Meta Doesn’t Allow Camera Access on VR Headsets, So Here’s a WorkaroundThe cameras at the front of Meta’s Quest VR headsets are off-limits to developers, but developer [Michael Gschwandtner] created a workaround (Linkedin post) and shared implementation details with a VR news site.
The view isn’t a pure camera feed (it includes virtual and UI elements) but it’s a clever workaround.
The demo shows object detection via MobileNet V2, which we’ve seen used for machine vision on embedded systems like the Raspberry Pi. In this case it is running locally on the VR headset, automatically identifying objects even though the app cannot directly access the front-facing cameras to see what’s in front of it.
The workaround is conceptually simple, and leverages the headset’s ability to cast its video feed over Wi-Fi to other devices. This feature is normally used for people to share and spectate VR gameplay.
First, [Gschwandtner]’s app sets up passthrough video, which means that the camera feed from the front of the headset is used as background in VR, creating a mixed-reality environment. Then the app essentially spawns itself a Chromium browser, and casts its video feed to itself. It is this video that is used to — in a roundabout way — access what the cameras see.
The resulting view isn’t really direct from the cameras, it’s akin to snapshotting a through-the-headset view which means it contains virtual elements like the UI. Still, with passthrough turned on it is a pretty clever workaround that is contained entirely on-device.
Meta is hesitant to give developers direct access to camera views on their VR headset, and while John Carmack (former Meta consulting CTO) thinks it’s worth opening up and can be done safely, it’s not there yet.

Bedroom Producers Blog celebrates 15th Anniversary with a Design OverhaulDear BPB readers, I’m excited to announce that Bedroom Producers Blog has finally received its long-awaited facelift. I’ve been working on the new design behind the scenes for quite some time. The main goal was to make the website cleaner, easier to read, and faster, all while preserving the aspects of the old design that [...]
View post: Bedroom Producers Blog celebrates 15th Anniversary with a Design Overhaul

Universal Audio Century Tube Channel Strip currently free Universal Audio have announced that they are offering their vintage-inspired Century Tube Channel Strip as a free download for a limited time.

Palantir CEO Alex Karp is ‘not going to apologize’ for military workData analytics company Palantir has faced criticism and even protests over its work with the military, police, and U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement, but co-founder and CEO Alex Karp isn’t interested in “the apology show.” In a lengthy New York Times profile, Karp told writer Maureen Dowd that the company has “a consistently pro-Western view” […]
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Swiss tech firm launches AI made of human brain cells rental serviceThe organoids only live about 100 days, then, ostensibly, the AI dies.

Olympic Sprint Decided By 40,000 FPS Photo FinishAdvanced technology played a crucial role in determining the winner of the men’s 100-meter final at the Paris 2024 Olympics. In a historically close race, American sprinter Noah Lyles narrowly edged out Jamaica’s Kishane Thompson by just five-thousandths of a second. The final decision relied on an image captured by an Omega photo finish camera that shoots an astonishing 40,000 frames per second.
This cutting-edge technology, originally reported by PetaPixel, ensured the accuracy of the result in a race where both athletes recorded a time of 9.78 seconds. If SmartThings’ shot pourer from the 2012 Olympics were still around, it could once again fulfill its intended role of celebrating US medals.
Omega, the Olympics’ official timekeeper for decades, has continually innovated to enhance performance measurement. The Omega Scan ‘O’ Vision Ultimate, the camera used for this photo finish, is a significant upgrade from its 10,000 frames per second predecessor. The new system captures four times as many frames per second and offers higher resolution, providing a detailed view of the moment each runner’s torso touches the finish line. This level of detail was crucial in determining that Lyles’ torso touched the line first, securing his gold medal.
This camera is part of Omega’s broader technological advancements for the Paris 2024 Olympics, which include advanced Computer Vision systems utilizing AI and high-definition cameras to track athletes in real-time. For a closer look at how technology decided this historic race, watch the video by Eurosport that captured the event.

2024 Tiny Games Challenge: It’s 2048, But with LEDsRemember the game 2048? You slide numbered tiles around on a grid, combining them until you have one tile with a value of 2048 (although it’s possible to go higher). Legend has it that 2048 was created by a bored teenager in the space of a weekend to see if he could program a game from scratch.
It only took a couple of weekends for [David] to get Tiny2048 up and running. In this version, each RGB value represents a number value, and input comes from a rudimentary gesture detector — tilt it this way and that to move the LEDs and combine the ‘numbers’. As you might imagine, it was a bit tricky to use colors to represent numbers, so each one had to be sufficiently unique.
[David] says that the LED matrix is a string of WS2812 LEDs in a grid formation, controlled by an ESP32-S3-MINI-1. Although this may be overkill, [David] broke out a bunch of IO at the top of the board so it can be used in the future as a dev board. Be sure to check it out in blinkenlight action after the break!

Getting It Done: Last Week in D.I.Y. and Indie MusicFor self-sufficient artists and musicians, last week's Hypebot posts will provide insights from changes at Patreon, .music domains, a Bandcamp alternative, an open contest for young songwriters, and more.
The post Getting It Done: Last Week in D.I.Y. and Indie Music appeared first on Hypebot.

REWIND: The new music industry’s last week in reviewDiscover the latest developments and trends shaping the music industry today from SXSW panel voting, a copyright comedown on deepfakes, a Bandcamp alternative, Jack White full of surprises, and more…
The post REWIND: The new music industry’s last week in review appeared first on Hypebot.

POLAR 4 interface from Blackstar Blackstar's new audio interface offers the same guitar-specific features as the POLAR 2 but with additional mic pres and line-level connectivity, along with MIDI I/O.

WIN with SOS! 
Get your hands on Everse 12 by Electro-Voice Win a weatherised, battery‑powered, active portable PA speaker with built-in Dynacord mixer and Bluetooth. Ideal for buskers and practicing.

Waves now shipping SuperRack LiveBox MADIWaves Audio is now shipping dedicated MADI-ready units as part of its new line of SuperRack LiveBox native live processing engines. Waves’ full line of SuperRack LiveBox devices, including the new MADI and the previously released Dante® units, is now fully available and shipping. Waves’ SuperRack LiveBox enables access to the power of your favorite studio-grade VST3 plugins, from Waves and all other manufacturers, all running natively in a simple and robust turn-key solution. The new SuperRack LiveBox MADI supports up to 128 channels (64 coaxial and 64 optical at 48 kHz; 32 optical and 32 coaxial at 96 kHz), and features unrivaled low latency, PSU redundancy, and the reliable industry-standard SuperRack Performer audio plugin host—all in one 2U unit. Each SuperRack LiveBox MADI purchase also comes with the Waves Live bundle, which includes over 50 must-have plugins for state-of-the-art live mixing. SuperRack LiveBox gives live sound engineers and creative artists access to their favorite VST3 plugins by diverse brands, all running natively on a turnkey device that’s quick and easy to set up in any live or broadcast setting.

The post Waves now shipping SuperRack LiveBox MADI first appeared on Music Connection Magazine.

Styx Stealer malware exploits Windows vulnerability to ‘clip’ cryptoStyx Stealer steals data and can reroute crypto transactions coming from an infected computer to the bad actor’s wallet.

OpenAI shuts down election influence operation that used ChatGPTOpenAI has banned a cluster of ChatGPT accounts linked to an Iranian influence operation that was generating content about the U.S. presidential election, according to a blog post on Friday. The company says the operation created AI-generated articles and social media posts, though it doesn’t seem that it reached much of an audience. This is […]
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Fighting the Scourge of “Screwdriver Mange”We’ve all got our favorite hand tools, and while the selection criteria are usually pretty subjective, it usually boils down to a combination of looks and feel. In our opinion, the king of both these categories when it comes to screwdrivers is those clear, hard acetate plastic handles, which are a joy to use — at least until the plastic starts to degrade and exude a characteristically funky aroma.
But perhaps we can change that if these experiments on screwdriver “mange” hold up. That’s [357magdad]’s unappealing but accurate description of the chemical changes that eventually occur in the strong, hard, crystal-clear handles of your favorite screwdrivers. The polymer used for these handles is cellulose acetate butyrate, or CAB, which is mostly the same cellulose acetate that replaced the more explode-y cellulose nitrate in things like pool balls and movie film, except with some of the acetate groups replaced with a little butyric acid. The polymer is fine at first, but add a little UV light and over time the outer layer of CAB decomposes into a white flaky cellulose residue while the butyric acid volatilizes, creating the characteristic odor of vomitus. Lovely.
In the video below, [357magdad] takes a look at different concoctions that all allegedly cure the mange. TL, DW; it was a dunk in household ammonia that performed the best, well ahead of other common agents like vinegar and bleach. The ammonia — or more precisely, ammonium hydroxide — works very quickly on the cellulose residue, dissolving it readily and leaving the handle mange-free and looking nearly new after some light scrubbing. None of the other agents came close, although acetone did manage to clear up the mange a bit, at the cost of softening the underlying CAB in a process that’s probably similar to acetone smoothing ABS prints.
As for the funky smell, well, the results were less encouraging. Nothing really got rid of the pukey smell, even a roll in baking soda. We suspect there won’t be much for that, since humans can detect it down to 10 parts per million. Consider it the price to pay for a nice-looking screwdriver that feels so good in your hand.