News
AR Filters bringing American voters to the ballot box to #Vote
Apps got very political this election year. More than 1.2 million first time voters were encouraged to vote, shown polling locations, and even taught how to properly fill out ballots via Snapchat and other Apps that drew in audiences using dozens of fun AR filters and experiences.
HoloLens 2 Development Edition is now available in the U.S
Microsoft currently has a great bundle with the HoloLens 2 Development Edition to include dev tools, Azure credits, three-month Unity Pro subscription, and a three-month Pixyz Plugin subscription. Though the price is unchanged, this time better financing options will be available in early 2021, allowing customers to buy the HoloLens 2 in installments of $99 per month.
Lifting the VR veil: How PlayStation 5 works with Sony’s last-gen headset
Those of us VR fans fortunate enough to have gotten their hands on a PS5 saw an underwhelming amount of support out of the box. Sony is working to fill the gaps, but this guide gives a good overview on how to get PSVR working on PS5.
Experiences
Amazon launches an AR app that works with new QR codes on its boxes
Halloween news wasn't as big this year, so the Amazon Augmented Reality iOS App released without much press. it is a shame, though, since it allows users to create their own pumpkins by drawing on the sides of deliveries from Amazon. If you'd still like to give it a try and don't have any orders arriving soon you can still download and print the template.
Research
The Army Thinks These Mixed-Reality 'Doggles' Can Make SpecOps Canines Better in Battle
AR for canines sounds pretty far-fetched, but it's working very well according to a few years of research by the U.S. Army. Using AR and special goggles, canine handlers are using visual prompts and cameras to see and communicate with their dogs to help guide and keep them safe in military operations.
Gear
Optics For Head-mounted Display | Amalgamated Vision
Winners of NASA iTech Forum 2020, Amalgamated Vision has created the world's first ultra-near-to-eye display that does not block normal vision while also giving a fantastic XR experience to the wearer. If NASA is interested this is certainly more than just hype to this innovation.
VR Power™ for Oculus Quest and Quest 2 - Rebuff Reality
Two common problems with head mounted displays are battery life and display droop. Rebuff Reality has a product that helps solve both by acting as a counterweight to prevent forward slippage and extending battery life to over 9 hours of continuous play.
Learning
One Magic Leap For Mankind: Is this visual platform the magic bullet to remote learning?
With distance learning staying around for a while longer VR platforms have the potential for becoming a unifying force to bring teachers, students, and the world together. Could Magic Leap be the one to secure that space where other companies have to date been unsuccessful?
Google is shutting down its VR field trip app Expeditions
By contrast we got a sad announcement that Google Expeditions is shutting down in the summer of 2021 after 6 years of providing virtual field trips for students. Its content is still accessible until June 20, 2021, after which its content will be merged into the Google Arts & Culture App.
One More Thing
Reality Mixer - Oculus Quest Mixed Reality For iOS
if you haven't encountered a video of someone looking like they were inside a game of Beat Saber, well, you haven't been online recently. Reality Mixer is an open source project that makes it extremely easy to create this kind of content using an iOS device and Oculus Quest.
Commentary
The 2020 U.S. Election took virtually everyone's attention this last week and we saw the highest voter turnout in over a century. In part due to Apps reaching out to previously un-registered and new voters to make voting as approachable as possible. Not the sole reason for such high turnout but it's definitely a contributing factor.
This week's newsletter we're highlighting some of the stories that didn't get as much attention but definitely shouldn't be ignored. Regardless of how many sites did (or did not) pick up a story the ways in which creative people are looking to enhance or augment reality never ends.
Other Realities