Dec 31, 2021

Virtual & Augmented Reality - Global Issue # 37

Issue #37 — View online — Suggest a link

Virtual & Augmented Reality

We provide you with a list of handpicked stories, best practices, startup showcases and fresh tools to build the Metaverse and the next version of the web!

Hi 🖐🏼,

Welcome to the last edition of 2021. It wasn’t the year we all wished for but we end it stronger than ever to fight this pandemic in the coming year. This week, we celebrate all the achievements the Metaverse brought and mostly put up questions for 2022.

If we don’t see each other in one of the NYE parties at AltspaceVR or VRChat, thanks for joining us today, we’ll be back for more next week!

Happy New Year folks… 🎉✨🎊

XR HEADLINES

The Metaverse Land Rush Is an Illusion

The Metaverse Land Rush Is an Illusion

It’s only been a couple of months since Facebook’s rebrand, but it’s hard to overstate how much it’s already driven the conversation about “the metaverse.” For starters, nearly everyone describes it as the metaverse — when the reality is that there is no singular metaverse in the sense that we talk about “the internet.”

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How AI, VR, AR, 5G, and blockchain may converge to power the metaverse

How AI, VR, AR, 5G, and blockchain may converge to power the metaverse

The metaverse could be the killer app for several of the most exciting emerging technologies that haven’t yet found their footing.

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Using AI to bring children’s drawings to life

Using AI to bring children’s drawings to life

Does your child love to draw? Ever wished that characters in their drawings could “come to life” and move around the page? Using AI, we’ve developed…

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Oculus app tops App Store charts!

Meta's Oculus virtual reality headsets were a popular holiday gift

Meta's Oculus virtual reality headsets were a popular holiday gift

Meta, Facebook’s parent company, had the most popular app in Apple’s App Store on Christmas: the Oculus VR app.

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US Army Confirms IVAS to Deploy in 2022

US Army Confirms IVAS to Deploy in 2022

XR Today reports on the latest Extended Reality news from around the globe. Including virtual reality, augmented reality and mixed reality. XR News

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XR STARTUPS

Ertha Metaverse Raises $5.4 Million, Launches IDO

Ertha Metaverse Raises $5.4 Million, Launches IDO

Ertha Metaverse, a popular Metaverse and Play-to-Earn project in BSC blockchain gaming, announced it has raised $5.4 million, according

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Space Metaverse raises $7M to build virtual worlds for arts and commerce

Space Metaverse raises $7M to build virtual worlds for arts and commerce

So many Metaverses… But shouldn’t there be only one?

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XR GLASSES

Apple reportedly hires Meta's AR communications lead ahead of headset launch in 2022

Apple reportedly hires Meta's AR communications lead ahead of headset launch in 2022

As rumors about Apple’s rumored AR headset only grow, the company is said to have hired Meta’s augmented reality communications lead.

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XR FOR GOOD

Adapting VR Games for People with Disabilities

Adapting VR Games for People with Disabilities

Beat Saber, Job Simulator, AudioShield, BoxVR, and many more games are engaging and very immersive. But they haven’t been accessible for everyone… until now.

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How VR is revolutionizing crisis preparedness

How VR is revolutionizing crisis preparedness

From active shooter trainings to flight simulations, Jeremy Bailenson, founding director of Stanford’s Virtual Human Interaction Lab, argues that virtual reality is at its best when used for situations that are counterproductive, expensive, or dangerous in the real world.

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XR SAFETY & PRIVACY

VR Safety Tips for Parents: Top 7 XRSI Recommendations

VR Safety Tips for Parents: Top 7 XRSI Recommendations

One of the most common uses of VR is gaming because it gives players an incredibly immersive experience. VR can be a fantastic medium for education, letting adults and children alike feel immersed in the subjects they’re exploring, whether that’s a historic city or human anatomy.

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If I don't want my property put on a virtual world as an NFT, what do we do?

If I don't want my property put on a virtual world as an NFT, what do we do?

Asks cybersecurity expert Kavya Pearlman about the lack of laws to regulate the metaverse.

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XR OPEN SOURCE

E3XR: An Analytical Framework for Ethical, Educational and Eudaimonic XR Design

E3XR: An Analytical Framework for Ethical, Educational and Eudaimonic XR Design

In this paper, the authorsintroduce E3XR, a framework that serves as an analytical lens to determine the ethics, learning theory and human flourishing aspects of an XR design.

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WORD OF THE WEEK

VR full Body Tracking: do you really need it?

VR full Body Tracking: do you really need it?

Equipment for full body tracking in VR can cost you a handsome sum of money. In this article, we look at pros and cons of investing in that technology.

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NEXT EVENTS

New Years Eve Around The World | AltspaceVR

New Years Eve Around The World | AltspaceVR

Celebration marking new year’s eve for our global community.

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'VRChat' Hosts 24-hour Ball Drop & Live Music to Ring in the New Year

'VRChat' Hosts 24-hour Ball Drop & Live Music to Ring in the New Year

Many social VR platforms are playing host to informal New Year’s Eve parties, with users banding together to ring in the new year. VRChat is going the extra mile this year though to put on a 24-hour NYE bash that includes ball drops on the hour and live music so everyone can celebrate!

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CES 2022 - The Most Influential Tech Event in the World

CES 2022 - The Most Influential Tech Event in the World

For more than 50 years, CES® has been the global stage for innovation. And the all-digital CES 2021 continued to be a platform to launch products, engage with global brands and define the future of the tech industry. Attendees were able to participate in all the awe-inspiring moments of CES wherever they were in the world.

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PODCAST OF THE WEEK

Rec Room’s Origin Story, Oral History, & Evolution to Becoming the first VR Unicorn Company - Voices of VR Podcast

Rec Room’s Origin Story, Oral History, & Evolution to Becoming the first VR Unicorn Company - Voices of VR Podcast

On March 23, 2021, Rec Room announced that they raised $100M with a valuation of $1.25 billion, which makes them the first VR software company to achieve “unicorn” status.

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Closing notes

That´s all for this week, folks!

Once again, if you have any comments, questions, articles or topics to share with us, or if you want to just talk about XR, you can reach Luis Bravo Martins and Anesio Neto quick and easy.

Thank you!

Techstars Startup Digest Virtual & Augmented Reality is curated by:

	Luís Bravo Martins - CMO, VR/AR Author & Speaker luis.martins@startupdigestmail.com
	Anesio Neto - Matchmaker, Creative Strategist & Content Manager anesio.neto@startupdigestmail.com

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