San Jose, California, June 5th, 2024 – YBVR has been awarded a National Science Foundation (NSF) Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grant for $998,251 to conduct research and development (R&D) work on revolutionizing the level of the VR training courses for remote students.
As previously announced, YBVR is working with the support of EU H2020 5G-INDUCE project to develop applications for industrial environments to grow the industry 4.0. Within this project YBVR has developed a use case that aims to offer industrial improvements using 5G infrastructures to help factories to have safer and more efficient working environments. This use case, developed by YBVR, joins the monitoring of the industrial environment with the new possibilities of the immersive reality. This goal will be achieved through the installation of 360° cameras in an AGV (Auto Guided Vehicle) and connecting these cameras with 5G technology. This will provide near real-time 360° images of the environment to the person operator responsible for monitoring the AGVs, getting access to a direct view around of the AGV anywhere and whenever he needs them. Additionally, real-time data collected from the AGV and the 5G network are displayed overlayed on the immersive view, to help the operator for quicker troubleshooting. In the development of the use case, YBVR has collaborated with large companies, like Ericsson, which is providing the 5G infrastructure, Ford, offering the Motors factory of Valencia where the use case is deployed, and ASTI Mobile Robotics, the manufacturer of the AGVs, other startups are contributed to the use case, as FiveComm, that has developed the 5G modem which will provide the 5G connectivity of the 360°camera. Below, you can find a picture with the description of this use case. After of being working on the development of the NetApp that offers this use case for more than one year, recently the first proof of concept was deployed and tested successfully in the 5TONIC facilities of IMDEA Networks in Madrid. The next step will be to test this NetApp at the Ford Motors factory in Valencia where a part of the 5G infrastructure of the 5G-INDUCE project is being deployed.
– Ford’s Valencia Engine Plant, ASTI Mobile Robotics, Ericsson, Fivecomm, YBVR and INTEL partner for jointly innovating in automotive industrial applications enabled by 5G. – The latest 5G technology and innovations in mobile robotics, Virtual Reality and Artificial Intelligence will be deployed and validated at Ford Motors factory in Valencia with the support of EU H2020 5G-INDUCE project 5G-INDUCE is a new project of the third phase of the H2020 5G Infrastructure Public-Private Partnership (5G-PPP) initiative of the European Commission and European ICT industry to deliver innovative 5G solutions. The project focuses on the Industry 4.0 vertical sector, as one of the fastest growing and most impactful sectors in European economy with high potential for novel virtualized application software developments leveraging 5G architecture. With major European industrial players involved in the project, 5G INDUCE selected Ford factory in Valencia as its base for experimentation in Spain. In addition to Ford and Ericsson, the consortium in charge of 5G-INDUCE pilot in Valencia is formed by high-tech SMEs ASTI Mobile Robotics, Fivecomm, and Yerba Buena Virtual Reality, and it also counts with the support of Intel, Gestoos, University of Burgos, and Universitat Politecnica de Valencia. The 5G-INDUCE project addresses specific needs that have been identified for connectivity and modernization of the Automated Guided Vehicles (AGVs) fleet that would allow optimizing some of the processes of the logistics distribution chain for items, among and within Ford factory’s warehouses. With that objective, three use cases are going to be implemented and tested at Ford’s factory in Valencia within the scope of the 5G-INDUCE project: autonomous AGV fleet management; smart AGV operation based on human gesture recognition; and Virtual Reality (VR) immersion of AGVs’ control. “New technologies can result in an improvement in production line efficiency, thus increasing innovation capacity. This is essential given today’s competitive environment. 5G is an instrumental tool to help us achieve this objective.” states Alejandro del Portillo, from the Manufacturing Engineering and New Technologies Department at FORD’s Valencia Engine Plant. Ericsson’s Radio Access Network (RAN) and Core solutions for 5G standalone New Radio (NR) will be deployed at Ford’s Valencia Engine Plant factory for supporting the innovation and experimentation activities of all partners involved. The solution leverages and extends the 5G assets of Ericsson at 5TONIC co-creation laboratory, the open research and innovation lab for 5G technologies founded by Telefónica and IMDEA Networks. Intel, also 5TONIC member, will contribute to the project with its edge computing technologies, expertise and innovation ecosystem. “The potential of 5G technology is being unlocked as digitalization of Industries is advancing and as more and more complementary players partner for shaping new innovation ecosystems for delivering complete solutions” says Manuel Lorenzo, Head of Technology and Innovation at Ericsson Spain. “5G-INDUCE ecosystem is a great example of this momentum, gathering world-class innovation in Industry 4.0, robotics, 5G, edge computing, VR and AI, and counting on the support of the EU 5G-PPP program. Ericsson is glad to contribute with our technology and expertise in 5G solutions to the success of this initiative.” Ford of Europe is responsible for producing, selling and servicing Ford brand vehicles in 50 individual markets and employs approximately 45,000 employees at its wholly-owned facilities and consolidated joint ventures and approximately 59,000 people when unconsolidated businesses are included. In addition to Ford Motor Credit Company, Ford Europe operations include Ford Customer Service Division and 19 manufacturing facilities (12 wholly-owned facilities and seven unconsolidated joint venture facilities). The first Ford cars were shipped to Europe in 1903 – the same year Ford Motor Company was founded. European production started in 1911. www.ford.es Ericsson enables communications service providers to capture the full value of connectivity. The company’s portfolio spans Networks, Digital Services, Managed Services, and Emerging Business and is designed to help our customers go digital, increase efficiency and find new revenue streams. Ericsson’s investments in innovation have delivered the benefits of telephony and mobile broadband to billions of people around the world. The Ericsson stock is listed on Nasdaq Stockholm and Nasdaq New York. www.ericsson.com ASTI Mobile Robotics is involved in the engineering and development of made-to-measure solutions for logistics. ASTI activity goes from the project analysis in material handling and internal logistics to the development, manufacture and starting up of the designed solutions, as well as all the maintenance along the installation life. ASTI is the European leader in manufacturing auto‐guided vehicles (AGV). ASTI has developed its own range of AGVs, to transport all kind of loads at various heights, with various guiding systems according to the application to automate and in different environments. www.astimobilerobotics.com FIVECOMM is a Spanish SME based in Valencia, founded in 2019 by 5G experts. The company is oriented to the development and implementation of 5G solutions for Industry 4.0 and other verticals. Their focus is the innovation, design, integration and commercialization of products and services that make use of 5G. FIVECOMM is currently working in the following lines: autonomous and remote driving for robots and vehicles; artificial intelligence; radio planning; edge computing platforms; and 5G modems. www.fivecomm.eu YBVR, based in Silicon Valley and Madrid, is a technology start-up building the next generation VR video distribution platform. The company specializes in providing the best immersion experience for video VR streaming for all devices and is searching for all new possibilities opened by 5G to improve the VR experience. www.ybvr.com Gestoos is a leading provider of activity recognition and spatial interaction software with offices in San Francisco and Barcelona. The company’s core product is a computer vision-based artificial intelligence solution that enables camera (sensor) equipped devices detect, understand and respond to human gestures, movements and activities. Gestoos’ patented technology not only improves intentional interaction but also increases safety through monitoring and anomaly detection. www.gestoos.com Universidad de Burgos (UBU) is a medium-sized Spanish university located in Burgos, Castilla y León (Spain) with over 7,500 students and 83 research groups. According to BBVA´s Foundation U-Ranking 2020, UBU ranks sixth among the 84 Spanish universities for its research and innovation performance indicators. 5G-INDUCE activities … Read more
Businesses and developers can build and deploy applications with AWS Wavelength Companies as YBVR are already testing their edge solutions in AWS Wavelength zones at the edge of Verizon’s 5G network in multiple locations. Businesses and developers can build and deploy applications with AWS Wavelength at Verizon’s 5G Edge in three new locations: Atlanta, New York and Washington, DC. Verizon and AWS launched the mobile edge computing (MEC) platform last month in Boston and the Bay Area and plan to add five more cities by year end. Mobile edge computing moves the data and processing done by the applications and services we use closer to the end user at the edge of the network. This shortens the roundtrip data needs to travel, reducing lag time, or latency. By moving AWS compute and storage services to the edge of Verizon’s 5G Ultra Wideband network, innovators can develop applications with ultra-low latencies that will support next-generation use cases ranging from self-driving cars to autonomous industrial equipment. Customers are already testing their edge solutions in AWS Wavelength zones at the edge of Verizon’s 5G network in multiple locations. YBVR is building a next-generation VR video platform and is testing how they can utilize 5G and Wavelength to stream live 8K Ultra HD (UHD) video to sports fans and concertgoers, allowing simultaneous users to choose various camera views with ultra-low latency. “Leveraging the powerful combination of Verizon 5G and AWS Wavelength will enable us to put the ‘fan in control’,” said Sebastian Amengual, YBVR co-founder and Chief Technology Officer. “With 5G and MEC, fans should be able to enjoy 8K live streams on mobile and XR devices in real-time and have their own, personalized watching experience which was not feasible before.” Verizon’s 5G Ultra Wideband network will enable throughput at least 10 times faster than 4G; deliver ultra-low latency and offer very high bandwidth. Verizon 5G Ultra Wideband is expected to eventually enable 100 times larger data volumes than 4G; and the ability to connect more than a million devices per kilometer. “Watching businesses build transformational applications on the world’s first 5G mobile edge computing platform with AWS Wavelength shows how our 5G Ultra Wideband network matters to customers TODAY and is already impacting how businesses operate and consumers live, work and play,” said Tami Erwin, CEO of Verizon Business. “When it comes to innovating on 5G and MEC, we’re only scratching the surface.” Learn more information about Verizon 5G Edge and Verizon’s 5G technology. For more information for developers, visit here.
Some Broadcasters are reluctant to test VR as a new format for their productions due to the effort it would suppose taking them to produce VR video content for every event they are covering. It is indeed a fair concern: current TV productions are already fairly complex: fixed cameras, moving cameras, drones, spider cams, analytics, dynamic graphics, multiple audios, subtitles, closed captions… in this a big and complex environment, adding the sophisticated VR production equipment for what (let’s face it) is still a “marginal” audience does not seem all that worth it to many. The benefit, at least in the short term, does not always compensate the enormous effort and cost in complexity, the entry barrier is simply too steep. In addition to this, regular broadcast has gone through many decades of refinement, and although 360 and 180 video do provide (when delivered properly) a unique novelty of immersion and sense of presence, immersive production practices and techniques are still in the early days, and are not in the same level of refinement and sophistication. This is why, to many broadcasters, doing immersive-only productions doesn’t seem appealing. And yet, the days in which a single produced TV feed was enough seem to be over: we have reached such level of refinement and sophistication in TV that we can barely enjoy it for more than a few seconds. Think of a racing event: with so many things happening at once, so many stats, rich visualizations, in-car cameras, interviews, reverse angles, overtake attempts, accidents, etc. , the produced TV feed can barely scratch the surface of the overall event. The way we experience these events needs to evolve beyond its current form while still enjoying the benefits it has already achieved. With these concerns in mind, YBVR has developed the VR Control Room: a solution to gather all these existing regular video feeds to build an amazing VR experience. This solution puts the user into the TV director’s chair, showing the feeds available to choose. Users can select what feed they prefer at any time, without any interruption in the watching and keeping all the feeds at the sight, all synchronized. Additionally, there is a lot of space around the viewer to include additional elements: match analytics, players bio, competition results, sponsors advertising… using the huge visual real state VR brings to keep users engaged with relevant and interactive content. YBVR’s VR Control Room lowers the barrier of entry to produce compelling immersive experiences: TV producers can offer a compelling VR experience taking advantage of all existing TV content without having to add the complexity of 180 or 360 productions from the beginning. Evolving this experience to increase its immersive appeal is a natural step with built-in support in YBVR platform, since immersive video feeds (up to 8K60FPS 360 video) can easily be added to the experience at any point. This means that broadcasters can include VR video content gradually, as users demand and production resources evolve. VR Control Room is available for Live and also for VoD productions, where users can watch a production again and again, choosing different views every time. YBVR has already applied this technology in the real world. You can find all these concepts applied in the Laver Cup VR App, available for OculusGo (here) and HTC Vive Focus (here), selecting Director’s chair in the Highlights and “Match points” videos. Feel free to share, in the comments of this post, what has been your experience. Don’t miss it!
Video VR has been blamed frequently for a lack of interactivity, then user retention was condemned to be lower than other VR experiences. In fact, the meantime of watching video VR experiences has been between 2 and 4 minutes (1:30 in this article, others go to 10 minutes as average). Anyway, three factors are key to move this figure up: interest, quality and interactivity. Interest is key because VR is an experience that can be interrupted at any time. The user is the king. Then, a boring piece in the content is an open door to quit the experience. Also, the connection between content and user is basic, the interest is not in the content, it’s in the user, then to find the right content for every user (and the right user for every content) is a success strategy. Quality (video and audio) is also key, because it gives the degree of immersion into the experience. YBVR is pushing VR video quality to the edge of technically available producing 8K@60fps video and applying its own technology of YBVR-FOV-adaptation to show the best quality using standard internet access connections for live and VoD content. Interactivity is the last challenge to improve user retention in video VR. A wide portfolio of videos, a user-friendly menu, categories, recommendations… are techniques to ease the interaction of the user with the app, but it doesn’t get into the watching experience, once the video is playing. YBVR has developed the instant camera change (ICC), it allows the user to change of point of view at any time while the video is playing. Using different video cameras in different positions, the user can jump from one to another camera without any interruption of the action. ICC introduces the interactivity in video VR, users are no longer passive watchers, they’re transformed in the producer of the video experience. The effect on user retention is impressive. In live productions, watching time per user has moved from 7 minutes average to 22 minutes in Live events. You can test by yourself the ICC effect in the Laver Cup VR App, available for OculusGo (here) and HTC Vive Focus (here), and comment in this post what has been your experience. Don’t miss it!
We’ve had two important news related to VR headsets during the last weeks, making a relevant milestone in this industry. The VR path is changing, and we need to understand how we are facing the future to be ready to cope with the new scenario. First, the confirmation about the end of smartphone-VR in the high end. Samsung dropped VR support from its Galaxy Note 10 handset during the summer, confirming the deprecation of Samsung Gear VR. A few weeks ago, John Carmack (Oculus CTO) declared «It is probably time for me to give a bit of a eulogy for Gear VR». He explained the main reason Samsung gave to quit VR was the low retention of the user, in comparison to Rift, Rift S, Quest, and Go. And low retention was produced for the user friction, because users were reluctant to spend battery (so quicky), compromising their mobile availability, and the fact the users had to «get their phones out of their pockets, pull off cases, mount and dock it». A few days later, Google announced they will stop selling Daydream headsets. The company declared to Variety: «We saw a lot of potential in smartphone VR—being able to use the smartphone you carry with you everywhere to power an immersive on-the-go experience. But over time we noticed some clear limitations constraining smartphone VR from being a viable long-term solution. Most notably, asking people to put their phone in a headset and lose access to the apps they use throughout the day causes immense friction». Again, this terrible word for a marketer: “friction”. Usability is the main reason for this friction, but another point has also to be considered: the hard requirements for processor and screen (and eventually battery), pushing the devices further than the specs they were designed for, high-end models included. Different devices for different specifications makes sense, and this is the path VR headsets are taking. The second news is the Oculus Link. Oculus Quest will be able to become a tethered headset with a USB 3 cable, playing most of the PC content developed for Rift. Then, the user will have the opportunity to choose how to use the headset, as a standalone device, for VR video watching and low requirements VR games, or as a tethered device, getting all the power of the PC. This new hybrid headset concept can change the industry, the customer journey into VR and the way content is produced so far. In the near future, standalone and tethered flavors of the content will be available for the user. The next step is the wireless link, they are working on that and the USB 3 cable will be changed by a radio link. Soon, gamers, today more focused on tethered models, can get the opportunity to enjoy VR far from their PC. Video watchers, now more fans of stand-alone models, could easily step forward to a gamer experience when an equipped PC is available. What is the summary of these two milestones? Smartphone-headset is dead while hybrid-headset has born. VR headset is not more a gadget, VR headset is an independent and first-row device.
YBVR has an outstanding expertise of video VR experiences around tennis tournaments. Davis cup in 2018, Australian Open in 2019 and Mutua Madrid Open in 2018 and 2019 are the most important milestones in YBVR’s journey. They are convinced that tennis is a privileged test environment for develop a video VR experience. The size of the court gives a good opportunity to get the best of video VR capabilities, also, the exclusivity of first-row boxes adds an important value to the opportunity to share this immersive experience with a wide group of excluded fans and high skilled public. YBVR installs some 360 and 180 degrees cameras into the court, covering the general overview of the venue and also some first-row positions: close to the net, behind the players, aside the court judges… getting a high quality video source (8K at 60fps). A live production set compounds the content, adding digital and graphic information as the score board, players bio, match analytics, graphic advertisement and other data. Additionally, they insert the TV signal as a giant screen over the horizon, showing close-up images and replays. Tennis fans following the matches from outside of the main court could wear the VR headsets and watch the game into VR. YBVR technology allows experiencing 8K-60fps quality into a conventional VR headset by live streaming, giving an immersive feeling of what is happening in the court. The user can also decide what camera to watch from, in a non-interruptive transition. A map with different camera position is offered to the user to be chosen whenever. Last May, in Mutua Madrid Open 2019 tournament, more than 4,500 people visited the experience. Users could watch some live matches and the highlights of the previous days. Average time of watching was 4,9 minutes per visitor, increased to 7,1 minutes during live streaming. Other outstanding data is that more than 63% of users of this experience were kids and teens, that shows the power of VR to connect with young audiences. But notice that the main power of this technology is to be based on streaming, with bandwidth below 20Mbps per headset. This opens the experience to be enjoyed from home, maybe in a virtual-ticket model or a fan-immersive-channel subscription. We hope to see soon these kind of offerings in the VR world, joining VR high quality (8K/60fps), live events, interactive experience (camera change), data enrichment (TV screen, match analytics, score board, players bio…) and easy to use and access.
SEGITTUR has selected Yerba Buena VR (YBVR) to deploy a VR tourism experience over 5G, included in the 5G-EVE project. SEGITTUR (Sociedad Estatal para la Gestión de la Innovación y las Tecnologías Turísticas, S.A.) attached to the Spanish Ministry of Industry, Energy and Tourism and reporting to the National Department of Tourism, is responsible for promoting innovation (R+D+i) in the Spanish tourism industry, in both the public (new models and channels for the promotion, management and creation of smart destinations and so on) and private sector (support for entrepreneurs, new, sustainable and more competitive business models, export of Spanish technology). 5G EVE is the European 5G validation platform for extensive trials. It is one of three 5G PPP infrastructure projects started on 1st July 2018. The goal is to implement and test advanced 5G infrastructures in Europe. YBVR is developing with SEGITTUR two use cases related with tourism, video VR and 5G. “Immersive tourism” is the first use case, defined to give an immersive experience of a real event through video VR. YBVR technology is used to capture and replay the event and, using streaming over 5G, broadcast the experience to different locations, on live or on demand models. Small spaces, non-accessible places, far-away events… can be captured by VR video to create an immersive experience. Handicap people, potential tourists or new experiences seekers can be the preferred audience for the immersive tourism. “Virtual tickets” is the second use case to be defined. Limited capacity of venues cannot be more a limitation to sell tickets and get more audience. VR video streaming can give a first-row ticket without any numbering limitation. A congress subscription, a basketball seat, a festival entrance, a traditional celebration… could be suitable to become part of this experience, selling virtual tickets for funs from other places or time-restricted followers. SEGITTUR and YBVR collaboration includes a batch of 5G testing trial, metering how 5G technology can improve the feasibility and performance of this use cases. Finally, all these concepts and technologies will be placed in the field on January 2020 into FITUR, the first appointment of the year for the world’s tourism professionals and the leading trade fair for inbound and outbound markets in Latin America.