The Immersive Wire - 22 June 2022 (News edition)

The Immersive Wire - 22 June 2022 (News edition)

22 June 2022 // Online versionby Tom Ffiske

Metaverse and VR/AR analysis every Wednesday and Sunday

Was this email forwarded to you?

TOP STORYUpping the standards

EXCLUSIVE

:

Meta

is partnering with a female-led VR project called

  • Led by Julie Cavaliere and Michaela Ternasky-Holland, the series will explore the lesser-known folklore and myths of the world.

  • The first volume (called Nyssa) is inspired by a Brothers Grimm tale, “The Boy Who Went Forth into the World to Learn Fear."

  • Sounds fantastic, and I look forward to taking a look!

Metaverse Standards Forum launched, promising to facilitate discussions on open standards

.

  • The list of founding members is astonishing: 0xSenses, Academy Software Foundation, Adobe, Alibaba, Autodesk, Blackshark.ai, CalConnect, Cesium, Daly Realism, Disguise, the Enosema Foundation, Epic Games, the Express Language Foundation, Google, Huawei, IKEA, John Peddie Research, Khronos, Lamina1, Maxon, Meta, Microsoft, NVIDIA, OpenAR Cloud, the Open Geospatial Consortium, Otoy, Perey Consulting, Qualcomm Technologies, Ribose, Sony Interactive Entertainment, Spatial Web Foundation, Unity, VerseMaker, Wayfair, the Web3D Consortium, and the World Wide Web Consortium.

  • Not included: Apple, Niantic, Roblox. (Though they may join at a later date).

  • I spoke to its founder, Neil Trevett, about why it launched: “Whatever shape the metaverse ends up being, it will bring together lots of technologies in novel ways. Open standards are the way to enable the interoperability to happen at a pervasive scale. The reason we launched the Metaverse Standards Forum is that it is the only place that all of the standards bodies are meeting together so we can coordinate together with the wider industry.”

  • It is one of the bigger metaverse announcements this year. Readers know that agreeing on the standards is a vital step in actually building it, as companies can agree on the standards and systems at the core. It's a win for everyone.

  • For it to succeed, every company needs to agree upon and use the standards. It is a basic point, but there are also incentives for companies to build walled gardens with an internal, well-controlled ecosystem (see: Apple). Still, let's see what comes out of the Forum when attendees next meet.

 

As summer comes along, consider an easy read for the weekends. The Metaverse: A Professional Guide sorts the sense from the nonsense, giving experts insights and guidance on how to navigate the burgeoning world of immersive technologies. By the end, you will have a firm grasp of the metaverse and all the contingent technologies that link to its foundations.Available in all regions.

OTHER STORIESInvesting into web3

Want your news to appear here? Reply to this newsletter, or send an email to tom (at) immersivewire (dot) com.

  • Admix merged with Landvault as it embraces web3.

  • Arvizio announced that its AR Instructor solution is now on mobile devices.

  • Blippar announced its integration with Microsoft Teams.

  • Eirmersive prepared an economic report on Ireland's immersive economy.

  • Elton John worked with Jadu and Sweet to launch an NFT (bear with me) that will help the Elton John AIDS Foundation.

    • I am generally cautious about NFT projects, but I like this because it has a genuinely charitable cause - what's not to like?

  • ENGAGE launched the ENGAGE LINK, a 'professional metaverse.'

    • One day, I want to do a traveller's guide to the business side of the metaverse, and try all of the platforms out.

  • eyeora is a new platform where people can build virtual worlds, built specifically for non-technical people.

  • Glimpse wins Cristal for Best VR work at the Annecy Festival.

  • HTC VIVE announced the VIVE Flow Business Edition, which does exactly what you think.

    • I asked HTC why, and a spokesperson responded: "The team have had a number of business enquiries and requests for corporate tools for the Flow since its public unveiling, which prompted the introduction of the Flow Business Edition."

    • On sales, HTC could not disclose figures on the OG VIVE Flow.

  • In a Mayfair Fashion is an AR activity where people can learn about Mayfair's fashionable past, built with Darabase.

  • Meta Camera announced its latest camera - the Meta Three.

  • Party.Space received $500k in funding to grow the business.

  • Reality Gaming Group has rebranded to Reality+.

  • VRTO, an immersive tech event, comes to Toronto on 21 July.

  • The State of AR/VR survey is live now. Share your views on the popular AR/VR tools, platforms, and technologies in return for a chance to win prizes.*

 *Sponsored link from SlashData.

 

🎧 Reading and listening corner

What I recommend this week. If you want this section to stay, or wish to tweak it, reply to this newsletter and I am happy to tweak it.

  • Spatial audio: Oliver Kadel takes a deep dive with the Sennheiser AMBEO Mobility team in a new podcast mini-series.

  • Study on VR and work: An investigation on how working in VR was not enjoyable - but it is not the best. I usually trust scientific research, but it's a great example of a study that hits the media agenda, but is wildly incorrect. It uses the small pool of participants (16!), and the excessive use of VR in a non-useful way.

  • Fashion and avatars: Meta and fashion brands are looking at avatars closely, and this is a great write-up on it from Vogue Business.

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!