Agisoft Metashape Pro and 3D PluraView monitors enable 3D-stereo photogrammetry at its best

3D stereo photogrammetry at the highest level: certified symbiosis of software and hardware with Agisoft Metashape Pro and 3D PluraView stereo monitor enables best viewing comfort in excellent 3D quality.

Where classic surveying reaches its productivity limits today, the 3D photogrammetry application Agisoft Metashape Pro is being used, often in a combination with so-called 'drones' or 'Unmanned Aerial Systems' (UAS). As part of the analysis and processing of geospatial data, Metashape Pro creates detailed, fully textured 3D models from digital recordings with the highest-possible level of accuracy and detailing. Metashape Pro is not only the ideal tool for working with UAS images, but also for big, large-format aerial cameras and terrestrial close-range pictures. Tens of thousands users worldwide already benefit from the level of detail and achievable precision of this application. Together with the 3D PluraView monitors from Schneider Digital, such cutting-edge software technology extends to excellent quality 3D-stereo visualization. Thanks to their excellent stereoscopic visualization quality, the 3D PluraView monitors from Schneider Digital open up the useof innovative 3D editing and measuring methods with the 3D Stealth Mouse S4-Z in Metashape for the first time! In combination, both high-end technologies together result in a perfect 3D-STEREO workplace solution for geospatial data acquisition, processing and product generation at the highest level. That is why the compatibility of Agisoft Matashape Pro with the entire 3D PluraView monitor product family has now been officially certified by the manufacturer Schneider Digital.

As a specialist in stereoscopic 3D hardware and visualization solutions with a global reach, Schneider Digital has been in close contact with the software company Agisoft for many years. Agisoft is considered a pioneer in the development of UAS and terrestrial photogrammetry solutions. From 2019 onwards, the company accelerated their functionality development for stereoscopic display and editing functions, due to rapidly growing customer demand. The 3D-stereo viewing and editing capability is especially important for UAS service providers for feature collection and in the creation and processing of dense 3D point clouds and textured building models. 

Since the June 2020 release (1.6.3), Agisoft has been integrating a number of important 3D-stereo functionality in Metashape Pro to convert digital images into detailed, completely textured 3D models. Agisoft supports the stereoscopic editing functions of the Stealth 3D Mouse S4-Z in Metashape Pro, with the help of which it is now possible to work particularly precisely and efficiently in (holographic) space. While the standard version of Metashape is sufficient for basic, non-geodetic requirements and smaller projects, the Pro version is very well suited to create extensive, georeferenced 3D GIS datasets, enabling also interactive stereoscopic digitization. With the Pro version, up to 50,000 images of a physical object or geographical area can be integrated and processed in a coherent image block. The rigid 3D bundle block adjustment enables tens of thousands of users of Metashape Pro to solve any kind 3D reconstruction, visualization, surveying, and mapping task efficiently and with maximum precision.

Due to its achievable accuracy, the software is used for UAS and aerial image triangulation, as well as for the processing of satellite images. Metashape Pro is also handling the creation of elevation models and processes terrestrial laser-scanning data, where objects are directly mapped and reconstructed with dense and precise 3D point clouds. At the heart of Metashape Pro are computationally intensive and precise reconstruction algorithms for the three-dimensional calculation and display of georeferenced objects, originally captured as densely matched surfaces by image sensors and as point clouds, originating from professional LiDAR equipment.

The Future of Geospatial Data is 3D-stereo visualization

Metashape Pro is definitely one of the most comprehensive photogrammetric software applications existing today. However, only in combination with high-performance hardware components, the real-time measurement, visualization and analysis of 3D datasets can be performed efficiently and true to reality. Key functionality elements are the stereoscopic visualization, 3D feature capture and connectivity to very large GIS databases. With the dual-screen 3D PluraView displays, Schneider Digital provides the optimal desktop solution for stereoscopic viewing and data editing. With display sizes up to 28” and 4K resolution per screen, the passive beam-splitter technology provides a daylight-usable, bright and otherwise unequaled, contrast-rich display of high-resolution GIS and BIM datasets.

Agisoft Metashape Pro allows for the reliable and precise processing of very large datasets and has become an indispensable part of workflow processes for many geospatial experts. UAS systems today may capture image series with several thousand images and resolutions reaching 1cm and less. In terrestrial close-range imaging even less than 1mm pixel size is achievable. Terabyte-sized datasets can be calculated with Metashape Pro and the right processing hardware without any problems. The capability to process large datasets with ultra-high resolution is routinely used in the digital reconstruction of buildings and terrain models. A notable application being archeology, when recording and reconstructing cultural sites and assets.

With Metashape Pro, 3D models can also be recorded multiple times and displayed as a 4D time series. Due to its ability to realistically display geospatial background data together with highly detailed building models, Metashape Pro is also the ideal software for surveyors and architects. The main functionalities of this software solution are:

• To load and process diverse geospatial datasets, especially from aerial imaging and LiDAR sensors

• To positionally adjust, rigidly triangulate thousands of aerial images in photo blocks

• To geocode digital images, topographic maps, point clouds, CAx data integration

• To provide a comprehensive tool-set for stereoscopic feature collection and GIS-based attribution

• To auto-correlate digital terrain surfaces (DSM) and provide tools for editing, creating DTM output

• To adjust image data radiometrically and generate seamless, orthorectified mosaics

• To convert geospatial 3D data into various projections and height reference models

• To provide processing workflows for multispectral (thermal) UAS and aerial images

• To process LiDAR point cloud data and co-register with positionally accurate objects

• To integrate panchromatic and multispectral satellite images for geocoding and feature collection

• To generate textured and geocoded 3D models of objects and buildings

Best viewing comfort with excellent 3D quality

For the past 16 years, the passive beamsplitter monitor technology of the 3D PluraView monitors, especially in the geographic information industry, has been the reference with the highest user satisfaction and user acceptance among all stereoscopic display systems.

As a further developed successor to the beamsplitter monitors from PLANAR, very large amounts of data can be spatially visualized in the highest resolution with up to 4K / UHD per stereo channel. Especially on the 4K displays, the image quality is so extraordinary that even finely textured objects are being displayed razor-sharp and rich in contrast, down to the smallest detail. At the same time, the passive 3D PluraView monitors are particularly durable and reliable. They deliver the substantial benefit of being able to work fatigue-free in all 3D stereo applications, even in normal office daylight conditions. Due to the passive 90° linear polarization filter glasses, which require a screen each for the left and right stereo image, the 3D PluraView monitors are absolutely flicker-free and completely independent of the room’s light source.

Maximum Metashape performance due to complete workplace solutions

All of the 3D PluraView models are ‘plug & play’ compatible with the software application Metashape Pro. These 3D displays support professional software applications with high refresh and smooth image motion, combined with high color depth and contrast. The reliable 3D PluraView technology from Schneider Digital is the basis for precise, stereoscopic display capabilities of the highest quality. As a stereo-capable software solution, Agisoft Metashape always utilizes the full performance potential of each workstation: All components, i.e., multi-core CPUs, graphic cards and RAM memory are used optimally, in order to fully exploit and scale-up the performance of Metashape. Schneider Digital is also a specialized manufacturer of powerful high-end PULSARON workstations, based on AMD and the CENTURON series, based on Intel CPUs, both equipped with professional graphic cards from NVIDIA or AMD. These custom-built workstations are built to meet the individual requirements of the expert user and are optimally supporting Metashape in all processing tasks. Supplemented by special 3D hand-held controllers, such as the Stealth S4-Z or the 3Dconnexion SpaceMouse, complete processing environments are created by Schneider Digital with matching hardware components for computation, visualization, analysis and interaction with demanding, graphics-intensive 3D projects. Agisoft users benefit from a complete workplace solution by Schneider Digital, which guarantees highest workstation performance and provides an optimal stereoscopic image visualization and editing environment. This ideal combination and the compatibility of the Agisoft Metashape Pro software with the 3D PuraView monitors has now been officially certified by Schneider Digital.

Certified matching of software and hardware

How the interaction of Metashape Pro and the 3D PluraView monitor turns out in practice was successfully tested by Schneider Digital and Agisoft last year. As expected, both hardware and software met the high requirements of international standards in terms of quality and performance. The solutions have consequently been certified by both partners. For Josef Schneider, CEO of Schneider Digital, an important step forward: “We are delighted to be merging geospatial software and hardware into a high-performance combination through our collaboration with Agisoft. With the 3D PluraView monitor technology, we offer Metashape Pro users an ideal, truly spatial 3D visualization environment that enables them to experience Metashape 3D datasets individually or as a team in 3D-stereo. And this without having to wear restricting VR headsets."

Find out more at www.pluraview.com 

Schneider Digital Contact:

Schneider Digital

Josef J. Schneider e.K.

Maxlrainer Straße 10

D-83714 Miesbach

Tel.: +49 (8025) 99 300

Mail: info@schneider-digital.com   

Schneider Digital – The company:

Schneider Digital is a global full-service solution provider for professional 3D-stereo, 4K/8K and VR/AR hardware. Based on its 25 years of industry and product experience as well as its excellent relationships with leading manufacturers, Schneider Digital offers innovative, sophisticated professional hardware products and customized complete solutions for professional use. Qualified advice and committed after-sales service are the company's own standards.

The Schneider Digital product portfolio includes the right professional hardware solution for the respective requirements in these areas: High resolution 4K/8K to multi-display walls. Schneider Digital is the manufacturer of its own powerwall solution smartVR-Wall and the passive stereo monitor 3D PluraView. Performance workstations and professional graphics cards from AMD and NVIDIA as well as innovative hardware peripherals (tracking, input devices, etc.) round off the product range. Many articles are in stock. This guarantees fast delivery and project realization.

Schneider Digital is an authorised service distributor of AMD FirePRO/Radeon Pro, PNY/NVIDIA Quadro, 3Dconnexion, Stealth int., Planar and EIZO. Schneider Digital products are used primarily in graphics-intensive computer applications such as CAD/CAM/CAE, FEM, CFD, simulation, GIS, architecture, medicine and research, film, TV, animation and digital imaging.

Further information is available at www.schneider-digital.com and www.3d-pluraview.com.

Schneider Digital press contact:

LEAD Industrie-Marketing GmbH

André Geßner Tel.: +49 80 22 - 91 53 188

Hauptstr.46 E-Mail: agessner@lead-industrie-marketing.de

D-83684 TegernseeInternet:www.lead-industrie-marketing.de

Get featured in our VR/AR Africa Ecosystem Report! And, call for Sponsors!

We're currently in the process of generating our Africa VR/AR Ecosystem Report for Q4 2021.

For any company, organization, school who would like to be included in this report, please send us a message and we'll get back to you with all the relevant information, more details are below!

Also, we are seeking sponsors for our report. Sponsors will write the foreword, be featured on the cover and in our promotions for the report, and more! Send us a message if you are interested in sponsoring!

Africa VR/AR Ecosystem Report Q4 2021

VR/AR Association Nigeria Chapter is producing an industry report on Africa's Virtual and Augmented Reality ecosystem to promote companies and organizations involved with immersive technologies and media across Africa.

Africa's and especially Nigeria's immersive market is growing rapidly. We already have companies, agencies, and brands developing VR and AR solutions. This ranges from small startups to large organizations with operations in Nigeria or Africa developing immersive technologies for local and global use.

In addition, many Universities, Research Centers, and Training Centers research, discuss and develop immersive technologies all across the country and the continent.

Our local chapter has developed relevant partnerships with important local institutions, to join forces and work together to be even stronger and to spread immersion technology throughout the country, and also looking out for the African market.

Our Industry Report will specifically highlight the following:

• Size of the Nigerian and African markets

• Number of relevant companies in Africa

• Directory and Company info (size: number of employees, revenue; vertical, customers)

Our report will be promoted via global VRARA channels and partners, which includes: 55k emails in our db, on our website (25K unique visitors per month), and social media (60K followers).

Would you be interested to have your company featured in this report? If yes, please send us a message

Training in Augmented Reality

By Angelica Jasper, Claire Hughes, Kay Stanney, Jennifer Riley, & Cali Fidopiastis of Design Interactive, Inc.

Virtual and Augmented Reality (VR/AR) are experiencing massive growth as  platforms to support educational efforts, with an estimated $700M being invested in immersive education applications by 2025. Interestingly, while an estimated 80% of teachers already have ready access to VR/AR head worn displays, few use them regularly, but most want to uncover how best to incorporate them into the educational process. The desire to adopt VR/AR technology likely stems from its high efficacy, as on average, immersive training solutions have been found to be more effective and efficient than traditional training of cognitive, technical, and socio-emotional skills. The learning gains (pre- to post- test) from immersive training average 2.5% more per 1⁄4 hour of training for cognitive skills versus traditional training and 2.95% per hour gain in technical skills versus traditional training. Further, immersive training realizes ~30% more performance efficiency and equivalent fewer errors versus traditional training, with increases of ~30% in confidence and self-efficacy, though standard deviations tend to be high. These gains are believed to be derived from the immersive nature of VR/AR that can bolster knowledge acquisition, information retention, engagement, and presence. Users can proactively interact with 3D content in the confines of reality, facilitating enriching learning approaches. Within the military medical training domain, AR has successfully supported a variety of healthcare knowledge and skills including surgical training, anatomy lessons, and heart disease education. AR may be particularly suited to military medical training) because it provides innovative image-guided approaches, often with interactive, 3D images that provide a variety of real-time feedback (e.g., haptic feedback) through hands-on learning. Realistic, real-time feedback is crucial within the military medical domain due to fast-paced nature of the battlefield. 

Despite the documented benefits of AR for learning and training, the AR industry is still working to overcome several developmental obstacles that may negatively impact information retention and performance. For instance, there is some evidence for attentional tunneling and skill transfer problems that inhibit learning in AR. Further, the connection between individual psychological characteristics and learning performance in AR is limited, leaving the question remaining: What makes someone well suited and responsive to learning in AR? 

Individual Differences in Learning

Individuals differ in their ability to learn and retain information. Successful adult learning has been linked to psychological abilities, including processing speed, memory, and general intelligence. These propensities can be further impacted by both an individual’s level of internal motivation and their ability to believe that they have control over their lives, also known as internal locus of control. Performance is often enhanced by an internal locus of control in adult learners, which has been significantly connected to self-efficacy. 

Self-efficacy refers to an individual’s personal judgement of how well they can perform at something given the skills they have. Someone with strong self-efficacy is more inclined to view challenges as a motivating factor to overcome and is driven to learning and growing their skillset. This individual psychological characteristic has been repeatedly linked to more successful learning performance, including higher engagement with the content and can even predict future learning successes. Differences in self-efficacy may be reflective of learning performance in many contexts, including a variety of medical trainings. Thus, the increased self-efficacy associated with VR/AR training is beneficial to learning.

Real-World Application

Recent work from Design Interactive seeks to establish what makes an individual receptive to learning in AR, specifically in the context of tactical casualty combat care (TCCC), a standardized military medical training curriculum. Design Interactive has developed AUGMED™, an AR-based TCCC trainer designed to teach and assess TCCC skills in an interactive, simulated environment.  

In a recent study, AUGMED™ was used to assess the psychological effects of AR in order to better characterize “AR Psychological Suitability”, which characterizes the extent to which a context is receptive to and a system is capable of producing learning and desirable psychological and human performance outcomes in AR environments. Participants experienced a series of training modules to guide them through treatment of massive hemorrhage and battlefield respiratory injuries. Using the AR lessons as a guide, participants were then required to perform procedures and complete skills tests to assess overall learning performance. 

Researchers parsed participants into low, medium, and high-performance groups to evaluate performer differences, including the individual psychological characteristic of self-efficacy. Group difference analyses revealed that high performers consistently had greater levels of self-efficacy associated with AR training, whereas low performers had lower levels of self-efficacy.  In other words, those who believed they could perform the medical tasks given their AR lessons (in combination with any previously held knowledge) were the most successful at retaining the learned information (as measured by a skills test) and applying it in the experimental scenario. These findings are consistent with and reflective of prior self-efficacy and learning research, indicating that the AUGMED™ training suite may produce intended learning outcomes. 

Suitability for AR Learning 

Results from this study indicate that those individuals with higher self-efficacy exhibited better learning outcomes in an AR environment than those with low self-efficacy. These individuals with higher self-efficacy were more responsive to the AR learning modality whereas those with low self-efficacy may need more support (e.g., additional hints, explanations, guidance) when training in immersive environments. As these types of innovative technologies emerge and become mainstream, it will become even more valuable to identify the role of individual psychological factors that affect AR learning performance.

Contact:

Angelica Jasper

Angelica.Jasper@designinteractive.net

Immersitech launches patented immersive spatial (3D) audio SDKs to compliment online communication applications

Immersitech, a leading developer of patented sound processing technologies, announced the commercial launch of its Immersitech Engage™ with easy-to-integrate software development kits (SDKs). Immersitech’s technology addresses sound challenges experienced by collaboration, gaming, and multi-user, virtual event platforms by reducing background noise, improving voice clarity, and introducing immersive spatial audio to provide the most in-person-like experience available.

Immersitech’s new product offering provides flexibility for service provider development teams to easily use a sound improvement technology within the current platform seamlessly and effortlessly. “Many service providers are overwhelmed trying to address foundational quality issues while also adding new features. We augment those teams with our expertise in audio processing and allow them to deliver higher quality services faster,” notes CEO & Co-founder, Jim Poore.

Immersitech’s technology is now available globally by contacting Bill Sweeney, Director – Business Development & Sales at info@immersitech.io

ERIC PRYDZ ANNOUNCES EXCLUSIVE VR CONCERT SERIES WITH SENSORIUM GALAXY

Award-winning producer Eric Prydz is joining the Sensorium Galaxy Metaverse to host a series of exclusive performances in PRISM — the world’s most anticipated virtual destination for extraordinary music events.

Commenting on the new collaboration, Eric Prydz said: “I believe metaverses are taking digital events to the next stage, which is one of the main elements that has drawn me to become part of this project. As live streams fail to deliver the emotions and interactions of real-life concerts, the flexibility of what Sensorium is building offers me a whole new and unique way to connect with my audience and discover an entirely new dimension of music.”

Prydz has been at the forefront of electronic music for more than a decade, thanks to his visceral productions and exhilarating live shows. His bold and ambitious concerts are known for pushing the limits of music and technology to create experiences that get the entire dance world talking, something that aligns perfectly with Sensorium Galaxy’s vision for music experiences.

This hugely influential artist is the first DJ to join Sensorium Galaxy in 2021. Last year, a series of world-acclaimed DJs confirmed their performances on PRISM, including the legendary David Guetta, Armin van Buuren, Carl Cox, Black Coffee, Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike.

Aside from his upcoming virtual shows in PRISM, Eric Prydz is also taking part in Sensorium Galaxy’s international brand reveal campaign ‘The Chosen Ones’. He is the first artist to be featured on a series of short videos conceptualized by Academy-Award winning creative production studio The Mill, and renowned creative agencies The Night League and High Scream. These agencies have a record for delivering outstanding productions, visual effects, and virtual experiences for clients such as Ford, Disney, Nike, Coca-Cola, Burberry, and many other top-grade brands.

This campaign is directed by Rogier Schalken, an award-winning Dutch film director responsible for bringing to life global advertising projects for KLM Music, Samsung DiscoVR, and Adidas’ Leo Messi Road to FIFA. The Chosen Ones’ introduces people to the music-dedicated virtual world by featuring the confirmed artists and incorporating PRISM’s brutalist and futurist vibes and signature design elements.

Sasha Tityanko, Deputy CEO for Sensorium Galaxy: “PRISM is a unique destination for artists. Our virtual setup is constantly mutating based on music. And that’s exactly why this collaboration with Eric is so great. His distinctive progressive style matches perfectly with our goal to create out-of-this-world immersive experiences for users.”

Sensorium Galaxy incorporates advanced social features to enhance user experience in virtual setups. With their eye-catching, AI-powered avatars, users can watch performances from multiple angles, heights, and even see through the DJ’s eyes. Multi-channel communication also enables them to connect and communicate with other users and artists in a surprisingly natural manner.

Yann Pissenem: “I’ve been working together with Eric for many years. All of his shows have delivered high-tech experiences and helped to raise the bar in the entire industry. I am excited to see how he can leverage the endless possibilities provided by virtual reality to deliver fully immersive DJ performances.”

Sensorium Galaxy is expected for public launch in H2 2021. Global coverage and cross-platform compatibility ensure that all fans of Prydz have the opportunity to enjoy the progressive vibes of his best shows regardless of their physical location.

Contact:

Name: ELENA RUDOVSKAYA

Email Address: elena.rudovskaya@sensoriumxr.com

Website URL: https://sensoriumxr.com/

Nextech to Launch Augmented Reality NFT Hologram Creator Platform

VANCOUVER, B.C., Canada – July 26th, 2021 – Nextech AR Solutions Corp. (“Nextech'' or the “Company”) (OTCQB: NEXCF) (NEO: NTAR) (CSE: NTAR) (FSE: N29), an emerging leader in augmented reality for eCommerce, AR learning applications, AR-enhanced video conferencing and virtual events, today revealed plans to launch its NFT hologram creator platform. The creator platform will leverage the Company's human hologram creator platform HoloX, which is expected to launch in the third quarter. Once launched, customers will have the ability to seamlessly experience its digital collectibles in augmented reality.

According to Reuters, “The market for non-fungible tokens (NFTs) surged to new highs in the second quarter, with $2.5 billion in sales so far this year, up from just $13.7 million in the first half of 2020, marketplace data showed. An NFT is a crypto asset, representing an intangible digital item such as an image, video, or in-game item. Owners of NFTs are recorded on blockchain, allowing an NFT to be traded as a stand-in for the digital asset it represents”.

The Company has a two staged rollout plan where initially AR human holograms are purchased through a third-party NFT marketplace, then viewed and experienced outside a digital wallet using Nextech’s HoloX application. The second stage of the rollout includes minting the NFT on Nextech’s platform and being able to buy and sell human holograms on Nextech’s platform.

The Company is also in talks with existing marketplaces to leverage its newly acquired Threedy.AI 3D content creation technology to turn existing NFT artwork into AR NFTs at scale using Nextech’s Threedy AI. Through a simple JavaScript tag integration, NFT product photos are automatically onboarded, 3D models are created for each NFT through the power of AI and hosted on the Threedy’s cloud, and 3D visualizations are served to client properties using web AR/3D, all within a single integrated platform. This platform will support the production of thousands of 3D models per week, further advancing the reach of the NFT market.

Dawsyn Borland, VP of AR Innovation Labs and Content comments:

“This venture is an exciting step forward for Nextech and a big move for creators and consumers alike. AR experiences are extremely well positioned as NFTs, as they not only display digital content but allow buyers to interact with them.” She continues, “Our current technology stack is perfectly in line with the global adoption of NFTs and we are thrilled to meet this growing demand.”

Evan Gappelberg, CEO of Nextech comments:

“This is an exciting new market opportunity for our Company and when the NFT enabled platform is completed it will squarely put us into the world of blockchain by merging our AR tech with NFT technology.” He continues, “Our AR creation technology leverages AI allowing us to scale up the production of high-quality and personalized content as a hologram NFT, be it your favorite athletes, artist or artwork. We are continuing to build leading edge AR solutions for fast growing industries by coming up with innovative ways of leveraging our tech stack. Our goal has always been to create long term shareholder value and with this new AR NFT innovation I believe we are succeeding at doing just that.”

Human holograms are a force that is driving the digital economy. According to Gartner**, by 2035, the digital human economy will become a $125-billion market. Digital human technologies are growing exponentially across many of today’s industries and use cases, with an eye toward more use cases tomorrow.

**“Maverick Research: Digital Humans Will Drive Digital Transformation”; Gartner Inc., March 31, 2021

Further details about Nextech’s NFT will be announced next month.

See more info here

Contact:

Name: Judith Planella

Email Address: judith.planella@nextechar.com

LBX Immersive Provides Virtual Reality Headset Solutions to the Stanford University School of Medicine

Mare Island, California - July 28, 2021 - In April 2021, LBX Immersive leased virtual reality headsets to the Stanford University School of Medicine to be used in its first-ever Operative Neuroanatomy Course in Virtual Reality. Providing affordable and accessible virtual reality solutions to institutions of higher education is one of the core missions of LBX Immersive. 

The team at LBX Immersive believes that integrating virtual reality into more traditional modes of learning helps students gain a deeper understanding of course material. In addition to this, we believe that it is important to introduce students to the concept of virtual reality as it starts to become an important component in the workflow of many professions. Professional fields currently using virtual reality include surgery, pharmaceuticals, medical research, design, and simulation training. 

Through our strategic partnerships with highly experienced VR/XR content and platform creators, we can offer medical schools and programs the most productive learning experiences. It is possible to step inside a 3D model of the human brain through the ENGAGE platform “360 Room” or perform a cost-effective cadaveric dissection through VictoryXR Cadaver Lab. These immersive experiences and spaces enable students to successfully conceptualize complex lessons and ideas. 

LBX Immersive works directly with department heads, faculty, and students to determine the right solution for their VR/XR goals. Clients tell us what VR/XR education experience they’re trying to create and we provide a complete solution that includes hardware, software, and/or custom content, device management, and training. If clients know they want to adopt VR/XR into their course offerings but don’t know how to, we provide the expertise to consult and guide the process. 

To learn more about our VR/XR solutions, contact us: info@lbximmersive.com

About LBX Immersive:

LBX Immersive is an experienced team providing E3  (Education, Enterprise, Entertainment) virtual reality and mixed reality solutions. We sell complete solution packages that include consulting, hardware, content, custom content, device management, and training. Our goal is to support you from start to finish on your VR/XR journey. To find out more visit https://lbximmersive.com/, follow us on Linkedin, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. 

Pico chosen as first VR headset provider to support new Audi-backed holoride SDK

holoride announced the launch of its Elastic Software Development Kit (SDK) on the newly launched holoride Creator Space. Created to run on the Unity game engine, the Elastic SDK enables developers to access a powerful toolset to create immersive, in-car game experiences with ease.

The Elastic SDK is a creative reinterpretation of real-world maps and geographic information that is projected into the Unity Scene, which is where creators work with content assets within the Unity platform. Creating content does not require any additional coding or developing skills for an initial build and, therefore, lowers the barrier for content creators to get started right away.

Pico Interactive is the first virtual reality headset provider to support the holoride experience through the Creator Space. Developers who use Pico’s VR headsets will be able to take their creations beyond their computers and experience them in combination with holoride’s Development Kit.

holoride Launches Elastic Software Development Kit on Unity’s Real-Time 3D Platform for Developers to Create In-Vehicle XR Content

holoride, the Audi-backed company advancing the future of in-vehicle entertainment, today released its Elastic Software Development Kit (SDK) on the newly launched holoride Creator Space. Created to run on the Unity (NYSE: U) game engine, the world’s leading platform for creating and operating real-time 3D (RT3D) content, the Elastic SDK enables developers to access a powerful toolset to create immersive, in-car game experiences with ease.

holoride is building the world’s first immersive in-vehicle media platform by enabling processing motion and location-based data in real-time using the Unity game engine. holoride’s content adjusts to the motion of the vehicle and route and perfectly syncs with the passenger’s journey. Through this, holoride creates a new media category made for moving vehicles called Elastic Content, which allows for a novel approach in content creation.

“The release of our Elastic SDK marks an important milestone for holoride in preparation for our market launch in 2022,” says Nils Wollny, CEO & co-founder of holoride. “We’re opening a world full of possibilities for content creators to start building contextual, immersive experiences for passengers. By eliminating tech and business complexity, we encourage content creators to unleash their full creative potential and embark on this ride to build great content.”

The Elastic SDK is at the core of this creative development process and the powerful software that drives the holoride experience. It is a creative reinterpretation of real-world maps and geographic information that is projected into the Unity Scene, which is where creators work with content assets within the Unity platform. Creating content does not require any additional coding or developing skills for an initial build and, therefore, lowers the barrier for content creators to get started right away. By adding prefabricated assets like renderers, animations, rigid bodies and audio, content creators can easily populate the worlds they create.

“From next-generation infotainment systems to augmented and virtual reality-powered experiences, Unity is changing how in-vehicle content is created and consumed,” says Timoni West, vice president, augmented & virtual reality at Unity. “holoride is revolutionizing the way that we can interact with moving objects, both in the digital and physical world and is representative of how Unity’s platform is the underlying SDK for the metaverse.”

As people start to make better use of their travel time, in-vehicle Elastic Content becomes an attractive option for passengers – whether for entertainment value or to reduce motion-sickness. Giving creators access to more experiential reality (XR) and VR technology opens up more avenues for content creation as vehicles become the next big thing in platform content.

To further the content creation process, holoride has built the Creator Space. The Creator Space includes everything users need for their development journey, including the Elastic SDK, documentations and tutorials curated by holoride and continuously enriched by the developer community. Beyond these tools, it is a platform for developers, artists and enthusiasts alike to collaborate in creating richer content.

To encourage content creators to get started with the Elastic SDK, holoride has built the Development Kit, a prototype that provides all essential data so creators can conduct real-world tests in a car. The Development Kit will allow content creators to demo the content they have built using the Elastic SDK and provide them with valuable insights aside from simulating it in the game engine.

With support from Audi and Unity, holoride will offer developers to experience Elastic Content first-hand with original content created by Pittsburgh-based AAA studio Schell Games in a roadshow from Los Angeles to San Francisco. With holoride experts onsite, developers will have the chance to discuss the Elastic SDK and its wide range of capabilities.

Pico Interactive will be the first virtual reality headset provider to support the holoride experience through the Creator Space. Developers who use Pico’s VR headsets will be able to take their creations beyond their computers and experience them in combination with holoride’s Development Kit.

Any developer or gaming studio is eligible to apply for one of the limited development kits. To apply, visit holoride’s Creator Space at http://developer.holoride.com/

About holoride
German startup holoride creates an entirely new media category for passengers by connecting Extended Reality (XR) content with data points from the vehicle in real time. These data points include physical feedback, like acceleration and steering, traffic data, as well as travel route and time. holoride technology provides a new type of immersion into any kind of VR content, creating a breathtaking, immersive experience, and significantly reducing motion sickness. The tech startup was founded at the end of 2018 in Munich, Germany by Nils Wollny, Marcus Kuehne, Daniel Profendiner, and Audi, who holds a minority stake in the startup. It was hailed “Best of CES” four times (Las Vegas, January 2019), recognized as one of the 100 Best Inventions of 2019 by TIME Magazine and is part of the global innovation platform “STARTUP AUTOBAHN powered by Plug and Play.” In 2021, holoride went on to win the prestigious SXSW Pitch and was also named Best in Show.

For more information, please visit http://www.holoride.com/

About Unity
Unity (NYSE: U) is the world’s leading platform for creating and operating real-time 3D (RT3D) content. Creators, ranging from game developers to artists, architects, automotive designers, filmmakers, and others, use Unity to make their imaginations come to life. Unity’s platform provides a comprehensive set of software solutions to create, run and monetize interactive, real-time 2D and 3D content for mobile phones, tablets, PCs, consoles, and augmented and virtual reality devices. The company’s 1,800+ person research and development team keeps Unity at the forefront of development by working alongside partners to ensure optimized support for the latest releases and platforms. Apps developed by Unity creators have been downloaded more than five billion times per month in 2020.

For more information, please visit http://www.unity.com.

About Pico Interactive
Pico Interactive focuses on innovative VR and AR solutions which enable businesses to create and experience the best in VR and Interactive Computer-Generated Imagery (CGI). With operations in the United States, Europe, China and Japan, Pico Interactive focuses on creating amazing VR platforms for any application and is built around the principle of “user first design.”

To learn more, visit http://www.pico-interactive.com.

Call for Sponsors - UK Higher Education Report featuring Undergraduate and Postgraduate schools

Email info@thevrara.com for more info or sponsorship opportunity

Immersive technology is blowing up everywhere, and that includes Higher Education. As VR/AR transform the way we work, learn, shop, and even construct military strategies, Universities are fielding increased demand from employers and aspiring students to produce graduates with the skillsets to thrive in this nascent industry.

According to projections set out by the European Commission, market demands for qualified Technology specialists will see a shortfall of up to 750,000 professionals in 2025. With VR/AR being one sector with the highest market demand.

The result of this is a growing number of AR/VR courses being offered at the pre-university, undergraduate, and postgraduate level in the UK. From software development to digital art to imaging in engineering, this emerging technology is popping up in a wide range of disciplines.

At the VR/AR Association London Chapter, we have compiled a guide highlighting courses surrounding Immersive Technology currently being taught in some of the UK's finest higher education institutions.

Email info@thevrara.com for more info or sponsorship opportunity

Lenovo and Varjo Help Power Aston Martin’s Use of Mixed Reality

Legendary automaker, Aston Martin, is known for its commitment to luxury design and the ultimate customer experience. Using Lenovo’s ThinkStation P620 workstation, along with Varjo’s XR-3 headset, the company is pushing the boundaries of what’s possible to create a fully immersive experience of their first, high-performance SUV, the Aston Martin DBX. Mixed reality technology is allowing Aston Martin to not only iterate on designs faster, but also enhance dealer training and customer engagement with an ultra-realistic model of the Aston Martin DBX.

You can learn more about Aston Martin’s use of immersive technology in a customer video here. In the video, VP and Chief Marketing Officer at Aston Martin, Pete Freedman, delves into the various XR applications they’re exploring across the business, while spokespeople from both Lenovo and Varjo reveal how their respective hardware is bringing the Aston Martin DBX experience to life, all in human eye resolution.

LBX Immersive Becomes Reseller of VictoryXR World-Leading Virtual Reality Educational Content

Mare Island, California - July 21, 2021 - The team at LBX Immersive is excited to announce that we have signed a reseller partnership agreement with VictoryXR, a world leader in VR and AR content creation for schools and education. This partnership furthers the mission of LBX Immersive to provide quality content and complete VR solutions to our education clients. Through the reseller agreement, LBX Immersive clients can purchase licenses to VictoryXR Academy (the most advanced learning campus for synchronous, multi-student learning with a live teacher or pre-recorded lessons) and/or VXR.Direct (asynchronous VR learning platform with lessons on science, history, language, and more). These licenses can be bundled with LBX Immersive headset leasing solutions. 

At LBX Immersive, we work to provide affordable and accessible virtual reality solutions to High Schools and Universities. Our complete solutions include consulting, hardware, content, custom content, device management, and training. We strongly believe in the need for high-quality virtual reality experiences suited for the next generation of learning modalities. 

We are excited to be connected to such a well-respected name within the field of virtual reality and augmented reality educational product development. The combination of affordable VR headset solutions and high-end education content makes this a successful partnership. 

"VictoryXR is very selective about who we choose as partners. LBX Immersive is the type of premiere partner that we are happy to have on our team because they represent our product well."  - Steve Grubbs, CEO of VictoryXR

To learn more about our VictoryXR bundles, contact us: info@lbximmersive.com

About LBX Immersive:

LBX Immersive is an experienced team providing E3  (Education, Enterprise, Entertainment) virtual reality and mixed reality solutions. We sell complete solution packages that include consulting, hardware, content, custom content, device management, and training. Our goal is to help you from start to finish on your VR/XR journey. To find out more visit https://lbximmersive.com/, follow us on Linkedin, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. 

Desktop AR Educational Program Launched for 20,000 students in UK by Perception

Perception, a deep-tech company, is today releasing their Desktop Augmented Reality (AR) in the UK, using their HOLO-SDK technology, alongside a free educational programme to over 20,000 students.

The project includes Holo-SDK licenses for educators at zero cost - this will give students access to innovative technology that transports virtual items into the real world through AR.

Perception is offering free Holo-SDK licences to educators as part of their ‘Educational program’. As part of their efforts to make it easier for teachers to teach with VR/AR in an immersive and accessible way. The program will be distributed to 20,000 students across the UK.

Dr Sirisilp Kongsilp, Founder and CEO of Perception, says, “Desktop AR is an incredible technological achievement in making Augmented Reality accessible and simple to use, without the need for expensive hardware or high-tech AR glasses. Virtual and Augmented reality have started to dominate the tech sphere, but too often they are incredibly expensive, meaning the use of the products are limited to those in a particular financial category.”

Please find more details in the press release below.

PERCEPTION LAUNCHES A FREE EDUCATIONAL PROGRAM ALONGSIDE THE RELEASE OF HOLO-SDK TECHNOLOGY

Deep-tech company Perception are launching their Desktop Augmented Reality (AR) product onto the UK market. The HOLO-SDK technology is free to use, and makes augmented reality now accessible for most. Where real-life interactions have been stifled, this timely technological innovation can be used to make the arts more accessible in an educational environment. Perception is offering free Holo-SDK licences to educators as part of their ‘Educational program’. As part of their efforts to make it easier for teachers to teach with VR/AR in an immersive and accessible way.

Dr Sirisilp Kongsilp, Founder of Perception, says, “On account of Perception, I am extremely proud to introduce HOLO-SDK technology to the UK. This is an incredible technological achievement, in that we are making Augmented Reality accessible and simple to use, without the need for expensive hardware or high-tech AR glasses”.

Perception, a deep-tech company, has today announced the launch of their Holo-SDK software in the UK. Holo-SDK is a unity plugin which allows users to view holographic Augmented Reality images through their own desktop screen. This system is known as Desktop AR, which turns an ordinary 2D monitor into a volumetric display. It brings virtual objects into the real-world using a webcam and anaglyph glasses.

The release of HOLO-SDK arrives alongside an educational program in which Holo-SDK licenses for educators are being given for free as part of their efforts to ensure easy access to their software as well as the educational opportunities provided by the software itself. The package includes several workshop materials such as a free 1 year educational license, a workshop source code and workshop manual.

HOLO-SDK has a range of unique technological intricacies with features that enhance the Augmented Reality it caters to and without users having to spend a fortune. It has the ability to track users’ head positions by utilising the webcam, which then in turn adjusts the virtual cameras; this is all made possible via Holo-SDK software. The system itself also renders holographic images according to a user's viewing position, allowing them to perceive a 360 degree experience of the object.

Perception is making this form of Augmented Reality readily accessible to many users, by limiting the requirements for this software; having a desktop webcam and compatible glasses are the only criteria. At home Desktop AR is entirely free, and users can make DIY red & blue glasses or purchase them online at little cost. The accessibility of this product means it has the capability as an integrated system that can function as an alternative to reality for many.

This form of Augmented Reality in this context can help re-connect students with arts and history; bringinging augmented reality cultural experience to life. It also can enable a certain intimacy with the arts and history, by enabling users to view the pieces up close, with unlimited time to assess and appreciate the content before them. It is a fantastic educational tool as well as for voyeuristic purposes for all types of users.

Dr Sirisilp Kongsilp, Founder and CEO of Perception, says, “I am extremely excited to share this HOLO-SDK technology with the UK. Desktop AR is an incredible technological achievement in making Augmented Reality accessible and simple to use, without the need for expensive hardware or high-tech AR glasses. Virtual and Augmented reality have started to dominate the tech sphere, but too often they are incredibly expensive, meaning the use of the products are limited to those in a particular financial category. Perception is set to disrupt this.”

Link

• https://www.holo-sdk.com/

• https://www.holo-sdk.com/educational-program

Media Contact

Lucy Johnston / lucy.johnston@mediazoo.tv / 07522 287745

About Perception

Perception Holo-SDK is a deep-tech company which is revolutionising the Augmented Reality sector by making it widely available across the globe, bringing objects to life through Desktop AR technology. Founded in Thailand in 2019, Perception is expanding into the UK with their immersive technology, to produce a creative desktop experience for individuals. Perception is set to reshape the arts and culture sector through partnerships with museums, galleries and artists which aim to preserve human history. Their marketplace The Morpheus Project, the first ever Holo-NFT art community, allows artists and galleries to display their holographic collectables to sell them to supporters. Their purpose-built Desktop AR platform allows any user to view 360 degree holographic images from the comfort of their own homes. Perception is increasingly making its way into the UK technology sector by partnering with app developers to get them on board with this state of the art AI tech.

Luxexcel launches platform for manufacturing of prescription lenses for smartglasses

VisionPlatform™ 7 integrates a ready-to-use suite of technology solutions to 3D print prescription smart eyewear

Eindhoven, The Netherlands – July 14th, 2021 – Today, Luxexcel announced its next-generation manufacturing platform, Luxexcel VisionPlatform™ 7, which makes it possible for businesses to integrate prescription lenses into the production of smartglasses in their manufacturing facilities. VisionPlatform™ 7 includes new features specifically geared towards manufacturing prescription smart lenses that are lightweight, thin, and can be used in commercial frames similar to traditional eyeglasses. The platform has been developed based on market demand and customer-specific needs for flexible yet high-performing manufacturing systems.

VisionPlatform™ 7 is technology-agnostic and integrates objects such as waveguides, holographic optical elements, and liquid crystal foils during the 3D printing process. The platform includes high-tech hardware, proprietary materials, advanced software, and processes – everything required to create prescription smart eyewear on-demand. With the capabilities to manufacture prescription smart eyewear, technology companies can accelerate their Augmented Reality (AR) eyewear projects and give designers the flexibility to create the smartglasses they want.

Fabio Esposito, Chief Executive Officer at Luxexcel says, “The launch of VisionPlatform™ 7 begins a new era in the manufacturing of prescription smart lenses. To compete in the race to launch consumer-ready smartglasses, eyewear manufacturers need to address prescription in their smartglasses devices. More than 75% of the adult world population today requires prescription lenses. Luxexcel provides a disruptive solution where smart technology is seamlessly combined with a prescription lens, rather than adding prescription power to the smart device as an afterthought. Luxexcel is accelerating the market introduction of true consumer smart glasses by allowing technology companies to manufacture prescription smart eyewear in the comfort of their own manufacturing home.”

This launch is off the back of Luxexcel’s successful product demo earlier this year, which proved that the three vital elements of AR smartglasses – prescription lens, a waveguide, and a projector in a fashionable device – can be combined into a 3D printed prescription lens. Luxexcel’s comprehensive material knowledge and family of custom materials ensures that the integrated objects bond well with the prescription material. VisionPlatform™ 7 also prints critical features, difficult or impossible to manufacture otherwise, such as the air gap required for a waveguide, and printed hardcoating, all without birefringence.

Guido Groet, Chief Strategy Officer at Luxexcel says, “To manufacture a device that combines prescription and smart functions requires a combination of skills in technology and optics. It can be difficult to find this combination of skill sets in one team, so we offer this experience to our partners. We provide our customers with a complete solution to manufacture prescription smart lenses so that they can focus on developing the technologies and content for the device. With VisionPlatform™ 7, more innovative features can be added to smartglasses and the only limitation is the imagination of the designer.”

VisionPlatform™ 7 features include:

• Integration of smart technologies: VisionPlatform™ 7 is technology agnostic and seamlessly integrates a variety of objects during the 3D printing process to create prescription smart eyewear. Integrated objects include smart technologies such as waveguides and holographic optical elements, as well as active or passive foils such as liquid crystals.

• Optimized printing processes: VisionPlatform™ 7 prints a range of powers from high to low on diameters from 65mm to below 1 mm. The platform also prints features difficult to produce with traditional lens making, such as air gaps required for waveguides, and micro lenses.

• Strong adhesion properties: Different adhesion promotors for various objects such as waveguides and holographic optical elements ensure that integrated objects bond well with the prescription material.

• New materials: Materials for high temperatures ensure that a range of anti-reflective and hydrophobic coatings can be applied to lenses as part of existing ophthalmic post-processing steps.

• Printed hardcoating: A printable hardcoat is integrated as part of the 3D printing process. Luxexcel delivers an even surface at a low temperature to protect smart technologies inside the lens, the technology can even coat selected areas.

• Lens design: Custom lens designs can be printed to address users’ most common refractive errors, such as single vision lenses and multifocal progressive designs, free form lenses as well as prisms.

About Luxexcel

Luxexcel is the world’s only technology provider for 3D printed commercial lenses. Our mission is to accelerate the adoption of consumer smart eyewear by meeting the needs of more than 75% of the adult world population requiring prescription lenses. We enable this with our patented 3D printing manufacturing platform. Original equipment and device manufacturers use our platform to design and produce custom, lightweight, smart prescription eyewear on-demand and in a fashionable form factor suitable for the mass market. Luxexcel’s head office is based in The Netherlands, with branch offices in Belgium and the United States.

Contact:

Name: Eva Flipse

Email Address: eva.flipse@luxexcel.com

Nextech AR Solutions Acquires 3D AI Modeling for E-commerce Company Threedy.ai Inc

Nextech AR acquires scalable 3D model creation platform powered by artificial intelligence Self-serve web AR enabled platform to drive mass adoption

VANCOUVER, B.C., Canada – June 22, 2021 – Nextech AR Solutions Corp. (“Nextech” or the “Company”) (OTCQB: NEXCF) (NEO: NTAR) (CSE: NTAR) (FSE: N29), a diversified leading provider of augmented reality (“AR”) experience technologies and services, is pleased to announce that it has acquired previously announced Threedy.ai, Inc. (“Threedy”), an artificial intelligence (“AI”) company based in Silicon Valley, California, in an all-stock transaction valued at US$9,500,000. A definitive agreement has been signed by all parties with closing expected on or about June 25, 2021, upon satisfaction of customary closing conditions. Nextech's acquisition strategy is focused on creating net new revenue opportunities that scale with the global adoption of AR.

“By combining Threedy’s disruptive AI technology and our leading AR platform, we have just changed the game,” commented Evan Gappelberg, Founder and CEO of Nextech. “With our integrated platform powered by AI, users can quickly transform 2D objects into AR-enabled 3D, while removing the friction that currently exists within the customer value chain. Simply – one will be able to take a photo, convert it to a high-resolution 3D image within minutes, and have that item displayed on a phone or device in augmented reality in webAR. This a true game-changer for e-commerce businesses and product manufacturers alike, and for the more than 100 million and growing consumers shopping with AR online and in stores today who are driving the mass adoption of augmented reality in everyday life.”

“Retailers including Kohl's, Pier1, and K-Mart Australia are already using Threedy’s technology to offer AR shopping experiences at scale and now together with Nextech we will create a unified, scalable 3D content creation engine for all our AR solutions,” commented Nima Sarshar, CEO of Threedy. “Threedy has created AI-powered tools that take 3D content creation for AR and other applications from a craft-production process to mass-production. It takes several hours for a typical 3D artist to create a 3D replica of a physical product. Content creation has long been the bottleneck for bringing AR to large retailers, many of whom have thousands of SKUs live at any given time. Using our virtual assembly line technology, thousands of models can be created per week, with minimal human intervention, in many categories.”

About Threedy.ai
Using Threedy’s proprietary AI and computer vision innovations, the production of 3D models can be scaled to 1,000s of 3D models per week. Threedy has built a truly disruptive end-to-end solution around its model creation technology for the AR industry. Through a simple JavaScript tag integration, product photos are automatically onboarded, 3D models are created for each product through the power of AI and hosted on the Threedy’s cloud, and 3D visualizations are served to client properties using web AR/3D, all within a single integrated platform.
For further information, please contact:
Judith Planella at Judith.planella@nextechar.com
To learn more, please follow us on Twitter, YouTube, Instagram, LinkedIn, and Facebook, or visit our website: https://www.Nextechar.com

About Nextech AR
Nextech develops and operates augmented reality (“AR”) platforms that transports three-dimensional (“3D”) product visualizations, human holograms and 360° portals to its audiences altering e-commerce, digital advertising, hybrid virtual events (events held in a digital format blended with in-person attendance) and learning and training experiences.
Nextech focuses on developing AR solutions however most of the Company’s revenues are derived from three e-Commerce platforms: vacuumcleanermarket.com (“VCM”), infinitepetlife.com (“IPL”) and Trulyfesupplements.com (“TruLyfe”). VCM and product sales of residential vacuums, supplies and parts, and small home appliances sold on Amazon.

Your Website URL: https://www.nextechar.com/press-releases-and-media/nextech-ar-solutions-acquires-3d-ai-modeling-for-e-commerce-company-threedyai-inc

URL for your video (YouTube, Vimeo): https://youtu.be/itRqTRVi9CQ

DARK SLOPE STUDIOS ANNOUNCES THE LAUNCH OF A VIRTUAL PRODUCTION FELLOWSHIP FOR FACTUAL ENTERTAINMENT - Deadline is July 19!

Dark Slope Studios, the Toronto-based virtual production and metaverse gaming company, today announces the launch of their virtual production fellowship. Announced by CEO Raja Khanna at the Banff World Media Festival, the studio will be open to accepting format pitches for the next technology-driven prime time reality show obsession. Applications will be accepted starting Monday July 19th 2021.

Applicants are invited to submit a brief proposal with a series idea that balances innovative production techniques with compelling storytelling; visionary concepts that blur the line between the real world and the digital world. Dark Slope Studios will be looking for concepts that introduce virtual reality experiences into conventional linear television shows, make use of deep fake facial tracking elements, or combine the use of LED screens and virtual production workflows into a unique, highly original new format of factual entertainment.

The company will review all the applications and select one to three finalists. All proposals will be considered and each finalist will be awarded $5000 CAD and a chance to negotiate a development deal with Dark Slope Studios. Development deals will include mentorship sessions, travel to the RealScreen conference, and investments into concept development, concept art, prototypes and more.

The prizes awarded are for the best original ideas as judged by Dark Slope and their evaluators. A minimum of one prize will be awarded. The finalist will retain all rights. Dark Slope Studios will secure an exclusive right of negotiation with the finalist for 6 months, the finalists are under no obligation to work with Dark Slope. Interested applicants are encouraged to sign up here and submit their full application once submissions open on July 19th.

“We are looking for ideas that appeal to a global audience. We’re a nimble, ever evolving company with strong industry roots and are looking to support the next generation of talent by providing seasoned guidance in an environment that encourages experimentation.” Dan Fill, President, Dark Slope Studios.

Dark Slope Studios balances technical innovation with world-class storytelling in factual entertainment. The company is on the vanguard of innovative production techniques with its proprietary Flex KS production pipeline that integrates full body and facial motion tracking with the use of LED screens, green screens and real-time rendering to create animation, FX, real time integrated live action, and gaming content.



ABOUT DARK SLOPE STUDIOS
Founded in 2018, Dark Slope Studios pushes the boundaries of multi-sensory entertainment center spectacles, virtual reality experiences, immersive games, and motion capture-driven virtual production for television. From it’s 8000 square foot studio, Dark Slope Studios leverages its warehouse-scale virtual production stage with proprietary pipeline, tools, workflows and game-engine technology in order to bring world class creative properties to life. Based in Toronto, and with a global workforce, Dark Slope Studios combines advanced technologies with compelling storytelling to reimagine the future of entertainment. Visit https://darkslopestudios.com/ to learn more.

Download our Portugal Ecosystem Report featuring over 100 companies. Thank you NOS for sponsoring!

Download report

Portugal ecosystem report

Foreword by VRARA Portugal

Thank you for your interest in Portugal’s VR/AR ecosystem!

We are thrilled to publish this report after a year full of challenges – a special thanks to our sponsor NOS for endorsing our efforts in connecting the ecosystem and making this happen. Cheers!

Through this report, you will access a list of VR/AR stakeholders active in Portugal and, although we are aware this is not a complete list, the quantity (almost 100) and diversity of players in Portugal showcase how positively this market has evolved in recent years.

Hopefully, these numbers and diversity will grow in 2021, along with the VR/AR market worldwide: 5G is rolling out, allowing for new, exciting VR/AR use cases; VR headsets price point is decreasing, while their availability is on the rise and most smartphone makers are now launching smartglasses models.

Besides infrastructure and hardware, VR/AR applications are becoming more and more common in the B2B segment. Of course, this creates a huge demand for VR/AR specific skill sets – and even creates new job profiles.

Moreover, more startups are popping up within the immersive space, looking for smart money, mentorship and all kinds of support to have a better and longer runway, while they prove their business concept and start new investment rounds.

Finally, academic and corporate research centers are now, again more than ever, aware of the transformational opportunity immersive technologies carry and their role in developing knowledge-based solutions.

And of course, to leverage these opportunities, whilst coping with the pandemic, immersive tech businesses are looking to reduce risks in their investment.

Portugal can help with that.

Albeit being a small country,Portugal’s talent pool attracts international professionals looking for a peaceful and stable country, with a muti-cultural background and a high quality of life.

From digital nomads, that find organized peer communities ready to embrace them, to portuguese-speaking talent abroad, that seek to enter other markets and a multicultural setting to develop new language skills. Oh, and we are ranked #7 globally on the English Proficiency Index.

Sitting on the edge of Europe, Portugal has a closer timezone to the American continent than any other country in theEU, which makes it easier to enter the European market throughPortugal, if you’re coming fromCanada, the United States or Mexico. Through theVR/AR Association, we keep in contact with several of these countries’ chapters to streamline partnerships or requests.

Our connection to Brazil is also very important and not just due to our cultural similarities–more and more organizations are looking to tap into a 200+million people market throughPortugal and we are also creating cooperation opportunities with VRARA Brazil.

There are official co-investment opportunities and pre-established partnerships that can help in several ways to soften your landing in our ecosystem. Just reach out to us.

Also, a major thank you to our main partner APDC, that enables and accelerates all our activities - like this report - through its VR/AR section.

You are also invited to attend our webinars and monthly meetups, taking place on the last Thursday of every month.

2021 is only the first year of a decade where 3D content will become the norm. Virtual reality and augmented reality professionals will have a profound impact on how we work, interact with others and even perceive the world. For all the reasons presented before, we firmly believePortugal is a great setting to setup technical, business development and research teams in immersive technologies and we do look forward to a decade where more and more corporate groups, startups and research organizations make that happen.

Have a wonderful year and here’s looking forward to our next report!

Anesio Neto

portugal@thevrara.com

Luis Bravo Martins

luis@thevrara.com

Tiago Loureiro

tiago@thevrara.com

A Word from NOS

With the launch of 5G in Portugal, a new era of digitalization begins where national companies will be able to take advantage of technology to optimize their business and create new disruptive experiences for their customers. Tools like VR/AR are central to this new era, marked by an exponential increase in information consumption and new, immersive formats for it.

Imagining the future has never been easy, but in the case of VR/AR, we have long been witnessing small projects and innovations that surely allow us to unravel not only part of the future but what is already possible to do today. The development we have observed in this area has been exponential, with the maturity of both technologies moving from concepts to ‘ready-to-deploy' in very few years. With 5G, we see the missing piece: a network capable of guaranteeing high levels of experience with total mobility, scale implementations and a reliability unavailable until now.

In the near future, we will undoubtedly see these technologies entering our lives and business operations. Being able to start first, learn without fear and choose the right partners will be decisive for national companies to take advantage of this transformation, in order to differentiate themselves and gain competitive advantages.

NOS is proud to belong to this national ecosystem, helping companies and developers to implement innovative projects capable of driving the country's digital transformation.

Esri ArcGIS Pro certified for 3D stereo visualization with 3D PluraView monitors

The Software ArcGIS Pro from Esri meets all requirements for the efficient display and processing of GIS, BIM, LiDAR and photogrammetric geodata in a fully integrated 3D-stereo work environment with an outstanding range of functions. The compatibility of ArcGIS Pro with the entire 3D PluraView monitor product family has now been officially certified by the manufacturer Schneider Digital.

Today, ArcGIS Pro from Esri is the most modern and advanced desktop GIS product and is used worldwide for the capture, processing and analysis of high-resolution 3D data. The constant further development of ArcGIS Pro is increasingly blurring the boundaries between Geographical Information Systems (GIS) and classic digital photogrammetry. Important functionalities from photogrammetry, such as importing aerial images, aero-triangulation, and extraction of terrain models, orthorectification and stereoscopic data capture, are now also integrated in ArcGIS Pro. This ensures a continuous GIS workflow, including photogrammetric data capture, directly in the Esri environment, resulting in substantial efficiency gains. The central element here is the complete integration of all existing and newly captured three-dimensional geometries with ArcGIS Pro, and the integrated ability to represent them with full three-dimensionality on stereoscopic output devices. The Software ArcGIS Pro from Esri meets all requirements for the efficient display and processing of GIS, BIM, LiDAR and photogrammetric geodata in a fully integrated 3D-stereo work environment with an outstanding range of functions. The compatibility of ArcGIS Pro with the entire 3D PluraView monitor product family has now been officially certified by the manufacturer Schneider Digital. 

Be it professional thematic maps, complex GIS analyses, geodata management or GIS data capture - with the 3D-capable software application ArcGIS Pro from Esri, professional users enjoy the benefits of the world’s leading GIS environment. For optimal geodata querying and processing, the capture and analysis of spatially connected and topologically correct features, GIS professionals have a whole range of interactive and automated tools at their fingertips with the Pro version. Locally saved geo-information in 2D and 3D format can for example be compared to or synchronized with Cloud servers and online data services. Topographic terrain features and building models at different levels of detail (LOD) can likewise be extracted and saved to file geodatabases (GDB). ArcGIS Pro also offers a range of powerful tools for the management, editing and analysis of large amounts of data, e.g. large-format aerial images, UAS and satellite images, and LiDAR point-cloud data. Real façade textures can be mapped to 3D building geometries from oblique aerial images and vehicle-based mobile camera systems. Likewise, hybrid 3D terrain models can be generated from orthoimages, combined with synthetic 3D models for vegetation and building objects.

Large data volumes - super-high resolution in 3D-stereo on the 3D PluraView monitors

The prerequisite for the stereoscopic display of 3D geodata is a monitor system with high-resolution, bright and contrast-rich 3D stereo visualization, to best support ArcGIS Pro users. This perfect visualization solution is provided by the 3D PluraView family of monitors by Schneider Digital, which are latency-free and work ‘plug-and-play’ with professional NVIDIA and AMD graphics cards. As there is no requirement for proprietary graphic drivers, the 3D PluraView displays are a future-proof solution to display geospatial data also with future versions of LINUX and Microsoft operating systems. The extremely large data volumes, which ArcGIS Pro can process, require not only a professional graphics card and a professional workstation, but also a monitor, which can display topographical information and GIS content in top 3-D stereo quality. Only a bright and high-contrast stereoscopic representation of 3D content can ensure a professional analysis and reliable interpretation of data. For this, the United States software supplier Esri relies on the outstanding performance of the 3D PluraView - the passive, 3D-stereo beam-splitter monitors from Schneider Digital. These dual-screen systems are the de-facto industry standard for all stereoscopic software applications for the past 16 years and are certified for all common 3D-stereo capable photogrammetry and GIS applications. The fold-up beam-splitter mirror allows the flexible use of the 3D PluraView monitors also as a standard monitor for monoscopic tasks. With screen diagonals up to 28”, 3D PluraView monitors provide completely flicker-free stereoscopic 3D visualizations. Thanks to one screen per stereo channel, they offer the full stereo resolution up to 4K (UHD) and 10-bit color depth with brilliant brightness. Their passive polarization filter technology provides a fatigue-free ergonomic working environment, even in office daylight conditions, viewing stereo together with several colleagues.

Visualize, capture and edit GIS and BIM models in stereo

ArcGIS Pro users value the accurate, pixel-precise, stereoscopic image display on Schneider Digital’s 3D-stereo monitors. The high level of viewing comfort on the flicker-free displays and the intuitive operation facilitate the handling of complex data visualizations, thereby improving overall productivity and accelerating working procedures. In combination with ArcGIS Pro, the technology of 3D PluraView monitors offers the possibility of uploading aerial image stereo pairs to capture 3D points, lines or polygons directly as topologically defined GIS elements. 3D mesh-based geometries, smart BIM models and even 3D CAD models can be edited intuitively in a fully integrated 3D-stereo environment.

ArcGIS Pro users benefit from compatibility with a wide variety of data formats when importing and integrating smart 3D models into existing GIS data sets. For subsequent visualization, the 3DConnexion SpaceMouse is a well-proven device, allowing simple and intuitive 3D navigation within ArcGIS Pro. The additional use of a Stealth 3D mouse is recommended where the focus is on the precise measurement and capture of objects, elevations and distances. One of the biggest challenges for GIS applications is the loading of large amounts of data (e.g. detailed urban models) as digital twins, and then displaying them seamlessly in stereo. This requires reliable photogrammetry and GIS solutions, which are innovative, ergonomic, fast and reliable. The stereo-capable software application ArcGIS Pro and the 3D PluraView monitors by Schneider Digital provide this reliability through the synergy of two high-end products. In combination, they ensure a perfect 3D-stereo experience with excellent display quality. The Software ArcGIS Pro from Esri meets all requirements for efficient stereoscopic working with geospatial 3D datasets and has now been certified officially for compatibility with the entire 3D PluraView monitor product family by the manufacturer Schneider Digital. This ‘duo’ turns into the perfect workplace solution with the right 3D input tools and a high-performance Schneider Digital workstation, customized for use with ArcGIS Pro.

Find out more at www.pluraview.com 

Schneider Digital – The company:
Schneider Digital is a global full-service solution provider for professional 3D-stereo, 4K/8K and VR/AR hardware. Based on its 25 years of industry and product experience as well as its excellent relationships with leading manufacturers, Schneider Digital offers innovative, sophisticated professional hardware products and customized complete solutions for professional use. Qualified advice and committed after-sales service are the company's own standards.

The Schneider Digital product portfolio includes the right professional hardware solution for the respective requirements in these areas: High resolution 4K/8K to multi-display walls. Schneider Digital is the manufacturer of its own powerwall solution smartVR-Wall and the passive stereo monitor 3D PluraView. Performance workstations and professional graphics cards from AMD and NVIDIA as well as innovative hardware peripherals (tracking, input devices, etc.) round off the product range. Many articles are in stock. This guarantees fast delivery and project realization.

Schneider Digital is an authorised service distributor of AMD FirePRO/Radeon Pro, PNY/NVIDIA Quadro, 3Dconnexion, Stealth int., Planar and EIZO. Schneider Digital products are used primarily in graphics-intensive computer applications such as CAD/CAM/CAE, FEM, CFD, simulation, GIS, architecture, medicine and research, film, TV, animation and digital imaging.

Further information is available at www.schneider-digital.com and www.3d-pluraview.com.

Schneider Digital press contact:

LEAD Industrie-Marketing GmbH

André Geßner Tel.: +49 80 22 - 91 53 188

Hauptstr.46 E-Mail: agessner@lead-industrie-marketing.de

D-83684 TegernseeInternet:www.lead-industrie-marketing.de

Holographic Exhibition: a partnership between Perception with Imperial War Museum and the Science Museum Group

PERCEPTION PARTNERS WITH IMPERIAL WAR MUSEUMS AND SCIENCE MUSEUM GROUP TO BRING HOLOGRAPHIC AUGMENTED REALITY EXPERIENCES TO 20,000 STUDENTS WORLDWIDE

Perception, a deep-tech Augmented Reality company, has signed a Memorandum of Agreement with both Imperial War Museums and the Science Museum Group to bring holographic AR cultural experiences to life.

The partnerships will bring highlights of the museums’ collections into the homes and classrooms of audiences across the globe using cutting-edge 3D desktop AR hologram technology.

Dr. Sirisilp Kongsilp, CEO and Founder of Perception, says “These agreements not only display the rate at which Perception is expanding, but also mark an exciting opportunity to work with the culture sector to explore the power of Holographic Desktop Augmented Reality software in sharing collections in inspiring new ways. For the first time ever, this technology can bring Museum objects to audiences in holographic 3D anywhere in the world – reimagining the concept of a digital exhibition.”

Perception, a deep-tech company supported by the UK Government’s Department for International Trade’s Global Entrepreneur Programme (GEP), has today announced the signing of a Memorandum of Agreement with Imperial War Museums and the Science Museum Group to explore new opportunities for Holographic AR across the museum, arts and culture sector.

These agreements outline plans to create holographic exhibitions which bring museum artefacts to more than 20,000 students in the UK and Thailand. The agreements are set to foster a strong relationship between the tech and culture spheres, with the partnerships combining Perception’s state-of-the-art Desktop AR facilities with prized artefacts from both museums. Desktop AR is an augmented reality system which allows any 2D monitor to emit holographic images. This is done through tracking user head positions and rendering 3D images accordingly.

These agreements come at a pivotal time for both the Augmented Reality and Arts and Culture sectors. Augmented Reality is taking over the technology sphere at pace, and has vast potential to mirror this growth in the museum, arts and culture sector. Following a tough year for museums due to Covid-19 halting footfall, this technology presents an opportunity to share some of the UK’s most valuable and historical artefacts with a much wider audience.

Both Imperial War Museums and the Science Museum Group are preparing to give Perception access to parts of their internationally-significant collections, with the aim of sharing an impactful selection of British history. This will provide both museums with the opportunity to reach an even larger global audience, which will have an impact long after the pandemic.

Dr. Sirisilp Kongsilp, CEO and Founder of Perception, says “These agreements not only display the rate at which Perception is expanding, but also mark an exciting opportunity to work with the culture sector to explore the power of Holographic Desktop Augmented Reality software in sharing collections in inspiring new ways. For the first time ever, this technology can bring Museum objects to audiences in holographic 3D anywhere in the world – opening up new possibilities to how knowledge can be shared digitally, globally.”

Gill Webber, Executive Director Content & Programmes at Imperial War Museums, says “There is a real desire within the museums sector to reach new audiences and explore innovative ways of sharing their collections. This technology is an exciting way to explore this and we are thrilled to be working with the Perception team on the project.”

Jonathan Newby, Acting Director, from the Science Museum Group, says “Digital exploration is part of our DNA so we’re really excited to be part of this project exploring the emerging holographic AR field which will really help grow our understanding of both the creative potential and how audiences respond. We look forward to developing this relationship and seeing how our audiences can benefit from this exciting new technology.”

Media Contacts:

Lucy Johnston / lucy.johnston@mediazoo.tv / 07522 287745

About Perception

Perception Holo-SDK is a deep-tech company which is revolutionising the Augmented Reality sector by making it widely available across the globe, bringing objects to life through Desktop AR technology. Founded in Thailand in 2019, Perception is expanding into the UK with their immersive technology, to produce a creative desktop experience for individuals. Perception is set to reshape the arts and culture sector through partnerships with museums, galleries and artists which aim to preserve human history. Their marketplace The Morpheus Project, the first ever Holo-NFT art community, allows artists and galleries to display their holographic collectables to sell them to supporters. Their purpose-built Desktop AR platform allows any user to view 360 degree holographic images from the comfort of their own homes. Perception is increasingly making its way into the UK technology sector by partnering with app developers to get them on board with this state of the art AI tech. More info https://www.holo-sdk.com/

About Science Museum Group

The Science Museum Group is the world’s leading group of science museums, welcoming over five million visitors each year to five sites: the Science Museum in London; the National Railway Museum in York; the Museum of Science and Industry in Manchester; the National Science and Media Museum in Bradford; and Locomotion in Shildon. We share the stories of innovations and people that shaped our world and are transforming the future, constantly reinterpreting our astonishingly diverse collection of 7.3 million items spanning science, technology, engineering, mathematics and medicine. Standout objects include the record-breaking locomotive Flying Scotsman, Richard Arkwright’s textile machinery, Alan Turing’s Pilot ACE computer, Dorothy Hodgkin’s model of penicillin and the earliest surviving recording of British television. Our mission is to inspire futures - igniting curiosity among people of all ages and backgrounds. Each year, our museums attract more than 600,000 visits by education groups, while our touring exhibition programme brings our creativity and scholarship to audiences across the globe. More information can be found at sciencemuseumgroup.org.uk.

About Imperial War Museums

IWM (Imperial War Museums) tells the story of people who have lived, fought and died in conflicts involving Britain and the Commonwealth since the First World War. Our unique collections, made up of the everyday and the exceptional, reveal stories of people, places, ideas and events. Using these, we tell vivid personal stories and create powerful physical experiences across our five museums that reflect the realities of war as both a destructive and creative force. We challenge people to look at conflict from different perspectives, enriching their understanding of the causes, course and consequences of war and its impact on people’s lives.

IWM’s five branches which attract over 2.5 million visitors each year are IWM London, IWM’s flagship branch that recently transformed with new, permanent and free First World War Galleries alongside new displays across the iconic Atrium to mark the Centenary of the First World War; IWM North, housed in an iconic award-winning building designed by Daniel Libeskind; IWM Duxford, a world renowned aviation museum and Britain's best preserved wartime airfield; Churchill War Rooms, housed in Churchill’s secret headquarters below Whitehall; and the Second World War cruiser HMS Belfast.

The Global Entrepreneur Programme (GEP)

The UK Global Entrepreneur Programme (GEP) aims to attract some of the world’s most sustainable, early stage innovative companies and entrepreneurs to the UK to set up a British based global headquarters to sell and internationalise. Since 2004, hundreds of GEP companies from all over the world have raised more than £1 billion of venture capital through this programme. These companies seek to take advantage of the UK’s strong and open business environment, under the mentorship of successful serial entrepreneurs.

In February 2020, the UK introduced the Global Talent Visa, which enables the brightest and best tech talent from around the world, including those in ASEAN to come and join the UK’s digital technology sector. And earlier in June, the UK Government launched an £8m Digital Trade Network in Asia Pacific to support new international partnerships for the digital economy with the region. The three-year pilot will enhance the UK’s digital tech capability in Asia Pacific, bringing together digital trade policy, digital tech trade and investment promotion, and a new tech entrepreneur network with Tech Nation to support scaling tech businesses as they seek to internationalise.

About the Department for International Trade (DIT):

The UK's Department for International Trade (DIT) has overall responsibility for promoting UK trade across the world and attracting foreign investment to our economy. We are a specialised government body with responsibility for negotiating international trade policy, supporting business, as well as delivering an outward-looking trade diplomacy strategy.