Episode 356 – Meta-mojis | Games At Work dot Biz

all things #metaverse including @MetaQuestVR & @HoloLens headsets, @Microsoft 3D emojis, @Amazon brick & mortar stores, @LEGO_Group MRI, Mjölnir & @starwars helmet builds, & much more!

Andy and Michael R get the retail experience conversation started with a discussion on 7-Eleven employing a holographic self checkout in Japan. The article focused on not only the convenience but also the lack of physical contact with the check out terminal, which has obvious benefits given the pandemic. This spurs a further discussion on other means for accomplishing the same, albeit with non-holographic means, such as Amazon’s brick and mortar stores. Andy describes how The Amazon Fresh grocery store accomplishes this with cameras.

Metaverse topics then take center stage beginning with the news of Mozilla retiring it’s VR version of Firefox. The underlying code is being picked up by developer Igalia who announced Wolvic, an open source browser for WebXR. This leads the conversation to the hardware side of the metaverse, with Andy’s experience with the Quest headset, and Michael R’s experience with Google Glass. The co-hosts also discuss some articles speculating about the cancellation of the next generation of Microsoft’s HoloLens in favor of a focus on Microsoft Mesh for cross-platform collaboration. Sticking with Microsoft for a bit more, Andy and Michael give their thoughts about 3D versions of emoji, vs the flat design that others have been employing. Check out the blog post by Nando Costa, Distinguished Designer at Microsoft for the rationale and re-imagining of the emoji in 3D journey.

Switching gears to LEGO, and for the cohosts of this podcast, this is an easy gear to switch to, they bring up a unique build for hospitals. To help children better understand an MRI machine, LEGO has created a not-for-sale build through their Local Community Engagement program. According to LEGO, the MRI model is designed to help children reduce their anxiety and make their experience more playful and less scary. Bravo, LEGO!

Rounding out this week’s episode include discussions on games as a business, with the recent acquisitions by Sony of Bungie (makers of Halo), and Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard. This spurs a story from Michael R about his experiences with Star Wars Galaxies Restoration, and the community effort to keep this game in existence. It is easy to imagine the confluence of the metaverse with such games — how about learning Java from Jabba the Hutt?

What emoji are you excited to see in 3D and how do you think they may be used in XR? Let us know over at @gamesatwork_biz !

Thanks for listening!

Selected Article Links

Gizmodo article: 7-Eleven Stores in Japan Are Getting Touch-Free Floating Holographic Self-Checkouts

Amazon Four Star Store

Amazon Fresh Grocery Store

The Verge article: Mozilla is retiring its VR version of Firefox

WebXR

igalia post: Igalia announces Wolvic, a new browser project with an initial focus of picking up where Firefox Reality leaves off

Wolvic

Quest 2 VR headset

Tech Times article: Microsoft Cancels HoloLens 3 AR Headsets: Giving Up on Hardware to Focus on AR and MR Software?

XR Today article: Microsoft Cancels HoloLens 3 Headset, Reports Say

Microsoft HoloLens

XR Today article: Microsoft Mesh Review: Exploring Mixed Reality

Google Glass

The Verge article: Microsoft still working on 3D emoji for Windows 11

Fluent Emoji from Nando Costa on Vimeo.

Nando Costa’s LinkedIn blog post: The making of Fluent emoji

Flatland, A Romance of Many Dimensions

Nerdist article: LEGO is Giving Hospitals MRI Scanner Sets to Ease Kids’ Worries

I have a small weekend project – LEGO is donating model MRI Scanners to hospital Radiology departments to help children who may be nervous understand the process. I get to build one! pic.twitter.com/9C5MzulNtK
— Fraser Lovatt (@fraserlovatt) January 22, 2022