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Magic Leap's mixed reality headset might launch today
Magic Leap might finally launch its headset -- or announce when it will launch the device -- today. The secretive company's founder, Rony Abovitz, has tweeted hints that seem to point at an event for August 8th. Two of his tweets are illustrations of a flying Magic Leaper (which went out at 8:08PM) and a rocket ready for takeoff, while the third is a link to a Wikipedia article that leads to Roland TR-808. His Twitter banner is also trippy illustration of a Magic Leaper surrounded by flying whales with the numbers 8, 8 and 18 hidden in the background. If you go to the company's website, you'll see a rocket starting to take off, as well.
Snapchat's 'Harry Potter' Bitmoji invade the Muggle world
Snap's fondness for pop culture Bitmoji now extends to the Harry Potter universe. In sync with the titular character's birthday, Snapchat now offers a 3D Harry Potter Bitmoji Lens that brings a dash of sorcery to the Muggle realm. It's not terribly complicated (your avatar flies around chasing the Golden Snitch from Quidditch), but you might appreciate the customization -- you can choose your Hogwarts House in addition to your usual appearance. If you're bent on flaunting your Ravenclaw affiliation to your friends, it should only take a few taps.
Magic Leap offers a sneak peek at its mixed reality OS
Magic Leap has been peeling away one layer of secrecy after another now that it's close to shipping its mixed reality headset. Just recently, it released an AR demo and revealed that it's working with comics industry veteran Grant Morrison. Now, the company has given us a glimpse of what its operating system an interface will look like through new documents added to its revamped developer guide. TechCrunch has collected a few images and videos circulating on Twitter and Reddit, including a photo of the device's homescreen and the stock apps that'll ship with it. Yes, they're mock-ups, but they can at least give us an idea of what to expect.
Magic Leap signs content deal with comics giant Grant Morrison
Magic Leap has teamed up with Scotland-based Square Slice Studios, which was co-founded by comic book industry veteran Grant Morrison, to create content for its mixed reality headset. You might know the prolific writer for his work with Batman and All-Star Superman, as well as for creating the boundary-pushing sci-fi comics The Invisibles, among many other things. The studio will conjure up interactive experiences for the headset, though it has yet to reveal their exact nature. While we can probably expect some interactive comics, it's worth noting that Morrison co-founded the company with a number of other creatives, including Grand Theft Auto artist Stewart Waterson.
Magic Leap’s lackluster AR demo proves hardware is still hard
Magic Leap announced last week that its mixed reality glasses -- which have been shrouded in mystery and hype for almost four years -- will be available later this summer. What should've been exciting news unfortunately fell flat. In a developer chat on Twitch that same day, the company showed off a less-than-impressive prerecorded demo of a small rock golem throwing some rubble around. Compared to earlier videos of a crashing whale in the middle of a gym and a floating solar system, this just came off as disappointing. Was this all there was?
Niantic snaps up Seismic Games to build new AR experiences
Niantic has acquired yet another developer in a bid to conquer AR gaming. The Pokémon Go creator has announced that it has acquired LA-based Seismic Games, mostly known for turn-based mobile RPG Marvel: Strikeforce. You can assemble Marvel characters in the free-to-play title, which brought in $25 million in worldwide player spending over the past four months. Seismic is also the company behind Blade Runner: Revelations, a virtual reality game for Google Daydream. According to Niantic, it will continue to work on its own games but will transition into building all-new AR experiences for the company going forward.
'David Bowie Is' coming to your home through AR and VR
Did you miss your chance to see the David Bowie is museum exhibition and pay tribute to the late, great musician? You won't have to wallow in regret for very long. The David Bowie Archive, Sony Music, Planeta and the Victoria and Albert Museum have announced plans for both augmented and virtual reality 'recreations' of the exhibit. These digital productions will use a series of "audio-visual spaces" to showcase 3D scans of Bowie's artifacts and let you get much closer than you might in real life. You might not only see a legendary costume, but try it on for yourself.
The new 'Walking Dead' mobile game won’t topple 'Pokémon Go'
I don't like The Walking Dead, or zombie-related content, more generally, but I'm a sucker for a location-based mobile game like Pokémon Go and Silent Streets. Next Games' The Walking Dead: Our World uses Google Maps to turn your local area into a hostile, zombified environment, and I just had to give it a try. Sadly, after a couple of hours dipping in and out of the game, I'm not sure I want to spend a lot of time fighting the undead.
Mixed reality art is lost in the madness of Times Square
I stood under the blistering hot sun as my phone grew warmer by the second. It was so hot I could barely hold onto it. Unfortunately, my phone was crucial to the Times Square art installation I was there to cover. Unmoored is a mixed-reality and augmented reality experience by artist Mel Chin, powered by Microsoft. It reimagines New York as a city lost to climate change and is overlaid on a massive 24-foot sculpture in real life. The MR part of it uses HoloLenses, and is only available until July 13, but the rest of the exhibit will remain open to the public through September 5th.
'The Walking Dead' AR game adds some horror to your walk home
It's summertime in the Northern hemisphere, which means sidewalks and parks are full of folks catching Pokémon with their phones. If you'd rather be the prey, though, maybe give The Walking Dead: Our World a chance then. The free-to-play AMC-licensed shooter uses augmented reality to put you in the middle of a zombie apocalypse. As you play you'll unlock new weapons, and stars from the show will help out in battle including Rick, Daryl and Michonne.
Magic Leap's mixed reality headset arrives this summer
Magic Leap is finally providing more tangible details about the launch of its mixed reality headset. During a developer chat on Twitch, the company revealed that the Creator Edition of its One headset should be available sometime later this summer. It also hinted that the device will have a fair amount of power under the hood. The wearable will use NVIDIA's Tegra X2 system-on-a-chip, which is relatively powerful for a mobile device but still power-efficient enough that it won't need an ungainly pack.
Magic Leap headsets will run exclusively on AT&T's network
Whenever Magic Leap's augmented reality goggles hit the market, they'll run on AT&T's network. Today the telco announced that it'd made a "strategic, exclusive" relationship with Magic Leap, with the carrier boasting its "vast customer ecosystem" as one of its strengths, along with its research into 5G networks. If any of this sounds familiar, it's because AT&T did similar way back in 2007, signing a five-year exclusivity deal with Apple for the iPhone.
Snapchat makes it easier to find user-made AR Lenses
Snapchat has let virtually anyone create Lenses for months. There's been one main problem, though: you couldn't just browse the user-made augmented reality effects, so finding one frequently involved a bit of luck. As of today, it's much easier. Snap is introducing a Lens Explorer that helps you discover community Lenses alongside the official examples. Tap a smiley face in the Lens Carousel and you can unlock user Lenses without having to find a Story that unlocks it. And if you're looking for a specific filter, you just have to search for it.
Facebook is bringing augmented reality ads to the News Feed
Facebook is now testing augmented reality ads in its News Feed, the company announced today at an event in New York City. The new feature, which is limited to users in the US at launch, will let you virtually try on items including fashion accessories, cosmetics, furniture and more. The goal here, of course, is to help you visualize what a product looks like on you, or around your physical environment, before you buy it. Michael Kors is the first brand to have AR Ads in the News Feed, where it is going to allow people to browse different sunglasses, use the camera to "put them on" and then buy a pair if they like it -- all within an ad.
An 'Ingress' anime series is coming to Netflix
There's no question that Pokémon Go has overshadowed Niantic's original augmented reality game, Ingress. The developer may have a clever way of revitalizing interest when Ingress' major revamp arrives, though: launch a streaming video series to capture gamers' attention. Variety has learned that Netflix, Fuij TV and Crafter are collaborating on Ingress: The Animation, an anime series that will serve as an introduction to the next game, Ingress Prime. Both are expected to launch sometime around October.
Google's free class teaches you how to create AR experiences
If you've ever wanted to create augmented reality experiences but had no idea where to start, Google might have your back. It's releasing a free Introduction to Augmented Reality and ARCore class on Coursera that teaches you how to develop AR content, even if you have no knowledge of the format. Walk through the 15-hour program and you should know how to use both ARCore as well as resources like Google's own Poly object library.
Leap Motion shows off AR headset with rousing game of ping pong
If you wanted to demonstrate Leap Motion's low-cost augmented reality headset, how would you do it? Create a flashy, action-packed showcase? Leap Motion has a different idea: an invigorating game of ping pong. The company has crafted a demo that combines the Project North Star headgear with paddle controllers to pit the wearer against an AI opponent at a real ping pong table. It's not mind boggling by any stretch, but it's a good example of a fast, intuitive AR experience that depends on high accuracy. You can juggle the ball and serve it as naturally as you would if it were real. And importantly, there are behind-the-scenes developments that could influence AR going forward.
Snapchat Lenses bring coral reefs to your neighborhood
How do you make nature exciting to a generation growing up with Snapchat and Instagram? The California Academy of Sciences has an idea: bring the nature to the apps that generation is using. It just trotted out a series of augmented reality Snapchat Lenses (the first of their kind, CAS said) that show reef life in your own corner of the world. You can get up close to creatures like sea turtles, nudibranches and moray eels without having to put on some diving gear or incurring the wrath of conservationists.
After two years, 'Pokémon Go' is finally letting you trade monsters
It's been almost two years since Nintendo and Niantic released the mobile hit Pokémon Go. While the game's (very) slow feature rollout has whittled down the userbase to diehard fans, interaction with the upcoming Switch games make it a good time to get back in the game. But today, the game announced it's ready to roll out a Poké-critical function that's been missing since launch day: Trading your little beasties with anyone and everyone.
Google demo shows how AR can thrive on the web
Google has been hyping up augmented reality on the web, and it's easy to understand why -- it promises an immersive experience without requiring a special app. But what does that look like in practice? The company now has an easy way to find out. It recently released Chacmool, a previously seen tech demo for Chrome Canary that uses the WebXR format to bring an educational AR experience to your browser. You'll need an ARCore-compatible Android phone running Oreo in addition to Canary, but you're good to go after that. You can walk around a Mesoamerican sculpture reading annotations as if you were visiting a museum exhibit without the usual cordons and glass cases.
