| Here's your Metaverse briefing for today: - 👩✈️🤖 Qatar Airways has introduced Sama 2.0, the world's first AI-powered holographic virtual cabin crew.
- 👓🛍️ Walmart has enhanced its AR offerings by launching an Optical Virtual Try-On service for eyewear.
- 🏥👨⚕️ Sira Medical has received FDA 510(k) clearance for its AR surgical planning application.
Enjoy your reading! Vildana
p/vildana-b | |
| 1 | | Qatar Airways has introduced Sama 2.0, the world's first AI-powered holographic virtual cabin crew, designed to enhance passenger experience with personalized travel assistance. This innovative service, showcased at ITB Berlin, represents a significant advancement in combining technology with customer service in the aviation industry. More: - Sama 2.0 was developed with UneeQ, an AI digital human technology leader.
- Enabled by advanced conversational AI, Sama 2.0 can interact in real time, providing FAQs, destination tips, and support.
- The service will be accessible through Qatar Airways' QVerse and its app, offering wide-reaching assistance.
- In Arabic, Sama, meaning "sky," symbolizes the airline's commitment to innovation and exceptional service.
- Sama 2.0's introduction is a milestone in successfully integrating technology and human connection in air travel.
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| 2 | | Launched by Washington-based Valve Corporation in 2003, Steam has evolved from a modest update platform for Valve's games into the world's leading PC gaming platform, offering an extensive array of titles. 
What the numbers say: From just 72 games in 2004, Steam's library has grown exponentially, boasting 12,068 games in 2023, a significant increase from 9,394 in 2020. Relevance: While English is the most common language, nearly a third of the platform's users in 2023 reported Chinese or Russian as their primary language, reflecting Steam's international user base. Last month, Chinese surpassed English as the most common language among Steam users, marking a notable demographic shift. This development reflects the increasing participation of Chinese gamers in the PC gaming market and their growing influence on global gaming trends and platform strategies. Impact: Steam was officially launched in China in 2021, yet by 2018, it had boasted 30 million Chinese users. Many were drawn to the platform for access to games not yet approved by regulatory authorities for sale in the country. | | | |
| 3 | | Walmart has enhanced its AR offerings by launching an Optical Virtual Try-On service for eyewear, allowing customers to try on frames and purchase prescription eyewear online virtually. This service uses 3D data and advanced algorithms to create a digital twin of eyewear frames, offering an improved virtual try-on experience. More: - Walmart's Optical Virtual Try-On service lets customers virtually try over 750 eyewear options through its app or website.
- The service aims to streamline the shopping experience, integrating it seamlessly into customers' daily lives.
- Walmart's commitment to adaptive retail involves increasing investments in AR and VR to assist customers in visualizing products virtually.
- Customers can upload a valid prescription, measure their pupillary distance, and customize lenses during the virtual try-on process.
- Walmart's Vision Centers across the U.S. provide optician assistance for questions and finishing touches post-purchase.
Zoom Out: - Walmart introduced an AR eyewear try-on tool after acquiring the AR optical tech company Memomi in 2022, which has offered digital measurement tools to Walmart and Sam's Club customers since 2019.
- Walmart also expanded its AR offerings to include try-on features for makeup, furniture, and decor.
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| 4 | | Sira Medical has received FDA 510(k) clearance for its AR surgical planning application. This technology allows surgeons to better visualize and interact with patient anatomy, potentially reducing errors and operating time. More: - The FDA clearance was granted on Feb. 21, 2024, for Sira Medical's application to enhance preoperative planning.
- Sira Medical's technology addresses the limitations of traditional 2D imaging in surgery by providing 3D holographic views.
- Co-founder Dr. Jesse Courtier emphasized the application's ability to manipulate anatomical models and simulate surgical corrections.
- The application promises improved anatomical clarity and fidelity, supported by peer-reviewed studies.
- Studies have shown that Sira Medical's technology can increase surgical efficiency and reduce operating times.
Zoom out: - AR- and VR-powered surgical planning tools, including those offered by companies such as Osso VR, FundamentalVR, and Avatar Medical, continue to provide utility in surgical procedures.
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| 5 | | According to IDC, global shipments of AR/VR headsets surged by 130.4% in Q4 of 2023, marking a significant rebound in the market. Despite a 23.5% decline in shipments throughout 2023, new product launches like the Quest 3 contributed to this late-year recovery. More: - The overall decline in XR headset shipments for 2023 was 23.5% year-on-year before Q4's substantial growth, IDC reported.
- The Quest 3's launch was pivotal in reviving market performance in several regions during the last quarter.
- Apple's Vision Pro, released in February 2024, increased investments in XR headsets.
- Meta's market share has been recovering, aided by the Quest 3 launch and its strategy of subsidizing hardware.
- Meta remains focused on enterprise Metaverse solutions, indicating a strategic direction toward business applications.
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| 6 | | London Health Sciences Centre (LHSC) is implementing an MR research project using HoloLens technology to enhance X-ray imaging. This approach allows physicians to manipulate holograms of anatomical structures, such as brain aneurysms, directly in their field of view, eliminating the need to consult distant monitors. More: - The HoloLens technology enables virtual screens to be positioned at the physician's convenience, maintaining eye contact with patients.
- The technology aims to provide patients with their doctors' undivided attention, improving the overall experience.
- Dr. David Hocking, a diagnostic and interventional radiologist at LHSC, developed the HoloLens software to enhance patient outcomes.
- The project is supported by over $1M in funding from the London Health Sciences Foundation and the Children's Health Foundation.
- This pilot project represents the initial steps towards broader mixed reality application in healthcare.
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- The recent tensions in the metaverse development community mark a departure from its typically cooperative public facade.
- Headspace XR, a new VR app for Meta Quest 3, is designed to enhance mental health in VR/MR environments.
- Ford Motor Company filed a patent in 2022 for an AR weight indicator intended for future vehicles, published on March 5, 2024, under serial number 11922693.
- Capgemini, a France-based consulting firm, has agreed to acquire the San Francisco-based Unity Technologies' digital twin services arm.
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 | Freelance | | This newsletter was curated by Vildana. In addition to Inside Daily Brief, she also contributes to Inside Metaverse. She holds an MSc from the London School of Economics (LSE). You can reach her at vildana@inside.com or her social media platforms, Twitter or LinkedIn. | | This newsletter was edited by Aaron Crutchfield | |
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