The XR Week Peek (2022.04.04): Meta Quest Gaming Showcase is back, Mojo Vision is “feature complete”, and more!
It’s been a fun 1st of April for the whole XR community, with many jokes and pranks being released in the wild. Don’t forget to read the rich “Fun” section down below this roundup, because it is going to be a pretty rich one!
But at first, let’s get serious and read the relevant news of the week in AR and VR.
Top news of the week
Meta Quest Gaming Showcase is coming on April, 20th
Meta is back with its Gaming Showcase, and this year, it is going to be aired on April, 20th at 10 am PT. Last year, it was still called Oculus Gaming Showcase, and it featured important updates on games like Pistol Whip, The Climb 2, I Expect You To Die 2, and Resident Evil 4 VR. This year, it promises to be cool the same, and probably even more, featuring new game announcements, gameplay first-looks, updates on games coming in the next year, and “a whole lot of surprises”. Ruth Bram, Executive Producer at Oculus Studios, will be the host of the show.
After the announcement, a few studios have already hinted about their participation in the show. Among Us and Cities: VR will be featured in the Showcase, and also Tripwire Interactive, the studio behind Espire 1, hinted about its presence there. We have no other information about other featured games or studios for now, but we really hope to get more info on the games that Ubisoft is developing for Meta, that is Assassin’s Creed and Splinter Cell, and about GTA San Andreas for Quest. The “Whole lot of surprises” statement makes us dream about new games from famous IPs that are going to be announced. I’m pretty intrigued by the possibilities.
I’m sure that after April, 20th, the Meta Quest ecosystem will appear even richer than it is now, creating a wider gap with other companies that may think about competing with the Quest, that is Pico, HTC, and even Apple.
More info (Meta Quest Gaming Showcase)
More info (Among Us and Cities: VR being part of the show)
More info (Tripwire being part of the show)
Other relevant news
Mojo Vision smart contact lenses are now “Feature Complete”
Mojo Vision is one of the most intriguing startups in the XR ecosystem. They are building smart contact lenses, that is contact lenses that work like smartglasses. This work that looks like coming from a science fiction movie is actually real, and this week the company announced a new milestone: the lenses are now “feature complete”.
This means that the prototype that the company has of the lenses already contains all the modules necessary for the lens to work properly and that will be shipped with the first version of the product. These modules are:
- A microdisplay to let the user see the augmentations;
- An image sensor for seeing the surroundings and processing them through computer vision (e.g. edge detection);
- Eye-tracking sensors (accelerometer, gyroscope, magnetometer);
- A battery system;
- A 5Ghz radio communication antenna to make the lens communicate with an external unit;
- An ARM0 processor, that acts as a “traffic cop” for the data.
The lenses work by connecting to an external computational unit. At this moment both the lenses and the unit are already functional, and the company has a demo that showcases the system working together. I have seen the demo via a Zoom call and CNET’s Scott Stein saw it live and we came out both impressed by it.
This new milestone is a big step forward towards having smart contact lenses in the market, and Mojo Vision claims that it should release its first product before the end of the decade. But there is still a huge obstacle in front of them: while the lens has proven to work in a demo, it has still not been tested in the eyes of some people. The people at the company have already worn many times the shell of the lens inside the eye, but they have never tested this feature-complete lens while being turned on. These are the trials that are going to start now, and that will tell us how much Mojo Vision is actually close to its first release.
More info (Mojo Vision lenses are now “feature complete”)
More info (CNET going hands-on with the latest Mojo Vision prototype)
DPVR announces 4G/5G module for its standalone headsets
DPVR is one of the most famous Chinese VR manufacturers. This week it has made a quite interesting announcement: it is going to release a 4G/5G module for its standalone headsets, both 3DOF and 6DOF ones.
All the most famous standalone headsets (e.g. Pico Neo 3, Vive Focus 3, Oculus Quest 2) only offer Wi-Fi connectivity. This is ok for most cases, but it still has two problems: first of all, you must have a surrounding wi-fi network to use your headset. As long as you are at home, this is ok, but if you want to use the headset in mobility (e.g. on a bus, or when you are traveling abroad), you don’t always have an accessible Wi-Fi network around you. The other problem, which is more for us professionals, is that you can’t connect it directly to the 5G network to make tests with cloud rendering and other similar features.
DPVR solves both these problems with a little box that you can attach to the USB-C port of the device to make it connect to a 4G/5G LTE network. I guess inside there is a slot where to put your SIM card, plus a modem that connects via USB to the headset. This is not the first time I see a similar box (I remember having tested something similar connected to the Vive Focus Plus at Vive Ecosystem Conference in 2019), but it is one of the first times that I see something similar to be actually released in the market. According to DPVR, it may be very useful for all those companies planning to use the headsets for enterprise purposes in zones where Wi-Fi is not that widespread, like for instance many African Regions.
I honestly hope that also the other vendors will start selling similar modules, because sometimes I really would love my headsets to work even without Wi-Fi…
News worth a mention
Unity talked about PlayStation VR 2 at GDC
Unity had a talk about developing for PlayStation VR 2 at GDC 2022. It was of course a technical talk and there has been no reveal of new features of the headset. There were some interesting pieces of info, though: for instance, we learned that the foveated rendering of the device can offer a 3.6X boost over a non-foveated-rendered frame and a 1.1–1.4x boost over a fixed foveated rendered one. This proves the value of eye-tracking and its implementation inside PSVR 2.
More info (Foveated Tracking boost inside PSVR 2)
More info (Full Unity talk at GDC)
Some articles on the metaverse
As every week, here you are some random articles about the M-word I have found relevant inside a sea of fluff:
- Very Real Help is a social VR space meant to offer psychological support and group therapy to people that are in need;
- Axie Infinity has just had one of its biggest crypto hacking, with $600M of cryptocurrencies stolen from the game. This shows that the blockchain may be hacked, and actually, crypto hacks are on the rise recently;
- The Nike Metaverse Store on Roblox has been visited 7 Million times. Doing marketing in virtual worlds can be valuable. Digital marketing is on the rise, and according to the post linked below, “Nike Digital continues to be the fastest-growing component of its marketplace, now representing 26% of the total Nike Brand revenue”;
- Investment firm Citi claims the metaverse is a market worth $13T by 2030. I’m pretty pissed off by money guys keeping saying the trillions the metaverse is worth. Please stop speculating and start investing in features that can truly make it happen, like networking technologies, digital identity frameworks, interoperability standards, and so on…
More info (Very Real Help)
More info (Axie Infinity hacked)
More info (Nike Metaverse in Roblox)
More info (Citi estimates the metaverse value)
E3 has been completely canceled
E3, one of the most important events about gaming (and also about VR gaming), has just been canceled. At the end of last year, there was the idea of making a physical version of E3 in 2022, then because of the Omicron variant and the new surge of Covid cases, the organizing entity announced the event was set as a digital one. Now, it has been completely canceled, and it is expected to return next year with a physical edition again. What a sad news for gaming!
(Thanks to Rob Cole for the tip)
XR startups are rising good money
Thanks to the metaverse hype, it’s a good moment for XR companies to get money from investors. In the last few days, we already heard about:
- Osso VR raising $66M for its surgical XR training solution
- LIV securing $8.5M for its mixed-reality video solution for VR applications. The company has also big plans to make streaming of VR games more immersive for the viewers (so I guess they want to put the viewers INSIDE the streamed game, and this sounds very cool)
- Nreal, the AR glasses manufacturer, just got $60M in a new funding round lead by Alibaba. Probably after this money, we’ll see a launch of Nreal headsets also in China
- Ndreams raised $35M to expand its game development and publishing businesses.
It’s the right time to raise money for XR ventures, so if you have a startup…
More info (Osso VR)
More info (LIV)
More info (Nreal)
More info (nDreams)
Submit your game to the Upload Showcase
The Upload VR Showcase returns in June and this time you have the possibility to pitch your game for it! If you are an indie game developer or a content creator in general, you can write an e-mail to Upload to candidate yourself to be part of this important event. It can be a good opportunity for you all to showcase what you are doing!
(Thanks to Tom Ffiske for the tip)
Owlchemy Labs has released Cosmonius High
Cosmonius High was one of the most awaited games of the year because it is developed by Owlchemy Labs, the studio behind big hits like Job Simulator. It has been released at the end of March for €25, and the first reviews are a mixed bag. For sure the game is well made, and it is also astounding the level of interactivity you have with the environment around you, but it also lacks a bit of depth, and the game seems made mostly for VR newbies and kids.
Since the first time I saw the trailer, I’ve found the game very kids-oriented… and this is very interesting: since now many kids are using the Quest 2 (even if theoretically they could not), may it be that Owlchemy is unofficially trying to directly target them? It is actually a brand new market for VR, so it may have sense…
More info (Cosmonius High review on Road To VR)
More info (Cosmonius High review on Upload VR)
Moss 2 releases on PSVR
Talking about the most-awaited games, we had also the release of Moss: Book 2, which has just been released for PSVR for $40. Upload went hands-on with it and expressed a very positive opinion: the game is not just an expansion of the first episode, but it’s also an evolution, and throughout it, you can elevate your bond with Quill to a higher level than before. The only drawback is that this title seems a bit short, exactly like the first one.
Some news on content
- Tabletop games simulator QuestHaven has reached its Kickstarter goal in a week;
- Beat Games has released a new Fall Out Boys music pack for Beat Saber;
- City simulator ‘Little Cities’ is releasing on Quest on April 21st;
- There is now a Wendy’s world featuring many minigames inside Horizon Worlds;
- Cities: VR is coming to Quest 2 on April 28th. The studio is offering a 10% discount on pre-orders
- Survival simulator Green Hell VR is releasing on Quest 2 on April 7th. The SteamVR version is expected for May
- Cloudhead Games teases that modding is coming to Pistol Whip
- World creation tool for architecture and engineering Arkio is coming to the official Quest store. It also features a free version.
More info (QuestHaven)
More info (Fall Out Boy)
More info (Little Cities)
More info (Wendy’s)
More info (Cities: Skyline)
More info (Green Hell VR)
More info (Pistol Whip)
More info (Arkio)
Other news
Vive Focus 3 now supports Hands Tracking even in PCVR mode
(Thanks Paolo Leoncini for the tip)
A nice infographic on the various headsets released over the years
A very interesting comparison of the five most famous interaction SDKs
NVIDIA’s latest AI algorithm to reconstruct 3D model of faces from a single photo is impressive
News from partners (and friends)
REK.tv wants to revolutionize sports
Cix Liv, the founder of LIV and YUR, is at it again with another cool innovative startup. This time it is called REK.tv and it aims at creating XR sport games that can be played inside physical venues. Something like HADO, but on steroids.
Learn more
Apply for the Snapdragon Spaces Program
Deutsche Telekom, together with Hubraum and Qualcomm is offering the Snapdragon Spaces Program dedicated to startups and developers in AR. If you are a startup working in XR, you can apply for the program to get:
- Opportunity for investment discussions with the hubraum fund.
- Access to Deutsche Telekom resources including: 5G infrastructure and know-how.
- An opportunity to connect with global business leaders like T-mobile US and Deutsche Telekom.
- High-quality AR hardware set, including glasses and smartphones, for each participating team.
- Dedicated business mentoring, technology guidance and support.
The Application deadline is the 10th of April, so hurry up!
Learn more
Join AWE WebAR Workshop
AWE is hosting a workshop about WebAR through its AWE Academy. Registration starts at $49 for a 2-day online class. No technical or coding experience is required to participate.
I have also a free pass available for this event, so the first one sending me an e-mail asking for it, will be awarded it!
Learn more
Some XR fun
Let me link to you below all the funniest XR-related April Fool’s for this year! I have myself crafted a pretty good one with the Legverse, the metaverse made only of legs… but there have been many other fun ones!
Funny link (The Legverse, the metaverse of legs)
Funny link (AR filter of the Legverse)
Funny link (Unplugged adding the Air Triangle)
Funny link (Unplugged’s Air Triangle actually being released)
Funny link (Italian VR magazines announces Microsoft headset)
Funny link (Razer announcing its haptic suit)
Funny link (Sound Particles announcing satellite sound network)
Funny link (Arvore announcing Pixel Ripped for prehistoric times)
Funny link (Second Life mocking Horizon World for the legless avatars)
Funny link (HOLOGATE announcing its 100th birthday celebrations)
Funny link (The Super Mega Ultra Metaverse summit)
The best VR meme made out of the Will Smith slap
(Thanks Ori Inbar for the tip)
Funny link
Not a meme, but this VR controller that can also hold a drink is a very bizarre invention.
Funny link
Real Reality or Virtual Reality, this is the question.
Funny link
I don’t know what she’s playing, but I would love to play it with her same passion.
Funny link
I want this advanced haptic glove
Funny link
This metaverse song is the best song of 2022.
Funny link
Donate for good
Like last week, also this week I won’t ask you to donate for my blog, but to the poor people that are facing the consequences of the war. Please donate to the Red Cross to handle the current humanitarian situation in Ukraine. I will leave you the link to do that below.
Let me take a moment before to thank anyway all my Patreon donors for the support they give to me:
- DeoVR
- Raghu Bathina
- GenVR
- Eduardo Siman
- Jonn Fredericks
- Jean-Marc Duyckaerts
- Reynaldo T Zabala
- Richard Penny
- Terry xR. Schussler
- Ilias Kapouranis
- Michael Bruce
- Paolo Leoncini
- Immersive.international
- Bob Fine
- Nikk Mitchell and the great FXG team
- Jake Rubin
- Alexis Huille
- Jennifer Granger
- Jason Moore
- Steve Biggs
- Niels Bogerd
- Julio Cesar Bolivar
- Jan Schroeder
- Kai Curtis
- Francesco Strada
- Sikaar Keita
- Ramin Assadollahi
- Jeff Dawson
- Juan Sotelo
- Andrew Sheldon
- Chris Madsen
- Tracey Wong
- Matthew Allen Fisher
- Horacio Torrendell
- Andrew Deutsch
- Fabien Benetou
- Tatiana Kartashova
- Marco “BeyondTheCastle” Arena
- Eloi Gerard
- Adam Boyd
- Jeremy Dalton
- Siciliana Trevino
- Joel Ward
- Alex P
- Marguerite Espin de la Vega
- Lynn Eades
- Donald P
- Sb
- Enrico Poli
- Vooiage Technologies
- Caroline
- Liam James O’Malley
- Paul Reynolds
- Hillary Charnas
- Wil Stevens
- Brian Peiris
- Rhys Coombes
- Francesco Salizzoni
- Alan Smithson
- Steve R
- Brentwahn
- Simplex
- Matias Nassi
And now here you are the link to donate:
Support The Red Cross in Ukraine
(Header image by Mojo Vision)
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This article was originally published on skarredghost.com