BBC FINANCES AN IMMERSIVE LIVE EVENTS COMPANY CONDENSE FOR £500,000

In an effort to engage younger audiences, BBC Ventures has partnered with and invested £500,000 in Condense, a Bristol-based expert in immersive live events.

With the use of Condense's technology, BBC Radio 1's New Music Show with Jack Saunders has been hosting immersive live performances by artists such as Gardna, Charlotte Plank, and Sam Tompkins over the past year.

Through the immersive live gigs, fans can enter the New Music Portal, a virtual venue, and experience what it's like to be in the room with the performer.

According to Condense, the BBC can now beam "true-to-life" live performances into virtual environments akin to games, allowing everyone, wherever they are, to participate in a live event: "Traditionally, broadcasting was passive, but now users can actually be part of the experience." That's excellent news for the BBC's efforts to connect with and engage younger viewers.

"The New Music Portal enables the BBC to bring the best of our performances to younger audiences who are increasingly spending time in these sorts of game-like online environments," stated Jeremy Walker, head of ventures at the BBC. Indeed, in places like Fortnite, they have already witnessed wildly popular music events - young people in their millions have attended online concerts featuring megastars like Travis Scott, Billie Eilish, and Ariana Grande.

"With the help of Condense's technology, we can provide fans with an experience that is unmatched by other artists by granting them access to this technology far sooner in their careers. Fans can join live events as an avatar on their laptop or mobile device and navigate the venue like they would in a video game. Artist performances are recorded and live-streamed as "true-to-life" footage. From anywhere, this provides a previously unheard-of degree of connection, camaraderie, and involvement between artists and their fans.

According to Condense CEO Nick Fellingham, collaboration has made it simple for musicians to go virtual: 

They just enter the capture area, which is located in the BBC's Maida Vale Studios, and the Condense camera array picks them up. The feeds are combined by Condense's algorithms into a single 3D video, which is compressed and delivered into the gaming world so that it may be viewed from any viewpoint.

The artists can peek into the virtual world and communicate with the avatars that are present at the event thanks to a giant screen in front of them. Attendees can show off their moves and share emotes with their favorite artists. Partners can now incorporate audio and chat into the Condense platform. This means that you can have real conversations with artists, and they can see your name on your avatar and send you shoutouts.

A web browser can be used to access the BBC's New Music Portal experience. After registering and creating an avatar, users can access the virtual venue. They can move about and explore the virtual world once they're within the experience. Using Condense's unique technology, the performers are broadcast into the game so they can be seen there. The information can be explored by users, who can view it from various perspectives as though they were physically present.

 

UK Election

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak expressed regret for the performance of his party.

In the UK general election, the Conservatives were soundly defeated by the Labour Party. Rishi Sunak will be replaced as prime minister by party leader Keir Starmer.
With the counting of votes still proceeding, Labour has secured 409 seats in Parliament, while the Conservatives have secured 120 seats, the fewest in their history. In total, there are 650 seats.

Six weeks ago, Sunak shocked the nation by calling for elections in the sixth-largest economy in the world and one of the United States' most significant allies. Sunak stated that the British people had "delivered a sobering verdict" and accepted "responsibility for the loss."

During his triumphal address, Starmer, a centrist and former prosecutor who backs both Ukraine and NATO, pledged to "govern for every single person in this country."

Pro-Brexit and anti-immigration activist Nigel Farage has been elected to the British Parliament for the ninth time. The head of Reform UK and Trump ally will represent the decaying southern English beach resort of Clacton.

  

Might the 'flying piano' contribute to the transformation of air cargo?

Might the 'flying piano' contribute to the transformation of air cargo?

US startup Aerolane is trying to figure out how to surf while in the air.

The geese are already proficient at it. They are riding the air currents produced by formation members in front of and surrounding them when you observe them flying in a v-formation.

Todd Graetz hopes to apply that idea at a Texas airstrip to upend the air cargo industry.

With the use of modified planes that are hauled into the air by another aircraft, Aerolane has been imitating the techniques used by migratory birds.

Cameras mounted in the towed aircraft were able to record air vortices that a glider can use to stay in the air thanks to smoke emitted from the leading plane.

Their most recent test aircraft has a terrible glide quality and is referred to as the "flying piano."

It glides along with its twin engines idling for electrical power, its propellers turning just for the purpose of aerodynamics.

The tension in the towing line has been measured in other tests.

They saw when the cable became slack, a sign that the glider was riding the currents created by the aircraft in front of it.

All of this data will be fed into a program by Aerolane, which will steer an unmanned cargo plane over wakes and turbulence to take advantage of the opportunity to glide great distances without using fuel.

An aircraft carrying cargo might tow one or more of these cargo planes to their destination, where they would land on their own.

The engines of the towing aircraft would be the only source of fuel expenses.

Air currents should handle much of the hard lifting in this scenario, much like a truck towing a trailer. Mr. Graetz refers to this as "a combination of surfing and gliding."

Airbus had the same thought and tried the method in 2021 with two A350 aircraft traveling 3 km (1.9 miles) apart over the Atlantic.

In order to lower fuel consumption and CO2 emissions, one aircraft in the experiment was able to get an uplift from the lead A350's wake despite not having a tow line connecting it to the other aircraft.

With the belief that "there has to be a better way to get more out of existing aircraft," 12-year pilot Mr. Graetz and drone delivery project veteran Gur Kimchi established Aerolane.

Pilots with experience have expressed disapproval of the project. Strict adherence to flight safety regulations is required while operating large gliders in commercial airspace.

For example, the aircraft towing must have the assurance that it can release the tow line at any time during the flight, secure in the knowledge that the glider will automatically descend to a runway without dumping debris on top of nearby residents.

According to Aerolane, a little electric motor that powers a propeller will serve as a safety net for their freight gliders, providing them with enough power to circle back around in case a landing appears unfavorable or to detour to a nearby area.

Mr. Graetz retorts that Aerolane employs working commercial pilots who are obstinate about the project's viability.

He continues, "We've hired outside advisors to play devil's advocate.

According to him, large freight companies are open to any idea that lowers their cost per delivery.

Air freight companies must consider not just the expense of fuel but also the shortage of pilots and pollutants from jet engines.

Former RAF helicopter pilot and aviation expert James Earl believes Mr. Graetz might be on to something.

It makes sense that combining efforts in the skies with slipstreaming can yield benefits. Moreover, any innovation in the freight area is beneficial. 

He does, however, provide a warning, noting that public acceptance of unpowered cargo flights over populated areas is a quite different matter.

In the event of a significant malfunction by the tow plane, it needs to possess a sufficient glide range to reach a landing location. It's another question entirely whether or not the public can be effectively informed about that.

Authorities in the US, where the Federal Aviation Authority is under pressure following significant issues with Boeing planes, are also probably going to be wary.

In response, Mr. Graetz states that his group has complied with all of the FAA's requests thus far. The FAA has never taken many chances. They should handle that.

Fred Lopez worked for the massive transportation company UPS for 36 years in flight operations. He claims to have devoted "my entire adult life" to figuring out how to run an air freight company profitably.

Mr. Lopez acknowledges that when Aerolane initially contacted him, he had serious doubts about cargo gliders. However, the possibility of significant fuel savings convinced him, and he currently serves on their advisory board.

In civil aviation, fuel cost reduction is a fixation. Airlines were able to reduce fuel expenses by around 5% when the conventional feature of upturned wingtips emerged.

However, gliders only use as much gasoline as their towing aircraft needs. 

Should that also be a freight airplane, two gliders pulled by a single jet signifies a noteworthy decrease in fuel usage for a substantial load.

In the original Aerolane concept, a human "safety pilot" is in addition to the autopilot, according to Mr. Lopez. This ought to facilitate FAA certification.

He states, "Aerolane is not trying to change everything at once."

Their ultimate objective is AI-assisted autonomous operation, or, in Mr. Lopez's words, "to pull the pilot out of the seat."

What else might be feasible, considering the flying piano's ability to surf?