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. Love the Exponential Future? Join our XPotential Community, future proof yourself with courses from XPotential University, connect, watch a keynote, or browse my blog. In May this year, in a...
Point. Click. Create your own 3D avatar and put yourself in the game
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF Avatars will play an increasingly important role in the future – whether they’re being used to depict, or replace actors in movies, VR simulations or to compliment bots, Loom.ai’s new product makes the process of creating one simple. We’re entering a new world of,...
Researchers create human VR avatars with three arms to improve productivity
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF Many people forget that virtual reality is just that – virtual, as a result it’s often easy to forget that the rules of the real world don’t have to apply in the virtual one. Researchers at Stanford University think that having a third arm...
Virtual reality plays its role in convicting Nazi SS guards who killed millions
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF Criminal convictions, particularly involving historic crimes, are often made or broken on just how well jurors can visualise the scenes of the crimes using second hand evidence, now VR can give them a first person view. Earlier this month I reported that UK and...
Get ready to experience millions of new, immersive worlds
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF The way we interact with technology is changing. We are slowly moving away from using keyboards and mice to using a mix of new technologies that will immerse us in new worlds and imbue us with new, vibrant experiences. There is no doubt that...
MIT breakthrough lets virtual reality gamers cut the chord
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF Consumers love convenience and by helping to cut the chords on VR headsets MIT’s new breakthrough could help speed up the technology’s adoption Researchers from MIT’s Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL) have developed a new technology that lets data be transmitted at...
Jurors will soon be able to walk through crime scenes in virtual reality
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF Jurors often have to rely on reconstructed scenes to help them visualise how a crime unfurled, now, using virtual reality they can see and move around the actual scene days, months or even years after the crime(s) took place A physical crime scene may...
Ukraines army uses Hololens to make their tanks invisible
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF Augmented reality systems can be used in novel ways to change how you see the world and they have cross industry applications. In the latest example of consumer technology adapted for military applications, Microsoft’s Hololens is being put to work to allow tank crews...
Thomas Cook lets you experience your holiday in virtual reality before you buy
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF Virtual reality holidays come to the high street. Virtual reality content is being trialled for the first time by Thomas Cook at a new concept store at the Bluewater shopping centre in Kent. Customers will be able to ‘enter’ a virtual world where they...
Get a drones-eye view with this new headset
Birds eye view takes on a new meaning Last week DJI announced an all too cool new product for their Mavic Pro line of drones and while the new product looks like a virtual reality headset it’s actually not, although the similarities both in terms of look, and experience are...
ILM takes us behind the scenes of The Force Awakens
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF CGI changed the film industry but this is just the beginning, the real revolution is still to come. Earlier this year I wrote an article on technology is, and will, transform the future of entertainment industry and some of those predictions are already coming true....
This CGI school girl has you fooled
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF As CGI, and the tools used to create it, get better it will be harder to distinguish what is real, and what is not. Slowly these “digital humans” will be able to replace real humans anywhere there is a screen involved, such as acting, avatars...
Oculus’ virtual reality film Henry wins an Emmy
Henry the lonely hedgehog now has an Emmy to keep him company For a few years now virtual reality filmmakers have fought for recognition and acceptance among traditional directors and studios and last night, Oculus’ film making arm, Story Studio, got a taste of the kind of validation they’ve been looking...
Alibaba trials virtual reality payments for VR malls
The virtual world just got a new payments technology and it’s as easy as nodding your head Chinese web behemoth and Amazon stalking horse Alibaba is working on bringing its payments clout to the world of Virtual Reality and is developing technology that will let people buy goods in a...
New MIT tech lets Pokemon magically interact with the real world
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF Pokémon Go changed our children’s lives – okay, we’ll admit it – all of our lives. Now it’s hard to imagine life without those plucky virtual creatures sneaking up on you when you’re trying to have some alone time. But get ready for it,...
