Issue #159

This week, Snap revealed some new Spectacles 2 designs that look much more like typical sunglasses, we saw a sneak peek at an AR app that can copy paste real world objects into the virtual world and Wolfenstein 3D has been brought to VR!

One of the new Spectacles 2 designs, one of these loafs was copy pasted and Wolfenstein 3D in VR

Learn how to build a conversational voice assistant!

I’ve released early access to my course full of step-by-step articles to help you build a virtual assistant/chatbot no matter your skill level! I’m turning it into an e-book — sign up, let me know what you think and you’ll get the e-book version as soon as it comes out!

Virtual Reality

CEO John Riccitiello: two-thirds of all AR and VR apps are built with Unity

That’s a pretty solid lead if true!

How to fix Vive controllers not working inside SteamVR games

The Ghost Howls has a guide on how to get your Vive controllers to come up in SteamVR when things go sour.

Lenovo’s VR camera, headset hit Australia

I’m especially excited about the standalone Lenovo Mirage Solo VR — the first standalone Google Daydream headset!

Varjo talks with me about its human eye resolution VR headset and its mixed reality add-on (that will be available at AWE 2019)

The Ghost Howls chats with a Finnish startup working on a headset with human-eye resolution.

Despite a sharp decline in VR headset shipments in Q2 2018, the market outlook remains positive, says IDC

Things are slowing, but don’t freak out — long term VR is still looking pretty positive.

How to remove tripods or objects from 360 photos and tiny planets

A way to use Photoshop Mix to clone areas to patch objects that need to be removed.

Oculus Go now allows 5.7k video

Oculus Go can now view videos up to 5.7K video in H.264 format (in monoscopic not stereoscopic 360 video)!

Original 1992 ‘Wolfenstein 3D’ now available in VR

This fan recreation was inspired by an early 90s attempt by iD Software to bring Wolfenstein 3D to VR, however it looks like they’ve done a pretty solid job!

Augmented Reality

Pansar augmented watch takes to Kickstarter, launches AR showroom app

You can point your phone at it to do some AR magic, it’s a curious idea.

NR30: Next Reality’s 30 people to watch in Augmented Reality in 2018

Next Reality have begun putting together an annual list of people who’ve made the biggest impact on the augmented reality space.

3D scanning app for iPhone makes capturing & sharing AR content as easy as taking a picture

Laan Labs has a really cool AR app that scans an object in AR and can copy, paste a virtual version of it!

First truly mainstream, hit augmented reality app may arrive through advertising, says Unity CEO

The Unity CEO thinks AR ads might at the very least be the first way people experience AR apps.

Turn the sky into a shared canvas with this fun augmented reality app

The Blue Sky Paint app creates and share airborne art — an interesting concept!

Former Apple iPhone engineer explains why he thinks augmented reality is the future of mobile

A former Apple human interface designer who worked on the iPhone gives his thoughts.

Wearables

Snap shows us the future of AR smartglasses through new styles of Spectacles 2 camera glasses

The latest styles of Snapchat’s Spectacles 2 have a design that looks like designer sunglasses.

Don’t buy a Wear OS smartwatch right now. Wait just a little longer

I 100% agree with Wareable here. Definitely wait a bit.

Charged up: sleep tracking has become Fitbit’s most defining feature

It was the main reason I got one that’s for sure!

MMT is developing a hybrid smartwatch that never needs charging

“To make an energy-free hybrid watch, MMT is using a combination of what it calls ‘state-of-the-art solar panels’, energy harvesting technology alongside an ultra-low power watch module design.”

Mykronoz ZeTime 2 is a hybrid smartwatch upgrade

This improves upon the original ZeTime that raised $8 million through crowdfunding.

Huawei will launch a new smartwatch when it can ramp up the battery life

Their CEO said “We want to make bigger improvements and make the experience much better than today. That’s my target. We want to make the smartwatch more useful, more intimate, more functional, and with much longer battery life.”

How fitness-and health-tracking apps failed me during my pregnancy

According to Swapna Krishna at Engadget, fitness tracking apps don’t take pregnancy into account.

Artificial Intelligence, Autonomous Vehicles and Robotics

Left unchecked, artificial intelligence can become prejudiced all on its own

In this research, AI “began to prefer those that had traits similar to their own”.

AI can recognize images but what about language?

We may be close to a breakthrough in AI language comprehension, which would have a huge impact on how we use AI.

MIT’s new robot can visually understand objects it’s never seen before

This MIT robot doesn’t need a huge dataset to train it to identify objects.

This one-armed robot is super manipulative (in a good way)

“Researchers have taught a robot to fish for boots, like in the cartoons”.

AI to become next australian prime minister?

Over a quarter of Australians believe AI would make better decisions than politicians, according to new research.

Gadi Singer interview — how Intel designs processors in the AI era

The way we approach designing tech is becoming increasingly AI-centric.

The Pentagon plans to spend $2 billion to put more artificial intelligence into its weaponry

They want computers to be able to explain their decisions to military commanders.

This artificial intelligence app wants to make beautiful music with you

The AI looks through music libraries, breaking down music into tiny units and looking for patterns. It then pulls up those patterns for songwriters and suggests new notes, slowly building the composer’s melodies into music.

Researchers develop a method that reduces gender bias in AI datasets

This is promising news — “Researchers have developed a method that minimizes bias in word embeddings. It could reduce gender prejudice in machine learning models”.

Cyborg cockroach may save your life, haunt your dreams

Yes. A cyborg cockroach may one day save your life.

AI weekly: contrary to current fears, AI will create jobs and grow GDP

Analysts say it will create new jobs and “lead to untold wealth and prosperity”.

Artificial synaptic device simulating the function of human brain

Researchers have developed a high-reliability artificial electronic synaptic device that simulates neurons and synapses. They’re hoping to use it to develop AI and brain-like semiconductors.

Engineering serious robo-critters with the openDog project

Robot enthusiast, James Bruton, built his own response to Boston Dynamics’ robo-dogs.

Robot-bat, ‘Robat,’ uses sound to navigate and map a novel environment: Robat uses a bat-like approach, emitting sound and analyzing the returning echoes

While it doesn’t look like a bat and drives along the ground, it uses sound like a bat.

Internet of Things and Makers

A look at Estimote’s new cloud-connected LTE beacons

I asked Jakub Krzych, CEO & Co-Founder of Estimote, about the latest Estimote LTE beacon and how they’re different from beacons of the past (they’re pretty darn cool).

This beautiful map shows everything that powers an Amazon Echo, from data mines to lakes of lithium

Here’s a map of the many processes — extracting material resources, data, and human labor — that make an Amazon Echo work.

The new Sphero BOLT

The new Sphero BOLT has an 8×8 LED Matrix that animates and displays real-time data, so you can program all sorts of stuff onto it and connect it up to all sorts of cool things!

The best smart home systems: Top ecosystems explained

A nice overview of the smart home ecosystems out there.

iRobot’s latest roomba remembers your home’s layout and empties itself

Robot vacuum cleaners are getting smarter!

DIY magic mirror for under $150!

How to build a Magic Mirror with a Particle Photon and Beam LED grid.

Events and Conference Discount Codes!

AI & Big Data Expo North America (28-29 Nov)

4 co-located events. So much great stuff happening. Get ready for the AI & Big Data Expo coming to North America in November! The discount code DEVDINER20 will get you 20% off!

JOLT Roadshows (early 2019)

At JOLT Roadshows, inspirational speakers from the world’s leading enterprises will share how they have embraced AI to improve revenue, customer retention, and experience! They’re at six locations throughout early 2019 in both USA and Canada. Click the link for info — it’s free!

Got questions on emerging tech? Feel free to DM me on Twitter or just send me an email and ask! That’s what Dev Diner is here for 🙂