Tag Archives: augmented reality

Which Reality?

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markzuckerbergVirtual Reality is all the rage again. Last week Mark Zuckerberg extolled the joys of not only being able to see and interact in virtual worlds but to be able to record those special moments, yourself, using a 360 degree camera. Up until now, we have had to rely on filmmakers and researchers to develop the VR content using expensive equipment and powerful software. But it seems, sometime soon we will be able to get our hands on the technology and start capturing birds in flight, cars racing past and our dogs doing tricks – so that our friends and ourselves can see and share them from all angles. For Zuckerberg, a recent father, it was imagining being able to capture his daughter’s first steps that caught the headlines:

“I hope we have a 360 camera that can capture the whole scene, so if my family isn’t there to experience it, I can send it to them afterwards — or it would be real-time enough where I could stream it to them live. They could put on a headset or get a message and feel like they’re really there and experiencing it.”

What a wonderful sentiment. But I wonder how much better the experience will be than existing ways of capturing those special moments, like using smartphone video or GoPro or even a cheap and cheerful camera – that can be quickly uploaded to Instagram or Facebook or WhatsApp or whatever – for all to see at the press of a button or a swipe of the phone. With VR it requires donning a headset to see the content. For many that could be a step too far. While the headsets will come down in price and every household will be able to afford one for Christmas – it is likely to not be the best quality. For an unknown number of people (could be quite high) it will make them feel claustrophobic, nauseous or headachy. Also overlooked in the current hype and fanfare about VR, is that the headsets are like toothbrushes – fine for you to wear but not for anyone else to use. They can pick up human scent, especially hair sweat – being worn so closely to the head – meaning they can get very smelly and unhygienic. It is likely that no one wants to don the VR headset of a teenager gamer anymore than they would want to try on their sneakers.

phphh9njx The few times I have tried on an Occulus Rift headset it has been sanitized for me with a sterilized wet wipe. Even then, I detected a slight whiff of the last person who wore them. Can’t see people getting the wet wipes out every time they want a quick VR fix. Of course we could each own our own headset but you might find out you don’t like the smell of your own head. I suspect the first generation of VR headsets targetted at the general market will go the way 3D glasses went – those that had to be worn for 3DTV. Most have fallen into disuse, disrepair or got lost behind the back of the sofa.

giphy Besides wearing a VR headset makes people look weird and as this video attests, it is also terribly anti-social. You immediately shut yourself off from the rest of the world in ways that other technologies don’t. While it can be very annoying to be shut out when someone answers a call or checks their phone when you are in a conversation with them – you can look away, fiddle with your own phone or give them a glare to let them know how you feel. When someone goes into VR forget it.

3ddisposeOf course you could meet others in the guise of avatars in a VR world and have lots of fun. That possibility has been around for year for gamers. Other areas, such as training and overcoming phobias like fear of flying have also been benefitting from the application of this technology for a while. The leap from this to everyday viewing and sharing of moments is still a leap of faith. Having said that – when the first disposable 3D cameras came out back in the mid 90s I was bowled over by the 3D postcard photos they created. And spent a happy few months playing with them. Then they just disappeared off the shelf. Whatever happened to them?

imagesMy money is on augmented reality being the winner. Microsoft’s HoloLens looks amazing. Where it differs from VR is in the nature of the wearable and the digital augmentation. The wizardry behind HoloLens, will allow the user to still see and engage with the real world while also interact with all sorts of overlaid 3D content on that world. It is still very much a technology for the individual but at least you will be able to see what the rest of the family is up to in the living room or whether the real family dog wants some attention.

360 Degrees

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110_view_of_i360My office manager asked me if I would do a 360 degree feedback process for her about the way she behaves at work. I tried to imagine what that would entail – moving around her from above and viewing her from every angle? Just like this new i360 viewing experience currently being built on the Brighton seafront. In reality, it means receiving feedback from a person’s immediate work circle and the person also rating themselves. In other words, 360 means multiple perspectives.

My colleague’s email ended with her asking me, “Please do be brutally honest in your answers.” My immediate reaction was to be aghast at being asked to do this. She reassured me that the process is intended to help her develop as a manager and was not meant to be about evaluating her performance. But there is a fine line. Giving someone feedback on how well they are doing and how they could improve, in my mind, is a form of appraisal. Surely, better done using a proper procedure where there is a form both have filled in to use as a vehicle to talk through, where the appraiser gives a mix of selective, gentle and praiseworthy feedback combined with carefully worded constructive criticism – not multi-rater scales with radio buttons you click on to be brutally honest. And, as I am her line manager she will know immediately what I have said: “Your responses will be anonymous and it will not be possible to attribute ratings to any individual Rater, unless you have been nominated as X’s Manager.”

I was talking to someone else at a different university who is also going through the same Leadership and Management course (seems every university in the UK has signed up their staff for it) and he seemed to think he had learnt more about himself as part of the process. When pressed, however, he seemed less willing to provide specific examples of what this meant in practice. But let’s hope that learning more about yourself in this round about fashion might make you understand how to manage yourself and others better.

Much more fun are the magic mirror augmented reality apps that are coming out, intended to enhance and extend the user experience by giving people real-time feedback on how they look when trying things on, like sunglasses, make-up or clothes. I’ve tried a couple of them with a number of colleagues, students and friends and each time it is hilarious. The first trylive-eyewear lets you try on a range of glasses as if you were looking in a mirror. As you move your head around the virtual glasses appear to stay stuck to your face making it appear like you really are wearing them. It is uncanny.

http://youtu.be/kpwhjGOi5KQ

MakeUp Genius by L’Oreal is a free app you can download that lets you try on lots of different kinds of makeup – especially that you would never dream of wearing normally.

http://youtu.be/67Fw855WzVc

That kind of 360 degrees is a lot of fun!

Indaba Reality

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Design Indaba is a big exhibition held every year in Cape Town showing the best of South African design. This year, over 300 designers, from architects to coke tin sculptors, gathered for the weekend to show off their homemade wares, exhibiting an amazing diversity of skills. Jewellery, fashion, ceramics, furniture, décor, craft, candles, toys, lamps, knick-knacks and much more; everywhere you looked was an abundance of vintage and modern, sustainable and forward- thinking design. Now in its 9th year, the organizers claim in their brochure “that creativity can create livelihoods, transform communities and contribute to the country’s economy.” Judging by the thronging crowds at the event, it would seem all is well and thriving.

What struck me most was the reworking and repurposing of stuff. There were seats made of champagne corks, lampshades made of crocheted wool, marmite jars made of beads, and flowers made of recycled tin. I love it when an artifact makes you look twice. It seemed that one entrepreneurial lady had turned the art of beading into a must have artform. All the cool pieces on her stall, including household groceries and VW camper vans had red dots on their price tags. Snapped up by shrewd buyers. And as Sabelo, a local bead artist points out: “In our culture, beads tell stories about who people are, how old they are. The amount of beads you wear indicates your age, and the older you are, the more you’re respected because of the wisdom you have”. I like that idea but I like more the way these bead designers had intricately woven their beaded washing powder box and custard tins to be precise facsimilies.

In the middle of the hall, was a very large public electronic display, which projected a live video of the audience standing in front of it, mainly children. They seemed totally engrossed with their mirror image, dancing, waving and gesturing at themselves. At first it seemed just like a live feed from a video camera focused on them from above the screen. However, after a few moments of looking, I suddenly noticed animated cartoon characters appearing from nowhere onto the screen and then, after a few seconds of performing, disappearing. First a dolphin splashed around, then a spaceman floated by, then a leopard prowled by and then some larger than life dinosaurs waltzed on. I was reminded of the early 90s Smirnoff vodka ads, when an innocent cat turns into a panther as the camera panned across the glass bottle. Likewise, there was something seamless and surreal about the way the animated animals mingled with the virtual kids and the real kids played with the virtual animals.

The company that makes this interactive public display – Live Augmented Reality – has paired up with National Geographic. The set up now tours in public settings, such as shopping malls and Expos, and is a wonderful crowd stopper.

The kids happily joined in the make-believe, squealing with delight as the dolphin jumped and splashed around them. One 5 year-old boy, who was quite a dancer, started moving his hand as if to stroke the leopard, as it appeared to brush besides him – even though it was high up on the screen and he a few feet away from it standing on the floor. He was perfectly positioned to make it appear as if he really was touching it. The merging was a magical design.

The finale was a storm – lashings of animated rain, lightening and thunder descended upon the children. They loved holding their arms up to feel the virtual raindrops splashing on them and clapping their ears as the thunder boomed.

I watched the little dancing boy for a while; he was completely engrossed, repeating his slinky repertoire of dancing, stroking and cowering, as the short cycle of augmented cameo characters, returned again and again. The augmented reality illusion, created by the public display technology was a big hit with Cape Towners. Whilst self-conscious fashion models pranced the catwalk and famous chefs constructively talked the creative walk, the kids hyper-played – without an ounce of self-consciousness.