AR Partnership between Magic Leap & Google

Magic Leap has entered a multi-faceted, strategic technology partnership with Google. The companies say the partnership will combine Magic Leap's leadership in optics and manufacturing with Google's technology platforms. Google was an initial investor in Magic Leap, leading a $542 million funding round back in 2014. Last year Magic Leap was in talks with Meta for an intellectual property (IP) licensing and contract manufacturing deal intended for mainstream AR products.

The partnership with Google suggests this fell through, though it's possible the partnership is non-exclusive. Samsung is also building a headset with Google powering the software, but Samsung's device is expected to be a VR-style headset with passthrough cameras like Apple Vision Pro and Meta Quest 3. Magic Leap's technology is distinctly different from all three, using transparent AR optics instead. Magic Leap 2 launched last year at $3300, leapfrogging HoloLens 2 with a taller field of view, brighter displays, and unique dynamic segmented dimming.

More information:

https://www.uploadvr.com/magic-leap-google-partnership/

Wildfire Digital Twin

NASA has unveiled its ‘Wildfire Digital Twin’ project, a sophisticated tool designed to assist firefighters and wildfire managers in monitoring fires and predicting harmful air pollution events. Current global models for describing wildfire spread and smoke movement typically have a spatial resolution of about 10 kilometers per pixel, according to NASA. However, the Wildfire Digital Twin aims to produce regional ensemble models with a substantially enhanced spatial resolution of 10 to 30 meters per pixel. These two orders of magnitude improvement allow for more accurate and detailed predictions.

These high-resolution models can be generated within minutes, a significant advancement compared to the hours required by current models. NASA's FireSense project aims to use the agency's capabilities to enhance wildfire management across the United States. This initiative focuses on developing innovative observation capabilities for predicting and managing wildfires, including systems like Earth System Digital Twins. NASA notes that the Earth System Digital Twins are dynamic software tools designed for real-time modeling and predicting climate events, utilizing data from various sources to produce ensemble predictions.

More information:

https://www.techtimes.com/articles/304876/20240522/nasa-unveils-wildfire-digital-twin-leveraging-ai-forecast-fire-smoke.htm

Robotic Human Touch

A new robotic hand design developed in MIT's Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL) has rethought the oft-overlooked palm. The new design uses advanced sensors for a highly sensitive touch, helping the extremity handle objects with more detailed and delicate precision.

GelPalm has a gel-based, flexible sensor embedded in the palm, drawing inspiration from the soft, deformable nature of human hands. The sensor uses a special color illumination tech that uses red, green, and blue LEDs to light an object, and a camera to capture reflections. This mixture generates detailed 3D surface models for precise robotic interactions.

More information:

https://news.mit.edu/2024/robotic-palm-mimics-human-touch-0520

ERCIM News XR5.0 Article 2024

XR applications for manufacturing are built based on a one-size-fits-all philosophy that does not consider the characteristics of individual workers. Hence, they fall short when it comes to supporting the emerging wave of Industry 5.0 (I5.0) applications that are destined to be human-centric and emphasise trustworthy human-machine collaboration. I5.0 requires XR visualisations that consider the characteristics, skills, and context of the manufacturing worker, along with the peculiarities of their interactions with machinery, automation devices, and cyber physical production systems.

In this context, the newly started XR5.0 Horizon Europe Project will build, demonstrate, and validate a novel person-centric and AI-based XR paradigm that will be tailored to the requirements and nature of I5.0 applications. The project will specify blueprints for using XR in I5.0 applications with emphasis on the development of innovative XR-made-in-Europe technology that blends with human-centric manufacturing technologies and adheres to European values (e.g. trustworthiness, security/privacy-by-design, transparency) as reflected in relevant EU regulations and policies.

More information:

https://ercim-news.ercim.eu/en137/special/xr5-0-human-centric-ai-enabled-extended-reality-applications-for-the-industry-5-0-era