AR/VR startups

Music in Virtual Reality – Wave paves the way for the Metaverse

November 21, 2021 From affinityvr

Virtual Reality is taking the entertainment industry by storm, becoming more and accessible for small players in the market with each passing day. This trend has been made possible, in part, by a host of new creator-focused ventures that are making it easier to produce VR-ready experiences for a variety of audiences.

One such venture is Wave (formerly TheWaveXR), a live performance production startup that is making it possible for artists big or small to launch interactive performances online. The startup has gained massive popularity since they started in 2016, having gone onto host megastars like The Weeknd, John Legend, and Justin Bieber.

Image Credits: tirachard from Adobe Stock

As music enters the metaverse, startups like Wave are overhauling the way artists and their audiences interact – but this transition is not without its pitfalls.

Music in Virtual Reality – How Wave has changed Live Performances

Wave follows a tech-intensive approach to event broadcasting, providing artists with a haptics suit and a team of VR producers to help create live performances that are rendered in real time.

The start-up seeks to empower artists with small or scattered fanbases to entertain their audience without incurring the costs of live tours and concerts. Their unique avatar-based performance output speaks for itself, attracting even international stars to the platform. The result is a truly interactive event for fans and artists alike, unbound by the constraints of reality.

Image Credits: alexkoral from Adobe Stock

Wave is proof that virtual reality concerts are not a niche novelty, but a viable alternative to real-life performances. The ways in which it empowers artists are manifold:

1. Wider Audience

With music going global, the typical fame trajectory of an artist has changed – they are no longer needed to garner a significant domestic audience in order to break out to other countries. This still poses the problem of furthering engagement with an artist’s audience beyond periodic releases, a role that live performances would traditionally play. With VR performances, artists can reach audiences they may never be able to interact with otherwise.

2. Reduced Cost of Production

Live tours are a massive logistical undertaking, requiring many people with varying skillsets to come together as a single well-oiled machine. For artists, this directly translates to hiring and paying a large staff to ensure production quality is upheld. Upcoming artists either rely on (often exploitative) record labels to bear these costs, or pay from their own pockets. In either case, the huge upfront costs often prove prohibitive to new players, limiting an artist’s reach severely.

Image Credits: Elroi from Adobe Stock

Enter VR – all that an artist requires today is some equipment and expertise to put up live performances, often with a small team and a lean budget. This lets them enjoy a far larger share of the revenue as well, which is crucial given the meagre payout from streaming platforms.

3. Increased creative freedom

Art is the ultimate form of self-expression; empowering musicians with greater control over how their performances look and feel is the step in the right direction, for creators and audiences alike. With VR as another tool in their repertoire, small artists can make their performances just as spectacular as widely-known popstars.

Virtual reality frees artists of physical constraints, with the extent of their imagination being the only real limit. Artists can perform in graphically-enhanced environments – even on simulations of different planets, or an abstract liminal space. With VR reducing the resource gap between artists at different levels of career success, creating a memorable experience is finally becoming more a matter of ingenuity than economics.

Image Credits: Tierney from Adobe Stock

WaveVR takes a step back – the future of metaverse music

In 2017, Wave had launched the WaveVR on Steam and Oculus, for musicians and audiences to enjoy performances live via VR headsets. Unfortunately, the application was discontinued earlier this year. This was partly due to the discontinuation of Google Poly, on which the application’s VR rendering system was based. These technical difficulties as well as slower than anticipated adoption rates forced the company to mothball their rendering model and focus instead on increasing their reach.

While the start-up has promised to restart their VR wing upon securing the requisite resources, it is likely that this decision will cost them the position of the market leader. The app’s discontinuation is a temporary setback in the wider metaverse music scene. Ventures the world over are moving towards immersive experiences, a shift accelerated by Facebook (now Meta)’s brand overhaul. For its part, Wave has demonstrated how powerful the premise of VR-powered performances is, sowing the seed for a future where the technology and the art form will exist in perfect synergy.

Facebook Changes Its Name To ‘Meta’: The First Ever Incorporated Metaverse Company

November 8, 2021 From affinityvr

On 28th October, Mark Zuckerburg doubled down on his commitment to be the face of the oncoming metaverse era by signing off on the move to rebrand the parent company, Facebook Inc., to Meta. The hour-long keynote presentation was unveiled at the Connect 2021 conference, where Mark goes over all the fundamental changes the rebranding brings along, as well as exploring his and his company’s vision moving forward. The social media giant is bringing the limelight to their increasing investments and commitment into AR/VR technologies and the growing size of the Facebook Reality Labs. This move has multiple implications, from marketing and finance to technological, and has caused a stir amongst critics and journalists alike.

Facebook aka Meta Company – Highlights

The biggest and clearest sign of a shift in the company’s focus was highlighted by the medium of the presentation itself. Mark Zuckerburg gave the entire presentation and walked the attendees of the conference through all the changes in a serene VR environment. After introducing the rebranding of the parent company to Meta in the first 10 minutes, the rest of the feature was about how the platforms will look, feel and behave as they incorporate VR and AR as the building blocks. The keynote went over multiple pressing concerns of how Meta’s metaverse will incorporate interactions, entertainment, art, merchandising and marketing, and gave an insight into the vision of the future by Zuckerburg and team.

Image Credits: Tegan Reyes (on behalf of Meta)

From its inception, the parent company Facebook Inc. (now Meta), had represented itself as a social media and advertising platform. With the rebranding exercise, the company now identifies itself as a social technologies and metaverse company. This rebranding has no direct implications on the portfolio of applications and platforms (Facebook, Instagram, Whatsapp and other subsidiaries) the company manages, as their name remains unchanged.

In Mark’s interview with the Verge, he states that Meta has become an ecosystem of applications in the last few years, and having their flagship application – Facebook, share the name has led to confusion amongst its users and investors. A similar move had been made by Google in 2015 when they rebranded the parent company as Alphabet. The re-branding is a push to separate the identities and create a clearer distinction between the platforms and the parent organisation.

Image Credits: Tegan Reyes (on behalf of Meta)

While the rebranding is a subtle way to distinguish parts of the social media conglomerate, this transition is more evident in their financial reporting, as moving forward Meta Inc. will report on their two distinct wings – ‘The Family of Apps’ and ‘Reality Labs’. As the portfolio of Meta increases the share of AR/VR tech (Oculus and Reality Labs) investments and the growing workforce in the vertical, this rebranding is a clear signal of the internal shifts in the company that have been years in the making.

After-Meta: Public Reception

The rebranding exercise has stirred a myriad spectrum of views on the matter, the majority of them are leaning on the negative side of the spectrum due to the failing reputation of Facebook, both as a platform and a parent company. With increasing scrutiny on the internal workings of the organisation’s decision making since the ‘Facebook Papers’ leak, many speculate that the rebranding might just be a gimmick to distance the company from the tanking reputation of the platform.

While these rumours were debunked by Mark earlier and were purely speculative, others point out that this move, and the bigger focus of the company to make metaverse a reality, is motivated by wanting to reduce the company’s dependency on competitors such as Google and Apple. As companies that own the app stores on which ‘The Family of Apps’ are downloaded through, Meta has to pay a large 30% commission on its in-app sales to the operating software owners, which in Mark’s words are “stifling innovation and growth”.

Image Credits: Tegan Reyes (on behalf of Meta)

Beyond the reputational issues, re-branding is also being seen with the lens of an embarrassing debacle. The name ‘Meta’ is already an incorporated organisation dealing in AR tech, which the marketing team behind this shift got to know about after their big announcement, and are now trying to salvage the situation by offering $20 million for the naming rights.

What could’ve been a large and eventful day for metaverse and AR/VR enthusiasts around the world, a beacon of the inevitable virtual future, has turned into another rainy day (in the series of rainy days) for the tech giant.

4 Augmented Reality Key Trends 2021: Future-Oriented Technology

October 13, 2021 From affinityvr

In the words of Dave Di Veroli, head of strategy and innovation at VMLY&R,

“AR is no longer a niche. It’s mainstream, and it’s something that every single brand will need to figure out how they’re going to use it.”

Given the recent global scenario where the whole world has come to a halt, digital tech has proven to be a powerful force both to survive and thrive amidst the chaos and changing conditions, no matter the nature of disruption.

The year 2020 witnessed unprecedented growth in augmented reality. The immersive tech’s valued at over $15 billion and the number of AR users is estimated to grow up to 2 billion by 2024.

Introduction:

Augmented reality is a future-oriented technology that provides an interactive, immersive, and highly visual experience to the viewer by superimposing digital world information upon the real world of the viewer. AR has wide-scale applications, and in the right hands, ensures the fastest and enhanced ROI.

AR blurs the line between the real and the virtual by blending interactive visuals into the real-world environment. Although, the whole AR journey isn’t as smooth as it looks. It has its own challenges and problems. AR content needs to be adaptable and flexible to look natural in any kind of unpredictable real-world environment generated by the user’s smartphone camera, unlike virtual reality where the 3D content remains consistent. In movies and TV shows, you get to spend hours generating each frame, but with real-time AR experience, you have only 16 milliseconds to render the 3D content.

Despite the challenges, AR is firmly finding its feet and by having a look at the current trends in augmented reality, one can get a pretty clear idea about its wide-scale applications.

Trend #1: AR In Retail & E-commerce

Retail & E-commerce has benefitted first-hand from augmented reality and has become a battleground for AR as brands and companies are sweating it out to compete with each other based on this lifelike technology’s application. Let’s take a look at some of the successful implementations of AR in Retail & E-commerce:

1. Amazon:

There’s a reason why everyone knows the name Amazon. The reason being their ability to fast-recognize the trends and working on its implementation. With AR, Amazon provides a viewer with an enhanced shopping experience. Using one’s smartphone device camera, a customer can easily view the products in 3D, in hyper-reality. This improved product visualization and ‘try-before-you-buy’ feature, has already shown an 11% increase in the conversion rate, with customers spending almost 3 times more than they did earlier.
Apart from this, virtual fitting rooms have also made the whole shopping experience much more convenient for the customer. A customer can buy products right from the comfort of their homes without having to sacrifice the hands-on feel.

2. Nike:

Nike has constantly been harnessing the power of AR and the newest way of incorporating this immersive tech into their footwear has come in the form of “Nike Fit.” This is a foot measuring feature which allows a customer to measure the size of their feet as accurately as possible. This feature has been successfully implemented both on the app as well as in-store. Using this feature, a customer needs to scan for the right shoe size just once.

This information is then stored in the customer’s ‘NikePlus’ profile and can be accessed anytime for future shopping.

This feature has not only made the shopping experience convenient but also, provides the customers with higher product satisfaction. By getting an accurate measure of one’s feet, a customer gets the right pair of footwear which shall ensure that there will be fewer returns.

3. Ikea:

With its highly immersive visual experience, AR has massively reduced the guesswork and unsurety involved in the shopping-decision making, especially in the case of online shopping. This doesn’t just apply to apparel. IKEA, a multinational furniture company has come up with its innovative AR implementation that has changed the whole furniture and appliance shopping experience.

IKEA’s app allows customers to view furniture and other products in their own surroundings using AR. This allows a comprehensive look at the products, from all angles and a customer can make sure that it’s the right fit for them before buying.

AR-application is not only limited to the online experience. For the in-store AR experience, smart mirrors and RFID tags make sure that a customer leaves with a memorable experience.

With its highly accurate and precise ability to approximate the real world, AR has ensured a firm grip over the customer’s mind. AR is an ever-developing technology and it won’t be wrong to say that as AR matures, the comfort and convenience of the users will only increase.

Trend #2: AR in Navigation

Augmented Reality has immense scope when it comes to navigation. AR can be used to solve several long-standing problems with traditional navigation.
Apple recently introduced a powerful tool for outdoor AR navigation called Geo Tracking, which utilizes street view to ensure the best positioning.
Google’s AR Live View walking directions for Google Maps is another example of AR enabling precise and accurate navigation. With its ability to overlay landmarks and an expansion of Live View to more cities, AR has changed the whole perception of navigation.

Apart from this, AR also enhances In-store navigation, which stands to improve greatly from advances in this immersive tech. This allows a customer to find exactly what they need.
To enhance this experience, several tools can be used like QR codes, bluetooth beacons, ceiling antennas, etc.

Trend #3: AR in Events & Tradeshows

AR in Events & Tradeshows creates highly interactive and engaging experiences. With its 3D visualization, AR comprehends the whole idea of the brands and companies in a much ideal way, which allows for better bonding and connection with the viewers. This can be done via WebAR or dedicated apps.

Expodle × XS Worldwide × BEML:

Expoodle and XS WORLDWIDE joined hands for the 7th International Military-Technical Forum “ARMY 2021” organized at the Patriot Expo(Moscow Region) to deliver an AR experience for BEML. The AR experience created for BEML’s Arjun ARRV tank proved to be a resounding success at the Indian Pavilion and the two together paved the way for a new-age immersive experience resulting in enhanced engagement and multifold visitor interaction.

Here’s a look at the user experience on the show floor:

Trend #4: AR IN SPORTS

Augmented reality has entered the sports arena too, and with its 3D rendition and immersive visual experience, it has already shown fruitful results. AR can be used to create avatars of sports players and the viewers can interact with these avatars to get a feeling of actually getting to talk to their favorite players and idols. One of the best parts about an AR experience is that it is easily accessible and can be experienced using a simple smartphone device.

One of the best and latest examples of AR in sports events is Volkswagen’s new ID.4. Volkswagen of America partnered with U.S Soccer to provide an exciting fan experience to all the soccer fans, while at the same time promoting their newly launched car.
This WebAR experience allowed the fans to check out the new ID.4 electric car and experience the U.S Soccer event via the car. All a user needed to do was to scan a QR code placed on the car and just sit back and witness the magical WebAR experience.
The animation features the players from the U.S National Soccer Team, both men and women, and the animation depicts them celebrating after scoring a goal.

Future of Augmented Reality

The future of augmented reality can be viewed with a perspective that AR in itself is the future of all tech, marketing, and advertising. Its value is expected to rise to $25 billion by 2025, and the more people become aware of it, the more the number of AR users will rise.

AR-application allows your company/brand to enter the market early and stay at the forefront of the competition.

Where Does Expoodle Come In?

AR was considered to be the wine in Eiffel Tower, but we are planning to make it simple, affordable, and accessible to all the brands and companies who can in turn provide this to the end customers.

Augment towards the limitless ’blurring the lines’ of virtual and real. To improve your business outcomes and stand out among your competitors, now’s the time to get your hands on AR.

Expoodle applies digital innovations to the physical world to make the whole immersive experience unforgettable. With our innovative marketing solutions, we turn possibility into reality.

Expoodle focuses on democratizing the AR space with its experiential marketing solutions.

Start Your AR-Journey Now!

Want to start your AR journey? Get in touch with our AR experts and leave the rest to us.

We are one of the top ar companies in India and we offer customized end-to-end solutions for creating, testing, and deploying AR-based marketing solutions based on the client’s needs. For more information or to get in touch with us, Contact us now.

Forbes Forecasts VR as the ‘Next Big Thing’ in Meetings & Conferences

August 29, 2021 From affinityvr

The adoption rates for Virtual Reality are rising every day, the technology moving closer to occupying a place of prominence in the mainstream with each new use case. This meteoric trajectory has caught the attention of many business publications and pundits, including sectoral forerunners like Forbes.

Forbes has recently taken stock of the Meetings & Conferences landscape, labelling Virtual Reality the ‘next big thing’ set to disrupt the market. The hybrid style of working that has become prevalent in the last few months has spurred an influx of players in the digital communication market; while employers continue to weigh their options, it is clear that Work-From-Home is at least partially here to stay.

VR stands to revolutionize this hyper-connected way of working. In the linked piece, Forbes details the improving perception of VR Tech in corporate spaces; while Virtual Reality has had little difficulty establishing itself in the entertainment space, its uptake in business has been slower owing to the significant shift in workflows required. The benefits of using VR in the workplace, however, are many – and corporations are warming up to the idea of making Virtual Infrastructure a part of their holdings.

Image Courtesy: aijiro from Adobe Stock

VR in the Office

A Virtual Reality office may appear to many a phenomenon still in the making. Yet, the VR Tech heavyweight Facebook has already beaten everyone to the punch – silently releasing the ‘Facebook Horizon Workroom’ on their Oculus Quest 2 as a free app.

FHW marks the third iteration of virtual workspaces by the global giant. The application allows users to enter virtual office meetings with up to 50 other users, share their screens, operate in-app presentation boards, and interact via 3D customizable avatars. Given VR’s capacity for mimicking reality, the creation of a shared virtual environment such as an office promises to offset the traditional costs of leasing and maintaining physical premises.

Going forward, corporations can now go fully-virtual without facing the repercussions of lacking a shared workspace – especially those associated with cultivating a shared mission among teams. Large organisations operating internationally can also use VR to mitigate the logistics of flying their leadership to common destinations for important internal seminars.

Image Courtesy: DragonImages from Adobe Stock

VR Conferencing and Meeting – NextMeet

VR’s ability to create interactive and immersive environments lends itself to large conferences as well. Events such as scientific symposiums, auto shows, ComicCon etc. were previously inaccessible to most people living outside metropolitan pockets. Even in the big cities, a variety of other logistical challenges, including the paucity of space and accessibility of environs, diminished potential attendee pools.

However, through VR, these events can be made open to all. Virtual attendees can become a part of these experiences through true immersion, enjoying a far richer experience than live camera broadcasts and visitor streams can accord. As the number of visitors rises, advertising revenue also increases – offering a much higher RoI to event organizers and sponsors. On all fronts, virtual reality events promise a win-win situation.

Avatar-based platforms like NextMeet are building on this premise, providing their users a host of immersive and interactive virtual conferencing and meeting venues. In NextMeet, users can free-roam across a range of interconnected virtual spaces, and interact with each other using realistic spatial audio. Event organizers, at their end, can also tailor the virtual environment to streamline event messaging, rope in product sponsors, or even reinforce brand recall.

Image Courtesy: NextMeet

With the growing case for VR events, offices and conferences, the time is ripe for organizations to switch to fully-digital operational models. These cost-effective yet as-rich-as-real-life experiences are the pragmatic way forward for gatherings of all sizes.

3 Major Differences Between VR Camera And 360

August 27, 2021 From affinityvr

Virtual reality is a crucial filming reality that takes users into a digital world. Still, the 369 videos are live-action. The 360 videos would capture 360-degree cameras that can view on 360 devices device-related with various apps, computers, or smartphones, where the 360 cameras are the technology that continues to grow and improve. The 360 videos are more affordable, and the differences between the 360 video or VR have wowed. The experiences are significant to enjoy the adventure, and it provides a 1080p HD video camera that works great and new reality tech.

Discuss Virtual reality camera?

It is the experience that replaces the real world with an alternate one. It gives the interaction with the alternate world with six degrees of freedom that is always required.

In VR, there have pretty many years of popularity in the gaming industry. Some of the applications were outlines in the VR. You will see that the VR environment will engage the ordinary five senses that include taste, smell, touch, sight, and sound. Virtual reality relies on the degrees of freedom offered.

Discuss 360?

It has a spherical video that allows the viewer to look in all directions and has no freedom to interact with or move through the imagery.

In fact that you might watch someone on your phone while scrolling through the Instagram feed, using a finger to move and scroll the feed to get the 360-degree perspective. Perusing YouTube videos and using the mouse to gain 360 views must be wearing a VR headset to feel immersed while video playing.

While aside from sound, you lack other sounds. You are missing other senses that are lacking absolute freedom. Not being able to move in a 360-degree environment, you are not having the six degrees of space required for VR. While using 360 videos, you are not allowed to interact with the environment.

Differences between Virtual reality and 360?

	Virtual Reality	360 video
Photography	Digital environment	Live-action
Mobility	It is related to the world whereas, you can walk around as long as you are connected with a computer and not tethered.	It gives a 360-degree view from the camera’s perspective limited by the filmmaker’s camera movements.
Video timeline	Here the video can progress a series of experiences that can be simply existing or that the user can explore	Here the video can progress a timeline created by the filmmaker’s camera’s movements.
platforms	The complete kind of experience is needed to require a VR headset that can tether.	Here the 360 compatible players include a YouTube, including a desktop and mobile.
Story	The story is a filmmaker where it does not control the viewer’s physical location in the environment and must be capture attention and helps to motivate the user to travel in the direction of the events of the story.	The story is a filmmaker controls the camera’s physical location but must capture the viewer’s attention that helps to direct the story as well.

Conclusion:

Hopefully, the details related to the article named 3 Major Differences Between VR Camera And 360 would help you understand the topic carefully. Some of the details associated with the differences between the VR camera and 360 are mention in the article. After knowing the differences, you would understand that both play a significant role in their perspective and are being used essentially in the world nowadays. Markets are being successful with the experience with VR and 360 cameras and videos. To hold onto these experiences, you need to have knowledge related to VR and 360.

Forbes Forecasts VR Meetings & Conferences as the ‘Next Big Thing’

August 26, 2021 From affinityvr

Image Courtesy: aijiro from Adobe Stock

VR in the Office

Going forward, corporations can now go fully virtual without facing the repercussions of lacking a shared workspace – especially those associated with cultivating a shared mission among teams. Large organisations operating internationally can also use VR to mitigate the logistics of flying their leadership to common destinations for important internal seminars.

Image Courtesy: DragonImages from Adobe Stock

VR Conferencing and Meeting – NextMeet

Avatar-based platforms like NextMeet are building on this premise, providing their users with a host of immersive and interactive virtual conferencing and meeting venues. In NextMeet, users can free-roam across a range of interconnected virtual spaces, and interact with each other using realistic spatial audio. Event organizers, at their end, can also tailor the virtual environment to streamline event messaging, rope in product sponsors, or even reinforce brand recall.

Image Courtesy: NextMeet

Indian Government’s Digital Drive Helps AR/VR Startups – Here’s How

July 31, 2021 From affinityvr

India has been taken over by the startup craze in recent years, with multiple unicorns emerging in less than a decade. Their meteoric rise has created massive ripples across the country, tapping into a dormant entrepreneurial spirit. Educational institutions are not untouched by this wave, with top institutes like IIM, IIT and NIFT launching their own incubator and accelerator programs.

This increased interest in fostering the next generation of tech leaders and disruptors has resonated with the government as well. Recently, the Ministry of Industry formalized its support for NIFT Kangra in setting up an incubator at the institute, complementing the state-of-the-art AR/VR design studio on campus.

Image Courtesy: s_l from Adobe Stock

Owing to low rates of digital literacy in the country, budding tech like AR/VR has struggled with establishing a strong foothold in Indian markets barring a few urban pockets. Low per capita income and general market volatility have added further drag to the adoption of these technologies, making the space hospitable only to innovators & investors with a large appetite for risk.

Institutional and organizational support signal the end of this uncertainty. Government bodies are taking note of the ways in which AR/VR technologies are changing everyday life, and responding with their own initiatives to drive the change pan-India.

Government schemes for AR/VR startups in India

Since the flagship Aadhaar project – creating common database stacks of public information, in order to better dispense services – the Indian government has taken a keen interest in developing the country’s eGovernance infrastructure to improve the reach and efficacy of its programs. The result has been a marked boost in the nation’s digital literacy, from streets vendors adopting eWallets to a whole new cohort of micro investors and speculators.

To spearhead the nation’s digitization drive, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) has launched ‘Digital India’ – an initiative supporting tech-based SMEs and startups in their ventures. The goal, set by the current Prime Minister, is ambitious – carving out a trillion-dollar share for India from the global digital economy. While MeitY focuses on digital literacy across the country, state-level programs are approaching the flipside of the coin – fostering innovators and investors.

Image Courtesy: daniilvolkov from Adobe Stock

One such project supporting the growing tech-sphere is the VARCoE initiative by the Odisha government. Aimed at developing IIT Bhubaneshwar as a virtual reality hub, the VARCoE initiative is an important display of confidence by state authorities in the promise of ARVR technologies. Many more government bodies have been quick to follow in Odisha’s footsteps – a trend that has important implications for consumers and creators alike.

Future of VR in India

The number of Internet users in India has risen from 30 million in 2011 to a whopping 700 million in 2021. Along with the growing awareness of AR/VR tech and the improved ease of doing business in the country, state-sponsored digital drives are setting the scene for investors and innovators to take a leap. There are presently 250 AR/VR startups in the country, with many more on the way. Their offerings span a variety of sectors, with proptech, edutech and virtual conferencing being prominent amongst them.

In the virtual events & conferencing space, especially, offerings like NextMeet are filling the gap created by video conferencing tools. By completing the immersive experience of a VR-compatible 3D platform with spatial audio and avatar-based UI, these mass-market offerings are a great example of how a fertile startup ecosystem will drive user-centric innovation across domains.

Just as competition grows in the market, state governments too are working towards establishing themselves as frontrunners of the AR/VR revolution. These trends are shifting the power back in the hands of the consumer, bringing forth new options and opportunities with every passing day. All said, it is an exciting time to be an ARVR enthusiast in India.

5 VR Tools and Software to Try Today

July 23, 2021 From affinityvr

Whenever virtual reality is mentioned in a conversation, people commonly picture big and bulky headsets. Yet headsets and hardware are only a part of the story – VR tools and software are the essence of the virtual experience. Quite literally, the code is the magic behind the machinery.

As interest in AR/VR tech increases, so does the influx of entrepreneurs making VR tools. VR solutions have permeated every industry, and are trickling down fast into consumer markets. Here’s a shortlist of VR tools you can try today:

VR Meeting and Conferencing – NextMeet

Virtual meetings were already catching on before the pandemic gripped the world and catalysed the mass adoption of remote working tools. Just as quickly as the world caught on to using online meeting applications like Zoom, Microsoft Teams and Google Meet, there has been a growing understanding that multi-feed UIs and flat audio outputs are not ergonomic. This gap has led to a drop in participants’ engagement.

Image Courtesy: NextMeet

NextMeet is an avatar-based immersive platform that enables real-time virtual conferencing and networking in a 3D environment. A mass market offering, this platform is PC and mobile-friendly. Offering virtual meeting spots, seminar halls, expo spaces and even an art gallery, NextMeet mimics the hallmarks of in-person communication to make online interaction less dreary.

With ergonomic features such as realistic spatial audio, a 3D interactive environment with customizable elements, and advertising spaces, NextMeet is an especially effective VR tool for corporate meetings as well as events. The virtual reality software is available for free download.

2. VR for Asset Design – unityXR

We’re living in the golden age of digital assets, and the evolution of new forms of creative output and the tools used to produce them are two sides of the same coin. Unity 3D has been the industry leader in digital assets creation software for a long while, and they have brought their expertise to XR tools as well. Unity XR is an expansion to the Unity graphic engine that allows users to develop their own AR, VR and XR assets.

Unity XR offers users a variety of features such as Native VR support for devices, API tool kit compatibility with all major VR headsets, and the ability to develop XR modules easily. The UI is simple, intuitive, making it easy for designers to start creating in XR. Unity also offers forward compatibility, making it one of the best VR software for PC to download.

Creative designers with XR expertise will soon be high in demand. Foreseeing this, Unity is also offering classes in AR/VR/XR to help designers onboard the tech trend.

3. VR for Real Estate – VirtualSpaces

Despite the sweeping changes made across the world by the digital revolution, the real estate sector has lagged behind on adopting future-ready practices. Pictures and videos don’t typically occupy prime status in the sector – real estate is driven by personal inspection, consumers only believe it if they see it. This tendency has influenced everything from design practices to sales activities.

Image Courtesy: thisisengineering from Pexels

Virtual Spaces is a VR tool for the real estate industry, catering to both ends – clients and developers. This mobile VR app helps its users perform all steps of property development and client servicing remotely. Using VR makes it possible to show properties to buyers from the safety of their homes, crucial in an increasingly remote world. Unlike pictures and videos, immersive virtual reality can render any property without loss of perspective or detail, reducing logistic costs and sales conversion time for designers, developers and agents.

While the full potential of this app is yet to be realized, it can be accessed upon request on the Oculus Store.

4. VR for Presentations – Present4D

For every business pitch, the presentation is an essential part of the communication. Demos and eye-catching presentations boost client interest; in a world where the movement of people can be a public health hazard, VR presentation tools can help deliver the immersive experience of a live demonstration without compromising safety.

Present4D is VR software for PC that helps its users in creating 360 based virtual presentations. The output can be customized for the client, covering as wide a ground as interactive documentaries and school presentations. The VR tool is especially suited to create product demonstrations using 360 pictures and videos. Present4D is easy to use, and comes with preinstalled graphic modules for the ease of new users.

The VR software is available to solo users as well as enterprises. While its price may restrict its use to businesses, it offers a free license for non-commercial uses that solo users can avail.

5. VR for Education – HistoryViews

Of all sectors, VR has taken the firmest roots in education. With distance learning being the need of the hour, current online meeting applications are falling short of supporting long-term student-teacher engagement. VR tools for education are a great middle path between the personal connection of classroom teaching and the convenience & safety of distance learning.

HistoryView is a unique VR-ready archive for schoolgoing children, focusing on their cultural and extracurricular growth. This VR tool takes children on virtual visits to important cultural sites and museums around the world – taking the concept of distance learning one step further with virtual field trips. Accessible via PCs, Chromebooks and VR devices, HistoryView makes it possible for students to broaden their horizons without being bound to their location on the map.

Image Courtesy: Norma Mortenson from Pexels

As AR/VR solutions diversify, more and more users are joining the fold. While many of these solutions may be a tad too expensive for the casual user, there is no dearth of free VR tools and trials that can help consumers make up their mind before making a purchase. Until VR tech reaches critical momentum in terms of costs and applicability, these tools and software will continue to be a critical gateway to the market – a win-win for new users as well as VR tech developers.

Apple Music launches Spatial Audio for all ft. Dolby Atmos

July 21, 2021 From affinityvr

The world’s favourite entertainment and computer technology giant, Apple, has broken new ground on mass releasing cutting-edge technology. On May 17th, they announced the launch of spatial and lossless audio for all subscribers of Apple Music for their existing library of songs. This mass launch was powered by the spatial audio format Dolby Atmos, the only other format in the market for spatial audio being Sony 360 Audio.

Apple Music, in the same press release, announced its massive plan of overhauling its libraries for higher quality audio. They plan to release close to 75 million songs with lossless audio – 20 million of which will be done by the end of the year; on the other hand, spatial audio upgrades will be available for all titles.

The upgrade in audio quality of one of the largest music libraries of the world is big news, for reasons that will affect much more than just the music industry.

What is Lossless Audio and Spatial Audio?

Lossless Audio and Spatial Audio are two formats of audio files, which elevate the music listening experience in different ways. Lossless Audio refers to hi-fi audio formats, which can record all the audio ranges in a track without any compression losses. The hype around a good wax vinyl record is due to the lossless quality of its playback. Due to technical reasons such as instruments used in old records being lost to time, Apple is releasing a limited number of lossless audio files.

Spatial Audio, on the other hand, refers to audio files that can produce a surround sound through speakers – creating the effect of multiple and distinguishable audio sources, just like real-life performances. Spatial Audio has been a large part of the gaming and cinema industries, but Apple Music’s release of spatial audio files for their entire library is a first from such a large record distributor.

Image Courtesy: Brett Jordan from Pexels

The catch with Apple Music free upgrade is that lossless and spatial audio quality is not supported by all Apple products. Specifically, lossless audio can not be played back by any Apple earphones yet, nor is it supported by the older generation of products. As for spatial audio, while a larger number of older generation products can utilise this massive upgrade, not all users will be able to avail the newer experience to begin with. In fact, a major user base like India has only just received access to the audio quality update for their Apple Music libraries after months of waiting.

Why does Spatial Audio matter?

Unlike lossless audio, which is simply higher quality music, spatial audio can be a key component in creating virtual environments. Technologies like Virtual Reality can utilize the potential of spatial audio to create immersive 3D virtual experiences.

Image Courtesy: cottonbro from Pexels

Platforms such as NextMeet employ spatial audio for users to interact with each other in a 3D virtual convening ecosystem. Users can listen to each other and interact freely, with the audio being filtered according to the distance and direction in which other users are standing. These geospatial cues are what make physical meetings and conferences click – even conventions borrow from the chatter and murmur of the crowd to create excitement and engagement. Recreating that effect in VR opens up an entirely new realm of possibilities, the effects of which are best experienced in person.

As technological breakthroughs occur in every field, the breadth of what we can achieve in AR/VR expands as well. Spatial audio is simply one such technology, capable of integrating seamlessly with a virtual landscape to enrich user interaction.

SOUNDSCAPE VR LAUNCHES MAGIC MIRROR w/ DESERT DWELLERS, DESERT HEARTS, GOOD TV & MORE.

June 23, 2021 From affinityvr

DENVER, CO, June 22, 2021–Today Soundscape VR (SVR) is announcing the
launch of Magic Mirror, a new way to experience traditional 2D audiovisual
content in virtual reality.

Magic Mirror provides a platform for content creators that brings the entire
universe of 2D content into virtual reality, from music videos, concert footage,
visualizers, to live streams and more. Building off the beautiful soundscapes of
the SVR platform, this “digital drive-in” brings music lovers together from around
the globe and is designed to scale infinitely, with no limit to the number of
viewers who can take part in this shared musical experience.

Magic Mirror is launching with special performances from The Desert Dwellers,
Desert Hearts Mikey Lion, Porky, Lee Reynolds, Marbs, RYBO, Carlo and Good
TV’s VNSSA, Walker & Royce, Ardalan and Option 4 with more artists,
performances, and limited content being added regularly.

To experience Magic Mirror, users can go to Oculus or Steam and download the
free Soundscape VR software.

“Magic Mirror offers the ability to supercharge any piece of traditional music
content by merging the two-dimensional and three-dimensional worlds,” said
Founder Eric Alexander, “We’re really excited to launch this new experiential
pipeline with a collection of forward thinking, innovative, artists, like The Desert
Dwellers, who definitely get the marriage of music and virtual reality.” Amani
Friend from Desert Dwellers said, “Soundscape VR is truly a revolutionary
platform and virtual festival space that brings people together through music,
visionary art and celebration. The magic of this technology can unite people
around the world, beyond borders!”

For more information about upcoming Magic Mirror content and events in virtual
reality, users are encouraged to follow the company on social media and visit
the website where a complete compendium of content available in Magic Mirror
is available.

About Soundscape VR: As a groundbreaking music, arts, and gaming VR
platform enabling a new generation of live concerts, music experience, and
sound visualization; Soundscape VR (SVR) has paved the way for the next
technological expansion of the music industry. Friends across the globe can
listen, fly, paint, explore, watch, dance, compete, and more – with infinite groups
of players together in a sonic-visual adventure functioning as a 24/7 music
festival. SVR’s Sonic AI allows the software to visualize any genre of music
automatically from Electronic to Jazz, deeply integrating the music into the
audio reactive environments provided by SVR. Engineered by an independent
collective of artists, musicians, and developers to be the premier destination for
musical and artistic virtual reality content, SVR is regarded as one of the most
immersive and technically impressive virtual reality apps in the world.
Soundscape VR is part of the Soundscape Universe, a collection of virtual,
mixed, and augmented reality software developed by Groove Science Studios
(GSS). For more information please connect on Facebook, Instagram or visit
https://www.soundscapeuniverse.com

About Desert Dwellers: Desert Dwellers is the convergence of music
producers Amani Friend and Treavor Moontribe, who honed their individual skills
in the mystical deserts of New Mexico and California, long before electronic
music reached the mainstream. Amani and Treavor combine the raw sounds of
the natural world, wrapped in dancefloor and chill-out productions, blending
deep bass, earthy percussion, etheric voices, and cross-cultural instrumentation
into a sonic incense for the mind and body. Desert Dwellers’ unique global
sounds are a bridge between worlds, and their label Desert Trax has become a
platform to spotlight similar alchemical artists. Learn more about Desert
Dwellers at https://desertdwellers.org