Meta has announced its partnership with BMW Group to investigate the integration of AR and VR technology within fast-moving vehicles. This joint research project aims to enhance the passenger experience and potentially revolutionize travel in cars, trains, planes, and beyond.The collaboration between Meta and BMW, established in 2021, envisions a future where AR and VR are seamlessly integrated into smart vehicles, providing passengers with more productive, social, and entertaining experiences on the road. By leveraging cutting-edge technology, this partnership seeks to unlock new forms of hands-free communication, entertainment, and utility, transcending the limitations of current screens and instruments found in vehicles today.One of the challenges encountered in incorporating VR technology into moving vehicles is the conflict between inertial motion sensors (IMUs) and cameras. While VR headsets, such as Meta Quest 2, employ these sensors for precise motion tracking, they struggle to display stable virtual content when the vehicle is in motion. To address this issue, Meta has worked closely with BMW to integrate real-time IMU data from a BMW car's sensor array into the tracking system of the Project Aria research glasses.This significant breakthrough enables the system to calculate the glasses' location relative to the vehicle, overcoming the conflict between camera-observed motion inside the car and IMU-measured acceleration and rotational velocity relative to the world. By transferring this tracking system to the Meta Quest Pro, virtual objects can now be accurately anchored to a moving car using a digital twin representation. This advancement has allowed the demonstration of compelling virtual and mixed reality passenger experiences within moving vehicles.Moving forward, Meta and BMW are committed to leveraging the advanced machine perception capabilities of modern cars to explore future possibilities. Access to the car's precise six degrees of freedom (6DOF) positioning system could enable the rendering of world-locked virtual content outside of the vehicle, including the identification of landmarks and other points of interest. Such capabilities are expected to be invaluable for future AR glasses and personalized AI assistants.The Meta-BMW partnership signifies a significant step towards revolutionizing the passenger experience and paving the way for new advancements in AR and VR technology. By merging innovation from both companies, the collaboration aims to unlock the full potential of immersive experiences within vehicles, setting the stage for the future of transportation.

Dubai, UAE: Spheroid Universe, a futuristic Metaverse that augments the real world in every part of the Earth, has announced the upcoming launch of artificial intelligence (AI) Avatars that will inhabit the world around us via augmented reality (AR). This ground-breaking development will deliver breakthrough opportunities across numerous business platforms - from e-commerce and retail to advertising, sales, general customer, and consumer interactions and more.As a frontrunner in the field of Web 3.0 technology and particularly in the Metaverse, Spheroid develops tools for business that explore the potential of AR tech. The company aims to help businesses become leaders as early adopters of cutting-edge technological advances - such as the new AI Avatars that will be available shortly."The accessibility and practically unlimited potential of AI Avatars that exist within an AR world will encourage faster uptake of the latest AI and Web 3.0 technologies amongst businesses," explained Andrey Almiashev, CEO, Spheroid Universe. "There is an immense opportunity for our new AI Avatars to be deployed in customer-facing scenarios, such as in sales offices or retail environments. They will create a unique and lasting customer experience, helping brands to reposition themselves as early adopters and forward-thinking with an eye on how technology is reshaping our future. We have developed our AI Avatar product to the highest specifications, even integrating the increasingly popular ChatGPT platform to enhance communication and interactions with humans. This is an exciting time for AI and AR, as we see the boundaries between reality and technology blur even further."By integrating AI chatbot ChatGPT into its Avatars, Spheroid is ensuring the smoothest possible interactions with people at all times. The Avatars also incorporate voice recognition and voice synthesis technologies, which will make communication quick, habitual, and convenient for users.Spheroid's AI Avatars are not only intelligent, but able to be designed to take on any visual appearance without the limitations of the physical world. They can be created as unique characters that truly represent their brands, from both a visual and interactive perspective - including how they communicate with customers. This leads to a product that is incredibly flexible, with almost unlimited usage across commercial, entertainment, and educational applications, amongst others.According to Andrey Almiashev: "The combination of AI and AR technologies will redefine the way that businesses communicate with their customers over the course of the next five years. We're living in a very interesting time, during which we will be able to see for ourselves the impact that AI and AR will have on human civilisation - and we are more than happy to help businesses explore the expansive potential that will come from this."Spheroid is also planning to integrate their AI Avatars into Apple’s Smart Glasses for an even more immersive experience, which is expected to be released by Apple later this year.

Snap Inc. has reemphasized the integral role of Augmented Reality (AR) within the shopping and retail industry at this year’s 9th Retail Leaders Circle MENA. Kickstarting conversations around the importance of immersive shopping to the modern-day Saudi consumer, Snap Inc. in partnership with PwC Middle East and Retail Leaders Circle (RLC) announced the launch of their latest white paper titled, ‘The shift towards immersive shopping: New opportunities for retailers in KSA.’The study focuses on the evolution of the Saudi digital shopper and the growing desire for brands to integrate immersive technologies that elevate the shopping experience. To build and maintain competitive advantage in the new era, retailers need to look at digital not as an add-on to their traditional business model, but as the backbone to new, hyper-responsive ways of working to attract and win the loyalty of customers that today have more choice than ever before.This is largely defined by evolving preferences as shopper behavior becomes more complex, further adding nuances to the digital footprint within KSA. Today, Saudi shoppers are demanding more convenience in digital and physical shopping, without the demand of spending too much of their free time. There is an increasing need for new modes of personalization and privacy, especially with Saudi shoppers who prefer having a transparent data security policy. Another aspect found to play an instrumental role in shaping the future of commerce is the more linear shopping journey, increasingly driven by sophistication. Artificial intelligence (AI) enables hyper-personalization, which includes leveraging real-time behavioral data and advanced analytics to offer the right promotions and tailored messages in real time.Abdulla Alhammadi, Regional Business Lead for KSA Market, Snap Inc. said: “Over the years, we have seen AR evolve from being just a mode of entertainment and self-expression, to delivering true value for both consumers and businesses. AR is already transforming the industry and is slated to metamorphosize every shopper’s journey in the near future. Today, as we ponder upon the future of retail, it's time to be agile and adapt wholeheartedly to the latest in commerce. We at Snap Inc. believe in unlocking previously unimaginable creative possibilities, helping to make the consumer journey even more personal, accessible and convenient. Together with our partners, we have seen great results among our communities and we look forward to widening the circle for AR as a tool that leads brand engagement, with a larger scope for personalization within a safe space for consumers.”Roy Hintze, Partner, Deals Strategy & Operations at PwC Middle East said: “Our latest paper shows that consumers’ shopping journeys are becoming more drawn out as they look for promotions and reduced prices. However, they are willing to a great extent to pay more for local products to support their local economies and to get convenient and more bespoke services.”Norma Taki, PwC Middle East’s Consumer Markets Leader, added: “While retailers are dealing with higher costs and supply chain issues, their challenge is to retain the loyalty of digitally savvy shoppers who are seeking the convenience of buying online with the confidence of buying in-store, they need to meet the evolving needs of this new generation of hybrid consumers who easily switch channels and blur the lines between online and offline into phygital.”Panos Linardos, Chairman of the Retail Leaders Circle said: “At the Retail Leaders Circle, we examine regionally-significant emerging trends to drive positive industry change. We see retailers exploring new ways to bridge the physical and digital divide to meet changing customer preferences. We hope this white paper will inspire more businesses to design customer journeys around digital integration, including AR, as part of the retail planning process.”According to the white paper, there is a major gap between how AR is perceived by consumers and how it is perceived by brands. Based on the Snap Inc. and IPSOS Augmentality Shift report, while 94% of brands consider AR to be primarily for fun, only 53% of consumers in KSA see it this way. Seven out of ten consumers now identify shopping as their main reason for using AR, while 84% of consumers are interested in using AR to interact with a product before buying.Emphasizing a world where online shopping is focused more on the people, not the product; Snap Inc.’s findings administer a future of retail that’s driven by self-expression that is open to different sizes and cultures. Secure AR shopping has also been found to be a fun, inclusive, and convenient way to discover, try and buy fashion and beautify. AR can showcase products, push creative boundaries, drive real sales and help reduce returns. AR try-on technology is the next evolution to transform the industry - giving anyone the opportunity to access fashion, no matter who they are or where they are. 250 million people already engage with AR on Snapchat every day and Snapchatters now play with AR more than 6 billion times a day on average.