Death isn’t forever, companies build digital avatars so people can “live on after death”
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF Digital Avatars will mean that physical human death is simply a doorway into a new digital reality where our descendants interact with our Avatars instead of the real, physical us. Over the past couple of years, asides from the giant strides we’ve seen in...
PWC program prepares employees for the next generation of jobs
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF The world is changing faster than ever before, leading to a shortage of talent, meaning companies are being forced to find new ways to adapt and overcome skills shortages. Everyone by now understands that the workplace, and the workforce is changing as a result...
New glasses will beam augmented and virtual reality directly into your eyes
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF Augmented Reality glasses and Virtual Reality headsets use complex computers and optics to create their effects, researchers believe they can eliminate these overheads by beaming the images directly into your eyes. Researchers have proposed a new way to build Augmented Reality (AR) smart glasses...
BAE is developing a “wearable” cockpit for fighter jets
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF Aircraft cockpits haven’t changed much in decades, and digitising them opens up a host of new opportunities. BAE Systems has announced that it’s looking to make the fighter jet cockpit of tomorrow a much simpler place for pilots by replacing conventional instruments and controls...
Virtual reality without the headset, US startup debuts the “Looking Glass”
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF VR headsets create an isolating experience, so a US startup has found a way to create VR worlds without them. Many people have dreamt about being able to use free form holograms, like the ones in Star Wars, to communicate with their friends and...
Plexus VR gloves give users fine grained control of their VR environments
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF The best technology is invisible and frictionless to use, and virtual reality still has a way to go before the experience is simple and seamless, but these gloves could help bring more users into the sector. Bringing a user’s hands into a Virtual Reality...
CGI “Virtual influencers” on Instagram battle it out in public, snag real ad cash
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF Today we are used to the majority of our influencers, and contacts, being human, but as we progress into the future more of the encounters we have will be with virtual entities, in the form of avatars, bots and virtual vloggers like these. It...
Scientists have created the world’s best and biggest 3D living hologram
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF Scientists, and society at large, have been waiting for holograms technology to appear on the market for decades, and while you’ll still have to wait before you can buy one in the shops we’re starting to edge closer to realising the dream. Science fiction...
Amazon continues to branch out with Augmented Reality
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF There are pros and cons to online and offline shopping, and increasingly retailers, particularly Amazon, are trying to find the happy ground between the two using new technologies like drones and new, immersive reality technologies. According to sources Amazon’s retail plans could extend well...
Researchers have created a 3D plasma hologram you can touch
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF Everyone loves holograms, or they think they do, because until now most holograms have relied more on parlour tricks than actual science and technology to work, but that might be about to change. Every science fiction film ever created, and probably even the ones...
World’s first holographic smartphone makes its debut
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF Advances in nanotechnology and nanophotonics are helping companies make great strides in creating, and bringing to market, new holographic display systems and they’re only just getting started. A few months ago cinema camera maker RED came out with the surprise announcement that they were...
Virtual reality lets cyber security experts patrol their networks Matrix style
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF Virtual reality will give cybersecurity analysts the ability to patrol their networks like cops On the beat in the real world, and it could lead to significant gains in productivity and protection. The future of the workplace is, understandably, a hot topic for many...
Euclideon unveils the world’s first multi-user hologram table
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF Holograms are a science fiction staple, and using a trick of the light, Euclideon and their new holographic table have gotten closer to bringing them to reality than anyone else. This week Australian company Euclideon announced they’ve managed to build what is being dubbed...
Brain controlled Virtual Reality comes to the HTC Vive
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF It’s almost fated that one day we’ll be able to interface and engage with new virtual reality worlds without the need for cumbersome tech but until that time arrives we’ve got the next best thing – Brain controlled VR. It was inevitable that one...
Nike unveils its futuristic running track
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF Anything that makes exercise more entertaining and engaging has to be applauded, and nike’s latest innovation is a great example of fun and function. Nike has constructed a pop-up arena track in the middle of Manila that it’s calling the “world’s first LED running track,” that has...
SkinTrack lets you control your smart watch with your skin
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF One day computers will be in us, not on us, but until that day comes most of us find ourselves stuck with fat fingers and tiny screens, but a new future interface might solve your “Fingers and Thumbs” dilema As a Futurist I scoff...
Beware false dreams, Strange Beasts reveals technology’s dark side
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF Sometimes we can forget how powerful, and how immersive, technology can be and this short film provides a timely reminder Strange Beasts is a dystopian British short film of Netflix’s drama Black Mirror – and it packs an equally strong punch in about a fifth of...
Researchers have created the highest quality hologram yet
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF Holograms are a sci-fi staple but manipulating light to create 3D effects is one of the most complicated challenges scientists face, now a breakthrough might take us one step closer As we move from the era of silicon based computing to photonics Holograms, which are...
Google and HTC are developing invisible VR headsets
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF The best technology is invisible, and Google and HTC hope that this counts. Google used to, I don’t know if they still do, have a saying that the best technology was the technology that was invisible to the consumer. In other words, if you...
New virtual reality project lets doctors fly through cancers to save lives
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF The ability to visualise and fly through cancers will help researchers create better treatments and better outcomes for cancer patients In May this year, in a project that’s reminiscent of the US Army’s announcement to create digital avatars of its soldiers, Cancer Research UK...
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