Emerging Tech

TechLife’s practical monthly roundup with Joel Burgess of emerging tech experiences, including all the latest virtual and augmented reality apps, alongside AI apps and other useful tools.

This month’s developments in XR make it clear that we’re moving into a more expansive realm of mixed reality that is capable of precisely mapping and rebuilding the real world. Consider this month’s inclusion of a Lidar powered walking stick and the announcement of VR compatibility for Microsoft’s real-world-scale satellite-mapped Flight Simulator and it feels like The Metaverse isn’t too far off. AI is continuing to blur the lines between human and computer in projects like Elon Musk’s Nuralink brain chip. At the same time new AI ventures are teaching software the skills required for occupations like sports coaching and flying aeroplanes from takeoff to landing.

Apple Glass object manipulation

$TBC, apple.com

While a Bloomberg report has pegged the earliest release date for Apple Glass to be no earlier than 2021, a newly discovered patent application details that the device intends to allow users to move virtual objects using other physical objects. This means that you could spin a globe in AR by twisting your hands or flip a book page to have all the digital writing refresh. If you take this to it’s logical extent you could turn a chopping board into the latest iPad.

Microsoft Flight Simulator VR

From $99.95, microsoft.com

Anyone keen on flying aeroplanes, or those wanting to learn how, will be looking forward to Microsoft’s highly anticipated Flight Simulator update, but this release now comes with even better news: it’ll be available in VR. Initially the game will be released on HP’s Reverb G2 headset which is set to arrive at the end of 2020, so you won’t get it on August 18th when the game launches, but VR compatibility will be included with the base game.

Virtual Tolkien VR

Free, uploadvr.com/virtual-tolkien-vr-scene

There are few films that do epic scale scenery as well as The Lord of the Rings films, but the only thing more immersive than big screen CGI is being in the environment yourself. Software developer James Rose built the Virtual Tolkien VR landscape from an iconic scene in the trilogy where the fellowship pass through a river in a gorge with giant statues carved from the cliff face. This lone wolf didn’t have quite the same VFX budget, but it’s still neat to row through the virtual river and experience the scale of the full-size statues.

Theia – An AR walking stick

$TBC, lboro.ac.uk

Theia is a handheld haptic remote that was created by an Industrial Design and Technology student of Loughborough University to guide users to their destination without visual cues. The device is intended to be used like a smart speaker to request directions to places and receiving audio directions but it also includes onboard lidar and cameras that will engage in hazardous locations that allow it to virtually map surroundings and warn users of any potential moving dangers.

Free, daleonai.com

Dale Markowitz, an Applied AI Engineer at Google, has used machine learning software to analyse her tennis serve and tell her where she is going wrong. Using a camera and a tripod Markowitz captured video of her serve and then compared this to footage of professionals using Google’s new Person Detection feature of its Cloud Video Intelligence API. After comparing positions and angles of various body parts Markowitz then confirmed with a professional trainer what the software was recommending for her to improve her serve.

Neuralink

$NA, nurallink.com

While the original goal of Neuralink, according to its co-founder, was to create a digital interface so we could interact more directly with computers, a recent Tweet by Elon Musk suggests it might pivot into the medical services field. In a response to someone asking about Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, Musk confirmed that the device is intended to stimulate neurons to release neurotransmitters like oxytocin and serotonin in order to remap behaviours. These particular hormones are associated with reinforcement pathways in the brain and could theoretically be manipulated to retrain the brain.

Cartoonizer

Free, cartoonize-lkqov62dia-de.a. run.app

If you’re anything like us, drawings have always been a challenge, so a piece of AI software that can transform your favourite pictures into unique cartoons on the spot is a pretty impressive free tool. Cartoonizer was built using a style of image manipulation presented in a research paper by Xinrui Wang and Jinze Yu from the University of Tokyo. In addition to transforming photos you can also convert short sub-30MB clips into cartoon animations for free.