TechLife Australia – September 2019

[ WWW.TECHLIFE.NET] [ 033 ]

BHaptics

A VR HAPTIC VEST THAT’S BET TER THAN A KICK IN THE

PANTS.

US$1,000 | http://www.bhaptics.com

AR Beauty Try-On

YOUTUBE’S LATEST ADS LET YOU TRY ON MAKEUP

WITHOUT LEAVING YOUR VIDEO.

Free | famebit.com

The Lion King
VR IS THE NEW KING.
NA | http://www.disney.com.au/movies/the-lion-king

Aircoins
IT’S LIKE BEING PAID TO PLAY POKEMON GO.
Free | aircoins.co

In VR, immersion is key... and there’s

nothing quite as immersive as the rumble of

a bullet to the brain. Well at least according

to BHaptics, the company responsible for a

full body haptic suit shown off at E3. While

the Tactical Haptic Face Cushion is naturally

the component that’ll shake your face, the

suit also includes a vest, sleeves, gloves and

shoes that’ll make you feel like a pre-

developed polaroid picture. The vest has

over 70 feedback points, so you’ll even know

the exact direction you got hit from.

YouTube has introduced a new feature to its

smartphone apps that allows you to use your

smartphone camera to try on makeup

products while you watch videos. The new

feature is intended to be used by advertisers

and video creators to let consumers take a look

at what they would look like in a particular

style of lipstick or eyeliner. YouTube believes

this feature will work best alongside fashion

video bloggers reviews of particular products

as it will let consumers see for themselves what

the products look like when worn.

VR has been used to plan shots and examine
digital sets in recent films like Ready Player
One and Solo: A Star Wars Story, but Disney’s
Lion King remake seems to be taking VR
movie integration significantly further. The
Lion King film, according to a Wired report,
was filmed entirely within a game like VR
landscape, using real world cameras and
dollies to control digital camera angles and
shot movements. This cinematic hybrid style
allows the fluid shots of the real world and the
flexibility of a fully digital set.

If collecting Pokemon wasn’t quite enough of a
reward to continue playing Pokemon Go,
maybe you’ll have more luck if you’re chasing
real cryptocurrency instead. Aircoins is a new
AR game that has partnered with Dash, a
peer-to-peer cryptocurrency that you can earn
by playing the game. Rather than use your
phone’s processor to mine crypto as you play,
the game’s funding model actually relies on
advertising so you’ll have to dodge a heap of
unwanted info as you search the city for those
digital dollars.

VIRTUAL REALITY

AUGMENTED REALITY

AIUSEDTOPREDICTSUICIDERISK

CRISISTEXTLINEUSESAITOBET TERPREDICTUSERS

MOSTINNEEDOFSERVICES.

A suicide prevention organisation

known as the Crisis Text Line has

used an AI algorithm to study over

100 million text messages in order

to draw out any language patterns of the most at

risk users. While it might seem like ‘kill’ or ‘suicide’

would be said often by critically risky patients,

‘ibuprofen’ and ‘Advil’ are actually 14 times more

common in users that will go on to require

emergency services. A list of sensitive words is then

provided to crisis counsellors to monitor for the use

of these words.

COMPUTERS ARE THE CLIMATE

WARRIORS OF THE FUTURE, ACCORDING

TONEWSCIENTIFICPAPER

SCIENTISTSCOLLABORATETOFINDHOWAICOULD

HELPCURBTHECLIMATECRISIS..

While AI agents are often perceived

as doomsday bringers, one group

of scientists believes they may be

our best option for curbing

humanity’s contribution to climate change. An

international team of software and climate experts

have collaborated on a paper that details the 13

most obvious ways in which AI could be used to

monitor and help mitigate our role in the world’s

carbon emissions. Monitoring deforestation and

CO2 emissions using satellite imagery, or making

polluting industries more efficient, seem to be the

areas AI is most useful in.

BILLIONAIREINVESTS£150MILLIONINA

NEWAIDIVISIONATOXFORD

BIGGESTINVESTMENTSINCETHERENAISSANCEUSED

TOEXPLOREAIETHICS.

Stephen Schwarzmen, founder of

the US investment firm The

Blackstone Group, has donated the

biggest single contribution since

the Renaissance to the University of Oxford. The

$272 million donation will fund the creation of

Stephen A. Schwarzman Centre for the Humanities

building and will include provisions for the creation

of an Institute for Ethics in AI. There have been a

number of vocal figures recommending regulations

for AI development, so by the time the institute

opens in 2024 we expect a high demand for AI

ethical considerations.

WALMART INSTALLS AI CAMERAS IN

1,000 STORES TO TERMINATE

SHOPLIFTING

SK YNET’SFIRSTOBJECTIVEISTORECLAIM

PRODUCTLOSS.

Missed Scan Detection, as

Walmart’s AI powered in store

camera network is called, is

designed specifically to track the

products in your cart and make sure each is

accounted for during the self checkout process.

Walmart is reporting a reduction in shrinkage in the

1,000 stores that Missed Scan Detection is already

operational.

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