but of course those will get better and better over time. Already, it’s a great way to shop, it’s a great way to learn, it enhances the learning process. I can’t wait for it to be even more important in collaboration and so forth. So I’m AR fan #1. I think it’s that big.

Simple things today that you can use it for, like if you’re shopping for a sofa or a chair or a lamp, in terms of experiencing it in your place… We’ve never been able to do that before until the last couple of years or so. And that’s at the early innings of AR, it will only get better

This is far from the first time Cook has been publicly bullish about AR. In April, he said it was “critically important” to Apple’s future, following on from comments two months earlier about how he thinks AR could one day attract as big of an audience as the iPhone. As far back as 2016, Tim Cook was telling Apple investors that AR will be huge but also take some time to get right.

Five years on, AR has come a long way but still has a ways to go. Facebook’s recent Ray-Ban smart glasses pave the way for that company’s public AR efforts, but Apple has yet to dip its toes into AR hardware beyond iPhone and iOS integration. It’s reported that this could change next year, with Apple rumored to launch an AR-VR headset in the second half of 2022 for anywhere between $1000-$2000 or more.

Facebook Reveals $299 Ray-Ban Stories Smartglasses With Camera And Assistant

From uploadvr

After a week of teases, Facebook and Ray-Ban are finally announcing Ray-Ban Stories, a new line of smartglasses with built-in cameras and Facebook features.

Check out the full announcement video including an introduction to the kit from Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Rocco Basilico of Ray-Ban brand owner Luxottica below.

Ray-Ban Stories Specs And Features

As expected (and essentially confirmed in a leak earlier today), Ray-Ban Stories are sunglasses that resemble traditional Ray-Ban models with small cameras embedded in the top corners of the rims. Like the Snap Spectacles before them, you can use these cameras to instantly capture point-of-view footage, as was demonstrated by Facebook VP of VR and AR, Andrew Bosworth, in a tease earlier this week. The glasses don’t, however, feature any sort of VR or AR functionality.

The dual 5MP cameras capture up for 30 seconds of video or images. An LED lights up when the glasses are recording or taking a photo. There’s also built-in Bluetooth support and a 3-microphone audio array allowing you to connect to your phone to take calls or listen to apps.

As for Facebook features, the glasses are integrated with the Facebook Assistant, allowing you to operate the glasses with your voice. You can also use the Facebook View companion app to share media through other services including non-Facebook applications.

Ray-Ban Stories Price And Release Date

Ray-Ban Stories are launching today in the US, UK, Canada, Italy, Ireland and Australia and start at $299 USD, the same price as the entry-level 128GB Oculus Quest 2 VR headset. You can also pick them up with Polarized lenses starting at $329 or Transitions lenses starting at $379. The glasses come in three models named Wayfarer (Wayfarer L), Round and Meteor and are available in five different colors.

Are Ray-Ban Stories AR Glasses?

In a nutshell: no. AR technology has a spatial understanding of the world around you and then uses that information to project virtual images into your environment. Ray-Ban Stories won’t do this, and they won’t even have an overlay interface. They do, however, represent a form factor that Facebook is no doubt keen to one day reach with an AR headset; current devices like the Microsoft HoloLens 2 and Magic Leap One are bulky and unfit for all-day use. Facebook Reality Labs, the division of the company responsible for AR and VR technology, is using prototype AR glasses not intended for consumer use, but it will be some time before the company brings a true consumer AR headset to market.

What do you make of Ray-Ban Stories? Will you be picking up a pair? Let us know in the comments below!

Apple Uses AR To Tease Announcements For Sept. 14

From uploadvr

Apple teased its next announcement event for Sept. 14 with an impressive demonstration of AR.

Tapping the Apple symbol on the announcement webpage launches a 3D object that, on an iPhone at least, can be positioned and resized in an AR view while casting a glow into the physical environment. If you move your iPhone closer to the symbol it reveals itself to be a portal with the text 9.14 floating inside. Using the latest iPhone 12 Pro with the teaser provided a pretty impressive demonstration of AR tracking technology — with the system robustly segmenting out people into the background with pretty believable occlusion. We know Apple is working on an advanced VR/AR headset but the company is known for cancelling projects late in development.

The event comes within days of a tease by Ray-Ban that’s expected to detail a pair of perspective-capturing Facebook smartglasses. While the device may be absent advanced AR features, we expect overlap between what the glasses do today and what features will be inside future eyewear from Facebook. In what’s likely a more near-term proposition than slim AR glasses, Facebook is pursuing a so-called “Quest Pro” high-end standalone that’s likely to incorporate more sensors for more robust tracking. Microsoft is already on its second-generation standalone AR headset (and working with the U.S. Army on a ruggedized version) while Google is unlikely to sit out the effort to power robust AR glasses. Pokemon Go maker Niantic is working on AR glasses and Snapchat recently launched an AR development kit.

The Apple announcement event on Sept. 14 will kick off at 10 am Pacific time.

Facebook/Ray-Ban Smartglasses Reveal Coming On Thursday

From uploadvr

It looks like we’ll be getting the first details about Facebook’s collaboration with Ray-Ban on a pair of smartglasses later this week.

Ray-Ban’s official website just posted a tease with the date 09/09/2021, suggesting we’ll get more details this Thursday. We can see what’s likely a silhouette of the glasses themselves but, other than that there’s little in the way of details.

The page does allow users to sign up for a ‘Release Notification’, though it’s not clear if the smartglasses might actually launch this week, or we’ll simply get a date for later down the line. Last year Facebook said the glasses would launch in 2021 and, more recently, CEO Mark Zuckerberg reconfirmed they’d be the company’s next hardware launch.

Yesterday Facebook VP of AR and VR, Andrew Bosworth, teased a reveal of the glasses by showing off what looks like a point-of-view recording feature while on vacation with Zuckerberg. You don’t actually see the glasses themselves in the video, though.

Despite Bosworth’s tease, we’re not expecting this Ray-Ban collaboration to include any true augmented reality features, instead likely resembling one of the earlier generations of the Snap Spectacles (which, funnily enough, have already evolved into a pretty impressive prototype AR headset). That said, we’ll need to see the official details on Thursday to know what the device is really capable of. Facebook is working on its own, more advanced AR prototypes, but we don’t expect to see those for years yet.

What are you hoping to see out of the Ray-Ban and Facebook smartglasses? Let us know in the comments below.

Facebook Teases Ray-Ban Smartglasses Recording In New Video

From uploadvr

It sure looks like Facebook is teasing its upcoming smartglasses, made it partnership with Ray-Ban.

A recent tweet from the company’s VP of AR and VR, Andrew Bosworth, features a video of the executive on what looks like a vacation with Facebook CEO, Mark Zuckerberg. But Bosworth’s tweet includes an emoji using sunglasses and the video appears to be filmed from his perspective. You can even see in some portions of the video that Bosworth has two free hands, meaning he isn’t holding a phone.

Facebook Ray-Ban Smartglasses Teased?

It’s very likely that this is demonstrating a recording feature on the confirmed Ray-Ban smartglasses, then. Last year we reported that the device would launch in 2021 and, even though the company hasn’t reconfirmed that’s the case, Zuckerberg did recently state that the glasses would be Facebook’s next major hardware launch. The ongoing chip shortage may have pushed Facebook’s plans further down the line of course.

Plus the timing works out for a tease – it’s very likely that Facebook fully reveals the glasses at its Facebook Connect developer conference in October. The company rebranded the event from Oculus Connect last year, noting at that time it would include a greater focus on AR as well as VR.

That said, it doesn’t sound like these smartglasses will feature any real AR capabilities – certainly not on the level of HoloLens or Magic Leap. Instead, features like this supposed point-of-view recording are likely to be the major sells for the device.

There are other possibilities of what could be being teased here, of course. Bosworth could be recording from Project Aria, Facebook Reality Lab’s internal AR smart glasses used for prototyping. But there’s no confirmed consumer plan for that device, so it’d be a strange tease. He could also just not be teasing anything at all, but that seems unlikely.

What for you make of this possible Ray-Ban smartglasses tease? Let us know in the comments below!