Nexus Studios – Augmented & Virtual Reality Confabulation

April 12, 2020

The VR Job Hub: Nexus Studios, Pixel Toys & The Dream Corporation

The virtual and augmented reality (VR/AR) industries are wonderfully diverse when it comes to the job roles available, always looking to hire the best talent to work on exciting projects. Whether you’ve been an avid fan of the tech for a while or are already involved in some way, today’s VR Job Hub has plenty of new roles which can help you become more involved and shape VR/AR’s future.

Location	Company	Role	Link
London, UK	Nexus Studios	Senior Technical Artist	Click Here to Apply
London, UK	Nexus Studios	Pipeline Technical Director	Click Here to Apply
London, UK	Nexus Studios	Interactive Producer	Click Here to Apply
London, UK	Nexus Studios	Technical Lead, Interactive	Click Here to Apply
London, UK	Nexus Studios	Digital Designer, UX	Click Here to Apply
London, UK	Nexus Studios	Animation Producer	Click Here to Apply
London, UK	Nexus Studios	Animation Production Manager	Click Here to Apply
London, UK	Nexus Studios	Compositing Supervisor	Click Here to Apply
London, UK	Nexus Studios	CG Lead	Click Here to Apply
London, UK	Nexus Studios	Creative Lead, Interactive	Click Here to Apply
Los Angeles, CA	Nexus Studios	Senior Interactive Producer	Click Here to Apply
Leamington Spa, UK	Pixel Toys	Lead VR Designer	Click Here to Apply
Leamington Spa, UK	Pixel Toys	Executive Producer	Click Here to Apply
Leamington Spa, UK	Pixel Toys	Level Designer	Click Here to Apply
Leamington Spa, UK	Pixel Toys	Gameplay Programmer	Click Here to Apply
London, UK	The Dream Corporation	VR Developer	Click Here to Apply

Don’t forget, if there wasn’t anything that took your fancy this week there’s always last week’s listings on The VR Job Hub to check as well.

If you are an employer looking for someone to fill an immersive technology related role – regardless of the industry – don’t forget you can send us the lowdown on the position and we’ll be sure to feature it in that following week’s feature. Details should be sent to Peter Graham (pgraham@vrfocus.com).

We’ll see you next week on VRFocus at the usual time of 3PM (UK) for another selection of jobs from around the world.

April 7, 2020

Google Doodle ‘Back to the Moon’ Returns in AR Form

In 2018, Nexus Studios in collaboration with Google Spotlight Stories created the first virtual reality (VR) Google Doodle in the form of Back to the Moon. Google closed the Spotlight Stories studio in 2019 after six years but that hasn’t stopped Nexus taking the project and moving it into augmented reality (AR) this week.

Back To The Moon AR

Back to the Moon was directed by Fx Goby and Hélène Leroux to celebrate the story of pioneering filmmaker and illusionist Georges Méliès. One of the earliest to experiment with visual effects at the turn of the 20th century, his film A Trip To The Moon features one of cinema’s most iconic images, a spaceship which has struck the Moon, becoming lodged in its eye.

That’s just one of several Méliès films which Back to the Moon references, others include The One-Man Band where he appeared to audiences to be playing multiple instruments simultaneously and The Impossible Voyage, with Méliès playing an explorer who travels around the globe, into the oceans and even further afield.

Bringing Back to the Moon into AR means the Google Doodle has now starred across most formats, VR, 360-degree video and 2D. To view the piece all you need to do is download the free Google Spotlight Stories app for Android or iOS devices then download Back to the Moon. You’ll also be able to view all the other Google Spotlight Stories including Age of Sail, a story of William Avery (played by Ian McShane), an old sailor adrift and alone in the North Atlantic.

Back To The Moon AR

Nexus Studios is well versed in AR content creation having previously released wayfinding app HotStepper, The Gruffalo Spotter and the Childish Gambino Playmoji for Pixel devices.

For another free AR app check out Within’s Wonderscope which is currently offering all its DLC for free. VRFocus will continue its coverage of Nexus Studios and its AR projects, reporting back with the latest updates.

November 14, 2017

Never get Lost With the Groovy HotStepper AR Wayfinding App

A growing application of augmented reality (AR) has to do with navigation, with American Airlines and Gatwick airport both using the technology to help visitors find their way around. Now, to celebrate the opening of its new US office in Los Angeles, Nexus Studios has released HotStepper a wayfinding app that aims to add a skip to your step.

Combining AR, geo-location and mapping technology, a phone’s compass and GPS coordinates, HotStepper will allow users to enter an address anywhere in the world and they’ll be guided to their destination via an eccentric dancing character.

HotStepper

“HotStepper is part of a series of research projects we’re doing into storytelling using real-world data,” explains Nexus Studios’ Head of Interactive Arts Luke Ritchie in a statement. “We’re super excited to be exploring this new frontier and with HotStepper we’ve combined multiple innovations to bring to life a playful dude creating a fun way to get somewhere. The HotStepper has a complex steering algorithm that uses different types of data to keep him on the path and walking in the right direction. It’s only as good as the GPS data though so absolutely use your common sense when perhaps it appears he hasn’t!”

To bring HotStepper to life Nexus Studios created several new tools, including VLO a virtual reality (VR) animation tool that the developer will be widely releasing soon. To make the character look like he belongs in the environment the app calculates whereabouts the sun is in relation to HotStepper, so that his shadow fits with a users current location and time.

Additionally, to showcase the fun storytelling side of the app, whenever you walk past or near a hairdressers, HotStepper’s haircut will transform into a variety of styles.

HotStepper is available now on the app store for iOS devices with an Android version also in the works. Check out the video below to see HotStepper in action.

VRFocus will continue its coverage of Nexus Studios, reporting back with the latest updates.

November 14, 2017

‘HotStepper’ Gives You AR Directions with the Help of a Silly Half-naked Man

Thanks to augmented reality, the world is about to get weird. Real weird. Thankfully we’re not the only ones who think so, because Nexus Studios, the minds behind the inside-out VR tracking solution using ARKit, today launched HotStepper, an iOS wayfinding app that follows an infectiously strange little man that beckons you to follow him on the way to your destination.

Simply enter an address, and your hot-stepping sidekick will guide you there, replete with a jaunty little walk and a few other moves worth watching.

Nexus Studios, a film and interactive media studio split between LA and London offices, says that the app combines the very latest in AR, geo-location and mapping technology. Nexus says their Interactive Arts team built a system that uses a combination of GPS coordinates, your phone’s IMU and mapping data in order to calculate your location and render HotStepper.

The studio says they’ve developed a new suite of tools to ensure HotStepper looks as realistic as possible (for a cartoon walking around the real world, that is). To give him a real-world quality that he’d otherwise lack if simply dropped into AR, the app takes the camera feed and essentially reflects the environment onto your chubby half-naked companion, making him fit more naturally in the environment with dynamic shading. Aiming to make him even more ‘realistic’, the app also programmatically makes a calculation about where the sun is in relation to HotStepper himself so his shadow is rendered correctly too.

HotStepper was animated in VR through their an animating tool of their own creation, VLO. Nexus says VLO will be releasing soon.

“HotStepper is part of a series of research projects we’re doing into storytelling using real-world data. We’re super excited to be exploring this new frontier and with HotStepper we’ve combined multiple innovations to bring to life a playful dude creating a fun way to get somewhere. The HotStepper has a complex steering algorithm that uses different types of data to keep him on the path and walking in the right direction. It’s only as good as the GPS data though so absolutely use your common sense when perhaps it appears he hasn’t!” said Nexus Studios Head of Interactive Arts Luke Ritchie.

While it’s hard to imagine using such an app for day-to-day walking directions, it certainly adds a bit of flair to an otherwise boring function. Not only that, the possibility of having such a helpful character to inject a little fun into your day when AR glasses come to the consumer market from household names, which could be as soon as 2020, is basically a dream we’ve all had as kids.

HotStepper is now available for Apple devices supporting iOS 11. Android support coming soon.

The post ‘HotStepper’ Gives You AR Directions with the Help of a Silly Half-naked Man appeared first on Road to VR.

July 17, 2017

The 10 Coolest Things Being Built with Apple’s ARKit Right Now

Apple’s ARKit has been out for developers since it was announced last month. Because of the mind-boggling number of iPhones and iPads capable of running ARKit, the new tool is already spreading its augmented reality wings across the Internet thanks to a diverse set of developers. Here we take a look at some of the coolest publicly-shared AR projects being built right now using ARKit.

Keep in mind: because ARKit essentially gives the device the ability to accurately map your surroundings, something made possible by simultaneous localization and mapping (SLAM), there’s no need for external equipment to run these sorts of AR experiences. Apple, with a single flip of the wrist, has however started down the path of farming AR applications for whatever device it has planned next.

10 – Robot Dancing

Ok, so a dancing robot isn’t the most innovative application we’ve seen, but being able to see a 3D figure do the boogie in your living room has its appeal, and the dynamic lighting only makes it that much cooler. Dancing to Vengaboys (the song from the Six Flags commercial), this happy little robot was created by Tomas Garcia, also known for many other cool ARKit experiments.

9 – Room Measurement

Created by Smart Picture 3D, their Measurement Cloud enables what they call “dimensioning intelligence for the interior world.” There’s no denying the utility of pulling out your smartphone to see if that IKEA dresser is going to fit in your office (of course leaving enough space for VR).

8 – Inter-dimensional Portal

Fancy a walk into another dimension? This inter-dimensional portal built by French consulting agency Nedd shows you just how extraordinary a lonely allée can be when you have the ability to see another world at a moment’s notice.

7 – Volumetric Video in AR

Using 3D animations from 4DViews, China-based developer 应高选 created this with his iPhone 6s and Unity. 4DViews is known for creating dynamic, volumetric captures for VR/AR/MR market.

6 – Portals in Play

Showing some gaming applications to the always cool portal-trick, Helsinki-based creative developer lingoded is by his own admission “searching [for] the next big thing” as he works with ARKit and Unity. Look inside the portal to find a key to unlock another door: classic gaming brought to life.

5 – Dance Practice

You don’t know how to dance. I don’t know how to dance. But with AR, we’ll all be dancing in perfect step with a modern take on the old-timey footstep diagrams. This little two-step number was created by Dance Reality App, and projects a moving diagram on the floor so you can learn all the right moves.

4 – Apartment Walk-through

Walking around in my future apartment #ARKit pic.twitter.com/QJAOIBmQaM

— 3D Interactive Sthlm (@ARSweden) July 14, 2017

Virtual apartment walk-throughs have been in VR for a while now, but with the limited room-scale space and relatively expensive kit required to display (not excluding the difficulty of teaching someone how to move in VR for the first time), Stockholm-based firm 3D Interactive Sthlm brought their visualization technique into AR, allowing you the ease of movement you’ve been used to since you started walking.

3 – Positional Tracking for VR

Nexus Interactive Arts, an immersive media division of VFX production studio Nexus Studios, have used Apple’s ARKit working on an iPhone 7 in an experiment that creates basic inside-out positional tracking and pass-through AR for a Google Cardboard headset.

2 – Minecraft in AR

Minecraft is already available in VR, so it was only a matter of time until it came to AR too. Created by Matthew Hallberg with an iPhone and Unity 3D, he says “I love that you are able to place life size objects because the tracking with ARkit is so good.” Stay tuned to Hallberg’s channel for upcoming tutorials and a breakdown of how he created Minecraft for AR.

1 – Real-time Mixed Reality with Vive

Built in Unity by Normal VR, the mashup between the HTC Vive-driven art program and the ARKit’s ‘window’ into the virtual world is truly inspiring—almost as if it were giving us a peek into the future of mixed reality when AR/VR unite in a single hardware platform.

If You Go Down To the Woods Today You Might Spot an AR Gruffalo

Today Nexus Studios has announced a collaboration with Magic Light Pictures and Forestry Commission England on an augmented reality (AR) app based on the children’s storybook The Gruffalo.

The Gruffalo Spotter brings to life the characters from the popular book at 26 forests across the UK. Families follow clues on an interactive trail tracking signs of the characters. This leads them to five different AR markers specific to them. So there are little footprints for Mouse, fox tracks for FOX, a slithery trail for Snake and of course a massive Gruffalo footprint.

The Gruffalo Spotter_Snake

Users then point their device at a marker triggering a short animation. The trails are full of fun facts to keep the kids entertained and once characters are spotted photos can be taking alongside them.

Sam Southward, director at Nexus Studios said: “One of the exciting things about The Gruffalo Spotter is the way in which we have scaled up the AR technology to create close to life-sized characters in a real world location. Up until this point, the majority of AR has been a smaller and more controlled experience, but for this project we really wanted to see how much we could push it. On a technical level, we have included a few clever techniques to better integrate the characters into their outdoor surroundings, such as designing the animation to work from the ground up, giving the characters a stage, which will hopefully make the experience even more magical and memorable for the audience.”

The Gruffalo Spotter trail and app will launch on 20th February, running through to September 2017. The app will be free to download from the App Store, Google Play and Amazon.

Launch dates will differ depending on the forest so head to the The Gruffalo Spotter website for further info. For any more updates, keep reading VRFocus.