At this year’s VR/AR Global Summit in Vancouver (Sept 21–22), Shape Immersive is partnering up with Occipital, a leader in spatial computing, and Axiom Zen, the makers of the most successful blockchain game, to bring CryptoKitties into the mixed reality world. Players will be able to rescue these adorable digital cats from the notorious Kitty Kong.
“Working with a familiar IP like CryptoKitties adds a new layer of immersion to our mixed reality experience,” said Alex Chuang, Co-founder and CEO of Shape Immersive. “By digitizing the physical world, virtual characters can understand our physical environment and interact with it, which creates a sense of wonder and magic for the end users.”
“The line between the physical world and the digital world is increasingly blurred,” says Bryce Bladon, one of the founding team members of CryptoKitties. “With blockchain technology, digital assets like CryptoKitties are given life — but with augmented and virtual reality, they can come alive.”
This new multiplayer mixed reality experience is powered by Occipital’s depth sensor and its mixed reality framework, Bridge Engine. The depth sensor is used to scan the physical space, generating an accurate 3D model of the world that the AR devices can track on. This makes occlusion (hiding virtual objects behind physical objects), collision (colliding virtual objects with physical objects) and casting of virtual shadows on real-world objects possible.
“Understanding the environment is a foundational component of convincing mixed reality,” says Jeff Powers, Co-founder and CEO of Occipital “Having this knowledge equips storytellers and game-makers with a powerful tool for increasing believability and immersion.”
As the race for augmented reality technology heats up, VCs and tech giants are pouring billions of dollars into building the next computing platform. When AR devices become more ubiquitous, the demand for geospatial data will increase exponentially. Shape Immersive believes that blockchain technology can help make geospatial data universally accessible so that anyone can create scalable and persistent AR experiences.
Media Contact:
Alex Chuang
Co-founder & CEO, Shape Immersive
alex@shapeimmersive.com
About Shape Immersive
Shape Immersive is building a decentralized marketplace that will make geospatial data universally accessible so that anyone can create scalable and persistent Augmented Reality experiences. By using blockchain technology, Shape Immersive can create a trustless and open network that allows a distributed workforce to provide, validate and authenticate geospatial data.
About CryptoKitties
CryptoKitties is the world’s most successful blockchain game; since launching, tens of millions of US dollars in transactions have been conducted on the platform, with some of the game’s most popular cats selling for the equivalent of over US$100,000. Unlike cryptocurrencies, CryptoKitties are individually unique digital assets akin to digital art. CryptoKitties was created by Axiom Zen and spun out into a new company called Dapper Labs in February 2018, raising $12.85M from leading investors including Andreessen Horowitz, Union Square Ventures, and the founders of Dreamworks, Reddit, Coinbase, Zynga, and AngelList, among others. For additional context or access to key team members, please contact press@cryptokitties.co
About Occipital
Occipital is equal parts science lab and technology company, dedicated to building full stack computer vision hardware and applications.
Founded in 2008 and backed by leading investors like Foundry Group and TechStars, Occipital first rose to prominence with mobile applications like RedLaser and 360 Panorama. In 2013, Occipital expanded into hardware with the launch of Structure Sensor, the first 3D sensor for mobile devices.
Since then, Occipital has released additional hardware products including Bridge (a mobile MR headset), Structure Core (an embeddable depth sensor) and the Paracosm PX-80 (a large-scale 3D mapping system).
Occipital has also continued to release innovative spatial applications like Canvas and TapMeasure, both used for home mapping and measurement.
