002 — Reality Check
A newsletter about the next wave of interaction design for spatial computing.
Holographic Remote Working Futures
Office closures due to the continued pandemic pushes companies to think about how we might reinvent collaboration models by leveraging augmented and virtual reality. Concepts using AR glasses and virtual operating systems to inform a future floating desktop, alongside companies like Ikin’s hologram technology using video from mobile devices further paints a picture of what a multi-device co-presence experience might look like.
Magic Leap CEO, Peggy Johnson, speaks about an internal project called C3 which stands for communication, collaboration and co-presence further developing the concept of “3D meetings” through the use of virtual avatars similar to what we’ve seen from Spatial.
We can also expect virtual meeting rooms from Facebook as they continue to work towards a 2021 launch of “Infinite Office” in Oculus Quest, with a foreseen vision of overlapping with Facebook Portal video chat.
AR for Education & Empathy
While we are well familiar with AR as a vehicle for entertainment and more recently shopping, new projects are pushing 3D and AR technology to teach us about our pasts and bring light to our futures.
Olafur Eliasson uses AR to give the planet a voice through children. EarthSpeakr enables children to animate their environment by recording a message as a plant or an animal which then are then added to an interactive map for others to discover.
Meanwhile the most recognised voice of our planet Earth, Davide Attenborough can now be beamed as a hologram into your living room alongside exotic plants as part of an immersive learning experience through the BBC The Green Planet app, with £2.3m government backing to promote the uses of 5G.
In Australia, a 3D story-telling project using Minecraft brings children’s ancestors’ stories to life with the aim to teach them about their past, will be rolled out in schools in 2021.
For the conspiracy theorists, CrimeDoor is a new AR app that brings users to the scene of a crime to investigate unsolved cases like Jeffrey Epstein’s Jeffrey Epsteins’ alleged suicide and the Delphi murders.
In Oklahoma, the Tulsa Race Massacre Centennial Commission launches an app that lets users tour the streets of Greenwood, experiencing Black Wall Street prior to the massacre.
[AR]t Exhibitions Around the World
Art festivals use AR to democratise viewing exhibitions in public spaces and in your own home. From February 12 to 28th international artists transform Vancouver into an open air gallery.
In London, the “Unreal City” outdoor exhibition is extended to February 9th, letting users transform their own homes into an art exhibit in response to the UK’s new Covid measures.
Singapore’s Art Week from the 19nd to the 30th of January immerses people into psychotropic digital environments, and into a series of immersive sound walks.
Pick of the Week! 🇺🇸
Talk about virality! Bernie mittens goes from meme, to AR filter, to fashion icon, to Youtube tutorial, to sweatshirt vendor, to origami, to crochet plush doll before the whole country can say “Bye-Don.”
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