2023 has set itself up for the rest of the year – in terms of XR. Two big players, Meta and Apple, announced long-awaited headsets. Now as new information and resources emerge from both firms, the industry to figuring out how best to leverage these devices.
Moreover, the increased wave of interest following WWDC is giving the XR industry a mainstream push and surrounding XR firms are innovating to prove there’s more to XR than just Meta and Apple, especially in the enterprise market.
Meta Introduce a Trove of Updates
DoubleVerify, an analytics software platform, announced the expansion of its advertisement solutions with Meta to increase performance for advertisers on Facebook and Instagram Reels.
DoubleVerify’s Quality Verification Toolkit will allow advertisers on Reels to measure fraud to protect advertisements from potential cybercriminals. It will also authenticate viewability by providing fully-comprehensive viewability measurements to clarify whether audiences can see advertisements and how they impact them.
Using DV’s technologies, advertisers on Meta Reels can produce viewable, secure advertisements protected from fraud and invalid traffic (IVT). This will help advertisers to ensure that real people see their ads and that their budgets are not wasted on fraudulent activity.
The expansion of DoubleVerify’s ad solutions with Meta Platforms is a significant development in digital advertising.
More Meta News
Moreover, Unity has released a preview of its Meta OpenXR package, allowing developers to experiment with various XR application technologies on the Meta Quest 3. The package includes support for passthrough, plane detection, device tracking, raycasting, anchors, and tools that harness Meta first-party services such as Simple AR and Anchors.
The Meta OpenXR package is still in early access, but it provides developers with a way to get started with development for the Quest 3.
The release of the Meta OpenXR package is a sign of Unity’s commitment to supporting the upcoming device – alongside the Vision Pro. The company also provides developers with resources to help them learn about the platform and create XR applications.
Moreover, Meta AI has announced two new generative AI tools: VoiceBox and SAM. VoiceBox is a tool that can create high-quality audio clips from text prompts. It can also match pre-existing audio samples and currently supports six languages. SAM is a tool that can create realistic 3D models from text descriptions. It can also generate different styles of 3D models, and it is currently available in beta.
These tools are designed to help developers create more immersive and engaging XR experiences. VoiceBox can create realistic audio for VR and AR applications, while SAM can create realistic 3D models.
Avenged Sevenfold Pushes Musical Limits with XR, Web3
This week, XR Today interviewed M Shadows (Matthew Charles Sanders), Frontman and Lead Vocalist of Avenged Sevenfold, to discuss the band’s recent experimentation with Web3 service to secure improved fan retention and engagement.
During the interview, Shadows noted:
We’re always looking for new ways to push things forward that interest us. These are things like Web3, where we’ve seen huge benefits to our fans and keep a ‘connective tissue’ as a band to them with rewards. We like to explore emerging technologies like VR, AR, and MR, and where they’re going. All of these things are really cool ways to push things forward. We also explore artificial intelligence (AI), using it to prompt things.
Shadows also expressed how he hopes the Avenged Sevenfold Web3 experience will inspire “people to want to live outside the box, push boundaries, and see where they can take their own art.”
Manage XR to Champion XR Usability
Additionally, XR Today spoke to the CEO of Manage XR, Luke Wilson, and the firm’s Head of Product, Taylor Lallas, to highlight Discover XR and the importance of MDM solutions.
The Discover XR hub comprises three core elements: Instant Apps, Content Providers, and Hardware Partners to secure device and software deployment success.
Instant Apps provides clients with a range of demo XR applications that they can try for free. If a client enjoys their trial, the Instant App hub can contact them directly to a developer for further discussions.
Content Provider space enables enterprise clients to access a list of developers and partners that can design bespoke immersive content for select use cases.
Discover XR also provides a page of reseller partners to help secure customers with a fleet of XR devices with content installed and ready to go.
Taylor Lallas added:
Discover XR helps connect all of the dots for these pillars of deployment, whether it be devices, content or management. So, it’s starting with these initial three categories because, at the end of the day, if you don’t have the content you want, the device has become paperweight, so content is a critical part of VR adoption.
AR to Transform Medical Surgery
This Tuesday, Vuzix, a provider of enterprise AR devices, published a survey concerning the efficacy of immersive tech in the medical industry.
In its report, Vuzix commissioned Censuswide to gather data from more than 500 surgeons across the United States stating their interest in adopting AR smart glasses in their professions. Additionally, it surveyed the adoption rates and perceived benefits of AR for surgeons across regions in the Midwest, South, Northeast, and West of the US.
Vuzix’s report found that roughly 25 percent of surgeons had already embraced AR headsets. A further 31 percent actively considered adopting them, and 19 percent had experimented with the disruptive technology.
