Facebook-Owned Oculus Just Unveiled Its Latest Virtual Reality Prototype

Facebook-Owned Oculus Just Unveiled Its Latest Virtual Reality Prototype

Dave Smith

Business Insider 

Facebook-owned Oculus on Saturday unveiled a new virtual reality headset prototype, called "Crescent Bay."
"None of this is perfect just yet, but it's a huge step forward," Oculus CEO Brendan Iribe said at the announcement. "It's a huge leap over DK2 [the most recent developer kit released for the second-generation Oculus Rift prototype, Crystal Cove.]"

There are major audio advances in the latest VR prototype from Oculus, including 360-degree tracking for a truly immersive experience.

It also comes with integrated audio for the first time, but it's still optional since many will want to use their own earbuds.

Much of the Oculus "Crescent Bay" software in Saturday's announcement was demonstrated using Unreal Engine 4, the latest engine from the Epic team. Oculus is also working with Unity, which has one of the biggest Oculus developer communities, and they announced a continued partnership with a dedicated add-on for various levels of support and integration for both free and pro versions of Unity for everyone.

"The most important thing about Crescent Bay is that this allows for sustained presence — for you to achieve the impossible and believe you're in another world," Iribe said.

Oculus also announced its new Platform, which will come to Oculus VR later this year and PC later. This new platform for sharing VR experiences is partially helped by the company's new partnership with Samsung, which will use its Gear VR headset to help developers build new experiences for the Oculus Platform. The company also mentioned Facebook's $2 billion acquisition of Oculus, which will give it "the resources and runway" to bring VR to the masses.

Oculus' chief scientist Michael Abrash insists virtual reality is the final frontier in terms of technology, since it will eventually allow us to experience literally any sensation or feeling — in a video demonstration, he employs how the McGurk effect can make you think there's a third sensation when there really isn't.

Abrash says virtual reality is a giant opportunity, but there has yet to be a "killer app." Details and accuracy like facial expressions and natural body movements are important, and Abrash says virtual and augmented reality tech has a long way to go. It needs new rendering and art approaches, as well as new graphics architectures, to accommodate the "considerable demands" for great virtual reality.
"Soon, there will be games, apps, and experiences that will revolutionize the platform," Abrash says. 

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Demi Lovato Was Injured On Her World Tour

Sad news Lovatics – Demi Lovato is injured!

Right before performing at the AT&T Center in San Antonio, TX, Friday night, Demi posted a pic on her social media accounts that showed her wearing an arm brace and sling.

She captured the photo, “Welp. Looks like I won't be playing guitar, piano OR drums tonight. San Antonio... Why did you have to go and make me fall so hard for you?!! 😝😝😝 #demiworldtour 💖💖💖.”

According to Twitter fans, the “Really Don’t Care” singer told fans at the meet and greet, following the show, that she slipped and sprained her arm.

Even though it is not confirmed yet whether she does indeed have a sprain or if she broke her arm, we still feel bad that she has to continue on her tour with an injury.

However, we’re so glad she was still able to meet some of her Texas fans and take the cutest pics likes the ones below!

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See Bella Thorne's Coolest Styles from Milan Fashion Week

Credit: Instagram

Bella Thorne is having a major fashion moment right now: in just a few days, she went from wowing us with glam outfits during New York Fashion Week to totally stunning us with her runway-ready styles during Milan Fashion Week in Italy. From dramatic floral ensembles to black dresses.

Credit: Instagram

Credit: Instagram

Credit: Instagram

Credit: Splash News

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IPhone 6 Plus Supplies Start to Sell Out in Some U.S. Stores

IPhone 6 Plus Supplies Start to Sell Out in Some U.S. Stores

Scott Moritz, Olga Kharif and Denni Hu

Bloomberg

Apple Inc.’s larger iPhone 6 Plus is already selling out at some stores across the U.S.

The Apple store on the Upper West Side in Manhattan is out of the iPhone 6 Plus already, even as a line for reservations spilled into a concert hall next door and a regular line snaked up two blocks. Some phone carriers’ stores in Manhattan were also selling out of limited supplies of the iPhone 6 Plus this morning. In downtown Portland, Oregon, customers in line have said the bigger model is sold out already.

Even before the first day of sales, there were signs that supply of the new device may not meet demand. During the first 24 hours of record pre-orders a week ago, the iPhone 6 Plus, which has a larger display, started having shipping delays of three to four weeks, while some iPhone 6 models faced delays of seven to 10 days.

In Portland, Cory Nguyen, a 19-year-old college student, said he was planning to get an iPhone 6 Plus until he heard employees tell people in line that they had run out of the bigger device. He’s instead settling for two iPhone 6 models that he plans to resell.

“I know people,” Nguyen said. “Everyone wants an iPhone. It’s high demand. It’s extra cash. Students -- trying to make a buck.”

Representatives for Apple didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.

Sales Forecasts

Carl Howe, an analyst at 451 Research LLC, said Apple may sell 12 million to 15 million new devices this weekend. Toni Sacconaghi, an analyst at Sanford C. Bernstein & Co., wrote in a note to investors that he’s projecting sales of 7 million to 8 million, which would fall short of last year’s first weekend sales of 9 million units of the iPhone 5s and 5c. Sacconaghi attributed it partly to supply constraints and to the fact that China isn’t one of the first countries selling the devices.

A Sprint Corp. store at 42nd Street in Manhattan had no iPhone 6 Plus devices as of 8:30 a.m. New York time, and the AT&T Inc. store at 46th Street and Madison Avenue was sold out of the model. An employee outside the AT&T store said they started with only a couple and were telling customers they could place orders for November delivery.

“At this time, Sprint’s inventory on iPhone 6 Plus is extremely limited and we are in heavy backorder,” Michelle Mermelstein, a Sprint spokeswoman, said in an e-mail. “Customers can order this device thorough any of our retail channels with a delivery time of 4-6 weeks.”

At a T-Mobile store at 8:45 a.m. New York time all but one iPhone was sold out. The remaining phone was a 6 with 128 gigabytes of storage. A store employee said they were expecting a resupply later today. Anne Marshall, a T-Mobile US Inc. spokeswoman, said the company was restocking as quickly as possible. She said she wasn’t optimistic that there would be much of the iPhone 6 Plus available.

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Is Taylor Swift's Style Rubbing Off on Lorde

Credit: Getty

BFFs Taylor Swift and Lorde have totally distinct fashion senses: Tay is always rocking preppy and girly dresses while Lorde tends to favor dramatic, darker outfits. It seems that the more time they spend together, though, the more their styles are blending!

Lorde tweeted about her newfound fave passtime of making paper dolls, and Taylor jumped in to claim responsibility for her total style switcheroo:

While we can totally picture Taylor making paper dolls (or cat clothes, or somehow knitting herself a cute new accessory to wear while out shopping), it's so fun to hear Lorde is being inspired by fun new fashions (the frilly styles of Southern belles, to be exact) while touring. We wonder if their musical styles are going to start sounding more similar too!

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Red Carpet Report Score Major Denim Style Inspiration from Olivia Holt, Jennette McCurdy & More Stars

Who doesn't love a perfect pair of jeans or a casual-cool chambray shirt? Fabulous denim fashions of all kinds were honored at a fun Denim Awards event last night, and our fave celebs wowed us with the seriously creative ways they sported the look on the blue carpet. Olivia Holt, Jennette McCurdy, Peyton List, G. Hannelius and more stars showed off their fresh twists on the classic style. Even fashionistas  who didn't wear denim to the event still gave us majorly awesome fall style inspiration!

Olivia Holt

Credit: Getty

Peyton List

Credit: Getty

Jennette McCurdy

Credit: Getty

Shenae Grimes

Credit: Getty

Nikki Reed

Credit: Getty

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See Jupiter and the Moon Meet Up in Pre-dawn Sky Saturday

See Jupiter and the Moon Meet Up in Pre-dawn Sky Saturday

By Joe Rao, Space.com

Look toward the eastern sky during the predawn hours tomorrow, and, weather permitting, your eyes will immediately be drawn to the two brightest objects in the sky: the moon and Jupiter.
Skywatchers awake at that early hour will see the moon (less than four days before its new phase) as a slender crescent, 13-percent illuminated by the sun. The rest of the lunar disk could even be glowing with a faint blue-gray hue. That secondary glow is called earthshine, a phenomenon caused by sunlight reflected off the Earth and then back out into space toward the moon.

To the upper left of this lunar ball, you'll see a dazzling, silvery non-twinkling "star." However, this heavenly body is not a star at all, but a planet — the biggest in the solar system — Jupiter. Shining at magnitude -1.9, it's nearly double the brightness of Sirius, the brightest star in the night sky. Roughly 5.5 degrees will separate the moon and Jupiter; this is a little more than half the width of your clenched fist held at arm's length.

Jupiter, the king of the planets, is currently in the dim constellation of Cancer, the Crab, and riding to the upper right of the famous Sickle of Leo. This backwards question-mark star pattern is supposed to represent the furry mane and front legs of the celestial lion. Jupiter will rise around 3 a.m. your local time, but its rising time will be getting earlier by an average of three minutes a day so that a month from now it will rise at around 1:30 a.m.

The giant planet will shine low in the east, with its four moons visible in the smallest telescope. This will provide a dramatic end to many late-night observing sessions as skywatchers get ready to move into the chilly nights of October.

Jupiter won't get high enough in the sky for steady telescopic viewing until just before dawn's first light. But if you train a telescope or even steadily held binoculars on Jupiter on Saturday morning, you will see the planet flanked by the planet's Galilean moons. On one side, will be Io and Europa; on the other side, more widely separated, will be Callisto and, farthest out from Jupiter, Ganymede.
Add Earth's own natural satellite, and that's five moons for the price of one!

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TROBO Is A Storytelling Plush Toy Robot That Teaches Kids Science And Math

TROBO Is A Storytelling Plush Toy Robot That Teaches Kids Science And Math

Sarah Perez

TechCrunch

A huggable, talking toy is not an entirely new idea, but a new toy robot called TROBO does more than just chatter at kids – he also works alongside an iPad app to help get children excited about STEM topics – that is science, technology, engineering and mathematics. Through stories, games and quizzes, TROBO taps into kids’ natural curiosity about the world around them to teach them about science (physics, chemistry, biology, etc.), 3D printing, the Internet, rockets, engineering, mechanics, math and more.

The toy and app were developed by two Orlando-area engineering dads who left game and theme park development, Jeremy Scheinberg, a University of Pennsylvania engineering grad who has worked on rides and shows for NBC, Universal, Lego and Disney, and Chris Harden, previously a Development Director with EA Sports.

Explains Harden, the idea for TROBO came to them after they had kids themselves, and began to think about how everything in the world affected their children.

“Witnessing his daughter Sophia spend hours learning to be a princess, led Jeremy to want something more foundational for her future. He wanted to share his love of learning technology and engineering with his daughter,” he says. “I had a similar experience with Asher, who spends a significant amount of time with Hot Wheels cars and mindlessly watching cars on YouTube.”

The two ran into each other at a Startup Weekend event in Orlando, and Team TROBO was born. Originally, their idea was to build a programmable robot, Harden says, but later, they decided to shift the idea a bit to involve a talking robot that worked with iPad.

“We agreed that tablets had to be central to the concept, and that a physical experience with emotional companionship was critical to engaging the children,” says Harden.

The team won second place at Startup Weekend, and decided to pursue the idea further. They’re now raising funds on Kickstarter to begin manufacturing the plush toys, run safety tests, and complete the app development. The goal is to raise $60,000, and, as of this morning, they’ve raised over $25,000, with 17 days to go.

The TROBO app will offer an avatar builder, so parents can design an avatar of their child and then insert them – and their child’s name – into the stories with the TROBO robot. The stories also include puzzles in them every few pages to keep kids engaged. And children can choose between two different TROBO plush toys, a boy and girl named Edison and Curie.

Harden says they’re now thinking about allowing a loved one or the child to record the stories in their own voices, as an added feature. That’s a good idea, because the robot voice sounds more than a bit mechanical, and may not encourage the same sort of bonding as you see with other talking toys, like the ever-popular, USB-connected Violet line from LeapFrog, for example.

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UK Engineers 3D Print Their Own Raspberry Pi Laptop

UK Engineers 3D Print Their Own Raspberry Pi Laptop

John Biggs

TechCrunch

Is there anything a robotic system for the extrusion of plastic in to solid forms over time can’t do? We present to you today the Pi-Top, a Raspberry Pi-based laptop that is completely 3D-printed and lasts hours on a single charge. The kit, which will launch as a Kickstarter soon, offers a 13.3-inch screen and a little keyboard and trackpad combo for data entry. Viola! A little open source computer for you and yours.

The project is the brainchild of a group of UK-based designers. They built the system using PLA filament, and it took over 160 hours to print. While the hope is to offer models for folks to download and print, the real goal is to create a kit for students and tinkerers who can then put it all together and run a little Rasbian on their very own laptop.

The plan is to release and injection-molded version of this to Kickstarter backers and let tinkerers try their hand at building the thing themselves. The hardest part, said the creators, was getting the support structure right so it could survive the beating and pressure a normal laptop would experience under your sweaty, sweaty palms.

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Other automakers to challenge Tesla in over-the-air software upgrades

Other automakers to challenge Tesla in over-the-air software upgrades

By Bernie Woodall

Reuters

DETROIT — Electric carmaker Tesla Motors Inc. on Friday announced it is rolling out a software upgrade over-the-air to its current Model S owners, a unique ability that other automakers are expected to offer within a few years.
Tesla, based in Silicon Valley, has completed more than a dozen over-the-air software upgrades since the Model S was first sold in mid-2012, said Egil Juliussen, director of research for automotive electronic technology for IHS Automotive.
Juliussen said other automakers have completed some over-the-air software upgrades but only on an experimental basis.

Normally, when an automaker wants to upgrade software in on-board computers in cars that are already on the road, owners must bring vehicles to dealerships.
Tesla is able to upgrade software remotely, similar to software updates on smartphones.
About 30,000 vehicles have been updated over the air this year, almost all by Tesla. By 2020, a full one-fifth, or about 22 million new vehicles globally, will have the ability to accept software upgrades over-the-air, said Juliussen.

Juliussen said by 2015, over-the-air software upgrades to cars already in consumer hands will expand to 230,000 and reach 1 million in 2016.
"The cost savings alone will make it very attractive for the auto manufacturers to use over-the-air software upgrades," said Juliussen.

Automakers are expected, he said, to team up with software developers for over-the-air communication with the vehicles they have sold.
Three privately held software firms are in the lead in this venture, he said. They are Red Bend Software, based in Waltham, Massachusetts; Symphony Teleca Corp based in Silicon Valley; and Arynga, based in San Diego.

He said that it can cost $400 to $500 every time an owner brings a car into a dealership for a software upgrade. Doing so remotely will cut those costs dramatically, and dealers will not have to purchase as much equipment, Juliussen said.

For the current upgrade, Tesla Model S owners will be notified of the availability of it and will be asked to select a time for it to be downloaded, which takes several hours, Tesla spokeswoman Alexis Georgeson said.

Tesla, which connects to its cars through a 3G network of AT&T Inc, is calling the latest upgrade announced on Friday "Software v6.0." Tesla is rolling out the upgrades in North America and Europe now, and within a few weeks will be performing them for owners in its other markets, China, Hong Kong and Japan.

Among the new features being added in the current upgrade to the Model S are traffic-based navigation and commuting advice and remote starting by using a mobile phone.

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A Unique Fingertip Sensor Helps Robots Touch The World Around Them

A Unique Fingertip Sensor Helps Robots Touch The World Around Them

John Biggs

TechCrunch 

Robots need love, too. That’s why MIT researchers have added a touch-force sensor to the robotic Baxter, allowing him to register gentle caresses, tender hand-holding, and the sense the he is loved and in love. Okay, not really. But now Baxter, a robot used in manufacturing and to perform repetitive tasks, can carry out those tasks with a certain gentleness and grace thanks to the addition of force pads on his pinchy fingers.

Called the GelSight, the system adds “unprecedented” sensitivity to a robot’s pinchers. By offering feedback on how hard to squeeze, it allows the robot to plug in a USB charger or even handle eggs and the like. It works using a chamber covered in thin rubber lit from the inside with color LEDs. The rubber pad, which is painted with reflective paint, deforms and reflects the shape of the object back to the sensor, which then interpolates the force used.

“I got interested in touch because I had children,” said Edward Adelson, professor of vision science at MIT. “I expected to be fascinated by watching how they used their visual systems, but I was actually more fascinated by how they used their fingers. But since I’m a vision guy, the most sensible thing, if you wanted to look at the signals coming into the finger, was to figure out a way to transform the mechanical, tactile signal into a visual signal — because if it’s an image, I know what to do with it.”

In other words, instead of depending on thousands of tiny force sensors, the system “sees” the shape of the object and how close it is to the light sensors. The rubber also acts as a sticky finger pad.
The coolest thing is that the sensors have millimeter accuracy. To wit:

In Platt’s experiments, a Baxter robot from MIT spinout Rethink Robotics was equipped with a two-pincer gripper, one of whose pincers had a GelSight sensor on its tip. Using conventional computer-vision algorithms, the robot identified the dangling USB plug and attempted to grasp it. It then determined the position of the USB plug relative to its gripper from an embossed USB symbol.
 Although there was a 3-millimeter variation, in each of two dimensions, in where the robot grasped the plug, it was still able to insert it into a USB port that tolerated only about a millimeter’s error.

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Apple faithful line up for latest, larger iPhones

Apple faithful line up for latest, larger iPhones

By Sam Adams and Rory Carroll

Reuters

NEW YORK/SAN FRANCISCO - Apple Inc's (AAPL.O) latest phone lured throngs of gadget lovers, entrepreneurs and early adapters to its stores in New York, San Francisco and other cities around the world in the latest sign of strong initial demand for the new, larger generation of iPhones.
Even the night before the phones' Friday debut, nearly 70 people were waiting in line in front of the Apple store in downtown San Francisco. Some eager to get their hands on the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus, which feature larger screens and longer battery life, had been there since the night before.
At the Apple store on Fifth Avenue in New York, the line of would-be buyers stretched for more than 10 blocks. Apple employees led them in a New Year's Eve-style countdown to herald the store's opening at 8 a.m. EDT and high-fived customers as they entered the glass cube leading to the underground store.

In Atlanta, police were called in before 5:30 a.m. to assist with crowd control at one mall location because of worries about trampling, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported.
While it has become customary for swarms of people to greet Apple product introductions, Friday's long lines were still a sign of healthy demand for the new models. The phones drew more than 4 million preorder requests in the first 24 hours on Sept. 12, more than double the 2 million for iPhone 5s in the same time period two years ago.

The enthusiastic crowds gathered despite signs that Apple's legendary "cool factor" may be dimming with some consumers, according to a recent Reuters/Ipsos poll.
Paul Terrebonne, a 26-year-old cook who had pre-ordered his space-grey iPhone 6, said the size of the new devices had been enough to lure him back to Apple from his previous phone, a Motorola Moto X.

"It's all about screen size, plus I missed the iPhone's camera," he said, adding that he had shunned the iPhone 6 Plus because it was "a bit too big."

The launch attracted buyers from farther afield. Flavio Gondim, a 40-year-old Brazilian public sector employee, said he was buying an iPhone 6 in New York because "back home these are, maybe, 50 percent more expensive."

In Asia, many who lined up to buy the new phones in Singapore, Hong Kong and Australia said they planned to re-sell the devices in China, where regulatory hurdles are holding up the new phones' debut.

It remains to be seen whether the renewed iPhone mania will translate to Apple's other big product introduction, the Apple Watch, which will not be available until early next year.
Raj Kaur, who was comfortably waiting in line in San Francisco in a folding chair, said she did not plan to repeat the vigil for the new watch.

"I'll wait for the second edition," she said, "when they've worked out the kinks."

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