Yale University's Dean Takahashi discusses "Ready Player Two," Ernest Cline's highly anticipated sequel to his 2011 book, Ready Player One. The new book was published in December. 

• In 2018, Steven Spielberg released his movie based on "Ready Player One," grossing $582M at the box office.
• "Ready Player One" has become one of the most popular movies about VR of all time.
• Palmer Luckey cites "Ready Player One" as one of his inspirations to build Oculus, which he subsequently sold to Facebook (NASDAQ:FB). Luckey ultimately sold Oculus to Facebook for $3B, netting more than $700M personally.

The sequel has arrived:

• Like "Ready Player One's" date of 2045, the setting of "Ready Player Two" is approximately three decades in the future.
• However, the sequel introduces a new way of interfacing with "the Oasis" (the metaverse) ⏤ a VR headset with a brain-computer interface dubbed the ONI.
• This device is wired into the brain and body, making it difficult to perceive the difference between physical reality and VR.
• "Just as we loved Back to the Future's DeLorean time machine, hoverboards, and sneakers that tied their own laces, we now share the hope that something like Roblox or Fortnite will turn into the metaverse," writes Dean Takahashi.

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) finalized two new rules regarding amending patents for technologies including holograms and virtual reality. "Because certain new and emerging technologies, such as projections, holographic imagery, or virtual/augmented reality do not require a physical display screen or other tangible article to be viewable, the USPTO is exploring whether its practice should be revised to protect such digital designs," the agency said.

Technical details:

• The reason for the change centers around the word "manufacture," which the USPTO expanded to include iconography and other materials that can be displayed within computer screens.
• Because the USPTO could not have anticipated at the time to include language regarding "rendered" or "projected" designs, it is updating its language to reflect the new intellectual property that could be patented within VR or holographic environments.
• One of the USPTO's new rules states that the burden of proof lies on the party challenging a patent in an America Invents Act dispute to prove that "proposed substitute claims" are insufficient, which helps to provide flexibility for legal interpretations of VR intellectual property.
• The USPTO used to place the burden of patentability proof on the patent owner.
• The rules took effect Jan. 20.
• The public may submit comments regarding the newly introduced rules directly to the USPTO; comments requesting revisions are due by Feb. 5.

HTC (2498.TW) upgraded software for its VR headset "VIVE Cosmos," boosting CPU and GPU performance.

• HTC Corporation (2498.TW) published a blog post on Jan. 21, highlighting some of its newly-implemented performance upgrades for its PC-based VR headset.
• The new updates — which include an upgrade to DirectX 12 for Nvidia GPUs — boost overall performance by 15-20% by freeing up CPU cycles.
• The new upgrade increases latency by 10% and optimizes frame timings, lessening the chances of disconnection during immersive experiences.
• HTC will also open beta access to its OpenXR program, aiming to support VIVE Wave with OpenXR sometime this year.

Japan's $40B telecom giant Docomo (DCMMY) is preparing to open an XR studio in Odaiba, Japan with Mantis Vision. Mantis Vision is a private company that provides 3D volumetric video capture solutions. It has raised $84M to date from investors such as Qualcomm (NASDAQ:QCOM) and Samsung's (005930.KS) Catalyst Fund.

More:

• Mantis Vision makes a 3D scanner that can stream live 3D data into AR/VR/MR devices.
• A report suggests that a new XR studio by Docomo (DCMMY) will include Mantis Vision's Volumetric Studio 3iosk.
• Volumetric Studio 3iosk is a way to share dynamic 3D based videos in XR, virtual productions, and across social media.
• By integrating the 3iosk studio in its newest XR studio, Docomo intends to endorse such video technologies and cooperate with content creators to utilize XR technology. 

Forbes staff picked 15 enhancement accessories that can pair with Facebook's Oculus Quest 2. Seeing the increase in demand for the Oculus Quest 2, Forbes published a shopping list suited for owners of the VR system to enhance immersive gaming experiences. The list includes accessories to provide a comfortable fit, display stands, VR Mat, gaming earphones, battery options, and power kits to extend quality gameplay hours.

Forbes' selection of accessories:

• VR Power Kit for Oculus Quest 2: This high-end power kit sold by Rebuff Reality comes with a 10,000mAh battery, adding eight extra hours of gameplay for Oculus VR systems.
• Oculus Link Cable: To utilize the best feature of Oculus Quest, users need a longer cable. Forbes picks the 16ft. Oculus-made, Link-compatible, USB-C cable. The cable connects Quest with a PC to play any PC VR game using a Quest headset.
• Logitech G333 VR gaming earphones: Oculus Quest 2 owners looking for an alternative to external headphones might consider noise-canceling gaming earphones manufactured by Logitech (LOGN.SW), custom-built for Quest 2.
• Quest 2 Elite Strap with Battery Case: This version of the Oculus-made Elite Strap provides comfort, battery life due to the integrated battery case, and support for the back of the head.
• Quest 2 Carrying Case: Oculus made a hardshell carrying case that can safely store controllers with extra room for accessories like power adapters and charging cables.
• VR lens protectors and cleaners: Orzero's simple lens cover protects VR lenses from dust and is washing machine-friendly. Better than microfiber cloth, lens cleaning pens used by professional photographers might also come in handy to clean dirt particles, smudges, and sweat marks from the Quest 2 lens.

QUICK HITS:

• See how consumer electronics brand Nomad went headless with their existing Shopify store to increase their ecommerce conversion rate by 25%.*
• The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York started a unique interactive visual art exhibition in collaboration with Verizon (NYSE:VZ). The exhibition features AR versions of Met masterpieces to offer art enthusiasts an immersive experience of digital galleries.
• Four years after its release, the horror title "Resident Evil 7: Biohazard" reportedly gathered more than 1M users on Sony's (6758.T) PlayStation VR, according to Capcom's (9697.T) tracking site.
• Adam Maciaszek, a researcher focused on AI technologies, cleaned and upscaled silent movie footage dating back to the 1920s up to 4K quality. His uploads to YouTube enable millions of Quest 2 users to enjoy classical silent movies in 3D quality.
• What are the costs of inefficiencies in your product release cycle? Read how top companies save over $1M each year.*

*This is sponsored content.