LABS.MONKS

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The Labs.Monks are Media.Monks' R&D and innovation group, with the goal to steer and drive global solutions focused on technology and design evolution. Each month, we share a selection of some of our favorite, most talked-about innovations while peeling back the curtain on the work we’re doing to push technologies’ boundaries. Through this experimentation, we deliver fresh, exciting and delightful experiences that redefine what's possible.

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Labs Report #34: Gaussian Splatting: Accessible High-End 3D

In this report, we explore the innovative methods of photogrammetry, a way of extracting 3D information from photographs, and how the tech is evolving.

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Labs Report #33: GPT and Large Language Models

In this report, we cover everything you need to know about LLMs: what the competitive landscape looks like, how these models can be applied to your work, what changes with the release of GPT-4, and considerations for responsible use.

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The Labs.Monks Count Down to Most Anticipated Trends of 2023

The Labs.Monks look ahead at another year of digital innovation.

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Scrap the Manual - Generative AI: Q&A

This episode of Scrap the Manual breaks down the Generative AI buzzword into tangible considerations and takeaways, revealing how embracing Generative AI can benefit creators and brands.

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A Frame-by-Frame Look at How Generative AI Supercharges Creativity

Generative AI has exploded in popularity online. But it’s also raised questions about the nature of human creativity: what is the value of artistry and craft?

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Labs Report #32: Generative AI

In this Labs report, we’ll discover how Generative AI is going to impact digital creation and provide a breakdown to help you get ahead.

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Scrap the Manual - Labs Report: Tech Across APAC

Listen to a TLDR overview of the Labs Report, Tech Across APAC—providing insight into the regions’ emerging AI, AR, automation, and metaverse technologies.

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Labs Report 31: Tech Across APAC

In this report, we tap into the unique tech, perspectives and potential of the fast-growing APAC region and share some use cases that brands and marketers can apply anywhere in the world.

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Scrap the Manual - How Do We Do This: Virtualization of Real World Objects into Live Shows

What if you could scan an object in your environment and bring it into a live show? In this “How Do We Do This?” episode of the Scrap the Manual podcast, learn about the differences between 3D scanning and photogrammetry, content moderation woes, and what it could take to make this idea real.

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Labs Report 30: Sustainable Production

What's good for the planet is good for business. This report provides guidelines on sustainable production and ideas on how to measure efforts.

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Scrap the Manual - Challenge the Hosts : Automotive + Surveillance/Privacy

In the newest episode of Scrap the Manual, get an inside look at the role privacy plays within the Automotive industry and how car technologies are changing the way we get from place to place.

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Labs Report 29: MoCap for the Masses

In this report on MoCap, the team investigates developments that have made the technology more accessible and useful for teams across industries.

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Introducing Scrap the Manual, a Labs.Monks Podcast

Technology can be confusing or tough to keep up with—which is why we launched Scrap the Manual, a podcast where we prompt “aha” moments through discussion and experimentation.

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Scrap the Manual - Labs Report: The Metaverse

In this episode, Angelica and Rushali expand on our metaverse-focused Labs Report with a quick overview of how they created a Roblox prototype demonstrating the metaverse concept of interoperability.

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Scrap the Manual - Challenge The Hosts: Art + COVID-19

In our first-ever episode of Scrap the Manual, Angelica and Rushali explore how the pandemic influenced art throughout the last couple of years, and how it will move the industry forward, too.

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Labs Report 28: A Practical Guide to the Metaverse

In this Labs Report, the team takes readers deep inside the metaverse. From sci-fi imagination to tangible reality, get a taste of how tech partners and brands are building the successor of the internet.

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Making Sense of the Metaverse

The metaverse is vast, but it doesn't have to be complicated. Experts from across the Media.Monks team, including the Labs.Monks, weigh in to make the metaverse more accessible.

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Labs Report 27: Automotive is Shifting Gears

In a new report focused on the future of automotive, the Labs.Monks take a look under the hood to examine the shifting nature of brand-customer relationships for automakers.

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As the Auto Industry Evolves, All Roads Lead to Content

As software begins to factor into car purchasing decisions just as much as mechanics, automakers may begin to look a lot more like content developers.

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Monthly, Media.Monks Labs peels back the curtain on the work we’re doing to push technologies’ boundaries. Sign up here to get a close look at fresh experiences that redefine what's possible.

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As Demand in Digital Healthcare Grows, Start With Trust

Sadie DeMaioribus shares how digital healthcare is offering personalized, health-related content that patients can trust.

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Labs Report 26: Healing Healthcare

While digital and healthcare have had a rocky start, the Labs.Monks examine how digital adoption can revolutionize new forms of treatment.

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Virtual Clothing Is Helping Fashion Brands Dress to Impress

Explore the prototype that allows people to try on digital garments using AR, created by Labs, which offers a glimpse into the ways that digital technology can help consumers engage.

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Labs Report 25: Esports is Branching Out

The Labs.Monks explore the present state of esports and where it's headed. What does its explosive growth mean for brands and traditional sports?

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Changing the Game: Bringing Sports to the Virtual Stadium

As esports grow and innovate in spectatorship experiences, traditional sports can borrow from their playbook.

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Labs Report 24: Virtualisation of Fashion

In a special report made in collaboration with the FLUX.Monks, the Labs.Monks explore the future of fashion design and experiences.

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From Runway to Gameplay, Fashion Goes Virtual

From sustainability concerns to the pandemic, 3D production has helped fashion labels design at speed—and may prove even more transformative across the customer journey.

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Can Virtual Humans Provide Real Connection?

Avatars, virtual influencers and realistic digital assistants are part of a breed of virtual humans that will change the way we think about humanity and relationships.

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Labs Report 23: Digital Humans

In this report, the Labs.Monks ask: how will we (re)define "humanity" in the age of digital humans?

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Monthly, Media.Monks Labs peels back the curtain on the work we’re doing to push technologies’ boundaries. Sign up here to get a close look at fresh experiences that redefine what's possible.

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Labs Report 22: Halloween

For a Halloween treat, the Labs.Monks share a special mini report focused on the creepiest innovations they could find.

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Labs Report 21: Google Assistant Games

In this report, the Labs.Monks go in depth on voice-based gaming for Google Assistant devices.

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Carry the Conversation to Increase Retention on Voice Platforms

With retention being a common challenge in voice, the Labs.Monks offer gamification as a solution.

CASE STUDY

How Media.Monks Leveled-Up Its Gaming Creds with Voice

After building two games for Google Nest Hub and Hub Max, the team shares tips for voice-enabled gaming.

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Labs Report 20: Creative Machines

Can AI be creative? Our report explores a few examples of creative machines, then dives deep into the development of our own.

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For Creatives and AI, It Takes Two to Tango

A dancing AI from the Labs.Monks goes beyond enhancing productivity–it supercharges creative thinking and imagination, too.

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Labs Report 19: Zoom Fatigue

Months into quarantine, we're all feeling a little fatigued from video calls. In this month's report, the Labs.Monks highlight how they've innovated to meet digitally face-to-face.

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Labs.Monks Explore the Future of AI-Powered Video Conferencing

Going beyond filters and backgrounds, the Labs.Monks challenged themselves to envision other ways AI can impact video calls.

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Sander van der Vegte on Innovation Through COVID

On Adobe's XD Ideas blog, Sander van der Vegte (Head of the Labs.Monks) offers insight on how the team has innovated in the pandemic's early days.

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View the April Issue

In this month’s Labs Report, we explore the purposes of virtual spaces, as well as the mediums available to host them.

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In Digital Venues, Everyone Gets a Front-Row Seat

The Labs.Monks explore the potential of digital venues to bring people together while social distancing. The show must go on!

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View the March Issue

This month's Labs report pays tribute to the innovators around the world dealing with COVID-19 and examines the role digital has played in connecting people.

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When Speed is Key, Labs.Monks Enable Swift, Proactive AI Prototyping

Through experimenting with machine learning, the Labs.Monks developed a way to rapidly prototype new solutions from idea to market.

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Monthly, Media.Monks Labs peels back the curtain on the work we’re doing to push technologies’ boundaries. Sign up here to get a close look at fresh experiences that redefine what's possible.

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View the February Issue

This month's update features increased ease and accessibility with AR, and how the Labs.Monks used machine learning to determine the best time to get lunch.

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View the January Issue

With highlights from CES, our FWA streak and experiments in making mixed reality more intuitive, this month's update shows our determination to break convention.

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Getting Our Hands Dirty with VR Hand Tracking

With the release of the Hand Tracking SDK for Oculus Quest, our innovation team went hands-on to experiment with a new form of input for virtual reality.

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View the December Issue

It's a new year, and we're looking forward to new innovations--namely in AR. This month's update dives into how we made a holiday miracle to push web AR to the limit and playing with occlusion.

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What We Learned from Demoing Google’s New Depth API

To portray the functionality of a major ARCore update, the Labs.Monks built a whimsical AR experience offering both occlusion and real-time physics.

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View the October Issue

This month’s Labs update is all about how brand activations can become a lot more human, from replicating a voice in a couple sentences to gaining sight through image recognition.

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Labs.Monks Uncover the Biases of Image Recognition

The Labs.Monks built a tool that helps discover where image recognition services don’t see eye-to-eye, identifying the biases inherent in the tech.

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View the September Issue

The latest update from the Labs.Monks puts a satisfyingly futuristic twist on traditional media—namely watercolor paintings and print ads.

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View the August Issue

From empathizing with patients to an out-of-this-world view of planet Earth and more, see how tech innovation helps users directly experience new perspectives.

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Why We Gave a Machine a Human Disease

Innovation doesn't come from supporting the latest tech just for the sake of it. Instead, it comes from supporting strong creative ideas in the best way possible.

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Elevating Education with Edtech

Geert Eichhorn discusses his relationship with edtech and its potential to engage students through meaningful, hands-on experiences with emerging technology.

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What Robots Can Teach Us About Human-Centered Creative

Advertising as we know it is poised to evolve—is your brand evolving with it? See how tech-focused, creative leadership results in messaging that’s more resonant now than ever before.

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View the April Issue

This update will have you questioning reality (again)—AR. With a handy guide to native vs. WebAR and a deep dive into transforming window displays into digital dioramas, we take a look.

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Monthly, Media.Monks Labs peels back the curtain on the work we’re doing to push technologies’ boundaries. Sign up here to get a close look at fresh experiences that redefine what's possible.

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View the March Issue

Just in time for April Fool’s Day, our March update blurs the boundaries between reality and fiction before looking ahead at what to expect from Google’s I/O conference in May.

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‘We Peer into Pandora’s Box’ – How Labs.Monks Are Bringing Black Mirror to Reality

Inspired by the frightening tech featured in Black Mirror, we built an AR tool capable of detecting and “blocking” people—just like in season 2’s “White Christmas."

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View the February Issue

Emerging tech can make practical improvements in work and leisure. This month's deck dives into AR and VR solutions that lend practical help to users for work or leisure.

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Our Best Foot Forward: Functional AR

Recognizing friction for consumers and retailers when it comes to buying and selling shoes online, we designed an AR tool to detect users’ shoe sizes with computer vision.

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View the January Issue

This month, the Labs.Monks celebrate the latest in AI—and a cutting-edge Facebook hack that lets you turn any image into a 3D photo.

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Why Voice Should Be Your Employee of The Month

What if your most productive employee weren’t a person, but a voice? It’s not science fiction: advances in voice technology are making this reality.

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Transitioning Voice Bots from ‘Book Smart’ to ‘Street Smart’

We’re developing a marriage counseling Google Assistant action to experiment with just how intimate a conversation with a voice assistant can get.

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View the December Issue

Seeing is believing—or so they said. This month, we experimented with tech's illusory potential, like images that perform edits on themselves and a mind-bending technique with 3D effects.

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View the November Issue

From using AR to diagnose mechanical issues to a wall that visually responds to movement, here's a few takeaways from recent hackathons focused on using tech in fun, intuitive ways.

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Are You Prepared for a Future of Ubiquitous AR?

Diving head-first into emerging tech like VR and AR can be intimidating. Thankfully, brands can dip their toes into relatively simple experiences with big impact—here’s how.

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Harness the Power of Emerging Tech Like a Techno-Wizard

If anticipating the next innovative leap feels like gazing into a crystal ball, just the learn the (not-so-dark) art of techno-wizardry—a recap of Sam Snider-Held's talk at 4A’s CreateTech.

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