Planet Theta is a virtual reality dating platform that promises to be a new way of connecting with potential mates from around the world. We say potential because it hasn’t come out yet. It’s been in beta testing for a long time and the release date has been pushed back multiple times. It was originally slated for release in 2023, and then it was supposed to come out in the fall of 2024. We don’t know if it will ever be released, but a prolonged testing period can mean it will be a sleek and bugless addition to your dating life.
Promised to Offer
Planet theta is an immersive dating experience that lets you interact with real people in the virtual world. You’ll be able to create your virtual avatar for others to interact with as you get to know them and go on dates. They have a full VR world that you can explore as well as venues for your dates. Premium users get additional features that will help them learn how to date better.
Aaron’s Bar
Aaron’s Bar is a dating destination that you can use to have immersive dates with the people you connect with. It’s a community room that lets you talk to other people and get to know the person you’ve invited. They have interactive games to play with them, like axe throwing, and that’s something unique to the platform. You’ll also be able to sit and talk about anything you want, and your VR headset is the key you need to enjoy your surroundings. There may be additional features added as the platform grows, but this is the current iteration of the dating scene.
Micro and Coffee Dates
Before you get to Aaron’s you’ll have the opportunity to interact with people you get matched to and find out if it’s worth spending more time with them. The first is the micro date feature that lets you spend some time with your matches. These are going to be matches based on your preferences and it’s a no strings way to interact with someone new. If you hit it off, you’ll be able to take them to the next step, which is the coffee date. This is a relaxed atmosphere where you’ll get to spend more time with your date and decide if you want to go through with a full date.
The full-date experience has a few options for you as well. You can meet up at Aaron’s and play a game or you can choose to explore the VR world with them. This will have the added benefit of showing you around the dating platform so you can get to know it better while you also get to know the person you’re with. Since this is all still a very new destination, there’s going to be a lot of it to experience for the first time.
Companion App
Planet Theta also has a companion app that you can use when you don’t feel like stepping into the virtual world with your headset on. You can browse other profiles and see what people look like in their photos. You’ll also be able to send them messages and interact like a traditional dating app. It’s a good way to find out if you want to go through the trouble of meeting in the VR space to take things further. Once you get the hang of it, these two options should work seamlessly with each other.
Premium Features
While you can create an account and use Planet Theta for free, there are features that you might want to take advantage of. Paid users will have access to an AI dating coach that you can’t get anywhere else. This AI feature will look at your previous dates and give you suggestions on where you can improve. While it won’t fix your personality, it will show you how to improve your interactions with other people, especially when you’re on first or second dates. If you think you need some help, this site is here to give it to you.
Send Real Gifts
Planet Theta has partnered with Door Dash to give you a unique feature that no other dating platform has to offer you. You’ll be able to use it to send real gifts to the people you’re dating. These aren’t virtual gifts like most sites have for you to buy and send. These are real, tangible things you can get delivered to them. You’ll be able to send anything from flowers to food to the other people and it all gets delivered through Door Dash. This has the potential to drastically change the way the platform operates.
While it could be nice and fun to send flowers to someone after your date, it opens the possibility of sex workers taking the platform over. That’s why this feature can be seen as both a pro and a con. It doesn’t take much imagination to see it developing into a new Red-Light District. Sex workers can sign up and make you send them Door Dash deliveries in exchange for sex acts in the virtual spaces. It’s not a given that it will happen, but adding this kind of feature makes it a real possibility.
Summary
Planet Theta has the potential to be the next dating site evolution, but that’s all it is right now. It’s potential, and there’s no way to tell if it will ever be realized. Until the platform launches, there’s no reason not to check it out. You can download the companion app and make your profile right now. There are no paid features, so you get to check it all out and see how it feels to you. Once it launches, it could be the next big thing, and you’ll have been there on the ground floor. If you’d like to see more expanded review points, visit the Planet Theta Review on VRSiteReviews.com.
VR can be found in every facet of modern life and it’s starting to show up in some of the strangest places. Strange doesn’t mean it doesn’t make any sense, though. In fact, some of these strange new VR markets make total sense and it’s kind of surprising they’re not more mainstream yet. For instance, VR workouts are on the rise and more people are using them every day. They’re perfect for anyone who can’t keep up with a regular gym schedule or people who have to hang up their running shoes in the wintertime.
Virtual reality makes it easy to gamify physical activity, so working out in the VR realm just makes a lot of sense. There are quite a few companies forging the path for new VR development in the health field and it doesn’t take much for you to get into it. All you really need is a silicon cover for your headset to keep you from drowning in your own sweat, a yoga mat to keep you oriented in the real world, and the VR system of your choice. Then you’re free to work out in the comfort of your own home while exploring the virtual universe!
Benefits of VR Workouts
Okay, let’s start out by taking a look at the real benefits of VR workouts. You’re using an innovative technology to boost your physical health, so you may as well get a lot out of it. That’s not even mentioning the financial investment of getting into VR in the first place. If you’re already all in on VR, this is one more use to get out of your rig. If you’re still thinking about buying a headset, here are some health benefits you can get out of it while your bank account recovers.
Gamification of Workouts
One of the primary challenges in maintaining a fitness routine is staying motivated. VR workouts tackle this issue by transforming exercise into an interactive and entertaining experience. Instead of focusing on the physical strain of exercise, users get lost in virtual worlds, completing missions or competing in games. This element of fun keeps users coming back for more. You get points, leaderboards, and rewards that provide immediate gratification and a sense of achievement. On top of that, you’re also getting a variety of workout games to play while you’re staying active and keeping your heart rate up.
Cardiovascular and Mental Health
VR fitness apps often require continuous movement, which can provide an excellent cardiovascular workout. Games like “Supernatural” or “Beat Saber” get your heart rate up, helping to improve endurance and heart health. Many VR workouts also engage multiple muscle groups simultaneously, offering a comprehensive workout through full-body engagement. This leads to the kind of calorie burns that you get from the usual exercises like cycling or running, but you don’t have to go outside to get them. It’s what makes VR workouts a great option over the cold and dark winter months.
Exercise is also known to boost mental health, and VR workouts amplify these benefits. Immersive virtual environments can reduce stress and anxiety by providing an escape from daily life. Virtual landscapes and guided meditations create a serene atmosphere, helping users relax. VR requires your full attention, which can enhance mental clarity and promote mindfulness during exercise. That means you’re working your mind at the same time you’re working your body and that’s something you’re not going to get from a gym. It might not even be something you can get from an outdoor workout if you don’t enjoy the environment around you.
Consistency for All Levels
The novelty of VR workouts helps users stay consistent in their fitness routines. Many people find traditional workouts monotonous, leading to burnout or loss of motivation. VR workouts keep things fresh and exciting. The gamified experience makes users less aware of the effort they’re putting in, so they often work out longer. Many VR apps encourage consistency through daily goals and achievements. It’s going to keep you coming back to the game, rather than being a chore you have to carry out before you can relax for the night and that makes a big difference.
It’s also great for people of any fitness level of physical age. Whether you’re a beginner or a seasoned athlete, VR workouts can be tailored to suit your needs. Many apps offer different difficulty levels and adjustable intensity to match your fitness goals. VR can ease you into fitness with low-impact activities, making it perfect for beginners or people with physical impairments. High-intensity intervals, advanced choreography, or competitive multiplayer modes challenge even the fittest users on the other end of the spectrum. That means there’s no good reason to not give it a shot. It’s not going to be above or below your level, no matter how hard you try.
Improve Coordination while Forming Habits
The physical movements in VR workouts often involve dodging, lunging, and striking, which improve coordination and balance over time. Many games require quick reactions, sharpening reflexes. Activities like yoga or tai chi in VR help improve posture and core strength. That means you’re going to improve your physicality just by turning on the VR games and running through the routines. You don’t have to be after a ripped body when you get into it. Simply playing along will give you plenty of benefits.
You’re also going to be forming good habits that will stay with you for the rest of your life. That’s a very big part of good health and anyone will tell you that. Most people fall off the workout wagon when getting to the gym becomes too much of a chore and they lose the ability to form the habits that give them the results they’re after. Then you’re gamifying the whole thing with rewards and points, you’re going to make VR workouts a part of your life that will make you healthier and happier, the longer you keep them as part of you.
VR Workout Games
Now that we know all the benefits of VR workouts, we can talk about the different titles that are available to you. There are lot of them that focus on one type of workout and others that give you good, all-around experiences that will engage multiple parts of your body. It all really comes down to the kind of workouts that you want to get into and the platform you have. Here are some of the most popular games to look into and the benefits they can offer you, as long as you keep up with them.
Beat Saber
Beat Saber is a fast-paced rhythm game that combines music and fitness. Players slice through color-coded blocks to the beat, offering a fun, full-body workout. The game excels in its engaging mechanics, a vast library of songs, and the ability to improve coordination, reflexes, and cardiovascular health. Overall, Beat Saber is a great way to make exercise enjoyable, especially for people who love music and gaming.
Pros:
Highly immersive and addictive gameplay
Customizable difficulty levels
Great for cardio and upper-body exercise
Cons:
Limited song variety without DLC or mods
Requires ample play space
Mostly upper-body exercise
FitXR
FitXR is a dynamic VR fitness app offering boxing, dance, and high-intensity interval training (HIIT) workouts. It provides an interactive experience with real-time coaching, helping users stay motivated while burning calories and improving cardiovascular health. The app caters to all fitness levels with customizable difficulty and a variety of classes. It’s a great choice for those seeking variety and social interaction in their VR fitness routine.
Pros:
Diverse workout styles for full-body training
Engaging multiplayer mode and social features
Regularly updated content
Cons:
Requires a subscription for full access
Limited customization for avatars
One of the pricier options
Supernatural
Supernatural is a premium VR fitness app offering guided workouts in stunning virtual landscapes. It combines cardio, strength, and meditation exercises, led by professional trainers. Users engage in rhythm-based activities that improve endurance, coordination, and mental well-being. It’s perfect for anyone seeking an engaging, holistic fitness experience with a focus on both physical and mental health.
Pros:
Beautiful, immersive environments
Wide variety of workouts and music tracks
Excellent coaching and motivational guidance
Cons:
Requires a subscription after a free trial
Best experience requires an Oculus headset
Expensive game with expensive system
BoxVR
BoxVR is a VR boxing game that delivers intense, rhythm-based boxing workouts. It’s designed to improve cardio, endurance, and coordination while keeping users engaged with energetic music and diverse routines. It’s ideal for those seeking a straightforward, effective boxing-inspired fitness routine. Just keep in mind that you’ll want to know the basics of boxing before you spend the money to jump into this one.
Pros:
Great full-body workout with a focus on upper body and core
Customizable session lengths and difficulty levels
Offers workout tracking for progress monitoring
Cons:
Limited variety in workout styles
Graphics and visuals feel basic compared to competitors
Music selection may not appeal to everyone
OhShape
OhShape is another fitness game that combines rhythm and movement, challenging players to match their body to cutouts in walls, dodge obstacles, and hit targets. It offers a fun, full-body workout, enhancing flexibility, coordination, and cardio fitness. This one is perfect for those seeking a fun, dance-like workout that sharpens reflexes and burns calories while gamifying the entire experience.
Pros:
Unique gameplay that promotes full-body engagement
Custom song support for a personalized experience
Encourages agility and quick reflexes
Cons:
Limited in-game tutorials for beginners
Requires ample play space for safe movement
Smaller song library compared to competitors
Drawbacks of VR Workouts
Those are the big gaming options out there, but it’s important to understand there are always drawbacks to new workout routines and VR is no different. The more you know about them, the better equipped you’ll be to counteract them when the time comes to give it all a shot. Remember that the worst thing you can do is nothing at all. Just because a VR workout has a drawback doesn’t mean you should completely pass it over. You can make a few small changes to ensure you’re getting the most out of your time and financial investment.
The first drawback is that you’re not getting any resistance training when you do with VR. Most of the games you can play will give you lots of cardio, but they’re not going to get you lifting weights. Some options, like Supernatural, keep strength training in mind, but there’s only so much they can do for you. That’s why it’s a great idea to keep weight training as part of your routine. FitXR also gets you doing pushups and using chair dips, but if you’re really trying to jack yourself up, you’re going to need to supplement your virtual exercise.
The other drawback comes with form. You can’t see yourself when you’re using a headset and you don’t have a trainer you can rely on. That means your form can be all over the place and that can lead to injury or simply not getting the most out of your workout. One great way around this is recording yourself while you work out. Then you can see how your body is moving and try to improve it the next time. The better you can get your form, the faster you’ll see the results that you’re after and that will keep you invested in your body.
Give VR Workouts a Shot
If working out is something you normally do and you want to try something new, VR is a great option for you. You have the added benefit of already knowing good form, so you don’t have much to worry about. If working your body is a brand new, undiscovered country, VR is your gateway to a world of health that you’ve never experienced before. Best of all, you can do it in the comfort and privacy of your own home. No matter who you are or what your goal happens to be, VR workouts are going to be perfect for you!
Robot have been a part of the public consciousness for centuries and they’re finally being developed by trailblazing companies that are shaping the future of the human condition. You don’t have to wait for another hundred years to see them, though. Here are 10 robots that exist right now!
10. Bina48
Bina48 has lots of different functions but it’s essentially an AI companion robot that can seem to think on its own and carry on a conversation with humans. It was created with interview transcripts to make it sound like a real person. It also has a face scanned from a human and face and voice recognition software, so it always knows who it’s talking to. It’s the perfect robot for anyone who’s lonely and into robots at the same time.
9. Moley Robotics
Moley Robotics is a company out of London that’s created a robotic cook that’s destined to be in every kitchen in the future. It can cook anything you want but it doesn’t end there. It’s also capable of washing the dishes and putting them away for you.
If you hate cooking or love robots, then this is going to change your life very soon. It also just looks really cool!
8. Festo Bionic Animals
Festo builds robots that are just like animals in every way possible. They’re biologically accurate and are currently being used for research. So far, they’ve made bats, spiders, and even turtles. The future is meant to see them sold as toys for children and it doesn’t get any better than that. A child can have a pet that’s just like the real thing without the mess!
7. Sophia
Sophia is one of the most famous AIs that you can find, and it’s even been granted citizenship in Saudi Arabia. It can carry on a conversation and has been going strong since 2014. The robot can imitate human movements. It’s going to get more sophisticated as time goes on and it might just be the first model to appear in a person’s home.
6. Atlas
Atlas is the newest robot from Boston Dynamics and it’s the sleekest machine they’ve created. What makes it great is that it has awareness of the world around it. That makes it possible for the robot to move around and avoid obstacles, just like a real person. It can lift heavy objects and carry them around, making the need for backbreaking physical labor a thing of the past.
5. Spot 2
Spot 2 is the first robot on the list that looks like a dog and it can carry out lots of different tasks. Just like the last entry, it’s been created by Boston Dynamic and is aware of the world around it. It’s smaller and lighter than the last Spot so it can really get around. It’s also much nimbler so it can make its way around outside and inside a tight room.
4. Ekso GT
The Ekso GT is an aid for people with physical limitations and works as a pair of legs and keeps the user balanced and on their feet. It can change the lives of millions of people and the development is still ongoing. Once it reaches the open market, there’s no doubt that it will become a very common sight. A robot that helps people with mobility problems will always be widely accepted.
3. Asimo
Asimo is about as humanoid as a robot can currently get and is able to move around on its own. It can understand spoken commands as well as gestures. The working hands allow it to turn lights on and off as well as carry anything in the house. It’s designed to be a helper robot and it works very well for that purpose. It’s no longer being produced but it greatly moved the science of AI forward.
2. Jia Jia
Jia Jia has an incredibly human like face and can easily be interacted with by other people. It may move around on wheels, but it can process new information and speech as it’s uploaded through real interactions. It can respond to questions as well as make micro-expressions, just like a human. It’s no wonder why this robot gets so many looks when it’s out on display and it’s still being updated and evolved.
1. Curiosity Rover
Finally, we come to the Curiosity Rover. While it may not be the type of robot you imagine, it’s every bit a robot, built to think and act like a human, just like the other robots. It’s investigating the planet Mars right now and moving around the terrain on its own. It has lots of tools to test the landscape and costs over $2 million to create. There is a chance it may still be driving around by the time humans arrive on the red planet!
Virtual reality is changing the way work is done in the world today. The automotive industry is one of the fields which have embraced this technology. This technological embrace has been timely given that the automotive industry has a shortage of technicians. Every year, there are 76,000 job openings out of which 37,000 of them go unfilled. That is why it is important to leverage on technology to address this shortage. Considering that every year, the industry loses experienced technicians to retirement, the point cannot be overemphasized. This impacts businesses and individuals as shortages means that repairs and maintenance take longer and tend to be more expensive.
But in the entire automotive world, one particular VR program stands out because of the impact it has not just for the trainees or interns, but the work force and society in general. This is the Full Circle Auto Repair and Training which is offered by Vehicles for Change. This is an internship which has been designed as an industry driven program to help those who have lots of barriers to employment. A key segment of this population is the prison population.
Re-entering society after being incarcerated can be quite challenging because not many organizations are willing to hire those with a criminal background. According to Mark Schwarz, the President of Vehicles for Change, the automotive repair industry is one of the few which are a bit lenient on this and are willing to accommodate ex-convicts. That is why many of those released from prison are usually re-arrested. A 2018 study by the Bureau of Justice which surveyed 30 states put this figure at a whooping 83%. That is why internships and programs such as the Full Circle Auto Repair and Training are great for those released from prison and for society as a whole.
To illustrate this, 100% of those who complete the program are hired. And what is even better, their rate of recidivism is only 3%. This shows that there is an impact in what they do. This could be because of the fact that they do not just take anyone. They do an interview to make sure that someone is a good fit for the program and that the person’s career goals align with the internship. Thereafter, once accepted, they are paired with mentors to guide their journey. This process therefore starts while the interns are still prisoners. And they are paid while they attend the training.
If you are interested in the program or know someone who can benefit from it, there are minimum requirements to be met. These are having a High school diploma or GED, having the ability to obtain a driving license as well as having basic automotive mechanical knowledge. It is also important to be able to get on location by 7 am on weekdays.
This program is packed with benefits chief among them is that it makes the interns entry level ready. Secondly, with VR training, learning is individualized and trainees get to learn at their own pace. Besides helping to fight recidivism, this program can also assist companies fill crucial vacancies. In addition, companies get highly trained technicians given the quality of training they get. On the other hand, the technicians learn valuable skills and they learn them quickly due to the use of technology and having mentors. They also do not pay for the program and they are paid while undertaking the program meaning that they can concentrate on completing it. Trainees can also make mistakes safely without having to worry about expensive mistakes when dealing with the actual physical components they are learning about. For companies, training technicians using virtual reality is both quick and cheap. There are also benefits to the immediate families of the ex-cons as well as society in general. State and national governments get to save money on prison costs due to the reduction in recidivism.
For Vehicles for Change, the impact does not just stop at training ex-cons. They also donate vehicles to people of low income. Transportation is a huge problem for low income households and this can affect their work and employment prospects. These cars are donated to Vehicles for Change which in turn gives them out to deserving and vetted low income households. 7,500 cars have been given out to date.
ChatGPT is a cutting-edge language model developed by OpenAI. It is a deep learning-based conversational AI system that has been trained on a massive amount of text data to generate human-like responses to user inputs. The model is based on the Transformer architecture, which was introduced in the paper “Attention is All You Need” and has since become the foundation for many state-of-the-art language models.
ChatGPT uses the Transformer architecture to process input text and generate a response in real-time. The model has been trained on a diverse range of text data, including conversations, news articles, and web pages, which allows it to generate responses on a wide range of topics. When a user inputs a query, ChatGPT processes the input and generates a response by predicting the next word in the sequence. The response is generated by sampling the most likely words, given the input, from the model’s predicted probabilities of each word.
One of the key advantages of ChatGPT is its ability to generate coherent and contextually relevant responses. The model has learned to consider the context of a conversation and generate responses that are consistent with the tone and content of the conversation. This allows ChatGPT to engage in natural and engaging conversations with users.
ChatGPT has been widely adopted by businesses, developers, and researchers in various industries, including customer service, content creation, and research. The model’s ability to generate human-like responses has made it a valuable tool for automating customer service and reducing response times. In content creation, ChatGPT has been used to generate articles, summaries, and other written content, reducing the time and effort required to produce high-quality content. In research, ChatGPT has been used to study language and generate insights into the way people communicate.
In conclusion, ChatGPT is a highly advanced language model that is changing the way people think about conversational AI. Its ability to generate human-like responses in real-time has made it a valuable tool for businesses, developers, and researchers across a wide range of industries. As the model continues to evolve and improve, it will likely have an even greater impact on the way we communicate and interact with technology in the future.
ChatGPT in School
So, there you have it! That’s everything you need to know about ChatGPT in school and how it operates. By the way what did you think about the writing style up there? Was it fun and engaging? Did it make you want to keep reading? Did it have that good, old fashioned, sense of a human touch? Have you even made it this far in the article?
Well, if it isn’t obvious, that whole first part was writing by the titular ChatGPT. This thing has been in the news quite a bit and it seems to be a thorn in the side of educational institutes all around the world. It seems that students simply have to type a subject into this AI and it will just spit out a paper for them. That sounds like the end of humanity to me!
Any AI takes Skill
It’s not quite that cut and dry. Is you know anything about AI then you know that operating it requires some skill. That’s why art created by AI is its own category right now. That section up there didn’t just create itself for me. Here’s the very first result of my foray into ChatGPT:
If you know anything about school, then you know that those two examples are nowhere near the length that would be required of a typical paper. You can also see that it’s all written in a stunted sort of language that would make it stand out in a class of men and women with any semblance of personality. In order to get closer to the length required by any writing assignment, I had to go out of my way and give the AI instructions to create the answer in 500 words.
That may sound like one very simple extra step, but it didn’t quite give me what I wanted. Instead, that text is only 366 words. It seems that ChatGPT in school is just as much of a slacker as the students that try to use it.
What’s the Point?
Okay, so what’s the point we’re trying to make here? It’s the simple fact that the media has just done what it always does. It’s taken a fairly mundane story about something that has little to no bearing on your life and turned it into the next apocalypse. The very educational system that the world relies on to create the next generation of its stewards is falling apart because a child simply has to use a magical computer thingy to do all of his or her work for them.
It actually turns out that using ChatGPT in school to cheat is much harder than you think it is. Every higher learning institute is going to use some form of plagiarism check to make sure its students are doing the work they’re supposed to be doing and not just copy/pasting from Wikipedia. Let’s take that first section, that was writing by the AI and run it through a simple Copyscape check and see what happens:
Yup, that’s right! Fully 7 plagiarism hits in that short 366 word piece! Any teacher or professor is going to be able to get those same results on any paper that’s been written by ChatGPT.
ChatGPT as a Tool
So what does all this come down to? It pretty much means that ChatGPT is little more than a simple tool that people can use on the internet. Can a student use it to write an entire term paper for them, well, yes. But it’s still going to be just as much work for them to edit and rewrite the entire piece to turn it into something that’s actually usable. It’s about as menacing to the world of education as Google. If you have a student that’s capable of using the internet, then you have a student that has the same advantage as one using ChatGPT. It’s nothing to panic over. It’s not just an “easy” button that someone can press to do all their homework so they can spend the rest of the night doing drugs and having unprotected sex. It’s not the end of the world.
That doesn’t mean that the AI program isn’t an exciting piece of technology, though! This is a machine that’s capable of learning from the interactions of the people that use it. There’s no small amount of genius that’s gone into its design and it may, someday, help people with medical problems have human conversations with other people.
The Future of ChatGPT
If you want to get a good look at a future that includes ChatGPT, it’s not hard. AI has been growing increasingly integrated into our world for the better part of a decade. Just because it’s a new technology doesn’t mean that it’s coming to take your job. Just consider a world where the steam engine was never invented because it took away the work of horses. That would be an incredibly stunted society, to say the least.
Instead, the steam engine took over the world, but horses weren’t wiped off the planet. Their roles in everyday life simply shifted and that’s what’s going to happen with AI. Our roles in the workforce will simply be shifted a little bit. We’re not all going to be put out of work because a program can do something for us. If you want a picture of the future of ChatGPT, all you have to do is ask it:
“ChatGPT and other AI technologies can automate certain tasks and make processes more efficient, but they are not designed to replace human workers. Instead, they complement human workers and allow them to focus on higher-level tasks that require human skills, such as creativity, empathy, and critical thinking. However, it is important for workers to continuously develop new skills to remain relevant in an ever-evolving technological landscape. Overall, the impact of AI on the job market will depend on how it’s adopted and used in various industries and how workers adapt to the changes it brings.”
That doesn’t seem all that bad when you think about it. So, the next time the media gets the public into a frenzy about something, just remember: they’re just trying to sell you something that was made in a factory by robots!
There are many different companies around the world taking advantage of AR and using to its fullest current capabilities. The Motley Fool recently released a report on the best stocks to watch that are using AR in their business practices. There’s no telling what’s actually going to happen to these stocks, but they’re more than worth keeping an eye on. Naturally, none of this is stock market advice. It’s simply a look at companies making AR a part of their business. Even if you don’t care about stocks, you can still learn about brand new AR technologies to check out.
Etsy
Etsy is a platform that lets people sell handmade crafts to anyone who wants them. This isn’t a typical marketplace because everything is made by hand and shipped directly by the sellers. They’re also AR to let shoppers view the pieces in their homes. All they have to do is point their camera where they want the piece to go and they’ll be able to see what it will look like. While this is best suited to wall art, they’re working to expand it into other categories for a fully AR experience on the app.
Alphabet
Alphabet is one of the biggest companies on the internet. They not only own YouTube, but also Google, which has dozens of its own holdings as well. Live View on Google Maps allows users to quickly orient themselves to the area around them and know which way to go via directions overlaid on the live screen of their surroundings. Meanwhile, Google Lens allows users to search what they see. They can scan and translate text, search for an item that caught their eye, or identify plants and animals. The company’s AR technology is making it easier for people to discover the world around them.
Apple
Apple is another giant on the internet that owns the biggest sites and apps around. These guys own many different platforms that are using AR on a steadily increasing basis. Some of the most popular are Snapchat, IKEA place, and iScape. They’re also exploring many ways to use virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality. For example, they’re developing wearable computing technology. It’s also constantly working on its Apple Glasses to varying degrees of success. There’s no telling if they’ll ever take off, but they’re certainly gaining more traction as time goes on.
Nintendo
Nintendo has been in the AR game for quite some time. In fact, they were one of the early adopters. Pokémon Go brought AR to the masses and it’s still being played to this day. They also allow their 3DS users to play AR games wherever they want. The newest AR game in their stable is Mario Kart Live: Home Circuit with more of them always on the way. They’ve partnered with Niantic to develop more titles that can bring them the same success they enjoyed with Go. It’s only a matter of time before they outpace AR apps.
Snap
Snap is the company that developed Snachat and most people don’t realize that. Most believe that Snapchat is its own company, but that’s not the case. Snap has used Snapchat to create lenses, which are AR animations that can change the sound of a person’s voice or their appearance as they move on a screen. More than 170 million people use this feature, so it’s not going to be disappearing any time soon. They’re also developing Spectacles which will be the “first pair of glasses that bring augmented reality to life.” Their technology is set to improve over time.
Nvidia
Nvidia is also working on the technology needed to make AR a reality. For example, Nvidia Cloud RX delivers VR and AR across 5G and Wi-Fi networks. It allows users to stream AR through devices without using wires. Nvidia is also developing technology that incorporates AR into cars. The Nvidia Drive AR processor gathers information and displays it for a driver using AR. The system will show things such as driving stats, points of interest, alerts, and other information. It’s the best chance at having AR streaming seamlessly to anyone who wants to use it for any purpose.
Embrace AR
AR is here to stay and it’s evolving right alongside VR. It can used on any hardware and enhance the entire world around you. It can be used for anything from gaming to learning and you can’t get any better than that. Keep an eye on these stocks if you want to see just how far it can go.
