Bowie, Opera and improving your off drive
November 28
This week David Bowie comes back to life (sort of) and Opera is performed in your lounge room. We look at how to improve your basketball game and your off drive in your backyard cricket game. I also look at an Australian startup that is trying to disrupt the property management industry.
David Bowie as Ziggy Stardust comes back to life
At the Infinity Festival in Hollywood, David Bowie has come back to life as his iconic character, Ziggy Stardust (younger readers might need to Google who this is, but do it, time well spent).
Brought to life via a combination of motion capture technology and Unreal Engine, guests were able to view the digital model on an 8K Samsung monitor and interact with the character in real-time. An actor wearing an Xsens motion capture suit and a Dynamixyz head cam provides the actions of Ziggy giving the avatar a more natural demeanor. A facial tracking system can capture the actor’s expressions adding an additional layer of detail.
This technology is still relatively new however there are rumors that this type of technology will be used to make movies featuring James Dean and Heath Ledger in the near future. As Yara said to her brother Theon in Games of Thrones, “What is dead may never die.”
Opera in your Lounge Room
Opera Queensland has unveiled an augmented reality opera experience called Project AR-ia, which will see Mozart’s The Magic Flute come to life in users’ homes. Created in collaboration with Google’s Creative Lab, the prototype app uses Google’s augmented reality platform ARCore to present photoreal renderings of performers against the backdrop of users’ living spaces.
The performers are captured by a 360 degree camera set up. An Augmented Reality App on the users phone allows the user to watch the Opera in their own home.
Currently an experimental approach to making Opera more accessible, the app demonstrates the potential for the art form to be enjoyed by anyone, anywhere, at any time.
A Different way to manage rental properties
Different is an Australian startup taking a new technology based approach to managing rental properties in Australia. For a fixed fee ($100 per month) they will manage your rental property for you (this is about half the cost of property management of a median priced property, from a real estate agent in Sydney). They achieve this by using a mix of technology and personal service to provide 24/7 assistance for tenants and landlords. Their system allows tenants to upload photos and videos of maintenance issues for a rapid response. Inspections are automatically scheduled and the Different Property Manager carries out inspections. Different is seeking to remove inefficiency and cost from the very antiquated practice of rental property management. In the future this type of service may be extended to home owners that want to take the hassle out of finding appropriate tradies to fix their own homes.
Improving Sporting Performance
We have spoken previously about new technologies that can improve sporting performance. This week we will look at ShotTracker, an intelligent basketball and Str8bat, an intelligent cricket bat.
ShotTracker uses 3 components. A ShotTracker enabled ball, player sensors and anchors in the rafters of the gym or stadium. The ball is like any other basketball that you would use in a game or training. The major brands, Spalding, Wilson and Under Armor already offer these balls. Other brands are on the way. A player sensor, the size and weight of an empty box of Tic Tac’s is worn by each player. Tracking sensors are installed in the rafters of each facility where the product is used. ShotTracker knows where every player and every ball (for training where multiple balls might be in use) is at every moment.
70 unique stats can be streamed live to coaches and broadcasters. Analytical insights can be developed for player and team performance. Fans can follow everything that their favorite player does in game. This technology not only brings greater insight to the coaches, it also gives fans a deeper appreciation of everything that a player does in a game. Players of the future will have nowhere to hide on court or in training.
Str8bat is a device that is attached to the base of the handle of a cricket bat, behind the bat's face, or on the top of the handle. Capturing over a thousand data points each time a batsman plays a shot, they then crunch the numbers to render a 360-degree 3D model of the stroke. Players can relive their sessions on a tablet or a phone, viewing vital stats like bat speed, speed of bat at impact, angle of bat, and quality of shot.
The technology can be used in game or during training. It has proven particularly useful for batsmen that are trying to remodel their technique.
Paying it Forward
If you have a start-up or know of a start-up that has a product, ready for market please let me know. I would be happy to have a look and feature the startup in this newsletter. Also if any startups need introductions please get in touch and I will help where I can.
If you have any questions or comments please email me via my website craigcarlyon.com
I would also appreciate it if you could forward this newsletter to anyone that you think might be interested.
Till next week.
PS nobody has shared their FreddieMeter score from last week. Anyone game?