How Technology is Changing Our Perception of the World
Emerging Tech Roundup — September 04
The Quantious team’s top picks for timely trending news in the tech world.
This week in tech: Nreal secures additional funding, Facebook aspires to build new hearing technology, NVIDIA announces new product updates, a VR program for expectant mothers launches, Niantic partners with 5G carriers, Amazon patents AR tech, DropLabs releases tech update to sneakers.
Qualcomm-Powered Chinese XR Startup Nreal Raises $40 Million
(Tech Crunch, September 4)
China-based company, Nreal, has secured another $40 million in funding. According to Crunchbase, this brings the company’s overall funding total to $71 million. Since their last huge round of funding in February 2019, the company has commercialized their Nreal Light AR headset, which is currently available in South Korea and expected to hit other markets in the coming months. The company has more than doubled their lifetime funding, and it’s expected that they will use their earnings to expand their area of availability.
Facebook Wants to Build an AR Headset to Supercharge Your Hearing, Create a Custom HRTF From a Photograph
(Road to VR, September 3)
The Facebook Reality Labs Research team aims to build technology for AR headsets that will supercharge a user’s hearing ability. With this technology, the headset will be able to isolate the sound of your conversation in a noisy environment, as well as reproduce virtual sounds that seem as though they’re coming from the world around you. To create this, the team is examining the unique ways in which a person hears sound, based on things like the shape of their head and ears, in order to recreate a digital version of this. The process will be long and expensive, but Facebook Reality Labs hopes to someday incorporate this technology into AR and VR headsets.
NVIDIA Announces GeForce RTX 30-series GPUs, Claims “Greatest Generational Leap” in Performance
(Road to VR, September 2)
In a pre-recorded, streamed presentation, NVIDIA revealed its GeForce RTX 3070, 3080, and 3090 GPUs based on its latest “Ampere” architecture. According to NVIDIA, the new GPUs have double the performance of Turing GPUs, and the Ampere is expected to deliver more performance in shading, ray tracing, and AI. The new cards will boost frame rates, allowing for instantaneous game loading, which will start a new era of detailed “open-world games.” We can expect the flagship RTX 3080 and RTX 3090 to be released later this month, and RTX 3070 is coming sometime in October.
Hoag to ‘Nurture’ New Moms Through Virtual Reality
(Irvine Standard, September 2)
Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian has launched a virtual reality program for expectant mothers, NurtureVR. Using VR headsets, maternity patients will have access to over 3 months’ worth of educational material and other immersive experiences that will nurture the relationship between them and their growing child. With it, expectant mothers can augment their journey through pregnancy into motherhood including things like uploading their own 3D ultrasound images for a more personalized experience.
‘Pokémon Go’ Maker Niantic Wants to Turn AR Into 5G’s First Killer App
(Fast Company, September 1)
Through the Planet-Scale AR Alliance, Pokémon Go maker, Niantic, plans to put out more AR content by partnering with eight 5G carriers. The goal is to provide users with more AR experiences while giving Niantic an outlet to produce exclusive 5G AR content. Providers will benefit from the alliance by having a way to show off 5G technology when pitching to customers to make the switch from 4G. Although the alliance currently has eight members, Niantic is inviting other carriers, device manufacturers, and companies to join in on their efforts.
Amazon Patents AR Tech to Show Product Reviews on Your Body Parts
(PCMag, September 1)
Amazon recently patented a new AR concept that displays virtual product reviews on a user’s hand. Customers will be able to display an AR product review in a physical retail store using their smartphones, smart glasses, or smart contact lenses. AR glasses would show the item’s name and customer reviews on the palms of the user’s hands. Users could then press on a section of their hand to access a certain item. In addition, users can increase or decrease the display size by moving their hand closer or farther away. Being that AR glasses are still making their way to the market, people believe that we will not see this patented technology hit the market for a few years.
Feel VR From Your Head to Your Toes Using These Haptic Sneakers
(VR Scout, August 31)
DropLabs’ new and improved, sleek, all-black exterior, audio-enabled footwear now supports all Bluetooth 4.2 compatible devices. This includes most wireless headphones, gaming consoles, and VR headsets. DropLabs patented technology, located in the midsole of the sneakers, delivers bass-activated stereo audio to a user’s feet, allowing for an enhanced haptic feedback experience. For devices lacking Bluetooth support, the sneakers have a low latency cable. The sneakers also carry mic support and are available to buy for $299.
