Are we seeing the tipping point that will lead to a new technological era? Denise E. White, the cofounder of SPATIALx as well as flagship brands BLANK XR and Immortal XR, seems to think so. According to White, the pandemic has pushed us into reconsidering our fundamental way of life. She believes that society will embrace more technology, including augmented, virtual, and mixed reality, which will allow us to continue social distancing. But what exactly will this entail, and how will our everyday lives change post-pandemic? In this first part of our two-part series, White explains how SPATIALx, along with BLANK XR and Immortal XR, are creating the first waves in the new technological era, essentially changing the way we shop, entertain and thus live.
Decoding the Design with Guest Denise E. White
Watch our interview with the founder and CEO of BLANK XR and Immortal XR Denise E. White. For full details, read the article below.
Setting the Stage for SPATIALx
With around 75 percent of people between the ages of 16 and 44 flocking to know more about immersive reality, society is seeing a new technological shift toward cloud computing and extended reality (XR). And one company is leading the way.
Eleven years ago, Denise E. White, the cofounder of SPATIALx as well as founder of flagship brands BLANK XR and Immortal XR, started to investigate augmented reality (AR) at her then job at Walt Disney. It was a different time. Animated storybooks were crafted through black-and-white markers, and no one knew the value of immersive technology.
With over 22 years of experience in building for the web, including working as the Director of Direct-to-Consumer Technologies at Walt Disney, White teamed up with immersive storyteller and futurist Jonathan White to create SPATIALx. The company is now at the forefront of spatial ambient computing.
Today, immersive reality spaces are creating hyper-personalized content, which provides experiences in a way never seen before, with advancements in cloud computing and head-mounted displays (HMDs). This has led to the creation of SPATIALx, an XR start-up based in MediaCityUK that focuses on commerce, communications and entertainment. It has cited the lack of XR products in the real world and the potential for AR as its reason for starting.
“We spent time in R&D and a lot of that meant traveling around the world. We went to a lot of different conferences and had a lot of different industry discussions. One of the interesting things that really emerged from all of those discussions is one real central point that came out in my mind, which was there’s a lack of a real critical use case for the XR industry,” said White. “We really started to think about what problems could we solve using the experience that we have.”
The pandemic has pushed the country toward social distancing, disrupting the way we currently shop and experience live entertainment. However, this push has led to a new technological transition.
The Technological Transition to a Post-Pandemic World
BLANK XR is working to create the Earth’s first mega-mall in XR by basically using artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning to create hyper-personalized experiences for shoppers in the virtual and physical worlds. It first presented the idea at the Augmented World Expo 2020 in Silicon Valley. The initial idea was to offer food, retail and entertainment in a physical environment, but the pandemic has changed the way the mall can now operate.
“The truth is COVID really did throw us a bit of a curveball because we started to go down the path of creating a physical store.… We presented “The Future of Retail is Holographic” at the Augmented World Expo. We started a development track around that, but then COVID hit and it suddenly became much more apparent that our home entertainment was going to be something that we should really pivot to because we had to. We had no choice. We couldn’t just open up a store in the middle of a pandemic,” noted White.
Since many stores are closed, trying on a pair of jeans or shoes has become equally difficult. Thus, brands are using AR to allow buyers to virtually try on makeup and clothes. Similarly, SPATIALx through BLANK XR will reinvent physical spaces by holographically projecting products through one’s biometric data profile. This will help shoppers find the right merchandise all online as well as help brands lower the percentage of returns of their merchandise and minimize carbon emissions from people traveling to clothing stores.
Innovative tech offerings like holograms and hyper-personalized experiences may be the solution to the loss of revenue experienced by the retail and music industries.
Immortal XR is a new AI-powered synthetic media format that allows music lovers to experience live entertainment wherever and whenever they want. It will allow fans to converse directly with their favorite artists in a holographic form 24/7 through digital twins. Using AI and machine learning, the artist will know a fan’s name, answer any questions, and even sing their latest single, enabling each conversation to be personalized.
The company relies on 108 HD 5K cameras that capture a person from all angles. Using a digital twin platform and AI, the company can successfully manipulate video and clone an artist’s voice to make it seem like the viewer is talking to the performer. An algorithm also analyzes the body of text for sentiment to generate more realistic tonal inflections.
For the hologram to be hyperrealistic such as in the case of Canadian singer Grimes, the company needs access to an extensive amount of text and audio as well as a full body scan of the artist. The company is currently in the process of recruiting performers who will share ownership of the holographic image.
The smartphone and mixed reality app, which is set to cost $9.99 a month, will be launched at on Microsoft’s $3,500 HoloLens. However, Immoral XR is working on a lot more than just that. It aims to create a physical space that houses both a mall and a live entertainment experience called Replica.
“We’re actually planning on hosting the entertainment experience at the venue in addition to also having retail and the other applications that we’re building,” said White. “We’re building a platform for XR content. While we’re contributing to that platform, we’re also working with other partners to contribute content too. We certainly want to work with collaborators on actually getting more content into our ecosystem and then being able to kind of replicate that at different venues around the world.”