The Immersive Wire - 10 November 2021 (News edition)

By Tom FfiskeCurated VR/AR analysis every Wednesday and Sunday

// 10 November 2021

Far Cry 6 has some great companions, such as the shirt-wearing alligator called Guapo, or the disabled Dachshund

called Chorizo.

IMVERSE Holo software for LIVE volumetric video capture

TOP STORIESImmersive devkits raining from the sky

Dev kit one: Qualcomm announced the Snapdragon Spaces XR Developer Platform.

• Basically, it is a head-worn AR dev kit to help blend the virtual and real worlds together.

• This kind of dev kit is important, as it effectively lays the groundwork for building AR glasses experiences. The software can also work with Android phones (not iPhones yet, I believe), which can integrate together.

• “The Snapdragon SpacesXR Developer Platform underscores our commitment to empowering developers to explore bravely and create confidently, paving the way to a new frontier of spatial computing,” said Hugo Swart, VP and GM of XR at Qualcomm Technologies. “Snapdragon Spaces is designed to support the democratization of XR by taking a horizontal, open-channel approach so developers can rapidly bring their ideas to life and reach a wide range of end-users. We welcome developers to join us in this journey to reimagine reality.”

• The real test comes when more experiences come out from using the kit. It is in early access for some devs, and will be generally available in spring 2022.

Dev kit two: Niantic released Lightship, which lets devs build their own AR experiences.

• Think of it as the foundational platform they used to make Pokemon Go and the recently released Pikmon Bloom.

• Initial brand partners include Coachella, Lifull, the PGA of America, Historic Royal Palaces, Science Museum Group, Shueisha, Softbank, the artist JR and Superblue, TRIPP, Universal Pictures, and Warner Music Group.

• “Transforming humanity’s relationship with technology by merging the physical and virtual worlds will require the ideas and perspectives of as many people as possible,” said John Hanke, Founder and CEO of Niantic. “That’s why we’re so excited to open the vault of technology that powers our own games, so developers, creators and brands globally can build inclusive experiences that push the boundaries of what’s possible in AR.”

• The company sincerely hopes that you make some experiences by May 2022, as that is when the first annual Niantic Lightship Developer Conference is happening.

Which dev kit to choose?

I would go for Lightship, at least for now. Niantic's platform already works with billions of mobile devices, and there is a lot of potential to build an array of immersive experiences on something that has launched multi-billion dollar projects (except for the Harry Potter one, which was quietly shelved). Qualcomm's one is visionary, but it has a comparatively smaller scope.

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OTHER STORIESFunding rounds, events, and acquisitions

Want your story featured? Contact me at tom (at) immersivewire (dot) com, or reply to this email.

• AWE is now underway in the USA.

  • One of many events happening over the next few days!

• Blippar added SLAM to their no-code AR builder.

• Dispelix raised $33m in a Series B funding round.

• FitXR added voice integration to its services.

  • I would be impressed if the voice recognition picked up people's panting words in between sweaty workouts.

• hundo raised $2m in seed funding, as part of their metaverse expansion.

• meetingRoom has updated its application, which now includes branded custom spaces.

• Sony Pictures Television and Stellify Media partnered with Joe Sugg to launch Virtually Impossible, a VR game show.

  • I am curious, too.

• Unity bought Weta Digital for $1.625bn.

  • I would imagine that Peter Jackson - the co-founder of the studio - would be organising an absolute bender in a Rivendell-esque location in celebration.

• VRDays Europe is happening from this weekend onwards.

  • Immersive Wire readers get a discount on their tickets if they use this code: VRD21-MEDIA-FP

• XR Research Awards opened a new opportunity to win €40k funding to study behaviour in VR.

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We are looking to appoint a dynamic and adaptable course director for our BA (Hons) in Digital Media to lead and deliver teaching, learning and assessment on the BA Digital Media and steer its next phase of growth. As well as a track record of academic leadership you will have extensive practical experience in digital media such as immersive storytelling (AR/VR/XR), modelling and animation, creative media design / production, or web / mobile app design and development. Click here for more.SENIOR IMMERSIVE LEARNING DESIGNER, UK. Make Real is looking to expand our digital learning team with a Senior Immersive Learning Designer. Your role will be to consult with clients in order to create exciting and imaginative design solutions. Your designs will affect behaviour change in order to deliver on specific learning outcomes, while being achievable within a set budget and timeline. Click here for more. SENIOR UNITY DEVELOPER, UK. 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That's all for this week! Want to have a chat, let me know about a news story, or talk business? Either reply to this email, or contact tom (at) immersivewire (dot) com. Have an excellent day!