This week, we have the return of the Amazon Dash button thanks to Seeed Studio, 6D.ai bought by Niantic, Oculus Quest VR headsets are selling for over $1,000 on eBay and robotic dogs are now learning from actual dogs with a hint of randomness!
Amazon Dash button’s return thanks to Seeed Studio, 6D.ai bought by Niantic and robotic dogs learning from actual dogs!
Virtual Reality
Oculus Quest VR headsets selling for over $1,000 on eBay; Consider these alternatives
360 Rumors look at the alternative headsets available for a cheaper price than the crazy $1k eBay price.
Refurbished original Oculus Rifts go on sale for $299
People in the US can buy one of the original Oculus Rift headsets for only US$299.
VR grapple shooter Swarm swings its way onto headsets this summer
“Spider-Man meets classic Centipede in this arcade-style VR shooter”. Swing around in VR like Spiderman in this upcoming title. Register your interest to help test it out!
From brain-computer interfaces to digital humans: how these technologies are bringing us closer to the metaverse
This VR Scout article asks “just how far away is full-dive VR?”
How to play Gamecube & Wii games natively on Oculus Quest
You’ll just need a Bluetooth controller and your own ROM files for the emulators.
Tips for VR headset hygiene amid COVID-19
These days, more than ever, keeping your headset clean is important — especially if you share it around with others.
Marvel’s Iron Man VR for PlayStation VR delayed ‘until further notice’
They say delays are due to the Coronavirus.
Survival horror Project Terminus VR’s kickstarter looks to raise €65,000
It looks like a pretty fascinating game in which you fight against swarms of nanites assimilating humanity into personality-less drones.
Sine Wave Entertainment launches Breakroom 3D social hub for remote teams in VR, PC, or mobile devices
Their goal is to create a Second Life style experience in virtual reality — this release is focused on remote teams having their own private worlds.
Musical metaverse Soundscape VR introduces fourth world ‘Silica Sol’
“Music lovers can come together to shoot, slice, draw, paint, and compete in various game modes across Soundscape VR, whilst progressing their characters and unlocking new abilities”.
17,000 medical professionals are using VR in the fight against Coronavirus
“Oxford Medical Simulation has begun offering its medical training platform free-of-charge during the COVID-19 pandemic to US, Canada, and UK facilities in need of assistance with patient care”.
Apple likely buyer of NextVR, a live event streaming AR/VR company being sold for ~$100m
NextVR have been livestreaming NBA and all sorts of events in VR, and if rumours are to be believed, Apple are keen to buy their company.
Ironlights’ VR melee shenanigans launches April 9, with crossplay for multiplayer
It’s coming out on April 9 for PC VR headsets via Oculus and Steam, as well as on the Oculus Store for Oculus Quest.
Facebook kills software updates for Samsung Gear VR
You’ll no longer be able to get software updates, access films or download the Oculus Video app on Gear VR.
Tribeca Film Fest to release VR films on Oculus Quest & Go after coronavirus cancellation
15 VR short films scheduled to debut at Tribeca Immersive will be available later this month on standalone Oculus headsets.
How to activate Oculus Quest’s multiwindow browser, passthrough shortcut, and new Home UI (+ review)
Skarredghost on how to activate the experimental features of Oculus Quest runtime v15.
Augmented Reality
Welcoming 3D spatial mapping leader 6D.ai to Niantic: accelerating real-world AR innovation
6D.ai, my favourite of the AR cloud platforms, has been purchased by Niantic — the company behind Pokemon Go.
Award-winning AR storybook app Wonderscope offering all stories free through June
“Keep the younglings entertained while under lockdown with these educational immersive reading experiences”.
Artificial Intelligence, Autonomous Vehicles and Robotics
Google and USCF collaborate on machine learning tool to help prevent harmful prescription errors
It can anticipate normal physician drug prescribing patterns, using a patient’s electronic health records.
Activity-monitoring startup Zensors repurposes its tech to help coronavirus response
They use machine learning to track things like restaurant occupancy, lines, and so on, and are repurposing their tech to monitor crowds.
Using AI responsibly to fight the coronavirus pandemic
A nice piece that highlights ways we can use AI and emerging tech thoughtfully, and in a way which considers the future impacts of its use.
Apple acquires AI startup to better understand natural language
Apple has acquired Voysis, an AI startup helping digital voice assistants to better understand people’s natural language.
Google Research makes for an effortless robotic dog trot
By using a technique of randomising the dynamics of the simulation by varying its physical quantities, such as the robot’s mass and friction, they were able to simulate the movement of a dog without the robot falling over.
Internet of Things and Makers
A neat way to add I/O with the physical world — the Wio Terminal
The Wio Terminal is a nice way to have an Arduino/Raspberry Pi/MicroPython project with a screen, accelerometer, microphone, buzzer and more in one device.
This Raspberry Pi alternative has an 8th-gen Intel core processor and 16GB of ram, but will cost you almost $800!
The AAEON PICO-WHU4 is “a serious board designed for projects such as AI, edge computing, signage, and drones”.
An Arduino-free automatic alcohol administrator
A lot of the DIY hands-free dispenser creations out there are Arduino-controlled, which is a lot of power for such a simple task. Here’s a way of doing it without an Arduino.
What’s holding you back in emerging tech that Dev Diner could help with? Feel free to DM me on Twitter or just send me an email and let me know!
Would you like to republish this article in your own publication?
Contact Dev Diner to request official republication of this article.
Contact Dev Diner to request official republication of this article.
Want more?
A neat way to add I/O with the physical world — the Wio Terminal
The world of micro-controllers and maker creations is a vast and ever-growing one that can be super intimidating to newcomers. Should you start with an Arduino? A Raspberry Pi? What's an ESP something something? How do you add a screen? Sensors? The team at Seeed Studio are trying to make things easier and their Wio Terminal looks like a nice option for those who want to start with a screen and some sensors.
Building a 3D printed AR headset with The Triton Project
It's always exciting to stumble upon another AR headset being developed! Graham Atlee has been putting together The Triton Project, an exciting new headset similar to Project North Star that can be put together with off-the-shelf parts! Here's a Q&A with Graham on how it came about and how you might be able to get your hands on one!