Weekly Spatial Oct 23, 2020 by AWE Team

Highlights

HTC's Vive XR Suite Goes Live

The Vive XR suite by HTC went live this week. Announced earlier in the year, the bundle includes the Vive Campus, Vive Museum, Vive Social, Vive Sessions, and Vive Sync. The suite is designed to promote virtual collaboration and can be viewed in VR as well as on PC, mobile, and tablets (VRFocus)
Pokémon Go's new AR Mapping Tasks

Pokémon Go has launched new AR mapping tasks. At certain PokéStops, users will be able to accept a Field Research task that will require them to scan the PokéStop in AR mode. These scans will allow Niantic to create 3D maps of these PokéStops and generate AR animations that interact with the real-world objects. The feature is only available to level 20 trainers or above, and is not available on children's accounts. (Engadget)
Adobe Aero 2.0

At Adobe MAX 2020 the tech giant announced Adobe Aero 2.0. Aero is Adobe Creative Cloud's AR creation application. The new version includes a desktop application - as it had previously only been available on mobile- which streamlines the process of including content from other apps, the ability to include GIFs and PNGs, and multi-track animation. An iOS device is still required to view exported Aero creations. Read more about Adobe Max 2020 in the "Deep Dive" section below. (Forbes)

XR Market

Pimax Secures $20M

Pimax has secured $20M in Series B funding to begin building a wide field of view VR Headset. (RoadtoVR)

AR Goggles for Dogs

The US military has teamed up with company Command Sight to make AR goggles for service dogs to allow handlers to give commands remotely or from a safe distance. (CNN)

Vectary Raises $7.3M

AR and 3D design platform has raised $7.3M in a recent round of funding. the company seeks to boost the adoption of VR by making VR Design more accessible for consumers. (TechCrunch)

TetaVi Raises $6M

Volumetric video company TetaVi has raised $6M in Series A funding. The company provides an end-to-end production company for volumetric video holograms. (CTech)

7 Investors Speak on XR

Tech Crunch writer Lucas Matney spoke to 7 Venture Capitalists on the benefits and drawbacks of investing in AR and VR startups right now. (TechCrunch)

Launches & Announcements
- AWE Asia Auggie Award winner Shadow Creator announces new Honghu MR smart glass, launches ODM partnership with PhotonLens. Honghu will be the first MR smart glass to use the Qualcomm Snapdragon XR2 Platform. (PhotonLens)
- Check out ARInsider's write-up of our recent AWE Nite NYC: AR Cloud turns 3 - has it delivered? (ARInsider)
- Researchers are looking into VR as a potential aid in treating depression. (ARPost)
- The Finish National Opera has partnered with VR companies to create VR performances as well as programs for professional designers as part of the company's Opera Beyond project. (OperaBeyond)
- GIGXR has announced two new applications: HoloPatient Remote and GIG Mobile, to allow medical students and professors to access the AR training application HoloPatient remotely from their own homes. (VRScout)
- Facebook is in the process of developing tech for VR typing that tracks hand movements without need for a real-world keyboard. (RoadtoVR)
- Japanese Playstation bundles will include the adapter to use the PS4 camera with the new PS5. PS5's own camera does not support PSVR, so this adapter is essential to use the PSVR with the PS5. (VRFocus)
- Bookful, an AR children's book app, has partnered with Mattel and will now included titles from Barbie and Thomas & Friends. (Licensing.biz)
- ARPost looks into how XR can help with the climate change crisis by educating those old and young. (ARPost)
- Foursquare has thrown its hat into the ring of audio AR with Marsbot for Airpods. (ARInsider)
- HTC's Vive XR Suite - a five-application software bundle where companies can meet in VR - goes live. (VRFocus)
- Microsoft is developing a new haptix that will mimic the sensation of catching and throwing. (UploadVR)

In Focus: Adobe MAX 2020

Adobe Max 2020 took place this week and had a strong focus on the future of AR:

- Read up on all updates to the Adobe Creative Cloud here (ZDNet).
- “Project AR Together”, teased as a part of “Sneaks” at Adobe MAX 2020, which will allow two devices to have an AR experience together with high spatial precision.(Forbes)
- Chairman, President & CEO of Adobe Shantanu Narayen spoke about 3D and AR as having the ability to " enable rich, immersive experiences." (LinkedIn)
- Earlier last week, Adobe announced new 3D gizmos to be included in After Effects, which could help in creating XR materials in the application. (TheVerge)