Daily Archives: June 16, 2017

3-D Wall of Virtual Reality Inside Science News Service (Inside Science) -- In the world of virtual reality, putting on a pair of goggles transports users to anywhere on earth and beyond, all without leaving home. Users become immersed in a digital landscape that would normally be beyond their reach. VR has ... and more »

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3-D Wall of Virtual Reality - Inside Science News Service

SeaWorld Orlando didnt build a new roller coaster this year, but it felt like it to Alex Moreno.

Ive been on Kraken tons and tons of times, and that didnt feel like Kraken, he said Friday. Its better much better.

Moreno and friend Chloe Spencer of Orlando were among the first to ride the rebooted coaster rechristened Kraken Unleashed with its new virtual-reality component in place.

Riders have the option of wearing a headset that presents a movie to makes it look like theyre going underwater and encountering sea life, both real and mythological. In reality, theyre on the same rail thats been in place since the ride opened 17 years ago.

When you first go into the water its so crazy, Moreno said.

Friday also marked the debut of SeaWorlds Spot Saver system, which allows visitors in the park to reserve ride times on the new coaster. A Spot Saver kiosk was set up near the Kraken Unleashed entrance, and the service could also be accessed by mobile devices aimed at spotsaver.com.

By noon, all reservation slots had been taken. The park closes at 7 p.m.

Spot Saver was established, in part, because the turnaround time between rides has increased. Theres a learning curve for folks donning the virtual-reality headsets for the first time, plus the equipment is cleaned between rides.

Rudi Stern, who lives near Munich, Germany, said he liked the ride but was frustrated by the wait time in the station.

It was a great ride, but it all took too long, he said. When we put on the glasses and then the riding time and the waiting time and the time when you are sitting, it was about 7 minutes, which is very long.

But, once they got rolling, he said the virtual-reality aspect was a winner and superior to stationary simulators.

Its not like the virtual reality where you only sit, Stern said.

The rides film is synchronized with the movement of the coaster, which still goes 65 mph and turns upside-down seven times, said Brian Morrow, vice president of theme-park experience design.

We take advantage of the real inversions, but sometimes we disguise them as other maneuvers, which makes it really unusual, Morrow said. So you cant count the seven inversions anymore.

All the in-your-face movement didnt make Regina Johnston queasy, she said. She usually avoids coasters but wanted to check out the VR on Kraken, she said.

I think it makes it easier, said Johnston, who lives near Dallas. When Im on a regular coaster, I want to shut my eyes or hold my breath. This one, I could keep my eyes open.

dbevil@orlandosentinel.com or 407-420-5477

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Virtual reality run: SeaWorld unleashes Kraken roller-coaster revamp today - Orlando Sentinel (blog)

Indiatimes.com

Scared of the dentist? Virtual reality could be the solution Metro You'll therefore be pleased to hear the news that there may be a (fairly surprising) way of mitigating the absolute horror of the dentist: virtual reality. A new study, published by Environment and Behaviour, found that calming nature scenes conveyed ... New Research Shows Virtual Reality Can Be Used To Make Your Dentist Visits Less PainfulIndiatimes.com How Virtual Reality Can Make Visiting The Dentist Less Painful, Especially If It Involves NatureMedical Daily Virtual reality helps patients 'escape' dental painMultiBriefs Exclusive (blog) Digital Journal all 10 news articles »

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Scared of the dentist? Virtual reality could be the solution - Metro

As virtual reality and artificial intelligence make their way into the travel industry, consumers may not be fully on board.

Most adults prefer traditional traveling over VR experiences and more than half say tour guides and hotel staff could not be replaced by AI, according to a new study.

The study was conducted by European touring company Italy4Real and comprised a global survey of 1,000 adults.

While virtual reality can be beneficial for viewing remote destinations, it doesnt appear to be a direct threat to actually travelling.

More than three quarters (81%) of adults said VR cant replace travel and almost all (92%) said they would not consider visiting a destination in virtual reality to equate having been to that destination.

The majority (90%) said VR lacks the sensory experiences of traveling. More than three quarters (77%) cited local food and almost as many (69%) said meeting new people, according to the study. Other potential downsides of VR cited include smells, sounds and general atmosphere.

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However, VR could be an advantageous alternative to travel in certain cases.

More than three quarters (77%) said VR travel could be beneficial if the user is incapable of physically traveling. Another advantage of VR cited is the ability to go wherever you want, whenever you want without the associated costs.

On the artificial intelligence side of travel, sentiments seem to be somewhat split.

More than half (52%) said AI can replace human travel agents while almost three quarters (67%) said tour guides or hotel staff could be replaced by AI, according to the study.

The general thought appears to be that AI can fulfill operational roles, but roles requiring personalized interactions are more suited for humans.

However, one of the focuses within the AI space has been developing systems that can engage with customers in real-time on an individual level. While the capabilities may be there, the perception appears to need some time.

Artificial intelligence has already made its way into the planning and booking segment of travel.

For example, Boston-based travel company Lola manages travel booking using a combination of AI and human interaction. The startup, launched last year by the co-founder of Kayak, uses AI to carry out operational and repetitive tasks and human employees to leverage the AIs results in interacting with customers.

JetBlue also plans to integrate AI in a similar capacity within its online trip planning portal.

The airlines JetBlue Vacations arm just launched a service that can create personalized hour-by-hour vacation itineraries for travelers.

When you hear artificial intelligence, its easy to envision a far-off future seen in the movies, Umang Gupta, president of JetBlue Vacations, said in a statement. But AI is ready to change how we now plan travel.

The activities are suggested based on the travelers stated preferences on sixteen categories, including budget and are pulled from a database of more than 150 destinations that is curated by local area experts. JetBlue Vacations partnered with Utrip to integrate its AI destination discovery and planning platform on the back-end.

Our partnership with Utrip demonstrates that we can transform the vacation experience using both technology and a human touch, Gupta stated.

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Virtual Reality Not Seen As Substitute For Travel - MediaPost Communications

BBC News

Rievaulx Abbey rediscovers Victorian 'virtual reality' BBC News A Victorian version of virtual reality has been brought to life by historical photographs of a ruined abbey. Rievaulx Abbey, in North Yorkshire, is exhibiting the collection of late 19th and early 20th Century slides, which create a 3D effect when ... Victorians' 'virtual reality' showcased in photographs at ruined abbeyBT.com all 3 news articles »

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Rievaulx Abbey rediscovers Victorian 'virtual reality' - BBC News

Considering the flashier features of LOrals 352,000 square-foot New York City headquarters a full Essie nail salon and a Hudson River-facing terrace, for instance its easy to walk right past the companys virtual reality room.

It looks like a typical conference room. But the LOral Beauty Lab, as its referred to internally, is stacked with virtual reality glasses and installed with a VR screen that occupies a full floor-to-ceiling space on the wall. Two other screens in the room are used to display 3D modeling demonstrations.

LOral invested a pretty penny in this buzzy technology, but not to woo customers into thinking itscutting edge. (The company wouldnt disclose how much it spent on the screen, but it was enough for visitorsto be warned not to get too near the wall.)

While VR has been prophesied by bullish vendors and big-eyed brands as the next frontier of fashion and beauty, true utility for the technology has failed to materialize on the grand scale. Past attempts include a virtualized runway show at Tommy Hilfigers Manhattan store, which involved a clunky headset, and a Piaget-run polo match that felt like a stretch. In beauty, brands are developing augmented reality tools, VRs close relative, at a breakneck speedto mimic the process of trying on makeup.

But its still yet to be shown that this technology can have a real impact on sales. Manybrands dont even know what to do with the data that results from a VR test, andthe industry is full of skeptics.

Im not a big believer in virtual reality as it relates to retail, said Scott Friend, a managing director at Bain Capital Ventures, in a previousinterview. Maybe it has a place in an industry like gaming, but having seen the best retail VR experience out there, I walked away from it thinking, Why would I ever do this?

In order to drive real use from its in-house VR Beauty Lab, LOral is turning the technology away from consumers, and focusing it instead on internal teams.

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The companys 42 cosmetics, hair-care and skin-care brands are encouraged to use the virtual reality roomin order to drive efficiency and productivity when making decisions around product merchandising, packaging and overall branding. These processes which can take months, from brainstorm to launch can be turned around in a matter of weeks in the Beauty Lab. Thanks to the visuals of the virtual reality and 3D renderings, brands can save money and time on creating prototypes and recreating in-store demos.

Dermablend, a dermatologist-created brand of foundations and concealers, is the first LOral property to test the ways the virtual reality room could change howits lean team of 14 people makes decisions. Malena Higuera, the general manager of Dermablend, said she knew that she wanted the brand to make a strategic and aggressive leap forward in 2017, but the extensive market research required for a total rebranding and package redesign would take too long and cost too much money.

This type of thing takes very complicated, cumbersome and expensive live merchandise demonstrations, said Higuera. But I really wanted my team to be exposed to as much real, potential feedback as we could get.

So Dermablend sent its proposed new packaging design and the rebranding for an in-store display unit to the Beauty Lab, where the packages were rendered using 3D modeling and the unit, in the context of a virtual Ulta store, was overlaid in the VR world. Dermablend brought in a focus group, and had them respond to the different branding and packaging. They found that the new unit was clear enough in its messaging that customers new to the brand could repeat back its core differentiator (that its made by dermatologists) and, thanks to a more diverse group of models, recognize a greater range of makeup shades.

The process of rebranding its Ulta unit took three months. Without the VR demonstration, Higuera said it likely would have taken closer to eight.

She added that, as a small, indie brand, it was a big deal to be able to take advantage of LOrals resources while staying a tight and focused team. As big beauty companies like LOral, Revlon and Este Lauder set their sights on buying up indie brands that have gathered mighty followings, maintaining the brands initial appeal is key to not getting swallowed up whole.

LOral brands are also working together more. Elsewhere in the new headquarters, which houses 1,600 employees across all brands at the Manhattan Hudson Yards development, is a collaboration-encouraging environment. Brands with similar goals and features can cross-communicate in the space, which was designed by the architecture firm Gensler, in an attempt to remove silos.

Still, since the Beauty Lab opened in October, Dermablend is the only brand that has taken full advantage of its features. That suggests theres a learning curve involved with working VR into internal processes. But as the beauty world gets increasingly competitive, moving at a faster clip is essential.

Were undergoing a renaissance of sorts. Every time we need to see something in real life, we come here, said Higuera. Speed is important. But its about doing the right thing, fast.

Banner image courtesy of LOral

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How L'Oreal uses virtual reality to make internal decisions at its New York HQ - Digiday