Aphex Twin, a legendary musician, launches an AR app

Executive summary

Welcome to your weekly briefing on the metaverse. Here are your snippets to sound smarter in meetings this week:

• Headline: Aphex Twin, a legendary musician, launches an AR app.

  • (Yes, it’s been a slow week).

• Conversation-starter: The University of California found that surveillance software can exploit immersive tech to convert user movements into written speech - with high accuracy.

• Interesting read: Ralph Lauren’s CEO points towards the metaverse and sustainability to attracting gen Z.

• Poll: 52% of readers have used a VR headset within the last week (more below).

• Updates to the Metaverse Expert’s Toolkit: Events for the rest of 2023 have been added. Share your personal referral link to gain access to my personal repository: https://www.immersivewire.com/subscribe?ref=PLACEHOLDER

Analysis

Aphex Twin, a legendary musician, launches an AR app.

• How does it work? When you scan the front packaging of vinyl or albums etc., it plays an AR experience.

• Will it go far? I am less sure. Super fans may download the app and have a great experience, but I am not sure most people would want to download something new to try a more novel experience. It’s very cool and creative though - as an art movement, it is excellent.

Poll: When was the last time you used a VR headset?

Most Immersive Wire respondents said that they used a VR headset within the last week.

• Within a week: Jed Ashforth from Realised Realities was particularly keen: “Weeks? I count it in hours or days! I use VR almost daily for work, and for fun it's rarely more than a few days between sessions.” Dave Haynes from FOV Ventures said: “My kids have been playing on one of our headsets all summer to meet up with his mates in Gorilla Tag while they're not at school.” (Disclaimer: I work with FOV Ventures to support their newsletter).

• Within a month: Robin Raskin was less enthusiastic: “When FB changed to Meta, I lost my passwords and everything I ever bought. Plus I bought a second pair to share with my grandson and it seems we can't. VR should not be so hard to keep working, and there's no tech support”

Discuss on Discord | Follow on LinkedIn | Follow on TikTok

Other notable stories

Got any stories? Let me know at tom (at) immersivewire (dot) com.

• 7-Eleven continues its advertising within Fortnite.

• The Augmented and Virtual Reality Policy Conference will run on 14 September.

• The Everywhere Group announced its licensing partnership with Hasbro, which will help to deliver Peppa Pig: Surprise Party.

• Karta launched its own studio dedicated to creating experiences in Fortnite.

• The Met collaborated with Roblox to make an experience.

• NAK3D announced the appointment of Kelly Vero as its CEO.

• Open City Documentary Festival is happening from 6 September.

• The Sandbox has unlocked 332 million SAND tokens into the market.

• Sony filed a patent for a VR glove controller.

• Women of the Future opened pre-orders for its second volume.

• Zepeto is betting more on blockchain-based technologies.

Profile corner

In partnership with the Department of Computing, Goldsmiths.

Asan is an XR designer currently working with UCL Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience to create XR application for spatial navigation tasks and data gathering for early Alzheimers detection. Currently enrolled in the MA program for Virtual and Augmented Reality at Goldsmiths, University of London, Asan is deeply intrigued by the incorporation of XR technologies into everyday spaces and their potential to reshape our physical surroundings. To connect with Asan, head over to angrytengri.com.

Help corner

Need some assistance from other readers? Let me know at tom (at) immersivewire (dot) com.

• This can be you! If you wish to be included, let me know by using the above address.

[email protected]