News
Universal Music Group Partners with Genies for Artist Avatars // Variety
Virtual avatar company Genies has entered into partnership with Universal Music Group to develop avatars and digital wearables for UMG’s artist roster. This global partnership looks to be a pretty big one and should bring more entertainers into the Metaverse via virtual concerts and performances than we've seen before.
Korea To Begin Using VR-Based Drivers Ed for Elderly In 2025 // VRScout
South Korean law enforcement is currently developing a program to use VR to evaluate the driving ability of those aged 65 and older. With over 31,000 annual accidents involving elderly drivers it makes sense to better check if they still have what it takes to drive. We really like this real world and very practical use case, and hope to hear more about its successes in the future.
Experiences
DUET // New York Live Arts Live Artery
The latest work from Choreographer Brandon Powers was scheduled as a live VR performance but due to in-person restrictions will be held virtually from January 13th to the 17th. We're still excited to see what will come from the experimentation of combining VR and real people dancing. To learn more watch the short video from its creator and we hope to see you in the virtual audience.
Reading
Reality Check: Looking Back at Augmented Reality in 2021 // LinkedIn
Tom Emrich, VP of 8th Wall, released his yearly look backward on predictions he made on technology and trends. What we feel sets this apart from others predicting the future of tech is that Tom actually looks back to see how closely (or off the mark) things were from what thought at the beginning of 2021. Definitely worth a read and someone you should consider following if you use LinkedIn.
Research
Towards increased accessibility in human-robot collaboration leveraging gaze interaction in Mixed Reality at Cardiff University // FindAPhD.com
If you or someone you know is considering a PhD who also has interest in Mixed Reality and Human/Robot interactions then this may be for you. This program focuses on the gaze interactions and is run through Cardiff University (Wales). If we were still in school this would be something we'd definitely consider for post-graduate studies. Thanks to Argenis Ramirez Gomez for mentioning this opportunity on Twitter.
Videos
Why You Shouldn’t Buy Virtual Land in the Metaverse // YouTube
Crypto tokens such as Decentraland ($MANA) and Sandbox ($SAND) soared to record highs with the Meta announcement, but the value (and utility) of buying virtual land in these platforms still remain speculative. This editorial covers some of the reasons you may want to reconsider virtual land purchases if that was something you were mulling over.
Inspiration
Voices of Inspiration on Oculus Quest 2 // Oculus
Voices of Inspiration is an experience that immerses you in the audio stories, aspirations, and artwork of children at St. Jude as you journey to the stars in a futuristic space elevator. Despite recent findings by Pro Publica we still feel the charity does good, but doesn’t do everything. It doesn’t take away from messages of hope and gratitude from patients and their families.
One More Thing
Invest in VirZOOM: Exercise in the Metaverse is our Game, with over 200,000 Lifetime Active Users // Wefunder
With so many entering the investment space and researching where to put their money we wanted to feature a venue and company that is worth considering. Backing a VR studio with the people and track record that this one feels more solid an investment than NFT. At the time of publishing this we have not made up our minds on whether to become an investor, but it's very, very tempting.
Commentary
The week has been packed with lots of great news about new VR headsets and wearable trackers, but the most impressive things for us this week has been the response from inquiries for interviews and to talk about collaborations. We're just over a year old and things are feeling like they are beginning to move in the direction we hoped to see last summer.
But more on that later.
We had two candidates for this week's featured placement as "One More Thing" but felt that sharing an alternative investment path to crypto and NFTs was the right way to go. Being part of the people funding the studios and companies that are creating immersive experiences is more than just a potentially good investment, it is actually taking a more active role in creating the experiences that help expand the Metaverse.
Can you guess what the other item we considered this week? Let us know your best guess.
Thank you for reading and subscribing, and we'll see you next week!
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