Apple May Have Acquired Virtual Reality Startup 'Spaces'

[MacRumors]

Apple has purchased VR startup Spaces, according to a report from Protocol. Spaces last week announced on its website that it was shutting down its existing product.

The update said that it was "heading in a new direction," with no additional information provided. Protocol has been told that Apple purchased the startup, but neither Apple nor Spaces confirmed the acquisition. From the website:

Thank you to our users and partners who participated in our awesome VR video conferencing product and the many people who enjoyed our VR location-based entertainment attractions found at theme parks, theaters, and more.

Spaces, which was originally part of DreamWorks Animation, created VR experiences that could be found in Spaces locations in malls and other places across the United States. One of the VR experiences was "Terminator Salvation: Fight for the Future."

Due to the pandemic, Spaces had to shut down all of its physical VR centers, laying off many staff members. Spaces then created VR experiences for video conferencing solutions like Zoom, letting Zoom users join meetings with animated avatars.

There have been rumors indicating that Apple is working on augmented and virtual reality projects for some time, including an augmented reality headset, but it's not clear what the Spaces team will work on at Apple nor how the technology might be incorporated into Apple products in the future.

Article Link: Apple May Have Acquired Virtual Reality Startup 'Spaces'

 

[farewelwilliams]

Memoji VR sounds awful in a business environment.

 

[JMO1]

Memoji VR sounds awful in a business environment.

this looks gimmicky and what will parent AR from being looked at as professional. Memoji is whack, it’s kid facade that will be the same as the silly Ninetendo avatar. Last I checked nobody uses their Nintendo avatar to call into a board meeting, heck i doubt it’s even used amongst friends.

 

[cmaier]

This is probably to help apple make Facetime more acceptable for meetings.

 

[nvmls]

This is probably to help apple make Facetime more acceptable for meetings.

Hopefully.

 

[DeepIn2U]

Anyone remember that movie with Michael Douglas featuring a VR storage library OS back in the 80’s? This startup seems very similar to that.

 

[Cosmosent]

Sounds like a Fire Sale !

 

[KrispE00]

Sounds like a Fire Sale !

 

[odedia]

Dear god, this is so geeky.

 

[Mr Magoo]

Anyone remember that movie with Michael Douglas featuring a VR storage library OS back in the 80’s? This startup seems very similar to that.

The movie was “Disclosure” and it came out 1994.

 

[il_teo77]

The idea is neat. But this overabundance of "avatars" is not for me. Everyone seems to jump on the avatar bandwagon. Why not in person? Why not "augmented reality" with the real person instead of making the world basically cartoonish? I assume in Asia avatars are a pretty big deal, though I don't understand why.

 

[laptech]

The problem VR developers and VR companies have in getting a foothold in the marketplace is all to do with image rights. Nearly everything we see is owned by somebody and that somebody also has the rights to that things image. This means at some point VR developers will infringe on someones copyright at some point.

i always thought VR would be good for architects, to be able to be in a room as they design it but it then comes back to the problem of image rigths. Some construction company will own the rights to window frames, doors frames, joists, screws, nails, wooden beams, bricks, girders and the list goes on. This would mean the VR developer would have to get agreements will every single building contractor and building supply manufacturers to get permission to use images of their products in their VR program. Then you've got fixture and fittings manufacturers, furniture manufacturers, paint manufacturers...again the list goes on.

This is why I think VR has not succeeded in the way many people thought it would. It's a nightmare in legal protection to both a) protect the VR developer and company from copyright law suits and b) to cumbersome and expensive to work out deals with rights holders.

 

[LV426]

I’d be happier if they bought out Nawmal. Their predecessor Xtranormal had a fantastic Windows app for creating 3D character-driven movies. I had loads of fun with it, creating amusing short movies. Then they started charging for it before going belly up. I never found anything quite as good for quickly knocking up 3D stories after that.

 

[GreenPixel]

The idea is neat. But this overabundance of "avatars" is not for me. Everyone seems to jump on the avatar bandwagon. Why not in person? Why not "augmented reality" with the real person instead of making the world basically cartoonish? I assume in Asia avatars are a pretty big deal, though I don't understand why.

For now, that's probably due to processing power of standalone VR headsets. A simple animation is much easier to process than a lifelike environment. VR is only in its infancy. It will get there.

 

[Sankel]

Sound quality in that video is superb

 

[ElitistWhiner]

... Apple has purchased VR startup Spaces, according to a report from Protocol. Spaces last week announced on its website that it was shutting down its existing product... SNIP... but it's not clear what the Spaces team will work on at Apple nor how the technology might be incorporated into Apple products in the future.

Article Link: Apple May Have Acquired Virtual Reality Startup 'Spaces'

No acquisition that  has made has been more timely, more important and crucially more fundamental to setting the direction of mass market consumer adoption of VR/AR communication scheme. I can think of no other tech going all the way back to Renderman that revolutionized the future for consumers.

Adobe cluster ****ed consumers with its patented technology by ransoming up pricing to NeXT/Apple for use of its Display Postscript engine which no consumer printer has ever been the same since. Here  have seen to insure that not happen again by securing a platform that provides a springboard for VR's future

 

[christian_koehler]

For now, that's probably due to processing power of standalone VR headsets. A simple animation is much easier to process than a lifelike environment. VR is only in its infancy. It will get there.

I think there is more to it. If it was just processing power we would see that kind of thing in high end (PC based) systems at least.

Two people interacting in AR remotely could have very strange effects because the real environment is not the same.
I see you walking through a wall. You can because your room is bigger than mine and there is no wall in your room at that position.
You see me sitting down in the air. In reality I am sitting on a couch that you don't have in your room.