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Better Apple Vision Pro Avatars
Rokid AR glasses, Transfr's Series C funding
Future Scape
February 08, 2024
To VR & AR enthusiasts.
Welcome today’s edition of Futurescape - a 5 minutes daily newsletter focused on what is happening in the Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR) world.
Here is what we got today:
Vision Pro Avatars
Hainan Airlines & Rokid AR
Transfr’s $40m funding
Let’s get started.
IN THE NEWS
Apple Vision Pro Avatars
A key feature in the spatial computing VR headset is the ‘Personas’ - it lets people see digital versions of themselves during a Zoom meeting or a call.
According to Engadget, Apple latest upgrade has improved the avatars considerably. From creepy to more nice ones. A post done by an X ( Twitter) user indicates as such.
So, maybe it's just me, but I feel like the visionOS 1.1 beta vastly improves the Persona feature.
Is it still uncanny and creepy? Yeah, but I don't look like Stalin anymore.
— Snazzy Labs (@SnazzyLabs)
10:08 PM • Feb 6, 2024
Most users feel the updated Personas are better, and visually, they look less blurry and a touch more realistic, plus the proportions seem better.
ENTERTAINMENT
Hainan Airlines partners with Rokid AR glasses
The Hainan Airlines recently partnered with the Chinese based AR startup Rokid AR glasses to offer them for free for in-flight entertainment.
The Chinese startup claims to be the first AR glasses to which allow computer-generated images to be superimposed on the real world — have been used at scale on flights. Passengers can watch 3D movies, read e-books and play simple games using the glasses, instead of doing so on a built-in monitor.
The startup Founder and CEO Misa Zhu told CNBC, that partnership is more of a marketing effort to boost the consumer awareness of AR glasses.
FUNDING
Transfr closed $40m Series C (Sep ‘23)
A notable startup that raised funds before the launch of our newsletter is Transfr - a startup creating VR tools for career development. According to TechCrunch, the funding was led by ABS Capital with the participation of the following:
JPMorgan Chase Impact Finance,
Advisory,
Lumos Capital Group,
Akkadian Ventures,
Spring Tide Capital,
Firework Ventures
Album.
The funding which totals to $90 million will be used to further develop Transfr’s virtual simulation and training platform.
“This Series C growth capital investment round was led by ABS Capital to further develop Transfr’s virtual reality simulation and training platform and to expand its programs to accommodate its rapidly growing customer base, which has more than doubled year over year from 2019 to 2023,”
Transfr combines virtual reality demos with hands-on training, aiming to provide learners in industries such as manufacturing with realistic experiences.
Guided by a digital coach, users receive instruction that teaches them to perform tasks, gives feedback based on their actions and assesses their performance.
MEME OF THE DAY
That is it for today.
Thank you for reading!
Futurespace team