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Disney's next Star Wars trilogy gets pushed back, will debut in 2023
Disney has pushed back the release of future 'Avatar' and 'Star Wars' movies by a year.
'Roblox' announces limited-run 'Doctor Who' collaboration
Roblox has seen an impressive range of crossovers since its arrival in 2015. The game-slash-development platform has linked up with Jurassic Park, Dr Seuss and Star Wars. Now it's getting the Doctor Who treatment.
Make-A-Wish Foundation gets a fan into 'NBA 2K20'
It's not unheard of for Make-A-Wish Foundation kids to request tours of their favorite game studios, but when 2K heard that 15-year-old Make-A-Wish recipient William Floyd wanted to visit the NBA 2K headquarters in Novato, California, the company decided to go one step further. It created Floyd as a playable roster member in NBA 2K20 and made him available as a free agent to millions of players around the world.
Mercedes unveils crazy concept car inspired by 'Avatar'
Mercedes has made sure to play up its tech chops during the past few CES events, and this year is no different. But instead of a straight autonomous electric vehicle, it's gone a little wacky with a vehicle that's based on the Avatar movie. Yep, the James Cameron film.
Bitmoji's custom clothing makes your avatar more true to life
It's now easier to be a rugged individualist... as far as a digital avatar will allow, anyway. Snap is rolling out a Mix and Match option for Bitmoji on Android and iOS that, as the name implies, lets you customize your virtual persona's clothing on a piece-by-piece basis. Venture into the Avatar Designer in the Bitmoji or Snapchat apps and you can choose different tops, bottoms, shoes and other apparel that matches what you actually wear, or at least what you'd like to actually wear. Want to dress like a hypebeast? You can probably get close enough to let everyone know your tastes.
AI avatars of Chinese authors could soon narrate audiobooks
The Chinese search engine Sogou isn't stopping at AI news anchors. The company has created "lifelike" avatars of two Chinese authors, and it plans to have them narrate audiobooks in video recordings. According to the BBC, Sogou used AI, text-to-speech technology and video clips from the China Online Literature+ conference to create avatars of authors Yue Guan and Bu Xin Tian Shang Diao Xian Bing.
Facebook's Avatars are a belated answer to Bitmoji
Facebook is hoping to shake up its emoji with something that will seem remarkably familiar. The company has introduced its long-expected Avatars, or personalized cartoon stickers that you can use in places like Messenger and the News Feed. They bear more than a passing resemblance to Snapchat's Bitmoji, and offer a similar amount of personalization. You can adjust basics like body types, skin color and hair, and throw in apparel that reflects your style. There's no image-based automatic creation, alas -- Facebook told TechCrunch that it wants to avoid the bias problems that can come with facial recognition.
Disney's next batch of 'Star Wars' movies starts in 2022
Disney hasn't quite wrapped up the Star Wars Skywalker saga, which will come to an end this December with Episode 9: The Rise of Skywalker. However, it's looking ahead with the franchise, as it updated its release schedule with dates for three new Star Wars films. The first will hit theaters in December 2022, followed by December 2024 and 2026. They'll alternate with the Avatar sequels, the first of which arrives in 2021 (it was previously scheduled for December next year).
MIT researchers create a robot houseplant that moves on its own
Despite our best intentions, keeping a houseplant alive can be a struggle for a lot of us. But that vague wave of sadness you feel when you end up unceremoniously dumping your potted pal in the bin is about to reach a new and slightly disturbing level, as researchers from MIT have found a way to use robotics to tap into plants' human-like characteristics.
Toyota untethers its T-HR3 humanoid robot thanks to 5G
Toyota just brought your dreams of an Avatar-like proxy one step closer to reality. Teaming with NTT Docomo, it remotely controlled its T-HR3 humanoid robot over a 5G network from a distance of 10 kilometers (6.2 miles). So far the bot, first unveiled a year ago, has only been controlled over a direct wired connection. "This time, with an eye toward improved use in practical environments, the T-HR3 was successfully controlled wirelessly," Toyota said in a press release.
Microsoft is rolling out Xbox Avatars today
Xbox is rolling out its October update today, which will bring a number of new features that that have been in testing until now. First, the Xbox skills for Cortana and Alexa are now available. Using the skills, you'll be able to turn your console on and off, adjust the volume, launch games and apps, start and stop Mixer broadcasts and capture screenshots with just your voice. Just head to the Alexa and Cortana skill stores to find the skill and get started.
Netflix profile icons are getting a facelift
With all the money Netflix is spending on new shows, for awhile it's overlooked a small detail we all encounter before watching. The service's profile icons are soon getting a long overdue update, going from the flat minimalist versions that have been around for the last five years, to slightly embellished editions starting today. The aviator sunglasses and mustache (my personal favorite, and second most-popular among Netflix users) has gold-hued aviators now and black facial hair now, for example.
Facebook can predict a musician’s movement using only an audio clip
We're used to seeing the likes of Wii avatars crudely banging at pianos or sawing away at violins, but Facebook is now working on an application that uses music alone to govern the movements of an augmented reality avatar. In other words, input some music, and the avatar will move just like a human pianist or violinist would.
Microsoft is finally launching its new Xbox Avatar Editor
Microsoft has been whetting Xbox users' appetites with the promise of new, customizable avatars since last year, and after several delays, they're finally becoming available. Xbox Insiders can get a taste of the Avatar Editor app starting tomorrow.
Facebook's Avatars sure look a lot like Snapchat's Bitmoji
Mark Zuckerberg has repeatedly said that visual communication is replacing text, hence the arrival of Facbook Reactions in 2016, and GIF comments last year. Next on the agenda appears to be Facebook Avatars, which will let you build a personalized, illustrated version of yourself to use as a sticker in comments and Messenger.
Leak reveals Microsoft's new Xbox Avatar system
Microsoft's new Xbox Live avatars have been on the cards for a while now, with the company last year promising more diversity and customization. Now, a leaked video (allegedly from a former Microsoft designer and since removed from YouTube) has revealed what they'll look like, plus the editor interface that'll let you design your character.
Microsoft’s inclusive Xbox avatars could arrive this spring
Microsoft announced last year that it was overhauling its avatar system and while the more diverse and customizable Xbox Live avatars were initially due out last fall, the company has kept us waiting. But a source familiar with Microsoft's Xbox plans has told The Verge that the new system will be available to Xbox Insiders for preview this month and is set for a wider rollout in April.
Oculus' VR avatars are coming to Daydream and Steam in 2018
Oculus' virtual reality avatars are clever stand-ins, but they have a few glaring problems: most notably, you can't see them outside of Oculus' own platform. Thankfully, they're being set free. Oculus has revealed that the avatars will have cross-platform support in 2018, including Steam VR and Google's Daydream. Whether or not there are any limitations to use on other platforms isn't clear, but Oculus is promising tangible upgrades to the avatars themselves.
Xbox's new avatar options include prosthetics and a baby bump
Haven't given your Xbox Live avatar much thought lately? Neither have I, and that's probably why Microsoft is taking action on that front. Yesterday the company announced that the avatar system will get a major overhaul sometime in fall 2017.
'Avatar' sequels start arriving on December 18th, 2020
James Cameron has spent years drumming up hype for his Avatar sequels with little to show for it (the first sequel was originally due this December). However, his team is finally ready to commit to specific release dates -- for all the new movies. The production team has revealed that Avatar 2 should arrive on December 18th, 2020, with the rest staggered throughout the next few years. The third movie is slated for December 17th, 2021. There will be a 3-year gap between that and the fourth movie, which debuts on December 20th, 2024. The fifth and final (?) title will appear on December 19th, 2025, 16 years after the first.
