Our carefully curated selection of the most inspiring news and stories about metaverse delivered to your inbox bi-weekly.
VR training platform for laboratory technology students of Stadin AO
We are happy to present one of our latest projects: Stadilab, VR training platform for laboratory technology students of Stadin AO.
“In the VR training environment students can safely learn about challenging and dangerous laboratory practices”, says Johanna Hemminki, Expert in Digital Pedagogy, City of Helsinki, Stadin AO.
The virtual environment was created with Simlab which allows fast content-creation thanks to its node-based programming.
Stereoscape partners with Rooom, a tech startup specialising in enterprise metaverse
We are happy to announce that Stereoscape is now an official partner of Rooom, an award winning tech startup specialising in enterprise metaverse and offering a web-based all-in-one platform for virtual experiences.
With our collaboration, we now extend our offering with top quality metaverse products enabling our clients to build stunning showrooms, showcase products in 3D, host or complement events and make all the organization facilities more accessible with 360 tours. All this and even more in one platform!
Top retailers enter the metaverse
Top retailers such as Walmart, H&M and Taco Bell are leveraging the immersive technology to provide their clients with new ways to connect with the brand.
Walmart’s new metaverse experiences on the Roblox platform enable users to access fashion, style, beauty, and entertainment items as well as participate in interactive piano experiences, dance challenges, trivia and a motion-capture concert.
Taco Bell, on the other hand, has launched a wedding-themed contest in their Las Vegas Wedding Chapel on Decentraland. Out of over 300 couples who have applied to the contest, Sheel Mohnot and Amruta Godbole have said “I do” on February 24.
Read more on RIS.
Stereoscape at Koulutusjohdon foorumi, an event dedicated to learning in metaverse
Koulutusjohdon foorumi event was held on 15th of February at Helsinki XR Center. The theme of the event was learning in metaverse, more specifically VR and AR based learning solutions. Koulutusjohdon foorumi featured keynote presentations by learning experts as well as an area enabling visitors to try different solutions in practice. The event was targeted to rectors, teachers and other forward looking experts such as entrepreneurs offering training services.
The event also enabled the visitors to try different virtual learning solutions such as VR training and AR assisted instructions. At Stereoscape’s booth our experts Iiro, Toni, Sanni and Krista showcased our demos. The demos included for example a virtual farm which teaches safe working methods and a lab environment where trainees learn different laboratory related safety, chemical and equipment practices.
World’s Smallest VR Headset announced by Bigscreen
Virtual reality startup Bigscreen announced that the world’s smallest headset, the Bigscreen Beyond, will be released in the third quarter in 2023. The headset is six times lighter than the rival headsets featuring also bespoke face guards and shapes enabling users to improve comfort over long periods of use. The kit can be preordered for $999.
“As passionate VR enthusiasts, we built the VR headset we wanted for ourselves. Today’s leading VR headsets have doubled in weight compared to headsets from 2016. We built Beyond because we felt VR was too heavy, bulky, and uncomfortable”, says Darshan Shankar, Bigscreen Founder and Chief Executive about the coming headset.
Read more on XR Today
“What could CEOs do now?” – McKinsey’s guide about the metaverse released
In a recently released article, McKinsey explains why attitudes towards metaverse should be optimistic and what kind of factors suggest that the metaverse is truly a CEO issue. Metaverse related obstacles are also discussed. In the end of the article writers also share their three steps suggesting what CEO’s should do now – why, what and how.
Read more on McKinsey
[Interview] Stereoscape’s Kenneth Korhonen and the benefits of AR tools for industrial companies
In our newest video blog Stereoscape’s Director of Industrial XR Solutions Kenneth Korhonen tells about why industrial companies should be excited about AR tools and what value they bring to their business.
Rhythm City, Warner Music Group’s social music metaverse has opened
Warner Music Group announced on Monday 31st January that their social music metaverse has been opened. Created in collaboration with Gamefan, the virtual world aim’s to introduce people to different artists via the social roleplay platform. Oana Ruxandra, WMG’s Chief Digital Officer and Executive Vice President of Business Development emphasises the importance of boosting engagement between artists and fans, and this can be achieved in metaverse.The platform is developed on Roblox.
Footage of a realistic virtual diving experience demonstrates the power of immersive VR
A solo VR developer “Khena B” is working on a virtual reality diving game enabling players to explore underwater world. Recently released footage of the yet unnamed title planned for PC VR demonstrates how immersive VR can provide more and more realistic simulations of real world experiences. Virtual hands create believable waves on the water surface. In the underwater players can experience realistic floating particles and detailed physics, for example while handling stones.
10 inspiring tips for marketers to seize new digital opportunities in 2023
In our newest blog Stereoscape’s Immersive Marketing expert Sales Manager Olli Kettunen shares his New Year’s tips for staying proactive and keeping a positive attitude to boost business and create new opportunities.
AR Lunar New Year Campaign launched by McDonald’s
McDonald’s has partnered with content creator Karen X Cheng in a campaign focusing on AR and metaverse themes to celebrate Lunar New Year. The campaign’s aim is to engage McDonald’s audience to participate in important global celebrations. Cheng is known for her very popular YouTube videos including a dance video for the metaverse.
Read more on VRScout
Metaverse Seoul launched
South Korea’s Seoul Metropolitan Government announced that its Metaverse platform is now open. In Metaverse Seoul users can access different public services and resources in VR. The platform features access to famous attractions, possibility to read official documents, file complaints, and talking to officials.
Read more on XRToday
Immersive Holidays from Stereoscape!
The whole Stereoscape team wants to thank all the clients and partners for great collaboration this year. We also want to wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! Let’s make 2023 even more awesome.
Presentations that will make you forget Powerpoint
Back in 2019 Stereoscape created an interactive presentation for F-Secure. More than just a traditional PP presentation, the solution communicates F-Secure’s wide product portfolio in a visually appealing way with an interactive touch. We are working on several similar presentations at the moment, which we will share at the beginning of next year.
Why Everyone’s Talking About ChatGPT?
ChatGPT has impressed experts with its writing ability, proficiency at complex tasks and ease of use. The tool lets you type questions using natural language that the chatbot answers in conversational language. The bot remembers the thread of your dialog, using previous questions and answers to inform its next responses.
It is the latest evolution of the GPT – or Generative Pre-Trained Transformer – family of text-generating AIs.
Read more on Guardian
“Metaverse” grabs second place as “Word of the year”
Oxford Dictionaries recently announced that “goblin mode” has been selected as its word of the year. For the first time this year’s winning phrase was chosen by public vote, from among three finalists selected by Oxford Languages lexicographers: goblin mode, metaverse and the hashtag IStandWith.
Metaverse lost to goblin mode, which went viral in February. According to Oxford’s research, usage of the term metaverse “increased almost fourfold from the previous year in the Oxford Corpus,” driven in part by Facebook’s rebranding to Meta in October 2021. In the video pitch for “metaverse” released in November, Oxford noted that the term dated back to the science fiction novel Snow Crash by Neil Stephenson, released in 1992.
Read more on Metaverse Insider
Serlachius virtual art gallery by Stereoscape
Art workshops and museum tours in a virtual art gallery? In our blog Stereoscape’s experience designer Sannimari Honkanen talks about creating a virtual art gallery where participants can experience the museum space and look at and discuss art works together.
Hyper-realistic Biggie in VR Concert Next Month
In honour of The Notorious B.I.G.’s 50th birthday, Meta is hosting a VR concert experience next month that aims to bring together a host of musical guests alongside a realistic avatar of the Brooklyn-born rapper, who left this mortal coil back in 1997. The digital event, dubbed “Sky’s the Limit”, will premiere exclusively on Meta’s Horizon Worlds VR platform as well as Facebook on December 16.
Read more on NME
Immersive VR film let’s you train like an astronaut
Available now via the Meta Quest TV app, Supersonic Flight – Space Explorers: Special Feature puts you in the cockpit of a T-38 supersonic jet, the same aircraft used by NASA to train astronauts for spaceflight. The film makes excellent use of 360-degree camera technology to immerse you in a one-of-a-kind experience that would normally be out of reach for the general public.
Read more on VR Scout
VR tour of Outokumpu steel mill
We are happy to present one of our latest projects: a 360º video for Outokumpu. Stereoscape created a virtual reality tour of a steel mill, where visitors get a feeling of being inside the mill, moving along with the hot metal. Read more and watch the immersive video on our website.
BeatSaber + The Weeknd
Meta’s VR rhythm game Beat Saber has received a new song pack featuring the music of Canadian singer-songwriter The Weeknd. Popular block-slashing rhythm game Beat Saber, which was originally released in 2018, is still one of the best gaming experiences for VR headsets. The release of The Weeknd’s music pack continues a steady trend of high-profile music coming to Beat Saber, including packs from Lizzo, Skrillex, BTS, Green Day, Timbaland, Linkin Park, and Imagine Dragons.
Read more on Road to VR
Meta sold 471000 Quest 2s in Q3
Meta has sold 471000 Quest 2s in Q3. This means Meta has passed the 10-million milestone of in-market VR devices, which has been a key goal for Meta to stimulate VR’s flywheel effect. According to Mark Zuckerberg, that’s the critical mass to jumpstart an ecosystem. But this milestone is overshadowed by Meta Reality Lab’s Q3 revenue declines, for which there are several reasons. One is macroeconomics and consumer spending. Discretionary spending is down and VR is certainly in that boat. Meanwhile, Meta continues to build for the long haul. MRL net losses are projected to widen in 2023, but the more important part is that it’s using today’s dollars to build tomorrow’s business.
Read more on Medium
New website now live
We are happy to announce that the new Stereoscape website is now live. Long in the making, we are hoping that this update will provide a more client centric, visually interesting and clear experience for our current and future website visitors. We want to ensure the communication of our product portfolio – immersive marketing, experiential learning and connected working – is top quality. You are more than welcome to get familiar with our new website and send us feedback about your experience.
Stereoscape chosen as a partner for City of Porvoo’s virtual museum
The City of Porvoo organised a pitch in order to find a trusted partner for creating and implementing a virtual museum for Porvoo. Among the six contenders, Stereoscape was the one chosen for the job.
Stereoscape’s role is to build an interface, which will enable the city and museum staff to change and update the exhibitions, artworks and their descriptions. The future virtual museum visitors can access the virtual space via desktop.
Immerse Global Summit brings industry leaders to Madeira
Over 100 leading companies connected to immersive technologies and their business application attended last week’s Immerse Global Summit on Madeira. The speakers included companies from Nokia to Balenciaga, Accenture to Armani, and Forbes to Deutsche Telekom. Stereoscape team made picks of the keynotes and discussions.
One of the hot topics was the rise of the enterprise metaverse solutions. This is something that Stereoscape CEO Heli Nelimarkka believes will be one of the main trends in coming years. “The future of metaverse for corporations is creating their own 3D virtual showroom on one of the existing platforms and start building their metaverse existence from that. It will be a gradual process, not something that happens overnight. We are talking evolution, not revolution”
Stereoscape is already working on several platforms that are suitable for corporate metaverse needs and will happily assist you in creating your own enterprise metaverse home. If you want to discuss our enterprise metaverse solutions or just want to know more, you can contact us here.
Apple CEO Tim Cook on his European tour last week predicted augmented reality (AR) technology will have a profound impact on our lives in the near future. Apple are currently developing their own VR and AR headsets, due for release in 2023.
Read more on MacRumours
Meta live streams conference on 11 October
Meta Connect has released the schedule for its annual one-day digital conference that explores the future of virtual and augmented reality and the building of metaverse. Featuring a keynote from Mark Zuckerberg, you can tune into the conference in traditional 2D or in VR mode through Meta Quest 2.
Read more
https://metaconnect.com/en-us/
Finnish music video among first in the world to be created with artificial intelligence
Finnish band Sin Cos Tan last week released Endless, one of the world’s first music videos created by artificial intelligence (AI). Director Juho Lähdesmäki believes AI tools will change the creative sector permanently.
Read More on Pledge Times
VR game Bonelab released today
Los Angeles-based developers Stress Level Zero today launch their highly-anticipated VR game Bonelab, following up from 2019’s popular Boneworks. The trailer promises an immersive dystopian experience with realistic tools and weapons. The game is available on Meta Quest 2 and PC VR headsets via Steam.
Read more on VR Scout
Scientists predict resolution revolution for VR displays
Today’s virtual reality headsets are still somewhat clunky to wear and lacking in resolution, acting as a stumbling block on the way of wider acceptance of VR in the mass market. Scientists believe improved resolution and wearability can be achieved in the near future with innovations in optics and micro-displays.
Read more on Science
Chinese headset eyes European and Asian markets
Chinese headset manufacturer Pico is releasing a new light-weight and technically improved VR headset to the consumer markets. TikTok-owner ByteDance is behind the company that is set to compete directly with the established Quest 2 headset in Europe and Asia. Available for pre-order at relatively affordable €429, the headsets start shipping on October 18th.
Read more on Road to VR
