Recap of NYC VR Expo

VRARA NYC Chapter highlights from the NYC VR Expo included speakers and demos by VRARA Members:

Apprentice.io - Augmented Reality for Pharmaceutical/Biotech Manufacturing and R&D

Vuze.camera - Makers of the Vuze 3D 180 & 360° VR cameras 

Lampix.co -  A is projector-based augmented reality powered by computer vision. AR for the Office. AR for Retail. AR for Restaurants. AR for Developers

Also, presentation of the NYC VR/AR Ecosystem Report, featuring 25 companies (with over 100+ listed!)

 
 
 

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Interview with Tim Nakonechniy of Live Animations

We are joined by Tim Nakonechniy, CMO at Live Animations, who is talking with us from Kiev, Ukraine.

Live Animations is an international IT company specializing in the development of innovative products with augmented reality (AR) for children. Live Animations has released 4 world-famous children's books with Little Hippo: "Little Red Riding Hood", "Three Little Pigs", "Velvet Rabbit", "Masha and the Three Bears".

Books with augmented reality have already appeared on the shelves of 3,650 Walmart stores in the US. The first edition was 250,000 copies. In June 2018, Live Animations and Little Hippo received the Parents Choice Award (awarded by the non-profit Parents Choice Foundation to celebrate the best products for children of all ages). This is one of the most prestigious awards in children's products.

Tim talks about the unique elements considered in creating AR books from the animation, creative design, technology, and marketing that has made their books such a success. Learn more at https://liveanimations.org

Listen here

LBVR: The Nuts & Bolts of Location Based Virtual Reality

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The Location-Based Entertainment Committee is following up on its Free Roam VR webinar with another stellar cast of panelists lined-up for Halloween! The ensemble of experts with more than 20 years combined experience running location-based entertainment includes Daisy Berns (Exit Reality), Will Stackable (SpringboardVR), Ryan Burningham (Virtual Athletic League), and Sebastian Kreutz (Holocafé).

Our go-to moderator Charlie Fink will be tackling the difficult issues that venues and virtual reality are facing to see profitable margins in these businesses. The deep dive we will be exploring everything form operations and marketing to pricing and throughput. Other hot topics the group will be examining is infrastructure and real estate. This is a not to be missed session for those interested in tapping the projected consumer spend of $809 million in the next couple years. Join us for what will hopefully be a less than scary look into the world of LBVR!

Register for the webinar here

VR/AR Hub Created in Partnership with the Vancouver Chapter of the VR/AR Association

Dan Burgar, the Vancouver chapter president of the VR/AR Association | Photo: Chung Chow

Dan Burgar, the Vancouver chapter president of the VR/AR Association | Photo: Chung Chow

The hub was created in partnership with the Vancouver Chapter of the VR/AR Association.

Startup incubator Launch Academy is opening a new virtual reality and augmented reality hub at its Vancouver headquarters.

The 12,000-square-foot facility features a device lab to test out new technologies and is aimed at assisting a wide spectrum of early-stage companies, according to CEO Ray Walia.

“It’s all the way from people just starting out to [companies with] a product in market,” he told Business in Vancouver.

“Other companies that are more established that don’t necessarily need to take desk space here but they want to be part of the community and be part of a founding partnership in helping cultivate and grow the ecosystem [will also take part].”

The hub was created in partnership with the Vancouver chapter of the VR/AR Association.

It will offer training and education programs, equipment rentals, workshops and mentorship opportunities for participants.

Mentors include investors in the VR/AR space, including Super Ventures, the VR Fund, WXR Fund, Outpost Capital and the GFR Fund.

Experts from Microsoft Corp. (Nasdaq: MSFT), Finger Food Studios, Archiact, LNG Studios, LlamaZoo Interactive Inc., Blueprint Reality Inc., Cognitive3D, YDreams Global Interactive Technologies Inc. and the Vancouver Economic Commission will also offer mentoring.

Vancouver was home to just over a dozen VR companies in 2015 but has since growth to 220 organizations that are pursuing VR technologies, according to the VR/AR Association.

“We have all the right ingredients to make Vancouver No. 1,” Dan Burgar, the Vancouver chapter president of the VR/AR Association, said in a statement.

“We believe it’s extremely important to keep the momentum up and build the support infrastructure now for companies to accelerate their growth. Launch Academy has a proven track record of incubating over 600 companies and we’re thrilled to work with them on this.”

Source

Report: Improving Efficiency Across the Value Chain with AR Digital Product Visualization

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Throughout the product lifecycle – from proof of concept to development and sales – there are several areas where more transparency, better collaboration and improved efficiencies can produce clear business value. 

In Improving Efficiency Across the Value Chain with Digital Product Visualization, ABI Research explores how Augmented Reality (AR) is the key for accelerating product development and sales cycles. 

Your sales reps, customers, product development engineers and service technicians can all view and interact with your products in real-time, through the smartphones and tablets they carry with them every day. 

Download a free copy of “Improving Efficiency Across the Value Chain with Digital Product Visualization” to learn more about specific use cases for AR in product development and sales.

Schedule for our VR/AR Webinar Series: Healthcare, Training, Marketing, Enterprise, Avatars AI Assistants

Email info@thevrara.com if interested

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About VRARA Webinars

VRARA Webinars host industry thought-leaders on various topics.  During these live webinars (webcasts/panels/symposiums) we have a live Q&A with the attendees. These Webinars are attended live by 100-800 people, and 1000s watch the recordings. In addition, our last Online Conference had 75 speakers and 10,000 viewers. See our Webinars page here

Schedule

Nov / Dec - Avatars & AI Assistants with Magic Leap (tbc), Quantum Capture + others

Jan - Training (Sponsored by Sentireal)


Feb - tbd


2019 Topics will include:

  • Retail

  • Education

  • Enterprise

  • Marketing

  • We would love to hear your suggestions on other topics you would like to learn about! Email us at info@thevrara.com



Sponsor Packages

  • Platinum: Highest recognition for sponsoring 2 or more webinars

  • Gold: High recognition in newsletter (25K emails) + social media (1M reach) + during webinar (logo, verbal mention)  + eBlast to the RSVP list (approx 100-800 contacts’ emails, titles, company)

  • Silver: High recognition in newsletter (25K emails) + social media (1M reach) + during webinar (logo, verbal mention)

  • Bronze: Medium recognition: Social Media (1M reach) + during webinar (logo, verbal mention)

Inquire about pricing here

Promotion of the Webinars

VRARA will be promoting the webinars via

  1. VRARA Newsletter that goes to 25K emails (20-30% open rates)

  2. VRARA targeted eBlasts (30-50% open rates)

  3. VRARA Social Media: 1M reach

Presenters are also welcomed to promote the webinar via their channels.


Metrics

Inquire about metrics on audience demographics, etc here

NYC VR/AR Ecosystem Report. 25+ companies featured, 100 listed. Get your Copy here!

To get your copy, enter your email here:

NYC is a metropolitan hub for national & international businesses, institutions, and organizations. This report represents the brilliant minds all over the VR/AR ecosystem, from original content creators & creative distributors to innovative hardware companies to ambitious researchers. See NYC Chapter page here

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Forward 1

It’s a thrilling time in the Big Apple for the burgeoning virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) industries. New York City is home to a thriving, frenetic, ever growing and spectacularly talented eco-system. It’s alive in all aspects of market drivers across academia, advertising, banking, finance, communication, medicine, movies and television, and Wall Street. Great vision and enthusiasm is driving the creation of new startups, corporate ventures, academic research, medical applications, and entrepreneurial initiatives taken on by technologists and all manner of domain experts building and creating, providing the next generation of applications driving new business and sometimes just plain having fun, enjoying a number of arcades that have popped up across the city. Listed here you will find a wide variety of VR and AR products and services from consumer to enterprise applications that are best in class! Please do check out what we have to offer, you won’t be disappointed.

— Adaora Udoji, VRARA NYC Chapter Advisor

Table of Contents

  • Foreward

  • Avatar-Plus

  • Beth Stewart Voice Over - Truth or Dare VO

  • Brave New World

  • Brick Simple

  • Chris Pfaff Tech Media

  • Confideo Labs

  • Hack and Paint

  • Halo Labs

  • Hello World Communications

  • IKONA

  • Inception

  • Lampix

  • Live CGI

  • MediaCombo

  • Memetic Arts

  • Nice Shoes

  • NKLS

  • Oblix

  • OffWorld Laboratories

  • Rutgers Prep

  • Sketchfab

  • SMACAR Solutions Inc.

  • SR Socially Relevant Film Festival New York

  • TECH+Expo & Forum (produced by The Architect’s Newspaper)

  • ThirdEye

  • Touchstone Research

  • ViuSpace

  • VRSim

  • Other 100+ Companies

Forward 2

The story of immersive and augmenting, wearable computing is going to be one of the most epic business stories of our time. The biggest companies in the world are at the table. The stakes are nothing less than the evolution of humankind. Change happens very slowly, and then all at once. It's an exciting time to be in this industry because no one really knows how this is going to turn out. A vibrant New York tech scene making its presence felt nationally. Our universities are turning out scores of talented engineers and entrepreneurs, ready to create the businesses of tomorrow. No one can change the world or build something of consequence by themselves. The only way to make something happen is to get out of your hole, get out of your social media bubble, and meet actual people in real life who share your vision of how to implement this new immersive media. The VRARA helps you to do that. You are looking at a very valuable networking tool: these are members who have stood up and said they want you to know what they're doing. If you like it, have a question, or think you can help, reach out to them directly. Make a new friend. Learn something. That's what I do all day, and I've never gotten tired of it.

— Charlie Fink, VRARA NYC Chapter Advisor

Forward 3

Before the money and the magazine covers, every tech scene has the same origin story -- a scrappy group of weirdos huddled together, building something strange and wonderful. The NYC VR/AR scene deviates from this only insofar as we're not squatting in garages; alas, that's Manhattan architecture for you. But to call the scene intimate is an understatement -- hit up a handful of meetups and you'll see the same people, passionately talking about their latest creations. And we're all doing it on shoestring budgets, more or less, although we're finally starting to see some big deals and high profile projects come to fruition. What NYC lacks in Hollywood glamour or Silicon Valley VR cash, it makes up for in heart and attitude. The NYC VR/AR scene is vibrant and alive, a core group of true believers hell-bent on changing the way we see the world. In twenty years, when the first round of documentaries are released, we'll all look back on our outfits and cringe, but think about the magic we made, and smile.

— Cortney Harding, VRARA NYC Chapter Advisor

Forward 4

The New York area represents the largest concentration of Fortune 1000 headquarters in the world, and a diverse body of companies. The sheer magnitude of New York's reach in the business world is often incalculable. This is true for the VR/AR industry as well, as hundreds of New York market firms - from headset manufacturers to production companies to software developers - represent both legacy efforts and recently-unveiled initiatives to change the way that people view the world and receive information. From the pharmaceutical corridor of New Jersey to the media rows of Manhattan to defense contractors in Long Island and platform developers in Connecticut, there are myriad numbers of companies that are redefining virtual and augmented experiences. The VR/AR Association's ecosystem report for New York is a thumbnail sketch of the activity represented in the broader market, but will shed light on the sector's growth in the largest market in the United States.

— Chris Pfaff, VRARA NYC Chapter Advisor

VR/AR Healthcare Industry Sector Report. Get your Copy here!

To receive a copy of this report, enter your email here:

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Table of Contents

  • Foreward

  • Absorb Reality

  • Amalgamated Vision

  • DICE Group at Jefferson

  • Floreo

  • GeneHope Biotech Ltd

  • healthiAR

  • Igloo Vision LTD

  • Order 66 Labs, Inc.

  • Relax VR

  • Sentireal Ltd

  • SkillReal by Compedia

  • USBCT

  • VRHealth

  • Wise Realities

  • Other 100+ Companies

Foreward 1

Virtual and Augmented Reality (VR/AR) technology has undergone a transition in the last 20 years taking it from the realm of “expensive toy” into that of functional technology. These advances stand to offer new opportunities for clinical research, assessment, and intervention across a diverse spectrum of healthcare disciplines. Since the mid-1990s, VR/AR-based testing, training, teaching, and treatment approaches have been developed by clinicians and researchers that would be difficult, if not impossible, to deliver using traditional methods. During this time, a large (but still maturing) scientific literature has evolved regarding the outcomes and effects from the use of what we now refer to as Clinical VR/AR.

Such VR/AR simulation systems have targeted the assessment and treatment of cognitive, psychological, physical, and functional impairments across a wide range of clinical health conditions. Moreover, continuing advances in the underlying enabling technologies for creating and delivering VR/AR applications has recently resulted in its widespread availability as consumer products, sometimes at a very low cost.

This state of affairs has led to the rapid growth of a vibrant eco- system of commercial entities that are now creating opportunities for getting VR/AR content and systems into the hands of patients and healthcare providers. Novel, usable, and useful VR/AR creations are now becoming readily available in the consumer marketplace, something that existed on only a very small scale just 5 years ago.

In addition to the rapid proliferation of new VR/AR start-ups, another positive by-product of this market potential is in the translation of research-based prototypes into consumer products that can now see the light of day and provide the user benefits that their academic developers had intended. Having a market conduit for well-researched, pro-social VR/AR systems to “escape the lab” now provides significant incentives for funders/investors to support technology research and development that will continue to drive advances in VR/AR user experiences needed to promote health and wellness! Thus, this initial collection of VR/AR healthcare profiles is well-timed for increasing awareness and access to the excellent work that has been quietly brewing over the last couple of decades. With more VR/AR healthcare start-ups emerging in the last 2 years, than in the previous 20, information about these healthcare-focused companies will become a valued resource for finding and accessing the tools needed to make a real difference for the patients we serve!

-- Skip Rizzo, Director of the Medical Virtual Reality research group at the University of Southern California Institute for Creative Technologies

Foreward 2

Healthcare has long been a laggard on using leading edge technology, but no longer. VR and AR technologies are being used for everything ranging from teaching anatomy to students, to helping Alzheimer's patients, to improving precision in surgery. VRARA has assembled some of the most transformative new companies that are improving medical practices and treatments and an exciting pace and showing measurably improved results.

-- Shel Israel, Author of The Fourth Transformation

Final Agenda for the Mixed Reality Marketing Summit Nov. 5th in NYC

Use discount code VRARAFlash for 25% discount on your ticket!

See the event website here

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NEW YORK, NY – October 17, 2018 – (HISPANICIZE WIRE) – Organizers of the world’s first Mixed Reality Marketing Summit announced the full and final agenda of the Mixed Reality Marketing Summit slated for National Geographic Encounter in Times Square New York City, Nov. 5th. (Register at bit.ly/mixedrealitymarketing). The summit is a co-production of Mixed Reality Ventures and the VR/AR Association New York City Chapter.

Below is the full and final agenda, session descriptions and speakers of the Mixed Reality Marketing Summit:

From Science Fiction to Reality: How Hollywood is ushering the future for entertainment & why brands need to take notes

Speaker: Brett Leonard, Hollywood director, “Lawnmower Man”

Brett Leonard has been at the forefront of the VR revolution bringing us Hollywood blockbusters like Lawnmower Man and Virtuosity. He will tell us why science fiction is now a reality and where content and marketing are heading.


Why Mixed Reality is Now Truly Ready for Primetime

Speaker: Raj Puran, Director of Client VR Business Development & Strategic Partnerships, Intel

After three decades of awkward equipment and many experiments, mixed reality is finally here and ready for prime time with streamlined devices and immersive experiences that will transform the way we shop, enjoy sports, experience films, communicate, create content, travel, exercise, visit doctors, date, and much, much more. The implications of this next tech revolution are staggering for marketers.


The Power of Play & The Rise of Camera Marketing

Speaker: Carolina Arguelles, Head of AR Monetization Product Strategy for Snap

While the past 10 years have been about Social Media Marketing, the next 10 will introduce a new form of marketing — Camera Marketing. People everywhere are exploring the world through their camera and want to create content on behalf of brands because it’s fun, useful, or relevant. At Snapchat we believe play is powerful and have built an ecosystem of products around the camera, including Lenses an AR format. Since the launch of Lenses, Snapchat has aired more than 100,000 AR experiences resulting in more than 250,000 years of playtime. What we’ve learned is that a mobile strategy without the camera is not a mobile strategy.


Creating Content in the New Era of Mixed Reality Marketing

Speakers: Chris Bobotis, Director Immersive, Adobe; Gabriele Corcos, celebrity Chef

Moderator: Amy LaMeyer, ARVR Academy

Just when brands thought they had figured out story telling for the digital age comes mixed reality, and yep, story telling with mixed reality is vastly different, and, when done right, much more engaging and effective. In this session, we’ll discuss how brands need to approach story telling with mixed reality.


Start with Strategy: Planning Your Brand’s Road Map for Mixed Reality Marketing

Speaker: John Buzzell, President of You Are Here Labs

Mixed Reality is a fairly new medium for marketers. How should your brand approach this space? We’ll discuss the key considerations needed for planning your brand’s future in mixed reality, from identifying key opportunities to developing a roadmap.


VR’s Killer App: It’s a Platform, Not a Product

Speaker: Matthew Cooney, VR AR Technologist

While some may consider VR a mature technology, a significant dearth of quality content is preventing users from spending a significant time (and budget) on VR experiences. But is an over-emphasis on creating the next big campaign the problem? Understanding what will accelerate mass adoption of VR means evolving your understanding of how it will be used. In this talk, we’ll look at how organizations can shift their perspectives on VR to maximize engagement, minimize costs, and ultimately, generate profit.


Q&A with Dorothy Dowling, CMO of Best Western

Speaker: Dorothy Dowling, CMO, Best Western Hotels

Moderator: Kerry Flynn, Digiday

Best Western’s Dorothy Dowling is one of the nation’s most innovative and most respected Fortune 100 CMOs in the nation. In this fireside chat, Dorothy will unpack why Best Western has become a brand pioneer in the AR/VR space and what they’ve learned about creating customer journeys that are effective and deliver ROI.


The Evolution of eCommerce with Immersive Tech

Speaker: Arun Batra, General Manager of Digital Operations, Wayfair

Immersive Commerce is about to get very real. In this exciting session, we’ll take an in-depth look at the way shopping is evolving in the MR space.


Thinking Outside The Headset: The Next Generation of Mixed Reality Marketing

Speakers: Alan Smithson, CEO of Metavrse; Nathan PettyJohn, Founder of the VR/AR Association and CMO, Quantum Capture; Rene Amador, Founder, ARWALL

Moderator: Sam Wolfe, Founder of Pitch FWD

Even though headsets and other versions of lenses are the dominant ways most of us think about mixed reality marketing, storytelling is evolving way beyond headsets to include handsets and other devices. In this session, we’ll learn how app and software developers are creating innovative ways for consumers to experience MR beyond the headsets.


Looking at AR From a Social Lens

Speaker: Chris Barbour, AR Camera & Content Creation Partnerships Lead, Facebook

Imagine an AR world on top of our current world – where every time you raise your phone you see AR experiences all around you. Now, imagine the possibilities that come as a creator. You have the ability to influence and contribute to an entirely new medium by connecting your customers with the wonder and excitement of a new digital world. The potential is there – from digital product demos to virtual pop-up shops customers are ready to interact with your brand in revolutionary ways. The perception that creating AR experiences can be onerous is misleading. In reality, it has never been easier to get started.

Join Chris Barbour, AR Camera & Content Creation Partnerships Lead at Facebook, as he demonstrates how you can get started in AR. Chris will walk attendees through powerful examples of how (with the help of machine learning) marketers, creatives, and anyone with a laptop can create engaging and memorable AR experiences on behalf of their companies, brands and agencies. Whether you’re an AR developer looking for inspiration or a hobbyist trying to wrap your mind around the possibilities of AR you will leave this session excited to hit the ground running, creating powerful experiences in a new digital world.


Agency Roundtable

Speakers: Resh Sidhu, Creative Director, AKQA; Lucas Kappaz, Co-Founder and Chief Revenue Officer, VR Americas; Johanna Salazar-Cumming, Co-Founder & Chief Media Disrupter, Two Goats; Miguel Sanchez, Founder and Creative Director, Mass Ideation

Moderator: Lisa Buyer, Founder, The Buyer Group

Agency leaders talk about the opportunities, challenges and ideas that are top of mind as they help companies embrace mixed reality.


How Pokemon Go! and Disney Started the Next Revolution

Speakers: John Zuur Platten – former creative director at Niantic – Pokemon Go!; Charlie Fink, VR AR Consultant, Author and Forbes Columnist

Moderator: Stewart Rogers

Even though VR has been with us for more than three decades, it wasn’t until Pokemon Go! that the marketing industry finally began to see the possibilities of VR/AR. The creative lead of Niantic joined by a former Disney executive talk on stage in a refreshing and entertaining look back at the lessons they’ve learned building pop culture phenomenas like Pokemon Go! and The Lion King. They will also share what they believe brands can do today to create the next big brand idea with AR/VR.


The Next Wave of Experiential Marketing

Speakers: Joanna Popper, Global Head of Virtual Reality for Location Based Entertainment at HP; Lee Keebler, VR AR Consultant; Spandana Govindgari, Cofounder at Hype AR; Cortney Harding, Founder, Friends With Holograms

Moderator: Keisha Howard, founder, Sugar Gamers

Experiential marketing is getting greatly enhanced by immersive technology. It’s changing location based entertainment, as well as how we market our brands at events and how consumers engage with companies. This panel will explore the next wave of experiential marketing.


Closing Keynote: Future Forward: Where do we go from here?

Speaker: Cathy Hackl, MRV Partner

Cathy Hackl, one of the top women in the AR/MR/VR industry talks about what’s next for marketers and creative professionals.

 

Other Mixed Reality Marketing Summit sponsors include Intel, Hype, ARWall, Media Village, VR Voice, PRODU, and Exma.

This event is for entrepreneurs, CMOs, agency managers/owners, educators and any professional in the marketing, digital, communications, advertising and public relations industries, who are interested in learning from some of the world’s leading VR/AR marketing leaders and want to future-proof their careers for the coming revolution in mixed, augmented and virtual reality marketing.

What's Driving Facebook's VR Play? (New Report)

This post is adapted from ARtillry's latest Intelligence Briefing, AR Business Models: The Top of the Food Chain. To receive the report and access the full XR intelligence library, subscribe here (VRARA members receive a discount).

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How does VR play into Facebook’s master plan? Starting with Oculus Go, it could be a boon for Facebook/Oculus and for the larger VR industry’s consumer penetration. As we and others have written, Go could jolt VR adoption, given its highly-competitive pricing that hits a consumer sweet spot, and its frictionless user experience.

As background, Oculus Go is priced at $199 to bring higher-end VR to a greater swath of the mainstream public, and to better seed a VR marketplace. Oculus has the luxury (Facebook) of treating VR hardware as a loss leader to build market share and a longer-term platform strategy.

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But that approach comes at a cost: to sacrifice margins for market share. The latter is motivated by the fact that platform wars are won through momentum set in early days to attract users. Then there’s a virtuous cycle of developer interest, incentive, content creation… and more users.

Put another way, it’s all about attracting users by any means to seed a marketplace and establish an installed base. That economically attracts developers who create content, which attracts more users. Those users in turn attract more developers… and the virtuous cycle commences.

Meanwhile, consumers win by receiving a strong value on hardware from Oculus. But not everyone wins: companies reliant on short-term hardware margins (Samsung, HTC, etc.), find it harder to compete with such pricing. HTC Focus already delayed U.S. distribution plans.

Overall, it’s a lesson in loss-leader economics, and strategic positioning in early days of platform wars. We saw the same thing in the smartphone OS wars. And like then, consumers benefit most. Prices should continue to drop, along with an arms race for VR quality and content libraries.

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Content is King

Speaking of content, it's where Oculus Go holds another key advantage. This helps overcome chicken and egg challenges and fragmentation that have dampened VR adoption. There are 1000 games and apps available for Go, thanks to the Oculus-compatible library from Gear VR.

Doubling down on this advantage, Facebook invested in content creation and user experiences such as lean-back entertainment (Oculus TV), social interaction (Rooms) and live sports (Venues). The latter is interesting in that live sports are a key differentiator for broadcasters.

To do this, Facebook is working with prominent content partners like Hulu, Netflix and NextVR (for live events). This makes sense, given that Oculus Go’s lower-end specs make it optimized for lean-back entertainment and casual games, as opposed to graphics-intensive gaming.

But the real endgame for Facebook’s VR initiatives is to lead and own the next generation of hardware where highly immersive social interaction happens. And like Apple, if it owns the hardware – and thus the user touch point – It gains vertical integration to better control its destiny.

This is something Facebook missed by not launching a smartphone as a direct consumer touch point. It instead has to reach consumers through apps that operate on devices that Google and Apple control. It therefore lacks vertical integration and the ability to optimize and tune hardware.

Given Mark Zuckerberg’s vision of a VR future, that’s not a barrier he wants to face again. Though smartphones are highly conducive to social engagement and connectivity, Facebook sees VR as an even greater bedfellow for the future of digital social interaction… but it could take a while.

Noble Quest

Meanwhile, Oculus’ latest move is to launch the Quest headset at its OC5 event. This is its attempt for a mass-market tier-1 headset. It features high-end VR specs such as hand presence and full (six degrees of freedom) positional tracking, but in an untethered package like Oculus Go.

All of this comes at a $399 price tag. At $200 more than Oculus Go, there’s a big enough delta to avoid cannibalization, but strong enough value in feature upgrades. Those include most notably inside-out positional tracking for headset and hand controllers, unlocking Rift-like gaming.

And like Oculus Go, the price is strategically set at a margin-neutral or loss-leader approach to seed a market and longer-term platform play. But the question remains if it’s too high above the “magic price” of $200 that’s we've pinpointed as an inflection point for consumer demand.

Panning back to the full product line, there’s economic optimization around three tiers — Go, Quest & Rift — to capture demand across market segments. This could help inch closer to Zuckerberg’s lofty goal of one billion VR users, though he admits there's still a ways to go.

“From here, we’re going to make some big leaps in both tech and content for the future generations of each of these products,” said Zuckerberg. “It’s still early but this is the basic roadmap. This is what we need to do for VR to succeed, and to get to the future that we all want.”

Subscribe to receive the report and access the full XR intelligence library. VRARA members receive a discount on subscription.

Arkave VR officially launched at the VR/AR Global Summit

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Vancouver, BC / TheNewswire / October 16th, 2018 – YDreams Global Technologies Inc. (TSX-V: YD) (OTC: YDRMF) (Frankfurt: A2AP0L) (“YDreams” or the “Company”) is pleased to present its October monthly corporate update. Arkave VR continues to grow and develop, working with Intel, MixCast and gets thumbs up from Charlie Fink one of the industry’s most influential voices who writes for Forbes. YDStudio division continues to launch high end projects for well-known brands.

Arkave VR

In September, Arkave VR was officially launched as a turnkey solution at VRARA Global Summit.

YDreams Global would like to thank all the shareholders and investor who visited the booths to learn more about the company, meet the team and tried the game “The Last Squad” by Arkave VR.

The VR/AR Global Summit

“Playing Arkave was one of my favorite experiences of the VR/AR Global Summit. The high-quality level of social gameplay is as good as it gets, and our team has received significant positive feedback from attendees.” said Nathan Pettyjohn, Founder & President, VR/AR Association and VR/AR Global Summit.

This event was critical as it brought together all the strategic players in the VR/AR space which allowed YDreams to build new relationships with leaders in the sector. Arkave VR showcased what is possible in the space and impressed everyone that tried it.

"Y-Dreams free roam VR adventure "The Last Squad" delivers world-class entertainment with this robot wave shooter. I liked so much, I did it twice!” said Charlie Fink - AR/VR Consultant, Columnist at Forbes, Speaker and Author. Arkave getting a positive endorsement from someone as notable and influential as Charlie is in the AR/VR Sector is encouraging beyond belief.

Intel and Arkave VR

Intel is partnering with YDreams on their new high-quality multiplayer location-based VR gaming experience. Intel’s Virtual Reality Group is working with YDreams to enhance the Arkave experience with wireless headset technology developed in partnership with HTC.

Raj Puran, Director of Client VR Business Development & Strategic Partnerships from Intel stated “Arkave is one of the most compelling and exciting team multiplayer experiences in VR. YDreams and the team behind Arkave have created an innovative approach to Location Based VR and is just a ton of fun to challenge with your friends!”, says Mr. Puran, “We are excited to see this market grow and proud to support a partner like YDreams with our technology roadmap. Their platform is incredible and offers a real turnkey solution to Location Based VR Entertainment.”

Various social media posts created a buzz outside of the show and Daniel Japiassu the CEO of YDreams spent a good portion of the show conducting media interview requests which helped with general market awareness and helped strengthen the Arkave brand.

Blueprint Reality Inc.

YDreams continues to be innovative with its Arkave VR Experience by signing a cooperation LOI with Blueprint Reality Inc. The objective is to promote and create business links between the two parties starting with the product MixCast which is the world’s most powerful solution for the broadcast and presentation of mixed reality. MixCast seamlessly blends realities together for instant sharing of virtual experiences.

The solution records the experience from players during their gameplay and transforms into different formats of media that can be shared in social media or print. Imagine sharing your virtual experience or adventure with your friends in a video not as an avatar but as yourself. This allows people to remember, share and relive the experience while becoming a marketing tool as they share.

By offering the solution as an add on to Arkave VR, the Company is creating another differential to its sales strategy and another source of revenue to future clients of Arkave VR.

Further information about MixCast can be found at Blueprint Reality’s website: www.blueprintreality.com

Quanta DGT and Movie Theaters

Previously, (news release June 25th,2018) YDreams Global announced a partnership with Quanta DGT to bring VR experiences to over 1000 movie theaters in Brazil.

In the first week of October, YDreams and Quanta DGT brought Arkave VR to Expocine, the biggest event in Latin America focused on the film industry exhibition, distribution and suppliers of technologies, services and products to that industry. It had thousands of visitors including major movie studios such as Walt Disney, 20th Century Fox, Warner Bros., and Universal Pictures.

The event helped to create awareness of the Arkave brand and to accelerate the implementation of Arkave as a main solution for Movie Theaters lobbies. The goal is to launch the first Arkave VR Arena before the end of 2018.

“As partners to YDreams we appreciated the unique experience that Arkave VR brought to the event and enjoyed by industry people and general visitors. We established several innovative opportunities to the movie distribution market and are excited to bring virtual reality and the gaming universe to theatres.” said Fabiana Marschalk Marketing at Quanta DGT.

YDreams Studio Division

The Company launched a new project for Petrobras and McLaren (see news release dated October 1st, 2018). Marking the first branded content, the project uses the Arkave VR Engine and is a multi-player, free roam, Virtual Reality experience to simulate building a F1 McLaren car and mixing fuels to test.

YDreams is also finishing the first phase of a consulting project for a company from the Energy Production Industry. The project is a large scale permanent educational exhibition, similar to some of the biggest projects done by the Company in the past.

“We are seeing a higher demand for consulting that can lead to long lasting relationships with strategic clients. Brands now understand the relevance of positive interactive experiences and are allocating bigger budgets for innovation, which is great for YDreams.” – stated Karina Israel, COO and co-founder of YDreams Global.

The YDStudio division works as a partner for companies and brands to reframe their strategy through relevant human-centered ventures that integrates digital experience with physical presence and venues. YDStudio anticipates future challenges and connects them with the needs of the market, building innovative concepts and delivering them with international excellence.

YDreams Global´s Studio have developed over 1,300 projects for clients all over the world, such as Disney, NBA, Adidas, Cisco, Nokia, Nike, Mercedes Benz, Coca-Cola, Santander, AmBev, Qualcomm, Unilever, City of Rio and Fiat.

Mixed Reality Marketing Summit in NYC Nov 5th

Use discount code VRARAFlash for 25% discount on your ticket!

See the event website here

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Mixed Reality Marketing Summit, the world’s first AR, VR, MR conference completely focused on educating marketers, entrepreneurs and business owners on how to successfully enter the augmented reality and virtual reality space, will take place in New York City Nov. 5th. The groundbreaking, one-day summit will equip marketers on how to successfully enter the immersive space or continue experimenting with AR, VR or MR in their marketing mix.  

This event is for entrepreneurs, CMOs, agency managers/owners, educators and any professional in the marketing, digital, communications, advertising and public relations industries, who are interested in learning from some the world’s leading VR AR marketing leaders and want to future-proof their careers for the coming revolution in mixed, augmented and virtual reality marketing.

This event is co-presented and co-produced with the VR/AR Association NYC Chapter

Hear from some of the top voices in VR and AR marketing including the following brands:

  • Snapchat

  • Best Western

  • HP

  • Adobe

  • Facebook

  • Wayfair

  • VentureBeat

  • World Surf League

  • Intel

  • AKQA

  • Digiday and more 

Recap of our Italy Milan’s Chapter Dinner

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VRARA Italy Chapter hosted a dinner for the VR/AR Association Milan’s Chapter.

At the event there were present both members and enthusiasts about the association, coming from a wide range of industries, all sharing the passion for Augmented and Virtual Reality. It hasn’t just been an opportunity to meet each others and to consolidate ties and relationships among members, but also a moment to discuss goals and proposals of the Association’s Milanese Chapter for the upcoming year.

The Italian VR/AR ecosystem is becoming everyday more and more solid, with startups and companies among the most valuable in the italian and international landscape.

One of the things we are most proud of is the heterogeneity of our members, which includes specialists from the most diverse sectors: from edutainment to gaming to the enterprise, from software development to sound design/engineering for this new way of experiencing reality. We are sure that such a multitude of diverse professionals can only provide a solid foundation for the growth of the network.

We are enthusiastic about how the event has been perceived and how people from such different backgrounds have been able to find themselves united by the passion for these emerging technologies.

The next VRARA event will be launched in Milan/Italy soon, contact us if you want to get in touch with the association or if you’re interested to join our next gig!

More pics from the dinner event here.

The VR/AR Global Summit Draws Major Asian Interest

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South Korea, Taiwan contingents see Vancouver B.C. as the gateway to North American expansion

By Chuck Chiang 

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Vancouver's rising profile in the virtual reality and augmented reality (VR/AR) industry is attracting Asian startups looking for room to grow outside of their confined domestic markets.

The city’s drawing power could be seen in late September, when the VR/AR Global Summit, now under the purview of the VR/AR Association after a two-year run as the CVR show, drew at least two major Asian delegations, each bringing five startups and newly established firms to find a North American foothold in Vancouver.

The delegations are from South Korea and Taiwan, two of the Four Asian Tigers whose economies grew rapidly from the 1960s to the 1990s. In both cases, these markets have stagnated in recent years, and officials say they are now looking in a “blue ocean” sector like VR/AR, where innovation and first-movers advantage still reign supreme, to spur improvements in their domestic business climates.

Extended reality (XR), the umbrella term for technologies involving the interaction of real and virtual environments, “is very new, and it requires space to develop,” said Fiona Chen, vice-president of marketing for Taiwan’s Digi Space Co. Ltd., an incubator that led the Taiwanese delegation.

Chen noted the group chose Vancouver and the VR/AR Global Summit instead of known tech meccas like the Silicon Valley and Seattle, because “the opportunity for working together is bigger in a newer ecosystem. Given the policies in the United States moving toward protectionism, we are more attracted to the Canadian attitude toward overseas businesses, and that openness is very important to foster innovation.”

The five companies in the Taiwanese delegation were chosen specifically to tailor to Vancouver interests, Chen said. VR/AR animation creators Moonshine and Studio 2 Animation Lab want to set up shop in Vancouver to serve B.C.’s visual effects industry and its work on major Hollywood movie projects. Interior VR visualization companies Follia and iStaging are targeting B.C.’s real estate developers by presenting “virtual showroom” projects.

Augmented Intelligence Inc. develops VR simulations for medical and patient engagement. Chen said she wanted the delegation’s presence to break the traditional image of Taiwan as solely a major player in semiconductor hardware manufacturing.

The South Korean delegation, led by the non-profit Gyeonggi Content Agency (GCA), also brought one company from the medical field: M2S, a startup specializing in VR eye examinations. But GCA representatives also noted they are presenting projects with much more of a focus on consumers, such as Dimicolon’s interchangeable gaming controller that can mimic the feel and functions of steering wheels and firearms in a VR/AR environment.

The GCA-led delegation also includes AR memorial app developer Way Co., consumer web-VR content platform creator Cubros, and Ottiya, an online creative learning platform that allows educators and innovators to share content from across the globe.

GCA delegation leader Anna Yim noted that Vancouver was chosen earlier this year as one of three global locations on which South Korea will focus its international collaboration efforts (the two others are New York and Manchester, U.K.).

And while B.C. tech officials said the delegations demonstrate Vancouver’s increasing clout in the VR/AR field, they stressed the rising interest in the sector should also be taken as an opportunity to improve in areas, such as related gaming and e-sport trends, where B.C. lags behind players in South Korea.

One official attending a Vancouver GCA event after the summit noted that, by catching up to Asia’s tech trends more quickly than other western markets, Vancouver would gain another edge in its bid to expand VR/AR development against competitors like Seattle and the Silicon Valley.

“I think everybody is aware that … there used to be a long time lag between innovations in online gaming in South Korea coming over to the West,” said James Hursthouse, former director of DigiBC and a veteran tech consultant in the area of B.C.-Korea collaborations.

“For example, people [in North America] have recently started to say e-sports is the new trend, but I remember going to the World Cyber Games in Korea all the way back in 2002. So there was this four-to-five-year lag, but that’s now increasingly condensed.”

To get the B.C.-South Korea tech relationship to a level where deals can be signed, the Korean delegation is staying in Vancouver for 12 days to drum up business, Hursthouse noted. He added that, with GCA sending many of the same representatives to New York and Manchester before presenting bids back in Korea, the potential for Vancouver companies to work through the GCA with VR/AR players in the United States and Great Britain is also an intriguing proposition.

“For the next year or so, the focus will really be on bringing closer not only the relationship between Korea and these identified markets, but also to promote partnerships among those three destinations in general,” Hursthouse said.

VR/AR Global Summit organizer and VR/AR Association founder Nathan Pettyjohn said he is happy to see the event becoming increasingly attractive to startups from Asia but added that he often feels that Vancouverites, even some within the tech industry, are not aware of the opportunity presented by the city’s expanding VR/AR clout.

“In the next 10 to 15 years, there’s literally $1 trillion at stake in this industry.”

Pettyjohn added that he wants to draw 2,000 to 3,000 attendees to next year’s Vancouver summit. This year’s event drew around 900.

“A lot of people are already using the technology without knowing it. If you’ve used Snapchat, you’ve used it. The consumer engagement is already there … and it will continue to grow because, in a way, VR is the closest thing we have to time travel. You are transported to a different time and space, in what we call ‘cognitive engineering.’ That’s something that can have a big impact on future consumer behaviour and brand loyalty.” 

Source

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Stambol leadership team was honored to speak at the VR/AR Global Summit (Video)

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“XR Marketing – The Future of Real Estate” Panel: (left to right) Aubrey Tucker (Stantec), Emily Olman (SpatialFirst), Dogu Taskiran (Stambol Studios), Nathan Nasseri (REinVR), Matt Grant (LNG Studios) Image Courtesy of Omicron

“XR Marketing – The Future of Real Estate” Panel: (left to right) Aubrey Tucker (Stantec), Emily Olman (SpatialFirst), Dogu Taskiran (Stambol Studios), Nathan Nasseri (REinVR), Matt Grant (LNG Studios) Image Courtesy of Omicron

The Stambol leadership team was honoured to speak at the VR/AR Global Summit 2018 last weekend here in Vancouver.

This event brought together a huge cross-section of the XR community, from feisty start-ups to mega brands. Hardware developers, content creators, and all points in between had the chance to meet, network, learn, and collaborate under one roof for two jam-packed days.

Stambol CEO Dogu Taskiran joined a panel of other industry leaders to discuss the Future of Real Estate Marketing. Topics covered included communicating the benefits of immersive technology with Real Estate clients as well as user accessibility and quality of experience

“It’s events like this that confirm our belief, not only that VR is the future, but that Vancouver is the place our team can do its best work,” said Dogu Taskiran.

“The Architect of the Future” by Mehmet Taskiran, Chief Creative Officer of Stambol Studios (Image Courtesy of VR/AR Association)

“The Architect of the Future” by Mehmet Taskiran, Chief Creative Officer of Stambol Studios (Image Courtesy of VR/AR Association)

“We’ve watched our industry grow from a few fledgling start-ups into a vibrant ecosystem of tech leaders and disruptive innovators. We are fortunate to occupy a space, figuratively and literally, where our industry peers are echoing what we’ve been saying for years. VR is the future of Real Estate Marketing.”

From a completely different angle, our CCO Mehmet Taskiran gave a compelling talk titled The Architect of The Future. His talk explored much more than the process of designing and constructing buildings; he touched on ideas about how humanity as a whole can ultimately benefit from the evolution of immersive technology.

“It’s important that we, as pioneers in a relatively new industry, convey the pure creative potential of our products. We have amazing technological tools at our disposal now which put each creator in the position of the great proverbial Architect. We will be world-builders, transforming human experience by re-imagining what our audience sees and feels.”

 

The Summit was an exciting opportunity for our leaders to connect with many other industry professionals. Our team had the chance to meet in person with peers only ever encountered on LinkedIn or Facebook. Stambol will be eagerly awaiting the next Summit to see what another year of progress brings to all of us in the Extended Reality community.

Source

Free Report: Are you ready to leverage AR technology in your service strategy but aren’t sure where to start to get the most value?

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In How Augmented Reality Drives Real-World Gains in Service, Training, Sales & Marketing, and Manufacturing, IDC does a deep dive into how AR is enhancing service and the ways it is already driving ROI. 

Based on survey results included in the report, 62% of service organizations say AR is providing measurable value for service in the following ways:

 Better knowledge transfer among employees

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 Fewer truck rolls

Download a complimentary copy of “How Augmented Reality Drives Real-World Gains in Service, Training, Sales & Marketing, and Manufacturing” today to learn more about how AR is transforming the service industry.