Extended Reality

The 2023 Polys WebXR Awards Recap

vrcoin on March 7, 2023

The third Annual Polys WebXR Awards took place this weekend. The show was bigger than ever thanks to the first-ever in-person awards and a special event saying farewell to AltspaceVR. However, despite some new categories, the overall category list was shorter this year as a number of previous awards were combined. A Very Special Polys The Polys launched during the height of the pandemic. Fortunately, not being in person has a way of not greatly hindering an event that’s already dedicated to WebXR. The event took place in a bespoke AltspaceVR world, with watch parties on YouTube as well as other remote platforms. However, this time, people were able to get together in person but they did it in a very “metaverse” way. In-person hosts, producers, presenters, and an audience gathered at ZeroSpace, an XR stage and motion capture studio in Brooklyn. Their actions on the stage were volumetrically

How XR Fan Engagement Brings Fans Closer to the Game

vrcoin on February 21, 2023

Over the years, ARPost has covered the physical nature of XR in athletics and sports a number of times – from how athletes use XR to improve their game, to how gamers can use VR sports to stay fit, to how thrilling and active a good AR team game can be for players and spectators alike. XR is also increasingly being used in another capacity: fan engagement. Is AR the Future of Fan Engagement? Athletes are usually sports fans, but are sports fans usually athletes? This article isn’t about how XR can make a sports viewer into a finely-tuned machine, or how a sports viewer can become a star in their own right through things like esports. After all, not all sports fans want to do those sorts of things. However, it’s probably fair to say that all sports fans want to feel closer to the athletes and teams that

PINKO Experience Powered by Emperia Amid Funding Announcement

vrcoin on February 9, 2023

Virtual store builder Emperia recently announced a new funding round, as well as hints at how that funding round will impact their roadmap going forward. In the meantime, PINKO is joining the list of retailers showing us what Emperia is already capable of. PINKO’s Virtual Store From Emperia Emperia isn’t a Harry Potter spell, it’s a tech company that “marries the reach and accessibility of e-commerce with the impact of physical customer service shopping experience.” ARPost first met Emperia about a year ago when the company launched “Artemis”, its software-as-a-service solution for virtual storefronts. “With the realization that clients will be using these spaces in the long term, and the need to constantly change/update the virtual store the same way they would change their physical space, Emperia created a platform that enables full customization of product displays as well as decor, allowing brands full creative control,” Emperia co-founder and CEO

150 Projects Advance to the MVP Phase in AWE’s XR Prize Challenge in a Bid to Combat Climate Change

vrcoin on February 2, 2023

Augmented World Expo (AWE) launched the “XR Prize Challenge: Fight Climate Change” in October 2022. The competition has four key categories: Replace, Visualize, Educate, and Optimize, where the winning group or individual can stand to win a cash prize of $100,000. This January, 150 projects from diverse teams spanning six continents advanced to the competition’s “MVP Phase,” bringing them a step closer to the grand prize. Winners will be announced on June 1, 2023 at the AWE 2023 event in Santa Clara, California. The Global Metaverse Community Bands Together to Combat Climate Change AWE’s competition has enabled the XR community, including XR technologists, climate change experts, as well as individual and corporate participants, to come together and take advantage of AR and VR technologies in a bid to come up with innovative, functional, and impactful XR-based solutions to fight climate change. The varied projects that have advanced to the MVP

$100K Cash Prize Awaits Climate Change-Conscious XR Creators

vrcoin on December 23, 2022

People have differing views on the best way to tackle climate change. In fact, some think it’s too late to make a difference. The problem has become too big and complicated. As a result, humanity can’t rely on just a small part of society to manage it. In line with this, Augmented World Expo (AWE) launched the “XR Prize Challenge: Fight Climate Change.” The organization will accept AR and VR video concept submissions until December 31. Each should present an impactful, creative, and functional XR-based solution to the climate crisis. AWE will award $100,000 to the winning group or individual. XR Prize Challenge Categories Entries should portray XR’s role in society in one of these four categories: 1. REPLACE – Replacing Wasteful Material Practices – Concepts in this category should focus on demonstrating how to use XR solutions as communication and collaboration media to reduce the need for transportation

From Virtual Clothes to Virtual Stores: XR in Fashion Retail

vrcoin on October 11, 2022

Fashion is physical. Right? While clothing has always been material, expression has always been something more. And, digital fashion brands have been exploring that intersection. Even physical fashion brands are using XR technology to sell their hard-copy clothing. Though some are selling soft-copy clothing too. From virtual clothes to virtual stores, there’s a lot to see. How to Bring the Human Into Virtual Try-On Before we get to full-on virtual stores, let’s start off with physical fashion retailers using XR technology. What’s the worst part of buying clothes? Trying them on, right? We’re all in agreement about that? The lines, the time, and the hassle? The… it’s just awkward, right? But, you want to know what the clothes will look like on you. This is where XR comes in. But, it turns out it’s still awkward. Or, at least, it can be. Reactive Reality In September, Reactive Reality announced the

The 2022 WebXR Brand Summit

vrcoin on September 19, 2022

This year’s WebXR Brand Summit took place last Thursday, September 15, preceded by a more open-format Town Hall event the week before. Hosted by the same organization that puts on the Polys Awards, the event included roundtables and use cases for how brands are exploring WebXR to increase exposure and services on a more spatial and connected internet. Not Just for Brands Not for the faint of heart, the full live-streaming remote event ran nine consecutive hours. Hosted by the tireless Sophia Moshasha and Julie Smithson with tech support from Ben Irwin, the event included 20 speakers in 11 sessions. If you think that that means it was just people selling sneakers all day, you miss the importance of brands in immersive spaces. “This is where we believe it starts. Brands have made initial investments in this space from the early days. … We owe them a lot of

AWE EU 2022 Is Headed for Lisbon

vrcoin on September 12, 2022

Wait, wasn’t AWE a few months ago? It was for America, but it’s the Augmented World Expo – there are three live AWE conferences throughout the year. Next, it’s time for AWE EU. We saw what AWE had to offer in Santa Clara this spring. So, what can we expect when it comes to Lisbon next month? What to Expect If you know the flow of AWE in the States, you’ll spot some similarities and differences. AWE EU still kicks off with Ori Inbar’s keynote. And, according to the current iteration of the agenda, Inbar’s keynote has the same theme as the one we saw in California in June. Further, the legendary AWE Expo Hall is still a part of the European event. And, exhibitors can still win Best of Show awards at the wrap-up ceremony on the last day. However, AWE EU is two days instead of three. Further,

Voted, Passed and Signed: XRA Commended the CHIPS and Science Act

vrcoin on August 10, 2022

The Creating Helpful Incentives to Produce Semiconductors (CHIPS) and Science Act signed into law on Tuesday, August 9, 2022. President Joe Biden signed the H.R.7178 Act after lawmakers on Capitol Hill passed the landmark bill late last month. Semiconductors or microchips are tiny computer chips about the size of a fingertip. They are the building blocks of the modern economy. Microchips power smartphones, vehicles, and electronics. The CHIPS and Science Act spurs projects to produce semiconductors in the US. Biden stated that the US invented the semiconductor, and the law brings it back home. The landmark bill will fund US semiconductor manufacture and research. The law encompasses over $52 billion in subsidies. It aims to strengthen initiatives to make the US more competitive with tech giant China. The legislation establishes “immersive technology,” a fundamental area of national technological development. The Senate voted to approve the bill as well. The bill

What Is a Digital Twin?

vrcoin on August 5, 2022

The explosion in XR technology and applications in the last few years means that there are a lot of new terms gaining prevalence. It can be hard to keep up. One that you may have heard – maybe even come across on ARPost – is “digital twin.” But, what exactly does that mean? What Is a Digital Twin? A “digital twin” is a virtual version of something that also exists as a physical object. The name can even help us understand the idea, to some degree, if we use it as an analogy – though it doesn’t always fit. Like human twins, digital twins may look similar to their physical counterparts, but the two may behave very differently. One of the big benefits of the digital version is that it can often do things or go places that the physical version can’t. Unlike human twins, however, digital twins don’t necessarily