COLUMBUS, Ohio (Aug 16, 2022) - HoloPundits, experts in immersive technology including Augmented Reality (AR), Virtual Reality (VR), and Mixed Reality (MR), is excited to announce its partnership with the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR). Working with ODNR’s Division of Parks and Watercraft, HoloPundits has created four unique virtual environments for the purpose of educating Ohioans about the use of personal watercraft, kayaks, and stand-up paddleboards on Ohio’s waterways. These virtual experiences were recently unveiled to the public during the Ohio State Fair, and will soon go “on tour,” making stops at Ohio state parks to promote kayaking and paddleboarding as a family friendly activity for all Ohioans.
In addition to education, the Virtual environments provide plenty of enchantment, allowing visitors to paddleboard or kayak through some of Ohio’s most breathtaking water features. Participants begin by selecting their watercraft and choosing between the locations of Alum Creek, Lake Erie, the Little Miami River and the Ohio River. Guests are fitted with life jackets, an Oculus headset and two controllers (which simulate paddles). Video monitors allow viewers to see what the participants are experiencing.
“This has been such a fun project for all involved,” says Colin Saunders, Senior Learning Designer at HoloPundits. “We are thrilled to play a part in promoting the responsible enjoyment of Ohio’s beautiful waterways, using our VR expertise to demonstrate how enjoyable kayaking and paddleboarding can be in a safe environment, and reducing anxiety or fears people may have associated with these activities.”
About HoloPundits
HoloPundits is an immersive technology company with deep expertise across the entire spectrum of AR, VR, and MR. With a focus on education and enterprise solutions for multiple sectors including healthcare, manufacturing and insurance, HoloPundits enthusiastically pursues new business opportunities enabled by the immense potential of these new technologies.
Metaverse hangout in Orlando a sign of what’s to come
I recently jumped on my VR headset, a Meta Quest 2, in a virtual hangout with Orlando Tech. Let’s go ahead and hashtag that one “2022.”
It was not my first time in The Metaverse, thanks to a Foo Fighters’ post-Super Bowl performance in February.
But it was the first time I could hear interactions and watch speakers I knew IRL hold court in a virtual meetup.
One thing that needs to be clear is the difference between VR and The Metaverse because, at first glance, they are hardly discernible.
However, the agreed-upon difference appears to be that VR is the tech for creating 3D virtual environments with specific functions.
Experts define the Metaverse, meanwhile, as an “open, shared and persistent virtual world” people can visit virtually, according to numerous online sources.
About seven years ago, an Orlando company launched virtual meeting spaces but more on that later.
Metaverse a team effort
The Orlando Economic Partnership, which launched the effort to have Orlando become known as The MetaCenter, on Aug. 1 helped sponsor a meetup of the VRARA using the ENGAGE XR platform in virtual reality – er, The Metaverse.
I have one word to say about it: Wow.
They really pulled it off and the meeting was fantastic.
I enjoyed visiting this new-age looking meeting space, which appeared to be floating in space.
I liked interacting with people I know IRL but with my tiny, 4-foot-tall avatar.
Quick aside: I’m short but I’m not 4 feet tall. I tried to create an avatar with no height but, when you do that, you default to 4 feet tall. I’ve fixed that now but let’s say I tried to remain virtually seated at all times. But I digress.
The meetup was led by John Cunningham of Orlando’s Unity office.
He has done some great work for the VRARA, building some momentum that has been fanned by the community’s efforts to become “The MetaCenter.”
One of the better-known figures in the all-in-on-the-Metaverse crowd, Cathy Hackl, was among a handful of speakers who talked about how the new emerging world will impact communities and industries.
She was joined on the speaker list by Alan Smithson of MetaVRse, Dilmer Valecillos of Learn XR and Chris Madsen of the ENGAGE platform.
In addition, the Orlando Economic Partnership had two people chatting.
The discussions were somewhat expected for a Metaverse-related meetup.
It was about the technology’s future, how Orlando fits into it and why the ENGAGE platform should be the one to run it.
But beyond that, it was a peek into what’s possible with The Metaverse.
So, what’s possible in the Metaverse?
Now, let’s be clear.
This isn’t Orlando’s first foray into this world.
In 2017, I interviewed Full Sail University Hall of Famer Chance Glasco about a company he started called Rumii.
The general premise was the creation of virtual meeting spaces for businesses.
Sound familiar? The Aug. 1 room essentially mimicked this product.
Perhaps the company was ahead of its time.
Still, the execution during this meetup was fantastic, not to mention, offered something I have never seen at any meetup in my years of attending: dancing dinosaurs.
Once the formal portion of the meetup ended, the room lit up in bright flashy lights, as dinosaurs, dragons and other creatures came around.
A DJ started up, creating a virtual dancefloor for our avatars.
My little guy had a blast, creating new moves that IRL me could never pull off – even though it was merely doing the movements I was doing in my living room.
The ultimate takeaway that I had with this experience was much like others in the space.
I enjoyed my time there. You can see more HERE if you’re curious.
The technology continues to improve every time I use it.
Accessibility also keeps getting easier now that dedicated businesses have created apps that can host these meetups.
And, well, there is no “but” here. The experience worked.
The Takeaways
One second, I’m sitting quietly in a virtual chair watching as if Ms. Hackl sat onstage in front of me, speaking about a relatively new topic and where it’s headed.
The next, I’m standing up, getting some exercise in with a few silly dance moves as a dinosaur roams alongside me.
Both activities, if you ask me, are what is going to make Metaverse-based experiences appealing, plentiful and enjoyable.
It may be a while until we see The Metaverse as we all foresee it.
But these incremental micro-jumps in the technology that show off what can be done today will convince a lot of people that it’s on its way.
Plover Animation Partners with PangeaDAO
Plover Animation is excited to announce their latest partnership with PangeaDAO!
Pangea is a Metaverse land investment cooperative structured as a DAO with the goal of creating more equitable virtual worlds.
Learn more by visiting their website: www.pangeadao.org
Be on the look out for announcements of projects!
NuEyes Technologies and Samsung to Deliver Innovative Healthcare Solutions using the PRO Series line of Smart Glasses
NEWPORT BEACH, Calif., August 2nd, 2022- NuEyes, a pioneer in the field of augmented reality smart glass technology is happy to announce that it has partnered with Samsung Electronics America to deliver healthcare solutions using Samsung connected devices with smart glasses from NuEyes.
NuEyes Technologies PRO Series Augmented Reality smartglasses are lightweight glasses with a binocular display that quickly and easily connects to a Samsung5G mobile phone or tablet. With a large field of view, HD display, and weighing under 130g, the NuEyes glasses are the perfect portable solution for common healthcare functions such as ultrasound imaging, remote medicine, on-the-job support, training in the hospitals and universities, or out in the field. Powered by Samsung’s 5G Galaxy S Series mobile phones and tablets, medical professionals can now access live video, remote specialists, and imaging from anywhere to help improve patient care.
Samsung 5G connected devices paired with the NuEyes PRO Series Smart Glasses provide the medical practitioner a portable, hands-free, always connected experience. The alliance between Samsung and NuEyes Technologies will continue to advance the medical industry and bring the promise of the metaverse closer.
“At NuEyes we are focused on delivering solutions that enhance patient care, whether that is through our low vision solutions or with a medical practitioner delivering care.” said Mark Greget, Founder and CEO of NuEyes Technologies, Inc. “Partnering with Samsung Healthcare allows us to expand our reach and deliver solutions that will help advance the medical industry and patient care.”
“Samsung is thrilled to be in alliance with NuEyes, in offering such bold innovation to serve those in need - with Samsung Mobility solutions that complement the NuEyes technology in delivering a best-in class patient experience” said Trevor Smith, Head of Business Development for Samsung Healthcare, Mobile B2B.
ABOUT SAMSUNG
Samsung operates one of the most advanced medical centers in the world, located in Suwon, Korea and applies that expertise in developing digital healthcare solutions that drive staff productivity and improve patient experience in hospitals, at home, and through virtual care. The Samsung platform empowers providers with innovative smart technologies, through a connected ecosystem of secure mobile devices and signage that are easy to manage and transition seamlessly across clinical workflows. Enhance patient care, streamline critical communications, and raise the visibility of your brand with Samsung advanced, digital solutions for healthcare.
******************
ABOUT NUEYES TECHNOLOGIES, INC.
NuEyes is a veteran-owned smart glass technology company based in Orange County, California, that was launched in January 2016 to assist those with eye conditions such as macular degeneration, glaucoma, and retinitis pigmentosa. Over the past five years, the company has seen extensive sales growth and has obtained Federal, State and Insurance reimbursement for its devices. NuEyes addresses a multitude of augmented reality markets including low vision and medical, enterprise, gaming, and
entertainment. With the leadership of NuEyes having over 20 years of combined experience in this space they understand what it takes to successfully bring a new product to market.
Media Contacts
Regina Chatman
VP of Sales and Marketing - NuEyes
regina@nueyes.com
Websites:www.nueyes.com
P: 800-605-4033
Sarah Ennis appointed as President of VRARA Vancouver Chapter
We are thrilled to have Sarah Ennis as the new Chapter President and help us grow our Vancouver Chapter!
Sarah has worked in the leadership capacity for various custom advanced tech innovation companies including Unity Technologies and most recently Intergalactic Agency. In her career, she has helped Fortune 500 brands such as lululemon, Microsoft, Kroger, Pfizer, and more. She is also the Co-Chair of our global Retail Committee.
Sarah has a background in management consulting and is a firm believer of wrapping a combination of advanced technologies around key business challenges and opportunities. In her new role as the President of VRARA for the Vancouver chapter, she hopes to connect her global network and Vancouver's rich technology ecosystem to enable the art of the possible with advanced technologies.
Sarah is working on her upcoming Chapter event, reach out to her vancouver@thevrara.com if you want to speak and or sponsor!
PAUL JACOBS KEYNOTES VR/AR ASSOCIATION ENTERPRISE FORUM
Wireless XR Will Give Users Superpowers!
Imagine being transported into a fully immersive virtual world, so rich in photorealistic imagery and sensory detail that you forget it’s not real life. As advancements in enterprise virtual reality (VR) applications speed up, the underlying wireless technologies to support lifelike experiences must keep pace.
“We will give people superpowers,” our Chairman and CEO, Paul Jacobs explained during his keynote address at the July 2022 VRARA Enterprise Forum. He went on to describe the high-performance applications enabled by XCOM Labs’ innovative Wireless XR system. “We’re really just getting started with this notion of extending reality.”
In developing the gold standard in wireless XR systems, the XCOM Labs’ team has achieved low latency, high throughput, and reliability breakthroughs that solve many of the issues that previously prevented users from experiencing the full potential of this exciting technology. Gone are the bulky backpacks and cords connecting users to powerful computers, or the cumbersome lags that can oftentimes cause feelings of motion sickness or glitches. Instead, using millimeter wave spectrum in the globally available 60GHz unlicensed band, our system allows multiple users to roam freely across a large space while experiencing seamless, high-quality content.
One of the most powerful ways we’ve been able to illustrate these improvements recently is through our collaboration with The VOID, a hyper-reality experiential entertainment creator, to generate the most immersive VR experience yet. Using our highly reliable wireless system, we ditched the 22 pounds of equipment previously needed to provide such photorealistic quality visuals and moved heavy processing loads into a wireless network, or edge computer.
Jacobs explained that the breakthroughs The VOID and XCOM Labs demonstrated also apply to enterprise applications, not just entertainment.
“The experiences before were driven by the fact that you had this very heavy backpack on and power consumption was very high,” Jacobs said. “You had this big block of a battery that you had to carry around and it only lasted for about 30 minutes. Now, you’re going to be able to have extended experiences without sacrificing image quality.”
AWE attendees were transported from the 144-square-foot demonstration stage into a hyper-realistic experience that tapped into a variety of sensory details including, sight, sound, motion, and temperature. As users freely roamed the virtual space, they could interact with each other as well as the environment around them, without experiencing lags or sacrifices in the 4K video quality at 90 FPS with up to 400 Mbps per user.
These next-level immersive enterprise environments enabled by our wireless technology include learning and specialized training to industrial automation, smart warehouses, and even telemedicine.
“An expert at a remote facility will be able to instruct a novice who is doing surgery in the field, able to point out where that person needs to make incisions or do various procedures,” Jacobs explained. “The novice can even stand inside the avatar of the expert and follow their motions.”
Our system is designed for those who need the highest reliability to support their XR use cases, ensuring that wireless throughput and latency are never the limiting factors that curb human imagination.
At XCOM Labs, we believe in unlimited possibilities and delivering the unexpected. Interested in learning more about how our next-generation wireless technology can elevate your XR experience? Contact us, today!
Lenovo to make an exciting announcement at Immerse Global Summit EUROPE
Lenovo ThinkReality is a proud sponsor of the Immerse Global Summit and looks forward to seeing you there! Stop by the Lenovo booth for an immersive experience with Lenovo’s latest innovations. Join Lenovo keynote session for an exciting announcement as we expand Lenovo solution portfolio to help customer scale into the Metaverse.
For enterprise customers somewhere on a journey to the Metaverse, Lenovo’s ThinkReality is here to help. ThinkReality offers the world’s most powerful and flexible enterprise XR software platform, hardware, and world-class professional services all from the leading global computer manufacturer.
ThinkReality is conceived for today’s world and the future. The ThinkReality platform provides a proven, scalable, and streamlined path from concept to production for enterprise XR applications. Business teams can connect Lenovo XR devices like the ThinkReality A3 Smart Glasses and add third party devices. In addition, the platform allows customers to develop and deploy apps and content remotely throughout the enterprise while managing devices and applications from a single interface.
ThinkReality xR Services provides bespoke, end-to-end services to Lenovo customers, helping them quickly realize the return on their XR investments. ThinkReality is the only complete solution that lets customers focus on problem-solving for their Metaverse real-estate by working across diverse hardware and software and providing the technology and insights needed in the new era of immersive computing.
Cindy Mallory appointed as Co-Chair for VRARA Enterprise Committee
We are thrilled to have Cindy Mallory help with our Enterprise Committee.
The VRARA is happy to announce that Cindy Mallory is joining the VRARA Enterprise Committee as Co-Chair.
Cindy is an eclectic technologist that focuses on the frontier technologies forming the metaverse. Cindy champions data-driven design and accessibility for blockchain and XR. She has shipped video games and virtual reality, given her voice to an AI mecha, and currently strategizes on enterprise and real estate deep tech projects while serving as the NY Chapter President for the VR/AR Association and on the SXSW Pitch Advisory Board.
As an avid participant in the committee meetings, forums, and events, Cindy hopes to bring together experts and enthusiasts to discuss best practices, the evolution of work, adoption trends, accessibility, security, onboarding, and much more in the upcoming months.
4 Key Learnings from the VRARA Enterprise Forum 2022
The Motive team was excited to attend the VRARA Enterprise Forum on July 21st, 2022. The event brought together industry-leading organizations interested in ideas surrounding enterprise digital transformation through immersive technologies.
As we all have experienced, the last few years have brought new changes and challenges to organizations. After attending the event, four themes stood out:
VRARA Enterprise Forum Key Learning 1
Hybrid is here to stay
The COVID-19 pandemic caused us to shift our workspaces from desks at the office to desks at home, forever changing the way we work. Before the pandemic, a Gallup study found that 32% of employees preferred working remotely compared to 60% who preferred working entirely on-site. After getting a taste of the flexibility that came with working from home, the number of employees preferring remote work jumped to 59%, with only 9% preferring entirely on-site. To remain competitive, companies need to provide hybrid work options.
The pandemic showed us that working from home and staying connected is possible. Even though many organizations have given the green light to return to the office, remaining flexible with options to meet in person is something that will continue. In his session on why the future of industrial work is immersive, Mark Wenzowski of Virtalis stated that 74% of American companies are using or plan to use a hybrid environment.
Sessions at the event echoed the complementary nature of virtual reality and hybrid work. This new hybrid-focused work environment benefits those interested in VR training. Given the ease of transporting headsets, training can occur no matter where an employee is. Using Motive, organizations can replicate their work environments using CGI, meaning employees can practice the skills they need in a familiar environment. Trainees no longer need to be on-site to complete their training.
VRARA Enterprise Forum Key Learning 2
Out of the Proof of Concept (POC) phase
The next trend we’re seeing take hold across the enterprise is a move away from PoCs and towards full-scale enterprise-wide deployments. With use cases continuing to expand and meaningful data readily available, there is no longer the need to prove that the technology works.
In his opening remarks, Mark Grob, Head of Immersive Technology at UPS and Co-Chair of the VRARA Enterprise Forum, shared that the enterprise customer is now laser-focused on four key areas: security, automation, ease of deployment, and developing solid partnerships with solution providers.
While immersive technology continues to progress, customers across healthcare, aviation, and government have all shared similar needs when looking at the wide-scale adoption of immersive technology solutions.
With incredible competition popping up in the space, solution providers looking to carve out their competitive advantage should focus on listening to the needs of their enterprise customers. They can look to more robust security standards like SOC 2 compliance, seamless login experiences through SSO, and integration with internal systems like learning management systems.
Motive is proud to have security and scalability at the heart of the platform, including SOC 2 Type II compliance and industry-leading integration support.
VRARA Enterprise Forum Key Learning 3
No code and low code tools
Attendees of the event were also excited about no code and low code tools for building XR environments and scenarios. To meet the growing demand for AR and VR applications, non-technical users need the ability to author content. This ability gives power to those who understand the training and learning objectives and transforms how VR training is created. These tools already exist thanks to cutting-edge solutions made by innovative teams like Motive.
No code and low code tools substantially benefit learning, innovation, and XR teams looking to create XR projects. These tools transform the speed and cost of application development and help scale XR across an organization.
With these tools, individuals with no coding experience or technical expertise, be it SMEs or instructional designers, can quickly develop, change, and deliver XR experiences. Percy Stocker of TeamViewer emphasized that “drag and drop tools make it easy and interesting for non-technical users to develop the content of the future.”
It may seem natural to think that developers see these tools as threats. However, that’s not the case. Developers see no code and low code tools as the perfect partner to help them save time while working under pressure. There’s no wonder why a Gartner report forecasted that by 2024, low-code adoption will comprise 75% of global software solutions.
VRARA Enterprise Forum Key Learning 4
The data to back it up
Lastly, it’s clear that we have a level of data that wasn’t available before. In the early days of VR training, we all looked to the same few studies to evaluate the return on investment. While these studies were powerful, for most organizations, seeing transformational change was aspirational rather than concrete. In 2022, we now have hundreds of references to look to.
Organizations using and scaling their VR training consistently see faster training times and cost savings, sometimes in the tens of millions of dollars. Oberon Technologies Chief Marketing Officer Vi Kellersohn shared in their experience that companies have saved 30% to 70% of costs on average by using VR training. Mark Wenzowski from Virtalis reported that organizations had experienced a 40% decrease in training costs when using VR training.
These significant returns on investment are now commonplace. A bigger divide is forming between companies that harness the power of VR training and those that do not. It’s officially a competitive advantage. While VR technology continues to advance, it’s a better time than ever to tackle your first VR training project or take your POC and begin to think about scaling.
Recap of our VRARA Enterprise Forum 2022 by the Media (ARPost)
The VR/AR Association Enterprise Forum 2022: What to Make of the Metaverse
XR solution providers and enterprises using (or exploring) XR met virtually yesterday, July 21, for the VR/AR Association Enterprise Forum 2022. The six-hour marathon event covered a number of important topics, and not all sessions could be covered in this article.
One important question: Is there an enterprise metaverse and should anyone care?
The M Word
Mark Gröb, VR/AR Association Enterprise Committee Co-Chair and Head of Immersive Tech Center at UPS, started off the event with some observations from working with enterprises and XR solution providers. These observations hinted at both growth and challenge in the rapidly maturing market.
“Generally, in enterprise, no one is really exploring anymore. It’s not about [minimum viable products] and [proofs-of-concept], it’s more about well-thought-out solutions,” said Gröb. “Enterprise is starting to expect XR to meet all of the requirements of standard technologies.”
“Everyone in enterprise is basically rolling their eyes at the M word,” said Gröb. “The understanding is that the M word is not applicable to enterprise.”
The extent to which the metaverse is applicable to enterprise was a topic of discussion in “Leap into the Industrial Metaverse” by Percy Stocker of TeamViewer. Stoker expressed acceptance generally, but with caveats in some enterprise applications.
“The question is, if you’re a business… is this for me? What are my touchpoints in the metaverse?” said Stocker. “About 80 percent of the world’s workforce are deskless workers and the question is do we want to leave them out of this? Of course we don’t.”
Transitional Technology
Stocker then posed that while most conversations about the metaverse involve complete virtual environments and VR, augmented reality plays a role too. Further, while enterprise-ready AR and MR headsets are out there, more widely available connected devices are also important.
“The good thing is that it doesn’t matter where you start, you can scale from there,” said Stocker. “We see phones and tablets as a transitional technology. Of course, companies have lots of those, they’ve already invested a lot in that technology.”
The hardware can be transitional, but so can the software. This was a recurring point for Mark Wenzowski of Virtalis in his talk, “Why the Future of Industrial Learning Is Immersive.”
“You don’t have to build something big with all of the bells and whistles right out of the gate,” said Wenzowski. “Build something small and utilize it.”
The Challenges of Scaling
Scaling from tablets and smartphones would be a theme through a number of talks at the event. It was directly tackled by Chris Verret in his talk “From Warfighter to Workforce – Modernizing Critical Training with VR.” Verret is the President and co-founder of HTX Labs, an immersive education and training company.
“Many customers in the private sector have problems taking concepts and proofs-of-principle in XR and actually scaling them,” said Verret. “A lot of times, you have to trade immersiveness for scalability. We’ve seen that time and again in defense and in commercial enterprise.”
The problem of scale featured in many sessions but was the primary focus for Luke Wilson in his talk “Scaling to Thousands of Devices.” Wilson is the CEO and founder of ManageXR, a mobile device management (MDM) company dedicated to VR headsets. While AR can be used on phones and tablets, robust VR requires its own headsets.
“Whether or not VR can be adopted is a question of whether or not VR can be scaled,” said Wilson. “The challenges of scale are preventing the adoption of this technology.”
Just like some companies try to explore XR using existing devices, some companies try to use familiar MDMs, which typically don’t optimize for headsets. This was the focus of “Why Legacy MDMs Are Failing Companies Today in XR” by Brad Scoggin, founder and CEO of XR MDM company ArborXR.
“An XR-specific MDM is absolutely a must if you’re dealing with ten or more headsets,” said Scoggin. Scoggin also pointed out that using the wrong MDM on an early XR project can have long-term consequences in a company, saying, “VR is like a lot of things in life – you only get one chance at a first impression.”
Community and the Metaverse
Some companies don’t adopt or scale XR because of a bad first impression or because they don’t understand it or how it benefits their business. Others don’t because they just never will. At least, that was the stance of Oregon Reality Lab Director Dr. Donna Davis in her talk “My Work Avatar: Harnessing the Power of the Metaverse for Marketing and Communication.”
“Right now, we’re in the moment on the adoption curve where there’s a lot of mistrust,” said Davis. “There are people that will never embrace it, and that’s okay. We don’t need them. Let those people go.”
Davis is one of those people that believes that the metaverse is relevant to enterprise, but only those who recognize the opportunity. According to Davis, it’s not about engaging with the tech, it’s about engaging with the people.
“At the end of the day, community is what we can do with the metaverse,” said Davis. “How do we build community? That’s where the magic happens with marketing and communications.”
Community in the metaverse was also a topic for Liquid Avatar Technologies CEO David Lucatch in his talk “Bringing Enterprises, Non-Profits, and Cause Marketing Together in the Metaverse.” Lucatch touched on the idea that we will have avatars, but so will embodied AIs that will be employed by companies but also – potentially – by bad actors.
“Our avatars will be our interactive mediums, so it will be very important to understand that that avatar is being managed by a real person,” said Lucatch.
Panels Round Off the Day
The day ended with two panel discussions. These tied together a lot of the strands from the day’s sessions.
XR as an Enterprise Onramp to the Metaverse
The final event of the day circled back to the first discussion: Is there a place for the metaverse in enterprise? This panel discussion suggests that it may be early, but this seems to be the direction in which things are headed.
“Right now, every company has a dedicated web team, and I see a world where that translates into XR,” said NYU’s Immersive Tech Developer Andrew Strapp. “Right now, content is king – and content is everything in VR.”
The panel also discussed what happens when companies take the onramp to the metaverse – but they’re used to driving county roads. Starting off with phones and tablets can help but it can also be a hindrance, according to ATS emerging technology strategist Cindy Mallory.
“One of the hurdles that you have in introducing people to VR, especially in enterprise, is that people are so used to these pinch, swipe, tap interfaces,” said Mallory.
Enterprise Adoption of XR
In the end, a lot of the questions that plague XR generally are naturally also a problem for XR in enterprise. These systemic things need to be addressed, including accessibility, security, and the difficulty of producing content.
“We need to make it easier for developers, but also for the end users to consume content,” said Blippar CEO Faisal Galaria. “This interoperability issue needs to be solved.”
For a day dedicated to discussing technology, technology needs to take a back seat in order for larger things to happen. That was the idea presented by Dev Khoslaa of XCOM Labs.
“In order to drive ubiquity, it’s going to be important to drive scale to unlock seamless mobility,” said Khoslaa. “We need to take technology impediments out of the equation.”
Of course, the answer might really be more technology. Or at least, different technology. The solution to the problems of XR might lie in other emerging technologies. That was the position of 21iQLabs CEO Vivek Chhabra.
“The key to solving this is to marry WebXR to Web3 technologies,” said Chhabra. “Web3 consolidates these technologies to bring it toward a metaverse phenomenon.”
For all of the technology that is thrown at the problem, there will still be human questions that need human answers. Like, who “owns” a shared experience.
“There’s really no law that gives us a clear answer on that,” said Lyn Dee, founder of Four.
“And we don’t own that, we just wield it,” added Jessica Cobb.
Worth Paying Attention
If you are in enterprise (and missed the summit), hopefully this was a thrilling article. If you aren’t in enterprise and read along until the end, chances are that you understand the importance of things like “onramps to the metaverse.” Tech often makes its way through enterprise to the rest of us – even when the rest of us set the social stage for it in advance.
Highlights from our VRARA Enterprise Forum 2022: We had 1370 attendees from 70 countries
Thank you everyone who participated in our annual VRARA Enterprise Forum! We had over 1370 attendees from 70 countries, and 50 speakers from around the world. We presented disruptive ideas and ground-breaking insights about Metaverse for the enterprise, digital twins, and digital transformation using immersive tech! Plus, many meaningful connections were build during our famous networking!
Here are the top highlights:
Speaker lineup included;
Paul Jacobs, CEO and Chairman, XCOM - Extending Reality (Keynote)
Brad Scoggin, Co-Founder & CEO, ArborXR - Why legacy MDMs are failing companies today in XR
Vi Kellersohn CMO, Oberon Technologies - Identifying the ROI of VR Training for Your Business (Exelon, Schlumberger)
Hans Elstner, CEO, rooom - Unleash the power of the metaverse
Rolf Illenberger, CEO, VRdirect - How Enterprises can master the fragmented Metaverse ecosystems (Siemens, Nestle and Bayer)
Matias Koski, Immersal (Hexagon) - How can Augmented Reality be used in industry solutions?
Guido Helmerhorst, Co-founder & CGO, Warp VR - Training through 360VR stories results in mastery (Shell, ASML, Dutch Railroads, Erste Bank)
Liang Guan GM, Rokid - Rokid AR Total Solution for Enterprise
Donna Davis, PhD Director, Oregon Reality (OR) Lab, University of Oregon - My Work Avatar: Harnessing the Power of the Metaverse for Marketing and Communication
Casey Sapp, CEO, Blue Ring Imaging - Enhanced ROV Performance Using Mixed Reality HUDs (multiple U.S. Dept of Defense contracts and commercial clients)
John Lin, Founder & CEO, Xvisio Technology - Introductions to SeerLens One AR Glasses, Transforming Immersive Experiences for Work and Life
Chris Verret, President, HTX Labs - From Warfighter to Workforce - Modernizing Critical Training with VR (US Air Force)
Clint Kling, South Dakota School of Mines and Technology - VR: The New Age Training (CAT projects)
Panel: (1) Nina Hoch Founder, Recalibrate XR (2) Faisal Galaria, CEO, Blippar (3) Lyn Dee, Founder, Four (4) Jessica Cobb, Founder, Mission Control Lab - Enterprise Adoption of XR: Trends and Challenges
Abdul Rehman, ICESCO - Businesses in ICESCO member 54 countries and the MENA region are becoming increasingly interested in learning how to make the metaverse
Panel: Cindy MalloryEmerging Tech Strategist, ATS - XR as an Enterprise Onramp to the Metaverse
SenseGlove has released a free Enterprise Guide to Haptics helping XR companies add a sense of touch to their XR solution and feel the virtual like it’s real.
The free guide “XR haptics Checklist” includes Explicit infographics with a 10 step plan to build a haptics scenario, market insights and a list of haptic gloves available in 2022 with their features and price.
DELFT, THE NETHERLANDS – July 18, 2022 — SenseGlove a leading developer of force feedback gloves for VR, today unveiled their free ebook explaining the steps to add a sense of touch and tactile interaction to XR solution in order to make it more realistic. The ebook is aimed at enterprise companies willing to unlock the full potential of VR: allow the users to feel objects with their own hands and interact with them more naturally.
Unlike controllers, haptic force-feedback gloves allow you to hold, push, touch, connect and squeeze the virtual like it is real. Furthermore, the users can feel the size, density and resistance of virtual objects. Enterprise companies working with SenseGlove have found the interaction with haptic gloves way more realistic versus controllers: companies like Volkswagen, Airbus, European Space Agency and many more noted that traditional VR training allowed them to protect the training equipment from being damaged, however it did not allow trainees to interact naturally. The need to continuously keep the controllers in the user’s hands meant trainees were unable to grab things, let them go again or feel the details of different sizes in their hands.
“One hundred percent of the trainees who completed the T6 vehicle assembly training found it more realistic to work with SenseGlove Nova versus the controller, simply because they could do more, like grabbing things. It just feels more realistic,” says Marcos Antelo Barrio, Trainer at Volkswagen. “Using regular controllers in VR is an artificial way of interaction, nobody ever pushes the button with their fist. Usually you push a button with your finger. Grabbing things, moving things needs to be as natural as possible.” – says Captain Ewoud, Staff Officer Research and Development for the Royal Netherlands Army Simulation Centre.
The haptics market is expected to grow by $15.84 billion between 2021 and 2025 according to a 2021 analysis by Technavio. While haptics technology is a rapidly growing market, there is still not much practical and easy to use information on implementation of haptics for XR. “We believe this guide will help project managers and other XR professionals to build an efficient haptics scenario, maximise the value of their XR solution and avoid the most common mistakes”, - says Gijs den Butter, SenseGlove Co-Founder and CPO.
The ebook guide is available for download at https://www.senseglove.com/ebook-xr-haptics-checklist/ SenseGlove launched its inaugural haptic feedback glove, the DK1 in 2018, and the second iteration, the SenseGlove Nova at CES 2021. SenseGlove products have since been purchased and applied by more than 300 corporations and institutions, including Volkswagen, the European Space Agency, the Royal Dutch Army, Airbus, Scania, Procter & Gamble, Siemens, Cambridge University and Fraunhofer.
Orlando Economic Partnership, Unity partner to create first regional 'digital twin'
Post originally appearing on wesh.com. Click here for video.
ORLANDO, Fla. —Orlando is about to make a name for itself on the world stage with the unveiling of new innovative, immersive, 3D and holographic technology.
It's called a "digital twin" and developers said it will change the way the city does business.
"This is taking the very physical world that we all live in, and digitizing it and putting it into a virtual world," said Tim Giuliani, president and CEO of the Orlando Economic Partnership.
The partnership has been working on the project for years, eventually teaming up with software developer Unity to bring the vision to life.
Orlando's digital twin is being installed at the new Orlando Economic Partnership headquarters in downtown Orlando.
"Not only is it going to be a 180-degree LED wall but in the middle will be a holographic image,” Giuliani said.
The digital twin will map out 800 square miles of Orange, Seminole and Osceola counties with 40 square miles of highly detailed representations down to approximately 15-centimeter resolution, allowing users to zoom in far enough to see the traffic lines on the roads.
"This will be the first-in-the-world digital twin at this scale with this granular detail and resolution, and then all the data sources that we put into it. So it truly is going to be unique," Giuliani said.
The goal is to give an unbelievably real look at the area with data updating in real time.
The software was all built in the City Beautiful.
John Cunningham, head of government aerospace with Unity Technologies expects this project to set the example of what digital twins can do for the rest of the world.
"I thought this would be a really interesting project for us to get involved with,” Cunningham said. “To showcase our technology, how it can be used outside of gaming in real-world applications.”
If you're wondering what those real-world applications are, Giuliani said the possibilities are endless.
In phase one, it will help the Orlando Economic Partnership market Orlando to companies looking to relocate.
"Imagine, you're charged with the responsibility of an expansion of a company, and you bring a group of executives and you're touring three to five cities. That's the normal process. You arrive in Orlando, you've got 24 hours to understand the market, the opportunity, make connections and decide if this is a city that's going to win that sort of competition,” Giuliani said.
He said the digital twin will eliminate time-consuming site visits and provide data on transportation, utilities and even the talent pool of workers in the area.
The Orlando Economic Partnership can bring Orlando's digital twin on the road. Virtual reality headsets can show executives what it would be like to live and work here without ever leaving their office.
“It changes the conversation. You go from all these PowerPoint slides explaining all the data to standing around looking at a virtual representation of the city,” Giuliani said. “And it's just gonna be a wow factor.”
The digital twin can also help utility companies plan for expansion or map out new transit routes.
Giuliani said it could be a vital tool in connecting central Floridians to more job opportunities.
"You can use the digital twin for scenario planning. We're concerned that people aren't connected via transit. And so they're connected to fewer and fewer opportunities and jobs. And companies are looking for people, every company is looking for people,” Giuliani said.
“And we could give them more people to find in our community if we had transit connections. So scenario planning on how you connect the most people to job centers is something we're looking forward to using this technology for,” Giuliani said.
It could even help central Florida leaders prepare for disasters and the potential impacts of climate change.
But to reach its full potential, the twin needs more data, and that's all part of phase two.
"So the idea of the digital twin is that you're combining lots of different data from different organizations,” Cunningham said. “And to be able to create a platform that companies can put their data into kind of makes it more collaborative. Rather than just one company owning all the data and then giving other people access to it. Our vision of this digital twin is that it really is going to involve organizations around the central Florida area to contribute to the digital twin.”
"The more data we get into this digital twin, the richer it becomes, the more usable it becomes. And then it increases in value, as all of these other partners begin to put in their information," Giuliani said.
The Orlando Economic Partnership has already invested $1 million into this project.
Giuliani said they would require monetary investments from companies and organizations looking to add their data to the digital twin moving forward.
While this type of technology has been around for years, Cunningham said Orlando's digital twin is on track to the best in the world.
"Digital twins have been around for many, many years–20 years or so. Most of the time, digital twins have been used for manufacturing facilities or designing buildings or aircrafts and things like that. What's unique about this project is that we're doing it for a geographical region,” Cunningham said.
The fact that Orlando is at the forefront of this kind of technology might come as a surprise but it shouldn't. It's why Cunningham says Unity opened an office in Orlando two years ago.
"The growth of the real-time use of real-time 3D tools, things like games and tools that we use to build the metaverse. A lot of that comes out of Orlando. A lot of people don't know that Orlando is the hub of modeling and simulation. Globally, more than $6 billion are spent here by the U.S. Department of Defense alone. So, this really is an important ecosystem for the development of these types of applications,” Cunningham said.
Orlando's digital twin is part of the metaverse. It will essentially be "living,” constantly updating and growing.
Cunningham says eventually you might be able to access the digital twin.
"In one of the future phases, people will be able to wear either augmented reality glasses or use their phones and go around different areas in central Florida and be able to pull up information in real time and on those devices,” Cunningham said.
To watch a tour of the pre-installation of the Orlando digital twin, view it here.
Nextech AR Becomes 3D Model Supplier For Prime Marketplace @Nextech_AR
Nextech AR Solutions Corp. (“Nextech” or the “Company”) (OTCQB: NEXCF) (CSE: NTAR) (FSE: N29), a Metaverse Company and leading provider of augmented reality (“AR”) experience technologies and services is pleased to announce that the Company is now a 3D model supplier for the world’s largest Prime eCommerce marketplace. In addition to this significant achievement, in the past 45 days, the Company has signed 17 new 3D modelling deals, continuing its rapid expansion and growth into Web 3.0 and creation of digital twins for eCommerce.
Nextech AR CEO Evan Gappelberg commented, “A rapidly rising number of companies within the eCommerce ecosystem are recognizing the game-changing ROI and customer satisfaction experienced by implementing 3D/AR models on their eCommerce websites. We are currently working directly with some of the world’s largest eCommerce retailers and are integrated with the largest eCommerce marketplaces including, Shopify, BigCommerce and WooCommerce, who are now all rolling out 3D/AR and setting the standard for Web 3.0 in eCommerce. In my opinion, it is evident that it won't be long before all eCommerce businesses must follow suit to stay competitive in the marketplace.”
He continued, “We firmly believe that the transition from flat 2D photos to 3D models is in full swing and that 3D models are currently being established as the standard in eCommerce throughout the globe. Companies who don’t adopt a 3D/AR eCommerce strategy will be left behind, as 3D/AR produces immersive shopping experiences that customers are beginning to expect. With our end-to-end solutions, white glove service and ability to scale production, Nextech AR is emerging as the digital twin ecommerce leader”
According to Shopify, 3D augmented reality product models have proven to generate a 94% increase in conversions and a 40% reduction in returns online. On some product pages, 3D/AR models have increased conversion rates by up to 250%.
Charisma powers accessible VR experience
The trailer for the "Accessible Lives" VR experience
We're thrilled to announce that the Charisma-powered, accessible VR experience, "Accessible Lives", will be touring the UK this summer with StoryTrails.
“Accessible Lives” explores 100 years of tech for people with disabilities, and tells the real stories of some of its users. Users meet interactive avatars, examine 3D models of devices, and explore archive footage of assistive innovations through the decades.
With funding from StoryFutures Academy, and using BBC and British Film Institute (BFI) archive footage, Charisma worked with our creative designer Simon Daw and our academic adviser Dr Anica Zeyen to pioneer multiple levels of accessibility in VR. Our experience is available captioned and audio described. It's a seated experience that can be navigated using either the left or right hand.
Try it out at a StoryTrails location this summer! See the StoryTrails website for more information on dates and venues: https://story-trails.com/about/vr-experiences/
An image from the experience showing the user interface design.
An image from the experience showing 3D models of some assistive devices.
The Learning Leader’s Guide to Embracing the Metaverse
Article co-authored by VRARA member Christine Janssen, Ph.D. originally appearing in Training Mag.
The work-in-the-Metaverse future requires not only a huge culture shift but an attitudinal one too.
Talk of the Metaverse reshaping the world of work has many already reimagining the future workplace. Everything from onboarding, training/skills development, collaboration, artificial intelligence (AI) emergence and new work roles is on the horizon. HR.com recently polled 530 HR professionals, and a full 64 percent predict that a portion of their employees will be doing work in the Metaverse by 2025.
While we hear all about the fantastic ways the Metaverse will transform the way we work, it comes down to the people who will be working there who have to feel comfortable and motivated. The work-in-the-Metaverse future requires a vast culture shift and an attitudinal one as organizations adapt to the end of training, learning, and collaborating.
As learning leaders, when it comes to Virtual/Augmented/Mixed Reality and preparing to engage in the Metaverse, we are feeling pressure from several angles:
“Get your L&D team prepared! “Upskill them,” we say to ourselves.
“Identify the business needs where VR appears to offer the optimal learning experience.
“Prepare your business culture to embrace learning in VR.
“Design a learning product/course that is an A+ learning experience.
Note that there are more unknowns for exactly how to scale those demands than there are concrete steps most effectively. But there are some clues: The Metaverse promises advantages that the real world doesn’t, such as more active immersive learning experiences, the opportunity for immediate feedback, the sense of psychological safety behind an avatar, and the use of AI to intimately capture our behaviors and help us improve the way we work, learn, and collaborate.
Here are some factors for learning leaders to consider:
Activate learning to optimize engagement and outcomes
Virtual reality presents life-like environments where the big pay-off is that people can learn by doing, which is where the magic happens. Referring to Edgar Dale’s Cone of Learning (a.k.a. Cone of Experience), learning engagement and retention levels are significantly higher with active or experiential learning. Instead of utilizing traditional learning methods, which tend to be passive (think: reading, listening to speakers, watching videos or a demonstration, or self-paced online training), VR allows us to create scenarios, simulations, and exercises that put learners at the center of the experience and give them the agency of the outcomes. When we can gather, think, collaborate, and learn together in a medium that creates a true sense of presence, we can accomplish things on a different level than in a Zoom room, even though we don’t have to be in one location. (Think of the cost savings there!)
Gain richer insights for better-integrated teams, teamwork, and elevated culture
Countless reports and articles suggest that employees feel disconnected from their teams and culture when not engaging in-person with co-workers at the office. How do we bridge that gap when people are dispersed around the globe? One way is via immersive technologies such as VR. Regardless of one’s physical location, VR enables people to meet and collaborate in an entirely new dimension. There is a sense of presence and engagement that affords real connection. True VR is experienced when you wear a headset and can leverage six degrees of freedom (6DoF), capturing both head and body movements for the most life-like sensation.
In addition, meeting on Zoom has made reading the room challenging since we typically only see people from the waist up if they turn their cameras on. With avatars, body language cues are evident even though the technology does not yet capture facial expressions and full-body motion. This provides greater insight and understanding of workers’ personalities and comfort levels. For onboarding, new hires may get a more personalized experience with deeper and meaningful conversations and exposure to the company culture.
Enhance sensitivity and DE&I training
As we remain focused on diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging, inviting people into spaces in VR level the playing field, providing a voice and physical cues to each person. Location does not hinder anyone from being in the “physical space” (of a VR work room, for example) together. And the VR environment allows well-designed activities to build empathy for others. We can more easily “walk a mile in their shoes” as we take a complete sense of what someone else’s experiences may be – and how that impacts their thinking, approach to situations, and responses in various settings.
Our VR avatars give us equal access to all things in virtual environments. VR will not miraculously fix issues your organization may have when it comes to DE&I. But the medium of engagement (VR) can be utilized for customized and purposeful learning simulations that enable people to understand better others’ experiences, perspectives, attitudes, and more. By experiencing this firsthand, there is a greater likelihood that you will finally see the change you’ve been looking for. Think about it – to move DE&I initiatives forward, people need to change their behaviors and mindsets.
Here are seven ways to get started:
Make time for your L&D team (and yourself) to learn more about the Metaverse and immersive technologies. Perhaps start with articles, videos, webcasts, etc.
Put together an Immersive Learning Governance Board of some sort to guide your direction, company vision, and approved next steps.
Look for structured ways to provide VR experiences for your L&D team. Is there a course or learning experience you can offer them to dip their toes in the water?
Invest in VR headsets for a small VR team within your organization.
Create a VR learning repository where your L&D team can contribute articles, new VR tools they find, companies to explore, VR groups to join, etc.
Adopt a pioneering mindset. You are a front-runner if you are reading this and beginning to explore VR. Be curious. Be a part of shaping learning in the Metaverse.
Look for a VR rockstar to emerge from your L&D team. Most likely, this learning opportunity you provide will spark joy in one of your team members. So let them lead. Let them help the rest of the team navigate the sometimes choppy waters of sailing in uncharted waters like the sea of VR.
Investigate and determine the right content to be designed in an immersive VR experience. Determine where it makes the most sense to integrate VR because not every subject warrants VR simulations. Think of topics or scenarios that are most challenging, uncomfortable, or complex for employees. Float these ideas by a variety of stakeholders to not only get buy-in and support and determine the best first steps to develop training in VR for it.
Put yourself in your employees’ shoes. They are uber busy and work long hours. They are tired of passive, dull, obligatory training. They are begging to be treated as valued human beings. They want to gain new, relevant skills that make them more valuable to your organization. Think of training and upskilling in a new way that puts more power and onus in the hands of your employees. Enable them to learn what is most relevant to them when it’s most convenient for them. Enable them to play and escape reality. Enable them to learn by doing and experiencing consequences in safe, immersive environments. And then…watch employee engagement and retention soar.
Heidi Scott, Ph.D. and Christine Janssen, Ph.D.
Heidi Scott, PhD, the Chief Learning Officer for HR.com is on a mission to make HR professionals smarter with innovative learning solutions that are sprinkled with a healthy dose of fun. With a PhD in Leadership from Gonzaga University, an MA and BA in education, her background as a business coach and trainer, and a K-12 teacher, principal and Adjunct Professor in the Masters of Leadership Program at Gonzaga University, Scott is a “leaders’ coach,” focused on preparing HR professionals to master the quick-changing workplaces and become great leaders. She is also co-author of the new book, HR Fundamentals for Non-HR Managers.
Christine Janssen, PhD is the Founder and CEO of Edstutia, a 21st century virtual learning platform positioned at the intersection of business and technology. Prior to Edstutia, Dr. Janssen was a Clinical Associate Professor and the Director of Entrepreneurship in the Gabelli School of Business at Fordham University. She holds a BS in Marketing from the University of South Florida, a Global MBA in Communications & Information Systems (CIS) and Finance with a specialization in e-Business from Fordham University, and a PhD from New York University, where her dissertation focused on how entrepreneurs learn. Dr. Janssen is a Senior Fellow in the L&D Institute at the U.S. Human Capital Center of the Conference Board; a Member of the HR.com Learning Engagement, Solutions & Platforms Advisory Board; Co-Chair of the Training Committee at the VRARA (Virtual Reality Augmented Reality Association), and a Mentor at StartEd, guiding up-and-coming edtech entrepreneurs. Her research interest lies squarely in the future of learning.
PIXO VR Raises $6.5M Round, Led By Saudi Aramco Energy Ventures (SAEV) and Announces New Tech & Product Leadership
Original Post Appearing on pixovr.com
ROYAL OAK, Mich. — Enterprise extended reality (XR) solutions provider, PIXO VR, which launched its platform for delivery of VR/AR workplace training content, PIXO Apex™, in 2020, has announced $6.5 million in funding. This investment, which will fuel the next phase of growth for the company, was led by Saudi Aramco Energy Ventures (SAEV), the corporate venturing subsidiary of Saudi Aramco, along with Peter Karmanos Jr., co-founder and former CEO of Compuware Corporation, and others.
“This injection of capital allows us to continue to improve our first-of-its-kind platform,” said PIXO Founder and CEO Sean Hurwitz. “We believe virtual reality provides more immersive, interactive, and meaningful experiences, and with PIXO, it has never been easier for organizations to leverage this technology to train employees.”
Companies like Saudi Aramco and Chick-fil-A are partnering with PIXO for its enterprise-compliant platform, Apex; a true all-in-one solution for management and delivery of VR/AR training content. PIXO Apex helps seamlessly integrate XR training, from initial adoption to scaling across an entire organization. Apex works on any headset and integrates with any Learning Management System (LMS) to provide a holistic view of training program performance, making it as simple as possible to launch a pilot and prove ROI prior to full scale adoption.
Apex is also the only XR platform that is an open system. With Apex, integration with other XR solutions is possible; a huge benefit for organizations looking to scale their XR training.
According to Hurwitz, PIXO saw the need to provide both their customers and partners a significant competitive advantage with this type of XR ecosystem, and built Apex around that need.
“We knew six years ago (a lifetime in this industry) that big companies would never use a dozen different solutions, each with their own exclusive use case, to adopt XR,” Hurwitz said. “When creating products with the end user in mind, it’s been clear to us that an all-in-one platform is what the market needs. It’s just what’s best for the customer.”
With customer focus in mind, PIXO, which recently was featured in The Silicon Review as one of the 50 fastest growing companies of 2022, has invested in its leadership team. “Adding strong leadership in technology, product and content is key to giving customers the tools they need to adopt and scale VR training,” Hurwitz said. PIXO’s newest leadership members include: VP of Content Brian Draper, VP of Product Leo Alsufi, and VP of Technology Michael Drzewiecki.
PwC economists predict VR and AR have the potential to boost the global economy by $1.5 trillion over the next 10 years, with one fifth of that ($294 billion) coming in the form of VR/AR training. PIXO is poised to capitalize on the market with a unique solution and overall approach to the industry.
One of PIXO’s earliest customers, Saudi Aramco began using VR training through PIXO’s platform in 2020. After two years of partnership, Saudi Aramco’s strategic technology venturing program, Saudi Aramco Energy Ventures (SAEV), has become the lead investor in this round of funding for PIXO.
“We have been partners with PIXO since 2020, and have seen first hand the various benefits immersive training experiences can provide organizations,” said Anupam Singh, Investment Director for SAEV. “We anticipate tremendous future growth in the XR industry, and PIXO is in a great position to capitalize on that with their unique all-in-one platform.”
About PIXO VR
PIXO offers a complete, end-to-end, extended reality (XR) solution for enterprise. With PIXO’s cloud-based system, organizations can deploy, use, and scale XR content globally across thousands of users and devices. Headquartered in Royal Oak, Michigan, the PIXO mission is to unlock human potential and improve lives through the power of emerging technology.
About Saudi Aramco Energy Ventures
Saudi Aramco Energy Ventures LLC (SAEV) is the corporate venture fund of Aramco Ventures, the Venture Capital subsidiary of Aramco, the world’s leading fully integrated energy and chemical enterprise. Headquartered in Dhahran with offices in North America, Europe and Asia, SAEV’s mission is to invest globally in startup and high growth companies with technologies of strategic importance to its parent company. For more information, visit www.saev.com.
About Peter Karmanos Jr.
Peter Karmanos Jr. is current Chairman at Maddog Professional Services, a high-tech venture capital firm. Karmanos is co-founder and former CEO and Chairman of Enterprise for software and IT giant, Compuware Corporation. Karmanos is also former owner of the Carolina Hurricanes of the National Hockey League, and was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2015.
Tags: PIXO, PIXO Apex, SAEV, virtual reality, virtual reality training, VR, VR training
Former CEO and Chairman of Qualcomm, Paul Jacobs, to Keynote at our VRARA Enterprise Forum on July 21
Paul Jacobs will give a live keynote about Extending Reality at our July 21 virtual event - VRARA Enterprise Forum, which is expected to gather 2000+ professionals from around the world.
Most real-world interactions involve multiple people and not just a single person. Why would the virtual world be any different? High fidelity experiences today tend to be tethered. What if those cables were cut? Have you felt motion sickness while using XR given the tethered experience can prevent natural movement though virtual spaces? What if you were able to walk through the content at your own pace instead of the experience coming at you?
The quality of content varies significantly depending on the type of headsets today, posing a challenge for the users and developers. What if the experience can be unlocked from the headset so developers can leverage high powered network elements to create the highest quality content without any constraints?
Paul founded XCOM in 2018 and at XCOM, they believe the best way to predict the future is to invent it. Earlier this year, XCOM unveiled their next-gen Wireless XR that enables the highest quality experiences for multiple users on-site while they move around freely. XCOM believes the possibilities for XR are endless.
Join the presentation and live Q&A!
Paul Jacobs Bio
Paul E. Jacobs, Ph.D., founded XCOM in 2018 to #keepinventing and to invest with the world’s most creative engineers and businesspeople.
As former CEO and Executive Chairman of Qualcomm, Dr. Jacobs spearheaded its efforts to develop and commercialize fundamental mobile technology breakthroughs that fueled the wireless internet and smartphone revolutions. During his tenure as CEO, Qualcomm’s revenues quadrupled, and its market capitalization doubled. Dr. Jacobs is a prolific inventor with over 80 U.S. patents granted or pending in the field of wireless technology and devices.
He served as a director of Qualcomm from June 2005 to March 2018, including as chairman of the board of directors from March 2009 to March 2018, and as executive chairman from March 2014 to March 2018. He served as chief executive officer from July 2005 to March 2014, and as group president of Qualcomm Wireless & Internet from July 2001 to July 2005. In addition, he served as an executive vice president of Qualcomm from February 2000 to June 2005.
Dr. Jacobs is on the Board of Directors of Dropbox, Inc., FIRST, and Heal, a private technology enabled medical care company. He attended the University of California, Berkeley, where he earned a B.S. in electrical engineering and computer science, M.S. in electrical engineering, and Ph.D. in electrical engineering and computer science. He founded Berkeley’s Jacobs Institute for Design Innovation and was the university’s 2017 Alumnus of the Year. Dr. Jacobs is a member of the National Academy of Engineering and a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
