Although the enterprise use cases for the Microsoft HoloLens 2 continue to impress, the arts community just can't stay away from the best augmented reality headset on the market. The latest example comes from a new exhibit that highlights one of Earth's most powerful but vulnerable sea creatures: orca whales. • Don't Miss: Microsoft's HoloLens Morphs Paris Museum Model of Mont-Saint-Michel into Masterpiece of AR The exhibit, which is called "Critical Distance," is being hosted by the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History in Washington, DC. The team behind the new immersive... more ..read more

As NASA nears the launch of another mission to the Moon in 2024, and a subsequent mission to Mars in the 2030s, augmented reality is increasingly being woven into the normal space operations to test various capabilities. The latest example comes via the current International Space Station (ISS) crew, several of whom are using the Microsoft HoloLens to carry out vital procedures. • Don't Miss: Microsoft's Live HoloLens 2 Apollo 11 Demo Didn't Take Flight, but You Can See It Thanks to Unreal Engine's Video Currently, crew members are engaged in the T2 Augmented Reality (T2AR) project, which ..read more

It's always fun to get an unexpected glimpse of the future, especially when that peek is so close you can actually feel the excitement of the new emerging dynamic. Such is the case thanks to a new Oculus Quest 2 commercial designed to promote a new aspect of the VR dance game Beat Saber. • Don't Miss: Facebook's Oculus Quest Turned into Augmented Reality Guitar Hero Experience via This Developer App The video is designed to promote the new Beat Saber music pack for the game from popular singer Billie Eilish. However, what the highly choreographed video also does is deliver a tantalizing... m ..read more

Even with unlimited resources and a serious case of wanderlust, its unlikely that you or I will be able to see all of the most famous structures in the world in person. That being the case, Google can now bring those landmarks to you in augmented reality. Don't Miss: Hands-On: Here's How Augmented Reality in Google Search Works Google's Arts & Culture team has added 3D virtual tours of 19 iconic landmarks to its Search product, including locations like Tokyo Tower, Santa Croce and Santa Maria Novella basilicas in Florence, and the Union Buildings in South Africa. The 3D models are built ..read more

Old school media stalwart The New York Times launched its augmented reality news content in 2018 with a feature on the athletes of the Winter Olympics. However, after a solid year of AR reporting, the Times all but abandoned its AR news coverage via its mobile app, instead opting to publish AR content via the Spark AR platform from Facebook. Don't Miss: Google Adds More Olympic Athletes to Its Roster of Augmented Reality Search Content Now, the publication's AR journey has come full-circle with a pair of AR camera effects visualizing the physics behind two of the sports of the Summer Games ..read more

After facing delays due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Olympic Games are underway in Tokyo, but a surge in cases worldwide has taken the spectator out of these spectator sports. However, thanks to AR content in Google Search, fans can get closer to select athletes than they would have if they had a ticket to the events. Don't Miss: Google Adds Pac-Man, Hello Kitty & More Japanese Anime & Video Game Characters to AR Search During the keynote presentation for its I/O developer conference in May, Google unveiled sports athletes as the latest content type available in Google Search, with ..read more

After a postponement of the Summer Olympics for a year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Tokyo is set to host the games this summer, despite a surge in cases in the city. Nonetheless, the games seem set to go on, and USA Today has published two AR experiences highlighting two new sports, skateboarding and sports climbing, making their Olympics debut. Don't Miss: USA Today Teams Up with 8th Wall to Launch AR Basketball Game for March Madness The AR experiences feature American professional skateboarder Tom Schaar and Team USA climber Kyra Condie, with a 3D scan of each athlete anchored in the ..read more

With the release of Object Capture this fall, Apple is giving everyone with a Mac and a camera the means to create their own 3D objects. But what about volumetric video, which currently requires multi-camera rigs like those at Microsoft's Mixed Reality Capture studios? One developer is shooting its shot at giving iPhone users similar powers. Don't Miss: Snap Releases Lens Studio 4.0 with 3D Body Mesh & More, Upgrades Scan as Fashion Assistant On Wednesday, 3D capture startup Volograms released the public beta of its Volu app for iOS. The app enables users to create rudimentary volumetric ..read more

Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, Google has packed new functionality into Google Meet to compete with Zoom, Microsoft Teams, and other video conferencing platforms. After adding background blurring and virtual backgrounds to match Zoom's capabilities, Google Meet now has a unique differentiator in the form of augmented reality effects. Don't Miss: Snap Releases Lens Studio 4.0 with 3D Body Mesh & More, Upgrades Scan as Fashion Assistant The AR filters, which are vailable now for the mobile app on iOS and Android, run the gamut from cartoon character masks of cats, dogs, dragons ..read more

The Chromecast TV streaming lineup from Google is one of the more popular products in the category, primarily due to its low price tag and broad app support. With more than 430,000 reviews on the App Store, Chromecast has even found fans of those in the Apple ecosystem. The latest edition in the lineup, Chromecast with Google TV, elevates the platform from a casting dongle to a full-fledged smart TV device and Apple TV alternative. Although Chromecast's obvious strength is in streaming video, its Ambient Mode is one of its low-key great side benefits. Ambient Mode (formerly known as Backdrop ..read more