ObEN and SoftBank Collaborate to Develop New Mobile VR Social Experience

ObEN
ObEN
Published in
2 min readApr 3, 2019
Prototype technology provides VR communication and social platform that will alter how people enjoy live shows, sporting events, and more

ObEN and SoftBank Corp, a major Japanese communications conglomerate, are set to demo a new VR communication and social platform at VR/AR/MR World in Tokyo, Japan.

In collaboration with Salin Co. and wrnch Inc., ObEN and SoftBank have developed a VR platform that allows users to pair an iOS device with the Oculus Go VR headset to communicate with friends and family in a shared VR space, using the platform to watch sports games, live shows, and more. EPIC LIVE PLAY is the first prototype app of its kind aimed at simulating a real shared group experience in a virtual environment.

To achieve this, EPIC LIVE PLAY harnesses ObEN’s advanced Personal AI technology, allowing users to create their own 3D intelligent avatar from a simple selfie and short voice recording on their mobile device. ObEN’s avatars are designed to look and sound like each individual user. Combined with Salin’s VR environment platform, and wrnch’s motion capture technology, users can port a lifelike avatar of themselves into EPIC LIVE PLAY. In the environment, they will be able to see, speak to, and interact with the lifelike counterparts of their friends and family, with movements captured in real-time from their smartphone camera.

“VR is an incredibly versatile platform that can transcend space and distance, bringing us closer together in a new virtual medium,” said ObEN CEO Nikhil Jain. “The technology depicted in movies, where colleagues all over the world can have virtual meetings as if they were in the same room, or friends hang out in a virtual clubhouse when they are hundreds of miles apart, that is what we are building with EPIC LIVE PLAY.”

The prototype platform was created as part of the 3rd round of the SoftBank Innovation Program. The SoftBank Innovation Program combines innovative technology from select companies worldwide with the resources and network of SoftBank, to commercialize these solutions for a global market. ObEN, Salin, and wrnch all participated in the program under the AR/VR category.

For details, please visit SoftBank Innovation Program official website.

For more information about ObEN’s technology visit oben.com

--

--

ObEN
ObEN
Editor for

Enabling every person in the world to create, own and manage their Personal AI. Tencent, Softbank Ventures Korea & HTC Vive X portfolio co.