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A huge shoutout to these AR services with this Snapchat’s awards ceremony.

Snapchat has brought about huge amounts of data with its feature called as Snapchat Lens Studio. An amazing opportunity for amateur photographers and tech enthusiasts. What is more interesting to note is that these numbers just continue to grow each day. To celebrate such humongous amount of participation from people and as a token of gift, Snapchat initiated a Lens fest.

 

What this fest does is basically have people from the computer and software engineering world come together have some of the most beautiful brainstorming sessions on various topics. It has sessions, one to one talks, workshops on business building, branding, creativity and tech in general. The most awaited part being on how AR and VR are changing the dynamics of the world we live in.

So during the Lens fest, Snapchat presented few awards as an acknowledgment to the progress made and achievement milestones garnered. These were awards for VR and AR excellence in domains like fashion & beauty, environment & social good, gaming, utility, and more.

The awards winners are:

Best in Art & Expression —  ¡Vendedores, Presente! (Sallia Goldstein)

Sallia Goldstein partnered with Los Angeles-based artist Ruben Ochoa as part of our Monumental Perspectives initiative in partnership with LACMA. Together, they created an augmented reality monument that pays homage to the shared history of street vendors in L.A.

Best in Creativity — Rock Hand (2020CV’s Hart Woolery)

Hart, a serial entrepreneur and programmer since the age of 12 was inspired by the different ways that people pair art and music. To bring this magic to life through AR, he developed Rock Hand. This Lens nods to nostalgic games such as Rock Band, Guitar Hero and DDR, and reimagines that type of interactive experience in AR paired to modern day tunes.

Best in Originality — SKIN THIEF (Denis Rossiev)

Ditch the poly juice potion, Denis Rossiev’s SKIN THIEF Lens brings shape-shifting magic to life through AR! SKIN THIEF leverages body tracking technology to scan, capture and overlay your look onto someone else, allowing Snapchatters to (temporarily) pose as their friends.

Best in Technical Skill — Jig Kitchen How-To (JigSpace)

JigSpace, an Australia-based AR studio, is on a mission to make education more accessible in 3D. Using Snap’s AR technology, JigSpace introduced their Jig Kitchen How-To Lens to help Snapchatters around the world solve every day at-home problems. Sink clogs are gone!

Best in Utility — Food Menu (Brielle Garcia)

With Food Menu, Brielle Garcia provides a proof of concept for the menus of tomorrow. Inspired by the recent emergence and ubiquitous use of QR codes at restaurants, Brielle’s Lens demonstrates how augmented reality can further enhance the ordering experience allowing viewers to see a dish in 3D before placing an order. With Food Menu, the days of craning over for a look at what the next table ordered are numbered . . .

Best in Environmental & Social Good — Bleached Seas (Helena Papageorgiou)

Australia native, Helena Papageorgiou is using AR to start a discourse about a local problem with global implications: coral bleaching. As temperatures rise due to increased Co2 in the atmosphere, coral reefs are suffering. Through Bleached Seas, Helena is teaching audiences about the real-world implications of climate change through interactive AR.

Best in Fashion & Beauty — OG MetaJacket (RTFKT STUDIOS)

RTFKT Studios, best known for their NFT collabs and Elon Musk’s iconic cybershoes, dropped a new virtual look for Snapchatters around the world. With their OG MetaJacket, Snapchatters can up their virtual fashion game and see first hand how augmented reality unlocks endless possibilities when it comes to virtual fashion design.

Best in Information & Education — BLACKSOUL GALLERY (Leighton McDonald)

Leighton McDonald’s Blacksoul Gallery celebrates and showcases artistic works from Black emerging artists including Bria Thomas, Juliet Nneka and Dillon ATM, and allows Snapchatters to experience the work out in the world wherever they are, beyond the closed walls of a museum.

Best in Gaming — Ponk (Aidan Wolf)

From Aidan Wolf, the founder of the first-ever AR Creator House, Ponk offers an interactive game for friends to play together. Through this game, which draws inspiration from the principles of ping pong and brick breaker, Aidan is excited to deliver an experience that quickly connects people together.

So, if you are a VR and AR geek, you should definitely consider following our blog. We are Twin Reality Technologies, an Indian startup building virtual reality Web and App development services. We would be glad to get in touch with you! Until the next blog post, have an amazing day!

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Sony has launched brand new VR Headsets! Take a look at that elegant 8K visual beauty

Till date, of there was one player who had serious design and investments into making VR headsets, it was Oculus. Slowly, yet steadily Sony is making serious inroads into building headsets.

This article focuses on the same. Let us have a deep dive into what Sony has built and launched recently. In its virtual event called, Sony Technology Day, the company showed the world its low-latency VR Headsets. Going further down the specs, it has an OLED display, 4K resolution, and amazing sound systems in place. The high definition system makes you feel stuff in 3D.

What makes us wonder, is the display systems. If you are someone with a decent interest in material Science and hardware, don’t miss this part. They have made use of CMOS Image sensors, Organic Light Emitting Diodes (OLED), microelectronics and advanced micro circuit technology to the fore.

The X-factor for these headsets, will definitely be low latency. let us understand what latency is, for you to appreciate this feature. Latency is the delay you experience between your physical action and for that action to be displayed on the screen. If the screen is far from you, there wont be any effect, but the closer you are, the more will be motion sickness. This is where, these headsets score big.

You could get a chance to experience the tech, as Sony plans to launch its VR-based PlayStation during the 2022 holiday season.

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How do you know that your PC is VR ready?

With Facebook launching its own Meta version for Virtual Reality, it has created a huge buzz around the Virtual reality domain. So, a lot of people and companies are planning or will be delving into this domain in the coming days so if you too are a tech enthusiast, then you should try to implement something in Virtual Reality or Mixed Reality. For that to happen you must know a few PC specifications and compatibilities to work on your laptops.

Let us delve a bit deep into them. The first and foremost thing is the display, naturally without a doubt since that is the main attention seeker. So that brings us to the display and other hardware specifications that your Personal Computer will need for you to enjoy the rendering process.

    1. Your PC should have a GPU that runs on no less than 90+ FPS rate.
    2. Since these days, there a lot of VR headsets available in the market, one should be very sure of which hardware will suit the PC and not have unnecessary complications happening while working.

There are a few standard recommendations for each of the headsets, that now will be looking into at a bit more depth.

Oculus Rift S

Oculus Rift S Recommended VR Specifications:
  • Video Card: NVIDIA GTX 1060 / AMD Radeon RX 480 or greater
  • CPU: Intel i5-4590 / AMD Ryzen 5 1500X or greater
  • Memory: 8GB RAM or greater
  • Video Output: DisplayPort
  • USB Ports: 1x USB 3.0 port
  • OS: Windows 10
Oculus Rift CV1 Recommended VR Specifications:
  • Video Card: NVIDIA GTX 1060 / AMD Radeon RX 480 or greater
  • CPU: Intel i5-4590 / AMD Ryzen 5 1500X or greater
  • Memory: 8GB RAM or greater
  • Video Output: Compatible HDMI 1.3 video output
  • USB Ports: 3x USB 3.0 ports plus 1x USB 2.0 port
  • OS: Windows 10 (Windows 7/8.1 no longer recommended)

 

Valve Index Recommended VR Specifications:
  • Video Card: NVIDIA GTX 1070 / AMD equivalent or greater
  • CPU: Quad Core+
  • Memory: 8GB RAM
  • Video Output: DisplayPort 1.2
  • USB Ports: 1x USB 2.0 port (USB 3.0 required for camera passthrough), 1x DisplayPort v1.2
  • OS: Windows 10, SteamOS, Linux

Vive Cosmos Recommended VR Specifications
  • Video Card: NVIDIA GTX 1070 / AMD Radeon Vega 56 or greater
  • CPU: Intel Core i5-4590/AMD FX 8350 equivalent or greater
  • Memory: 8GB RAM
  • Video Output: DisplayPort 1.2
  • USB Ports: 1x USB 3.0 port
  • OS: Windows 10
Vive Cosmos Elite Recommended VR Specifications
  • Video Card: NVIDIA GTX 1070 / AMD Radeon Vega 56 or greater
  • CPU: Intel Core i5-4590/AMD FX 8350 equivalent or greater
  • Memory: 8GB RAM
  • Video Output: DisplayPort 1.2
  • USB Ports: 1x USB 3.0 port
  • OS: Windows 10
Vive Pro 2 Recommended VR Specifications
  • Video Card: NVIDIA GTX 1060 / Quadro P5000 / AMD Radeon Vega 56 or greater
  • CPU: Intel Core i5-4590 / AMD FX 8350 equivalent or greater
  • Memory: 8GB RAM
  • Video Output: DisplayPort 1.2 or newer
  • USB Ports: 1x USB 3.0 port or newer
  • OS: Windows 10
Vive Focus 3 Minimum VR Specifications
  • Video Card: NVIDIA GTX 1060 / AMD Radeon RX 480 or greater
  • CPU: Intel Core i5-4590 / AMD FX 8350 or greater
  • Memory: 8GB RAM or more
  • Video Output: HDMI 1.4 / DisplayPort 1.2
  • USB Ports: 1x USB 2.0 port
  • Wired Streaming: 1x USB Type-C 3.0 cable (5 Gbps)
  • Wireless Streaming (routers): Wi-Fi 802.11ac or Wi-Fi 802.11ax (5GHz)
  • OS: Windows 10

WMR & HP

General Windows Mixed Reality Recommended VR Specifications
  • Video Card: NVIDIA GTX 1060 / AMD RX 470/570 or greater
  • CPU: Intel Core i5-4590 / AMD Ryzen 5 1400 or greater
  • Memory: 8GB
  • Video Output: HDMI 2.0 or DisplayPort 1.2 (may vary based on specific headset)
  • USB Port: 1x USB 3.0
  • OS: Windows 10 (Note: Not supported on N versions or Windows 10 Pro in S Mode)
  • Bluetooth Some headsets require Bluetooth 4.0 for controller connectivity
HP Reverb G1 and G2 Windows Mixed Reality Recommended VR Specifications
  • Video Card: NVIDIA GTX 1080 / AMD RX 5700 or greater
  • CPU: Intel Core i5, i7 / AMD Ryzen 5 or greater
  • Memory: 8GB
  • Video Output: DisplayPort 1.3
  • USB Port: 1x USB 3.0
  • OS: Windows 10 (may require latest updates)

Pimax VR headset

Pimax 8K X Recommended VR Specifications
  • Video Card
    • Upscale Mode: NVIDIA RTX 2060
    • Native Mode: NVIDIA RTX 2080
  • CPU: Intel Core i5-9400 equivalent or greater
  • Memory: 8GB
  • Video Output: DisplayPort 1.2
  • USB Port: USB 2.0 or greater
  • OS: Windows 10
Pimax 8K Plus Recommended VR Specifications
  • Video Card: NVIDIA RTX 2060
  • CPU: Intel Core i5-9400 equivalent or greater
  • Memory: 8GB
  • Video Output: DisplayPort 1.2
  • USB Port: USB 2.0 or greater
  • OS: Windows 10
Pimax 5K Super Recommended VR Specifications
  • Video Card: NVIDIA GTX 1080 Ti
  • CPU: Intel Core i5-9400 equivalent or greater
  • Memory: 8GB
  • Video Output: DisplayPort 1.2
  • USB Port: USB 2.0 or greater
  • OS: Windows 10
Pimax 5K Plus Recommended VR Specifications
  • Video Card: NVIDIA GTX 1070
  • CPU: Intel Core i5-9400 equivalent or greater
  • Memory: 8GB
  • Video Output: DisplayPort 1.4
  • USB Port: USB 2.0 or greater
  • OS: Windows 10, Windows 8.1
Pimax Artisan Recommended VR Specifications
  • Video Card: NVIDIA GTX 1050 Ti
  • CPU: Intel Core i5-9400 equivalent or greater
  • Memory: 8GB
  • Video Output: DisplayPort 1.4
  • USB Port: USB 2.0 or greater
  • OS: Windows 10, Windows 8.1

All of these are the standard recommendations that are expected to be in place before you start working with Virtual and Augmented Reality projects. Since these are one of the hot trending technologies, whatever your interest is, we recommend to at least have a couple of projects under your belt to be able to have a complete and competent skillset.

If you have come to our space for the first, then we recommend you to check out our blogs section. We are Twin reality, a VR/AR web and app development startup based out of Gujrat in India. Though we are young, our young team has had a fair and vast experience of creating VR models across a wide range of industries from education to retail to manufacturing industries.

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Virtual Exhibition with Virtual Reality

Welcome to our new Business Case Studies series. In here, we blog about some of the business challenges faced by our clients and how we helped them cross those hurdles with the help of Virtual reality and Augmented Reality.

Before we proceed further, a little about us. We are Twin Reality Technologies, a startup providing virtual reality app and web development services and based out of Ahmedabad in Gujrat, India. This case study is about a challenging problem our talented engineers have worked upon.

CHALLENGE:

The past year for us as been revelation. We have worked with a number of clients across industrial domains on a variety of issues and this one too is a bit unique. We were approached by a client who wanted a virtual ecosystem where people could freely meet and greet with others albeit in a virtual avatar. You could, from this, definitely make out that this too was one of the many outcomes of the covid-necessary measures in recent times.

Although we have had a fair experience in developing virtual meeting environments in the past, this project was demanding in itself. We had to cover quite a distance in revisiting old concepts and implementing newer features in them. Another challenge was to create a single environment where multiple people can interact amongst themselves and with a same object.

PROCEDURE:

We learnt the ropes of building a system where multiple people can deal with the same object at the same time and presented it to the client.

The tools we used were Unity Blender and other such Virtual Reality development engines.

RESULTS:

The client was very much pleased with the outcome of the project. With this project the client could have multiple B2B come together and brainstorm on great ideas.

Another interactive feature that we added was to create a small playground where multiple players can play with one ball.

With this, we were offered another project, as an extension of the same project but with additional features. This story is for another time in future.

 

If you are someone who is really into Virtual reality and Augmented Reality, we recommend you to get connected with us and follow our blog where we regularly document about various trending technologies, projects and features in the Virtual and Augmented Reality sector. Stay tuned and connected. Until the next post, we sign off!

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Forklift stimulation training.

Welcome to our Business case studies series, a new initiative by Twin reality Technologies. We are a start-up providing web and app development services for Virtual and Augmented Reality. In this case studies series, we will explore the scenarios and problems where VR/AR simulation played a pivotal role in solving problems. A majority of them are the problems our engineers have worked on.

CHALLENGE: FORKLIFT SIMULATION

Going forward, we recently faced a challenge. We got contacted by a client, who has his own business of selling training materials for forklift operations and as course material, he wished to include Virtual Reality simulation for the same. This simulation had to be in forklifting shopfloors or factories where operators work on them. It was something beyond our everyday work since even we had to learn about what forklifts are, and what they do.

The parts they wanted us to cover was:

    1. Driving mechanism in the forklift
    2. Training simulations of lifting boxes, objects and crates.

PROCEDURE: The LEARNINGS, UN-LEARNINGS AND RE-LEARNINGS

Like we stated earlier, we had to build our knowledge base about forklifts and their industry from absolute scratch. To those who may not know much about them, forklifts are sort of mini trucks that are used to lift heavy objects, parcels and materials over short distances. Mainly in huge warehouses and factories.

They have a lot of complex gear systems and strings. A huge set of small mechanical components, that together lift tons of weight. This system contains levers for managing the speed of the machine, lifting bars, supporting bars, lights and engine.

 

So, you see, understanding the forklift was quite a challenge for us to go forward and create a simulation. Once we were fairly competent, we started creating simulations for the training course. We created a simulation of the driving systems in VR. Those also had the absolute force, speed, pressure and torque to lift light or a heavy crate accordingly.

 

We used Oculus SDK and software’s like Unity SDK to solve issues related to physics and driving the machine. All of this was solved by searching about forklift functioning on the Internet.

RESULTS:

As a result of this, our client could get his business running smoothly and sell simulations to different training institutes that train workers and students in operating forklifts. He also could grab hold of a couple of his clients who take this service and thus, could create a business opportunity, that most people could not dream and execute off.