The Immersive Wire - 16 February 2022 (News edition)

By Tom FfiskeVR/AR and metaverse analysis every Wednesday and Sunday

// 16 February 2022

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TOP STORIESFoo Fighters tearing up the stage without insurance

Aviva found that immersive tech-related insurance claims jumped by 31 per cent last year.

• Yes, the story reminds me of all the accidents related to the Wii remote as well. Accidents include shattering light fixtures, punching ceiling fans, crashing into furniture, and breaking televisions among others.

• As easy as it is to laugh at the story, it tells us a few things. For one the spike in accidents imply a rise in usage, which is another indicator of growth. Another is potentially poor health and safety guidance; if people are having accidents in VR, then perhaps the guidance for safe play is not clear enough. Then again, we all know that instructions can be as clear as day but people may not follow them word-for-word.

• The last consideration is being wary of hard numbers. If six people had an accident, then twelve a year later, that is a 100% increase in accidents from a low number. The same could be the same here, though we cannot know for sure. It's a great use of data to tell a story, though it may obscure the true numbers behind the veil.

Meta hosted the Foo Fighters as part of their Super Bowl marketing blitz, but it was hit by

a few technical difficulties.

• I won't parrot the news here, but I will give a few recommendations for next time. The approach has a lot of potential to rally the community, and I anticipate it would make a big splash if repeated next year:

  • One - Host multiple sessions or instances of the same performance. If it is pre-recorded anyway (as it was in this case), then try to host multiple ones across different timezones to lower congestion. Additionally, multiple versions for people around the world would help its global reach.

  • Two - Pre-announce it further in advance, and collect tickets of interest. While it lacks the 'surprise' moment of hosting a band, it would mean the company can pre-prepare server resources depending on the number of expected attendees.

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OTHER STORIESAuctions and furniture

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• Annavas Home, the first VR furniture store, is now on Kickstarter.

• AnomieXR is hosting their first VR NFT auction inside AltSpaceVR on 11 March, collaborating with Durk van der Meer, Rosie Summers, Natasha Murray, and Kayleigh Eliza.

• Encore is a live performance app that, among other benefits, lets artists create and perform live in custom AR environments with their phones.

• Maze Theory revealed more details on their Peaky Blinders VR game.

• Meta will label their employees as metamates.

  • Yarrrrrrrrr me hearties.

  • Also, I think I need to grow into the term.

• NFL worked with Snap during the Super Bowl, including using AR lenses for various slots.

  • Considering how many years they have worked together, it sounds like AR is still a powerful tool for marketing engagement.

  • Oh, and I will of course mention how a QR code linking to Coinbase crashed the site. Also, imagine an AR equivalent where engagement and dwell time can be tracked. Perhaps next year?

• Qualcomm will also make its XR SDKs available for activities like developing object and geo-tracking features.

• Republic Realm announced that it is changing its name to Everyrealm, to signal the company’s vision of the metaverse.

  • I expect more companies to follow suit in 2022, for good reasons or otherwise.

• The Polys unveiled their winners.

• Wild Capture is launching the 'Digital Human Platform'.

• XRToday's XR Awards 2022 are now open.

Jobs boardDISTRIBUTION AND TOURING PRODUCER. Marshmallow Laser Feast is looking for someone to join our team as a Distribution & Touring Producer. You will have a desire to work at the bleeding edge of immersive storytelling and help shape how that work is distributed globally. We see the development and distribution of MLF’s own work as key to the future success of the business, a key revenue stream and integral in building global brand awareness. This new role will be a vital part of the core team that formulates and realises this ambitious vision. Learn more. RENDERING AND C++ ENGINEER, Wikitude, a Qualcomm company. Qualcomm is a company of inventors that unlocked 5G ushering in an age of rapid acceleration in connectivity. Under this dynamic umbrella, Wikitude, a Qualcomm company, shapes the future of augmented reality by empowering businesses and developers. We are looking for the XR Software Engineer Design to design, test, and implement core parts of the Wikitude XR toolkit – particularly rendering pipelines for XR systems. Do you have a high affinity for real-time rendering pipelines and optimizing code to fit 16ms (or less)? Learn more and apply! SENIOR COMPUTER SCIENCE and SOFTWARE DEVELOPER (3D, Linear Algebra, C++). MetaVRse is a web-based 3D game engine for building immersive experiences without needing to code. We are looking for a unicorn computer scientist from anywhere in the world who can help us improve the core rendering technology that will serve creators to build custom products in training, marketing, sales, retail and learning in photorealistic, real-time 3D delivered on any device in a browser. Working with our Head of R&D, you will be responsible for creating and implementing new 3D graphics solutions to push the limits of our technology stack. Solid understanding of Real-time 3D libraries (OpenGL, Vulkan), Linear Algebra, C++ and 3D rendering and game engine technologies. Apply Here.XR SOFTWARE ENGINEER NETWORKING, Wikitude, a Qualcomm company. Qualcomm is a company of inventors that unlocked 5G ushering in an age of rapid acceleration in connectivity. Under this dynamic umbrella, Wikitude, a Qualcomm company, shapes the future of augmented reality by empowering businesses and developers. We are looking for an experienced XR Software Engineer Networking to drive the architecture, development, and deployment of core parts of our XR toolkit. A successful candidate has extensive experience in multiplayer streaming and can apply it to XR experiences. Do you have a solid technical background, a passion for the XR industry, and enjoy working with engineering teams? Apply hereXR CONTENT DIRECTOR, Pixo VR. The VR marketplace is exploding, and PIXO is leading the way in on-demand generation and adoption in our industry. With our groundbreaking PIXO ApexTM platform, we provide comprehensive, end-to-end VR content, distribution, and management solutions for enterprise. PIXO VR is searching for an XR Content Director to join our team. Reporting to the COO, the Content Director will manage the overall production, procurement and growth strategy for our XR content library. Working with a team of offshore and onshore designers, engineers, artists, marketers, and 3rd party content developers, the Content Director will ensure PIXO is delivering an exceptional content experience to all our end users. Check out further details here. SDK TECHNICAL ENGINEER, Pico Interactive Europe. As SDK Technical Engineer you will be responsible for investigating/troubleshooting issues reported, and collecting/consolidating customer requirements back to the Beijing DevSupport team. Through this role you will be the technical liaison between Pico Interactive Europe customers and Pico product teams to ensure Europe region's commercial success. In Europe, Pico is one of the premier enterprise hardware companies in the rapidly growing VR market. Click here for more.TECHNICAL PROJECT MANAGER, Pico Interactive Europe. As Technical Project Manager you will be responsible for evaluating improvements to the devices, services, logistics, and operations to continue the high growth business of Pico Interactive Europe. In Europe, Pico is one of the premier enterprise hardware companies in the rapidly growing VR market. The Pico Europe business is responsible for all business opportunities in Europe, Israel, Russian Federation and India. Click here for more.  Display your vacancy in front of thousands of talented VR/AR professionals in just a few clicks. Click here for more info.

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