Lifeboat Foundation

By Jeremy Batterson 11-09-2021

The equivalent of cheap 100-inch binoculars will soon be possible. This memo is a quick update on seven rapidly converging technologies that augur well for astronomy enthusiasts of the near future. All these technologies already exist in either fully developed or nascent form, and all are being rapidly improved due to the gigantic global cell phone market and the retinal projection market that will soon replace it. Listed here are the multiple technologies, after which they are brought together into a single system.

1) Tracking.
2) Single-photon image sensing.
3) Large effective exit pupils via large sensors.
4) Long exposure non-photographic function.
5) Flat optics (metamaterials)
6) Off-axis function of flat optics.
7) Retinal projection.

Continue reading “SEVEN CONVERGING TECHNOLOGICAL FUNCTIONS WILL PERMANENTLY CHANGE CITIZEN ASTRONOMY” »

Today at AWE 2,021 Qualcomm announced Snapdragon Spaces XR Developer Platform, a head-worn AR software suite the company is using to kickstart a broader move towards smartphone-tethered AR glasses.

Qualcomm says its Snapdragon Spaces XR Developer Platform offers a host of machine perception functions that are ideal for smartphone-tethered AR glasses. The software tool kit focuses on performance and low power, and provides the sort of environmental and human interaction stuff it hopes will give AR developers a good starting point.

A US$500 billion accelerator of human progress — mansoor hanif, executive director, emerging technologies, NEOM.

Mansoor Hanif is the Executive Director of Emerging Technologies at NEOM (https://www.neom.com/en-us), a fascinating $500 billion planned cognitive city” & tourist destination, located in north west Saudi Arabia, where he is responsible for all R&D activities for the Technology & Digital sector, including space technologies, advanced robotics, human-machine interfaces, sustainable infrastructure, digital master plans, digital experience platforms and mixed reality. He also leads NEOM’s collaborative research activities with local and global universities and research institutions, as well as manages the team developing world-leading Regulations for Communications and Connectivity.

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Today, we’re bringing you 10 EMERGING Technologies That Will Change The World. Better stick around for #1 to find out how Elon Musk may have plans to turn us all into human robots some day.
What’s up tech-heads and welcome to another episode of TechJoint! It really feels like we’re already living in the future every day. From 5G connectivity to self-driving cars being even more accessible, innovation is everywhere we look! It can sometimes be hard to imagine a world with even more innovation—a future world. What would it look like? What everyday problems would be solved? It’s a pretty good bet some technologies like artificial intelligence will be in our lives, playing important roles in the future of humankind. Other technologies may seem far fetched, unnecessary and frankly, unattainable. So buckle up, and let’s take a look at these 10 futuristic technologies that are going to change the world as we know it.

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Microsoft is entering the race to build a metaverse inside Teams, just days after Facebook rebranded to Meta in a push to build virtual spaces for both consumers and businesses. Microsoft is bringing Mesh, a collaborative platform for virtual experiences, directly into Microsoft Teams next year. It’s part of a big effort to combine the company’s mixed reality and HoloLens work with meetings and video calls that anyone can participate in thanks to animated avatars.

With today’s announcement, Microsoft and Meta seem to be on a collision course to compete heavily in the metaverse, particularly for the future of work.

Microsoft Mesh always felt like the future of Microsoft Teams meetings, and now it’s starting to come to life in the first half of 2022. Microsoft is building on efforts like Together Mode and other experiments for making meetings more interactive, after months of people working from home and adjusting to hybrid work.

Apple is looking into how it may change how you view AR (augmented reality) altogether…literally. Instead of projecting an image onto a lens, which is viewed by someone wearing an AR headset or glasses, Apple envisions beaming the image directly onto the user’s eyeball itself.

Apple recently unveiled its upcoming lineup of new products. What it did not showcase, however, was revealed in a recent patent—Apple is shown researching how it can change how we see AR and the future of its “Apple Glass” product, if one comes to exist. The patent reveals how Apple intends to move away from the traditional way of projecting an image onto a lens, to projecting the image directly onto the retina of the wearer. This will be achieved through the use of micro projectors.

The issue that Apple is trying to avoid is the nausea and headaches some people experience while viewing AR and VR (virtual reality). The patent states the issue as “accommodation-convergence mismatch,” which causes eyestrain for some. Apple hopes that by using its “Direct Retinal Projector” it can alleviate those symptoms and make the AR and VR realm accessible for more users.

DigiLens has raised funding from Samsung Electronics in a round that values the augmented reality smart glasses makers at more than $500 million.

Sunnyvale, California-based DigiLens did not say the exact amount it raised for the development of its extended reality glasses (XR), which will offer AR features, such as overlaying digital images on what you see.

DigiLens CEO Chris Pickett said in a previous interview with VentureBeat that the latest smart glasses are more advanced than models the company showed in 2019.

For people with motor impairments or physical disabilities, completing daily tasks and house chores can be incredibly challenging. Recent advancements in robotics, such as brain-controlled robotic limbs, have the potential to significantly improve their quality of life.

Researchers at Hebei University of Technology and other institutes in China have developed an innovative system for controlling robotic arms that is based on augmented reality (AR) and a brain-computer interface. This system, presented in a paper published in the Journal of Neural Engineering, could enable the development of bionic or prosthetic arms that are easier for users to control.

“In recent years, with the development of robotic arms, brain science and information decoding technology, brain-controlled robotic arms have attained increasing achievements,” Zhiguo Luo, one of the researchers who carried out the study, told TechXplore. “However, disadvantages like poor flexibility restrict their widespread application. We aim to promote the lightweight and practicality of brain-controlled robotic arms.”

Oculus Quest 2: https://amzn.to/3w0j6dO (Affiliate link)
Ray Ban Stories: https://amzn.to/3mv62tT (Affiliate link)

Timestamps:
00:00 Intro.
01:04: Brief History of Facebook.
04:47: VR & AR Today.
14:21: Mark Zuckerberg’s Master Plan.
23:19: Support Perhaps?

Continue reading “Facebook: Creating the Metaverse (Zuckerberg’s Master Plan)” »