The VR/AR Association's Defense and Intelligence Committee aims for Collaboration

Attend the VR/AR Global Summit Nov 1-2 in Vancouver to learn more about VR/AR solutions for Defense.

The ongoing mission of the VR/AR Association (VRARA) Defense and Intelligence Committee is to bring together industry, government and immersive technologists to collaborate on standards and use cases, according to VRARA’s DC Chapter Vice President Sophia Moshasha.

The defense and intelligence committee held its launch event in Washington DC in April, with almost 100 attendees amassing to discuss the development and implementation of VR technology within mainly maintenance training, wargaming and battlefield training.

Several particularities of intelligence and defense dictate a different approach going forward for the DC chapter than others within the VR/AR Association might take, according to Moshasha.

Virginia-based VR experience creator Brightline Interactive, where Moshasha works as director of immersive platforms alongside managing principle and DC Chapter President Tyler Gates, has worked with several government agencies over the past 15 years, most notably an emergency management agency on flood simulations used to raise awareness among and communicate issues to community leaders.

In her work at Brightline, Moshasha and her colleagues have learned that “government agencies want to prove out the technical capabilities of VR fast”.

She says: “They want a quick turnaround in the research and development and rapid prototyping, so they can start investing in building out this immersive ecosystem.”

The defense and intelligence professionals attending the event April, particularly those from Department of Defense contractors such as Booz Allen Hamilton, also needed the committee to have a Washington DC presence.

Moshasha explains: “It made sense to host the committee here. That’s not to say that the committee doesn’t have global appeal, but in order to attract the defense players, we needed a physical presence here in DC to draw them in and get their hands on the tech. That was the purpose of the launch, and we’re planning similar events.”

The end goal is to get defense and intelligence professionals involved in shaping future initiatives for immersive technology.

“Our major goal is to set the standards for the creation and implementation of virtual environments within defense and intelligence, and the only way we’re going to do that is with collaboration between government, industry and the makers of the technology.”

“That’s what I’m trying to do—gather those three groups to collaborate on standards and research, and have that one voice. I think the VR/AR Association is a great place for industry to develop those standards of practice.”

Source

Attend the VR/AR Global Summit Nov 1-2 in Vancouver to learn more about VR/AR solutions for Defense.

CBC News reports on Geopogo using Magic Leap to showcase how Augmented Reality will change how we plan cities!

Attend the VR/AR Global Summit Nov 1-2 in Vancouver to learn more about VR/AR solutions for AEC.

Geopogo software and Magic Leaps headsets was used to showcase to the public a where an inner city hospital could be located. This controversial site spurred much conversation and gave community leaders the opportunity to see what an inner city hospital would look like and the benefits it would have.

“AR technology will transform how we design and present cities to the public by showcasing potential futures.”

— Mike Hoppe, Geopogo

Read more here:

CBC News AR Mega Hospital news
CBC Windsor Article

People with autism face special risks dealing with police. This virtual reality program could help

Attend the VR/AR Global Summit Nov 1-2 in Vancouver to learn more about VR/AR solutions for your use case!

By Rita Giordano

Skylar Armstrong, a 17-year-old high schooler from North Philadelphia, has been fielding a lot of attention from police lately.

Officers on the beat have been peppering him with all sorts of questions: “What are you doing here?” “Can you tell me your street address?” “Can you show me your ID?”

But Skylar hasn’t been perturbed by any of this. Quite the contrary.

“It’s fun,” said the student at Jules E. Mastbaum Area Vocational/Technical School.

He is part of an ongoing, $1.7 million federally funded study that one day may affect how young people like him learn. It may also save lives.

Skylar, who is on the autism spectrum, is learning how to interact with police officers through the use of virtual reality. The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia’s Center for Autism Research (CAR) and the creator of Floreo, an immersive viewing/education system, are examining whether virtual reality can be an effective tool to teach people with autism how to respond to law enforcement officers they may encounter in the real world.

A 2016 Florida case that almost ended in tragedy was the inspiration for the Floreo system. In an incident that drew national outrage, a North Miami police officer fired three times at an autistic man holding a silver toy truck, which the officer said he mistook for a weapon. The shots missed the autistic man, but struck and wounded his caretaker, who was on the ground with his hands raised, shouting at the officer not to shoot.

Many police officers receive training in dealing with emotionally disturbed people. However, far less common is instruction about autism, the fastest growing developmental disability in the United States. A person with autism may not make eye contact or even look away in an uncomfortable situation. To a police officer, that may seem to be evasive. The person with autism may not answer a question or even have the verbal capacity to answer the question. Or put hands in the pockets, possibly leading an officer to think they’re concealing something, or worse, going for a weapon. Or may simply walk away, even after being told not to. Any of that can end in disaster.

A really useful tool

Virtual reality training, researchers hope, can help people with autism learn to handle difficult encounters. A virtual encounter with an officer has the person with autism getting experience being questioned — What are you doing here? What is your name? — and give appropriate verbal responses. (Some programs go so far as to advise people with autism to come out and say it to an officer.)

“A virtual interaction is a really useful tool because people on the spectrum need more practice than other people, and police officers are not readily available to handle that,” said Joseph McCleery, a lead researcher with the study and executive director for academic programs in the Kinney Center for Autism Education and Support at St. Joseph’s University.

For people on the autism spectrum, technology can be an especially appealing way to learn.

“Ever since the first computers came out and people with autism were very drawn to them, people have been trying to figure out what it is about technology that’s so motivating for people with autism spectrum disorder,” said Julia Parish-Morris, another leader of the CAR study and a research assistant professor of psychology with Penn’s Perelman School of Medicine. “Maybe it’s that technology is more predictable. It’s a more controlled way to learn. Other people have said it’s about novelty — trying new stuff.”

Still others have suggested that technology, as a means of learning and communication, acts as a bridge for people on the autism spectrum — an engaging, comfortable link between the autistic brain and the neurotypical world.

Research has found that technology-based learning can be appealing to people with ASD for several reasons. It’s consistent. It can provide a specific focus of attention that reduces distractions from extraneous sensory stimuli, as well as freedom from social demands.

And as Skylar, a video game aficionado, found, virtual reality can be a lot of fun.

A virtual bridge to real communication

Manoj Ravindran thinks so, too. A few years ago, Manoj, then a 6-year-old with ASD from the Washington area, was so intrigued by Google Maps and navigation that his father, Vijay Ravindran, a software engineer and former Amazon engineering director, introduced him to virtual reality.

“He really enjoyed that, and he started engaging in pretend play, which was a big developmental milestone that is often delayed with kids with autism,” said Ravindran, a member of the board of managers of the Lenfest Institute for Journalism, which owns The Inquirer.

That led Ravindran and Manoj’s mother, Vibha Sazawal, a computer scientist, to develop Floreo. Manoj, now 9 and an enthusiastic partner in Floreo, helps introduce other children to VR at exhibitions. The Floreo system has been put to use as a learning tool in schools, autism programs, and homes.

Concern about the safety of her son and young people like him helped convince Skylar’s mother, Sheila Armstrong, to have her son take part in the study.

“I have an African American male teenager,” said Sheila Armstrong, a city probate clerk and education advocate. “It’s scary because my son is special needs, and I didn’t know if he knew how to react if he was stopped and frisked. If you look at my son, he looks like a million other African American boys.”

Armstrong said her hope is that the study can be a learning experience for people with autism as well as for police.

“I look at this as one of many tools that can be used to bridge communication and understanding for both groups,” she said.

Even though police training is not a goal of the study, Capt. Michael O’Donnell, commanding officer of Philadelphia’s 17th Police District, saw its potential for both police and people on the spectrum, and got his officers involved.

“It’s giving them good training and cues to look for when they’re dealing with people with autism,” O’Donnell said. “Instead of escalating a situation, they can recognize those cues and actually de-escalate a situation more quickly.”

In the study, participants on the spectrum are randomly assigned to one of two groups. The VR group gets three Philly-centric lessons with the Floreo device. The other group also gets three lessons, but with more conventional materials, such as a video, verbal instruction, and worksheets. Each then gets to practice what they’ve learned with a real police officer.

This summer, the study is being conducted at CHOP, but the plan is to expand it to such community settings as schools. The researchers are still looking for participants, age 12 to 60, and partner institutions for both legs of the study.

“Our hypothesis is not that VR will be better for everybody,” Parish-Morris said, “but that these different programs will help different people.”

If so, this study may be able to show that virtual reality can also be a promising tool for people on the spectrum to learn other skills.

Skylar, who is in his Kensington high school’s culinary program, said he’d like to try virtual reality cooking lessons.

His mother wonders whether virtual reality might be a safe way to start learning the basics of another skill Skylar is eager to acquire: driving a car.

For now, though, Skylar seems to have gotten a kick out of his law enforcement learning experience. Even before the study, he was a fan of such cop shows as Blue Bloods and Criminal Minds, and he has chatted with the officer at his high school.

“He knows a lot about police officers,” said Linda Nagle, one of the officers helping with the study. “I was impressed.”

And young people such as Skylar may have their own lessons to share.

“That’s why I told him, ‘Son, it’s important for you to do that study,’” Sheila Armstrong said. “'You see the world differently, and we need that.'”

Individuals and families interested in participating in the study can contact Lucero Cordero at CORDEROLE@email.chop.edu or 267-425-1152.

For more info see floreotech.com

Source

Virtual Reality Changing Rehab

Attend the VR/AR Global Summit Nov 1-2 in Vancouver to learn more about VR/AR in Healthcare!

By Eran Orr of XR Health

There is an old joke in the medical world about minor surgery—it is only minor if it’s being done on someone else. The same thought can also be applied to rehab.

It is generally positive to hear that someone is in physical rehab (which, of course, is short for rehabilitation). It conjures up the notion that they are on the mend and working towards a full recovery from whatever condition that ails him or her. But we sometimes forget the real drudgery that rehab entails. It can be tedious and painful to manage injury and promote recovery.

It can involve infrared radiation, laser therapy, massage, and manual resistance training. It can involve physicality; swimming, use of chairs, exercise balls and even stairs. And it can involve utilizing intricate equipment-- electrical devices, heat, ultrasound or even stimulating the patient’s body manually using body contact.

But now, it can also involve Virtual Reality (VR) technology which, at its most basic, provides the opportunity to incorporate encouragement and fun into the rehabilitation process. For example, with the use of a VR headset, a virtual environment is created to help patients suffering from pain and injury. Patients exercising their lower limbs on a treadmill can find themselves experiencing a walk in the park or countryside.

VR has been used successfully to treat stroke victims, walking disorders and back pain. A study conducted in 2015, featuring 15 trials with 341 participants, shows that VR actually helped patients regain mobility after experiencing a stroke. Some of the stroke victims underwent only traditional rehabilitation. Others underwent rehabilitation augmented with VR experiences, either shown videos through a VR headset or placed in “simulated settings” while performing a basic exercise like walking. Researchers concluded the data showed that VR created a statistically significant improvement in “walking speed, balance, and mobility,” the metrics used to determine whether a patient was recovering efficiently.

Alas, naturally, it follows that rehab “assignments” can be turned into a video game-like experience through the use of VR headsets. This is happening because we are learning that those folks aged 50 or over are becoming more accepting of video and computer gaming. Technology doesn’t freak seniors out perhaps like it once did. So it is becoming easier to sell them on the use of VR and its close relative, Augmented Reality (AR), for their rehab efforts.

Why is this important? As an example, for those with limited mobility, practicing walking skills can get boring pretty quickly. Adding the elements of “keeping score” and/or “competition” has proven to help patients engage in their exercises and treatments. The experience generally becomes more dynamic and enjoyable. VR has been shown to spike a user’s motivation. This motivation improves a patient’s motor learning and coordination skills when doing physical therapy. Patients are more likely to put in a greater effort. And, perhaps most importantly, VR allows physicians to stimulate a patient’s brain, as well as their body. Being able to see an “avatar” that depicts the movement of patients (while they are moving) helps stimulate the motor cortex in the brain that produces the movement. And this “observation loop” activates the brain regions damaged by a stroke.

Pain management/reduction is another area where VR therapy is changing attitudes and may even someday reduce the reliance on painkillers to help people get by. New evidence shows VR can be used to help people their brain from processing pain. Studies have discovered that the parts of the brain linked to pain are much less active when a patient is immersed in virtual reality. It becomes a coping mechanism for the patient with the pain and, eventually, helps overcome it. The end result of pain reduction is a faster recovery process, thus shortening the length of a patient’s stay in the hospital, which in turn lowers healthcare costs.

From a futuristic standpoint, the therapeutic and rehabilitative potential of VR will be demonstrated by what’s known as computer assisted rehabilitation environment or CAREN. Down under, in Australia, engineers are developing “virtual” environments such as city streets in order to help researchers calculate the motion of a person’s limbs while walking along the streets, mimicking a real situation thus creating an appropriate response to it. CAREN is has a particular application in the world of sports, with in-depth studies taking place in muscle and joint function in the human body and how diseases or injury affect motor performance. CAREN can accurately evaluate how people generate joint motion pre- and post-operatively. It is possible now to look at how a joint replacement is affecting a person’s ability to move a joint after surgery, or how a stroke patient’s balance and fall risk is affected by rehabilitation.

VR is a major part of all of these are all technological advances leading to concrete improvements in the medical treatment and management of diseases and conditions that were previously thought to be unmanageable. Physical therapy and rehab are very important health restorative procedures and there are many more discoveries to be made utilizing VR. Used either in isolation or in combination with other treatment procedures, VR will continue to help manage many of the injuries and conditions that befall human beings. Even better, as VR technology keeps advancing, physical therapy and rehab will become a more engaging, fun and thrilling experience.

For more info, see www.xr.health

Attend the VR/AR Global Summit Nov 1-2 in Vancouver to learn more about VR/AR in Healthcare!

De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde in the #Philippines organizes week-long celebration with AR projects

Attend the VR/AR Global Summit Nov 1-2 in Vancouver to see projects and products from around the globe!

Achieving a 20-year Milestone

Last July 2019 marks the 20-year milestone of De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde’s Multimedia Arts Program. Established in 1999, the Multimedia Arts Program was the first college degree course offered in the Philippines that merges arts, technology, animation, and design subjects. 

To commemorate this event, students and faculty members of the Multimedia Arts program organized a week-long in-campus celebration entitled “One to 2020” last July 2019. The event, headed by Sir Mito Tubilleja, featured talks from industry professionals, jobs fairs, bazaars, hologram exhibits, and fascinating augmented reality projects of the students.  A facial augmented reality feature, developed by Sir Rexcel Cariaga, was also presented during the event for everyone to try in their Facebook Camera app. 

TO TRY THE AR APP, CLICK THIS LINK: http://bit.do/MMA2020

Augmented Reality Projects of Multimedia Arts' Students

As of this writing, thirteen (13) students from the Multimedia Arts program are in a two-week excursion around Washington D.C where they will be exposing themselves to present-day technologies being adapted in said state. The students, accompanied by Ms. Sharon Mapa (Associate Dean of the New Media Cluster) and Mr. Roy Nicolas Molon Jr.  (Multimedia Arts Chairperson), also had a one day XR workshop at Notiontheory where they were able to immerse themselves in VR and AR experiences. They were also introduced to spacial computing through Magic Leap’s Mixed Reality device. 

The two-decade accomplishments of De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde’s Multimedia Arts Program, nonetheless, do not stop there.  The college is now preparing its groundwork in establishing projection mapping and motion capture courses which they will soon incorporate in their virtual reality subjects. 

DESIGNATIONS:

Ms. Sharon Arriola mariasharon.arriola@benilde.edu.ph

Associate Dean, New Media Cluster 

Mr. Roy Nicolas Molon Jr.  roynicolas.molon@benilde.edu.ph

Chairperson, Multimedia Arts

Mr. Rexcel Cariaga rexcel.cariaga@benilde.edu.ph

Augmented and Virtual Reality Coordinator

Mr. Mito Tubilleja mito@benilde.edu.ph

Event Head

VR/AR Global Summit update: sponsors & exhibitors include Microsoft, Lenovo, Niantic, Theorem Solution, LNG Studios, BCIT, VirtualWare among others

We are thrilled to confirm additional Sponsors and Exhibitors for our VR/AR Global Summit!

Get your ticket today for this world-class event taking place Nov 1-2 at the Parq Vancouver, bringing together the best knowledge and networking in VR & AR for enterprise, hardware, software and content providers from across the globe.

This VR use case has the potential to save retailers millions of dollars!

Attend the VR/AR Global Summit Nov 1-2 in Vancouver to learn more about VR/AR in Retail!

Pixel Framers specializes in photo-realistic mobile VR solutions for the AEC, retail, and entertainment industries. They produced this piece for free for the Raspberry Pi Foundation to both promote their new retail store as well as demonstrate Pixel Framers’ mobile VR capabilities. The entire demo was built from scratch for mobile VR (Oculus Go, Gear VR, Google Cardboard) using only photos available online.

Following completion of the demo Pixel Framers was able to visit the Cambridge, U.K. store in person and compare. Pixel Framers believes this type of use case has the potential to save retailers millions of dollars by optimizing the store design and layout processes as well as improving and streamlining staff training/on-boarding.

More info: http://www.raspberrypi.org/blog/take-a-virtual-reality-tour-of-the-raspberry-pi-store/

Contact: Rob Chinery rchinery@pixelframers.com



The VR/AR Association appoints Samuel Trevino of Insitu (a Boeing company) as Chair of the Aerospace Committee

Attend the VR/AR Global Summit Nov 1-2 in Vancouver to learn more about VR/AR in Aerospace!

To participate in the Aerospace Committee, email info@thevrara.com

The Aerospace Committee of the VR/AR Association serves as a resource to promote the application of VR/AR technology as a solution to a number of traditional problems in aerospace. The committee will enable the sharing of best practices and information on VR/AR related applications in the aerospace industry as well as curate industry relevant case studies. Furthermore, the committee will, as necessary, shape and recommend best practices for the scaling of VR/AR applications across aerospace.

Areas of focus for the Committee include:

• Data visualization

• Learning & Training an aging workforce;

• Learning and training a new work force; 

• Troubleshooting and live support;

• Safety & EHS as pertains to the aerospace industry

• Guided assistance of factory workers & field technicians in aerospace.

Samuel Trevino is a Global Product Training Manager at Insitu (a Boeing company). In his current role, Sam manages products and services for 30+ training courses on 5 Unmanned Aerial Systems in 6 schoolhouses, globally. Insitu has trained and certified more than 3,500 students in the past 2 years. Sam’s teams are spearheading efforts in implementing new instructional technologies that assist their SMEs in surging flow of training and product content leveraging Insitu’s 1.25 million operational flight hours worth of data. Sam’s efforts include implementing a flipped-classroom variant, growing the use and implementation of AR/VR, agile end-to-end product development, providing custom curriculum options, and supporting two programs of record while maintaining compliance with various industry standards. Sam has also served as an Infantryman and Sniper during OIF1 and OIF2.

Join other thought-leaders committed to the application of VR/AR technology in solving the problems associated with the aerospace industry by emailing info@thevrara.com

The Committee meets once a month online, and has a regular quarterly gathering via webinars or hosted events.

Attend the VR/AR Global Summit Nov 1-2 in Vancouver to learn more about VR/AR in Aerospace!

To participate in the Aerospace Committee, email info@thevrara.com

Checkout Imagination Park's AR Activations including AT&T and the 2019 American Association All Star Game. Now you can use their Self-Service AR Platform for your Events!

Attend the VR/AR Global Summit Nov 1-2 in Vancouver to learn more about AR for events!

Imagination Park is launching their Self-Service AR Platform - ImagineAR.com October 1st that allows any company or person to launch an AR mobile Activation in minutes without any technical background.

Any AR Content creator can use the platform to active their AR either by Visual marker or GPS Location.

Below are two recent examples Imagination Park deployed:

AT&T Scavenger Hunt:

2019 American Association All Star Game

If you’re interested in doing an AR activation, contact:

Alen Paul Silverrstieen

CEO & President

Imagination Park

alenpaul@imaginationpark.com

Verizon and VRARA Member meetingRoom Jonny Cosgrove explain why #5G is going to be a gamechanger for Virtual and Augmented Reality

Attend the VR/AR Global Summit Nov 1-2 in Vancouver to learn more about 5G and VR/AR!

At the beginning of U2’s Experience + Innocence show, the audience in the stadium saw a blue and white iceberg projected across an 80-foot wide screen. As Bono’s smooth baritone sang the opening words of the band’s set, the five-foot, six-inch Irish singer appeared at the center of the stage. But anyone holding up their phones to the screen witnessed an enormous, electric blue outline of Bono towering over the crowd.

Concerts featuring augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR), like the ones U2 gave on the band’s recent tour, are still at an experimental phase, but many event experts expect the technology will become a regular part of live shows.

Eminem utilized AR at last year’s Coachella festival. After downloading an app on their phones, fans could view his set accompanied by silly and startling images like a plate of the rapper’s mom’s spaghetti overturning on top of them. This year, Coachella built an AR-equipped stage where festival-goers could peek through an app on their phone screens during performances to see spaceships fly through the sky.

“VR and AR are moving with a velocity now,” said Jonny Cosgrove, a former concert promoter who’s now CEO of the VR company meetingRoom. “What’s exciting now is that the end user gets to be the guinea pigs for all kinds of fantastic and immersive experiences.”

Bono said the stadium’s tall, augmented reality version of him was doing the same thing he did when he’d stage dive in the early days of U2: break the stage’s fourth wall to create a more personal connection with the audience. The technology doesn’t require a stadium-size stage to be effective. The New York City-based band Starset had an augmented reality spaceship fly around Hammerstein Ballroom and land onstage.

Not all immersive AR images are as flashy as spaceships, but they still have the power to heighten live entertainment experiences, said Sovanna Mam, the executive producer and founder of Greenfish Labs.

“The goal is not just to use technology for technology’s sake, but to make sure that people can use their phones to do something worthwhile that enhances their experience and makes it smoother,” he noted.

That could mean an AR-enabled app on each festival-goer’s phone that, when opened, points them to the nearest restroom or concession stand. The same tech could also potentially geo-locate friends.

Such experiences also help event sponsors drastically increase user engagement. Verizon previously teamed up with Maroon 5 to give fans the opportunity to do live karaoke at three of their shows. While the band played their first two songs of the show, aspiring singers could film themselves on Snapchat singing along.

Verizon had given away 100 Maroon 5 tickets at those shows. The singalong experience was a way to scale the giveaway’s impact and encourage winning fans to share the video and let everyone know that they had the best seats in the house.

The company views AR and VR as great platforms for connecting with non-traditional audiences. (Verizon  has also teamed up with artist Pharrell Williams to open an Innovative Learning Lab in Virginia Beach, which will teach students about AR and VR, as well as other cutting edge tech.)

AR applications can also be used inside concerts like Coachella, where vendors and sponsors could offer coupons, tickets and other prizes for collecting their AR markers.

The implementation of speedier networks will make many of these applications more widely available, said Mam. “The 5G network is going to be a gamechanger,” he said. “We’re about to see an explosion of VR and AR activations because of 5G.”

Those advancements may seem like an intrusion into a live experience traditionally designed to connect people with music. But mobile screens aren’t going anywhere, emphasized Cosgrove. That’s why the best VR and AR innovators are aiming to create immersive experiences so personalized and realistic you forget they’re happening in a mobile app or wearable device.

“We’re giving people a new means to experience things,” he said. “We’re not trying to change an experience, but enhance it. We want to make sure everyone can have a personal experience, and a great time.”

For more information, see:

meetingRoom

U2 discusses augmented reality

Coachella’s AR-equipped stage

Eminem’s augmented reality app

Starset flies a spaceship

Verizon partners with Maroon 5

For related media inquiries, please contact story.inquiry@one.verizon.com

Source

Attend the VR/AR Global Summit Nov 1-2 in Vancouver to learn more about 5G and VR/AR!

RSVP for our New Online Courses for Virtual and Augmented Reality Development - Start in September

Also, come for our onsite workshops to be held at the VR/AR Global Summit Nov 1-2 in Vancouver

Registration for Circuit Stream's September cohorts are now open! VRARA members receive 20% off tuition, email info@thevrara.com for your code.

VR Development with Unity

September 30 - December 11

Monday & Wednesday

Choice of times:

10-11:30am PT

6:30-8pm PT

6:30-8pm ET

This course features live weekly classes and 1-on-1 sessions designed to help you become a virtual reality designer, developer or content creator. After 10 weeks, you’ll have a working VR prototype and the expertise to create professional virtual reality apps.

This is a beginner friendly course for new VR creators, no previous experience required.

Whether you’re upgrading your skills or building a VR app for work or yourself, our project-based course will finish with a working prototype ready for publication.

More information about Circuit Stream's VR/AR Development with Unity courses available here.

AR Development with Unity

September 30 - December 11

Monday & Wednesday

Choice of times:

10-11:30am PT

6:30-8pm PT

6:30-8pm ET

This course features live weekly classes and 1-on-1 sessions designed to help you become an augmented reality designer, developer or content creator. After 10 weeks, you’ll have a working AR prototype and the expertise to create professional augmented reality apps.

This is a beginner friendly course for new AR creators, no previous experience required.

Whether you’re upgrading your skills or building a AR app for work or yourself, our project-based course will finish with a working prototype ready for publication.

More information about Circuit Stream's VR/AR Development with Unity courses available here.

VRARA Member Atheer Acquires Flype to Accelerate Augmented Reality’s Adoption in the Enterprise

Come see Atheer at the VR/AR Global Summit in Vancouver Nov 1-2

Acquisition of enterprise grade work platform - one that intelligently and securely connects users with the digital assets they need - will supercharge Atheer's award-winning AR Management Platform

Atheer Inc. announced the acquisition of San Francisco-based digital work platform pioneer Flype Inc.

This acquisition accelerates the development of Atheer’s award-winning Augmented Reality Management Platform by combining Atheer’s existing leading real-time collaboration capabilities with the intelligent digital work and integration capabilities of the Flype platform.

We are seeing an accelerating adoption of AR by enterprises across many industries and business processes. These organizations are demanding AR platforms that have enterprise-grade security and user permission management, robust digital asset management across all their content stores, intelligent and dynamic work instructions on all devices, broad integration capabilities to other enterprise systems, and robust reporting and analytics 

Amar Dhaliwal, CEO Atheer

“With Flype, we have acquired an enterprise-grade digital work platform that significantly extends our capabilities in all these areas. The combination of Atheer and Flype redefines what enterprises can expect from an AR platform.”

Founded in San Francisco, California, Flype’s digital work platform intelligently and securely connects users with the digital assets, work instructions, and resources they need to do their best work.

About Atheer:

The Atheer Augmented Management (AR) Platform is an enterprise-grade AR productivity and collaboration solution designed for industrial enterprises. Atheer was recognized as the Best Enterprise AR Solution at the recent global Augmented World Exposition and Conference, 2019.

Founded in 2012, Atheer provides the only fully integrated enterprise grade solution for contextual work guidance and support which combines secure multi-point video collaboration, integrated step by step work instructions; broad device support (from smartphones and tablets to all major smart glasses); native support for multiple types of interaction (including gestures), detailed dashboards and reporting, multiple languages, and enterprise grade security and availability.

Atheer is being used today by leading industrial enterprises to transform the productivity, accuracy, quality and safety of their industrial workers - providing real and radical business impact. Customers include Porsche Cars North America, Julabo, Massimo, The Clorox Company, Volkswagen Group and the International Air Transport Association.

Porsche Cars North America, for example, publicly reported a 40% reduction in service resolution time in their dealerships using the Atheer Platform. Porsche was recently ranked highest in satisfaction with dealer service among luxury brands according to the J.D. Power 2019 Customer Service Index (CSI) Study.

Atheer is headquartered in Santa Clara, California.

Visit AtheerAiR.com or follow us on Twitter @atheerair.

Atheer Press Contact

Geof Wheelwright

Director of Marketing Communications, Atheer, Inc.

gwheelwright@atheerair.com

Scape Technologies launches Technology to Power the Next Generation of AR with Computer Vision

Hyper-accurate location, powered by computer vision.

Scape is harnessing AI to allow camera devices to recognize their surroundings, outdoors and at an infinite scale.

Computer vision startup Scape are developing the infrastructure that will allow computers to perceive and understand the environment around them, using a camera. Scape has recently launched technology that allows mobile phones to seamlessly mix the virtual and real worlds, by enabling camera devices to be located to centimetre-level accuracy from a single image. Soon we’ll be seeing games similar to Fortnite or Grand Theft Auto -- but played across the city rather than in online worlds. And London is the first city in the world to get the service.

The potential of this new infrastructure has already got some of the largest telecoms and handset manufacturers excited as they race to make the most of the potential of the new 5G mobile broadband services.

This is the first stage of Scape Technology’s mission to unify the real and virtual worlds, by enabling machines to understand their physical surroundings. Unlike satellite-based GPS, Scape’s technology allows any camera device to be located with centimetre-level accuracy across the city centre from a single image.

This technology has the potential to unleash a whole new industry of mixed reality applications, with London at its heart. Because the technology allows a device to understand it’s real world position to a greater degree of accuracy than existing methods, augmented content can be anchored to exact locations. This allows a user to experience persistent content, paving the way for never-before-possible use cases; be that the next Pokemon Go of AR gaming; allowing architects to visualise their designs standing tall in the skyline or enabling a new-age of interactive tourism experiences.

Scape’s SDK- ScapeKit is now openly available for use across central London. Developers can sign up for access at www.scape.io ...and it’s FREE

View video here https://vimeo.com/345434725

Save $300! Today is last day to get Early Bird ticket pricing for the VR/AR Global Summit

See event website here

Get tickets here

Featured Speakers

See all confirmed speakers here

The VR/AR Association publishes the UK Ecosystem Report. Download here

Download report

VRARA UK Ecosystem Report

With VR/AR, we're going to experience music, art, content and data in context with our lives. A quick search of the GOV.UK Contracts Finder site and the Digital Marketplace suggests that, in the last half-decade, there have been just 17 public-sector tenders for virtual reality projects or products. But six of these were in the first half of 2019. This includes a £700,000 project from Highways England to deliver a virtual training environment, and a three-year framework launched by housing association London and Quadrant, which will use VR/AR technology in the planning of new buildings. A wide range of universities have invested in VR or AR environments to support the teaching of engineering and other subjects. The Ministry of Defense also recently spent money on a “VR demonstrator” to showcase the technologies of the future that will play a key role in the defense sector.

This report features UK-based immersive tech pioneers in the media, advertising/marketing, gaming, enterprise training, computer vision, geolocation, telepresence, education, retail/ecommerce, journalism, healthcare, art/entertainment sectors, among others. Thanks to their involvement with the VRARA in the UK and beyond (VRARA has over 4200 companies, brands, schools registered and over 27000 professionals), we continue to demonstrate how VR and AR will change people's lives, businesses and grow the economy through innovation. This connection and collaboration seems particularly important now, as we face the UK leaving the EU, and with the potential of VR and AR to expand into a $60 billion market by 2023.

If you're not a member yet, please join us in creating this magical future. As Jay Samit puts it: "the best way to predict the future is to spend time with those creating it." And if you or your organisation plan on using VR and AR, then the VRARA and its members would love to hear about it, and we encourage you to get in touch. We can help. Email us at london@thevrara.com

Submit your information for the Netherlands VR/AR Ecosystem Report

Dear member of the Dutch VR and AR community,

The submissions for the first Dutch VR & AR ecosystem report have officially been opened.

The ecosystem report is a simple yet effective way to show what’s happening in The Netherlands. It will be distributed through the global VRARA network, grabbing attention on a global level with proof that there's something to say about VR/AR/XR in The Netherlands. We would like to invite you to be part of this report.

We found a partner that shares this ambition to put us on the global radar. StickyLock creates concepts and develops apps and games. They have created AR solutions for architecture, advertising, business cards, e-commerce and furniture and are committed to making high quality games and AR/VR/MR applications using cutting-edge technology. Thanks to their sponsorship we have the means to give all submissions a full page in the report, normally only available to VRARA members.

You can submit your response for free. All we ask you to do is to fill out the form by clicking the button below before the final submission deadline: August 16th. The first 35 submissions will have a guaranteed place in the report. Any additional submissions will be subject to review.

For other reports we have published for UK, Belgium, SF, Toronto, Taiwan, among others, please see here

The data you submit will solely be used to generate The Netherlands Ecosystem report. Here's how it will look

Please sign up before August 16th

SUBMIT YOUR INFO HERE

Any questions, email netherlands@thevrara.com

Kaon Interactive Announces Non-Immersive VR, Enterprise Marketing Platform to Bring Virtual Reality Experiences to Every Device. Wins Communicator Award for CenturyLink VR Application

Wins Communicator Award for CenturyLink VR Application

BOSTON – July 29, 2019 - Kaon Interactive, the leading provider of 3D marketing and sales applications for global B2B brands, today announced two key milestones: the launch of an industry innovation, “non- immersive” VR (virtual reality), and the receipt of a coveted industry award. A new technology evolution to Kaon’s High Velocity Marketing Platform®, non-immersive VR extends the value of the company’s existing virtual reality-based B2B marketing solution by delivering these experiences not just on VR headsets, but now on smartphones, tablets, desktop PCs, touch screens and the web. This significant enterprise VR advancement has led to the recognition of a distinguished Communicator Award for Kaon’s deployment of a virtual reality application which contains non-immersive VR functionality for CenturyLink.

3D Immersive Experiences, Beyond VR Headsets

B2B marketers are looking to extend the immersive qualities and emotional impact of virtual reality storytelling by having participants experience that same sense of immersion on their phones, tablets, desktop, touch screens and the web. Previously, virtual reality was only available via headsets. With Kaon’s most recent platform update, newly developed Kaon VRâ applications can now be experienced not only on ubiquitous VR headsets, but extended to any device. Users can navigate the immersive application with their mouse, finger or controller by selecting the immersive environments and message touchpoints along the way.

To elevate customer engagement within VR, Kaon has implemented a tracking technology that is typically used for augmented reality (AR). This now allows users to navigate a 3D VR environment or scene by moving a phone or tablet around like a window into a virtual world. “This takes cross-platform experiences to a whole new level,” said Kaon CTO and founder Joshua Smith. “This is the first technology platform that allows the same immersive application to run on the whole gamut of enterprise hardware: AR, VR, mobile, desktop, touch screens, and web browsers.”

In a recent case study, Becky Kelly, director of solutions marketing strategy at CenturyLink, stated,

“There is a huge cost and time efficiency in not having to recreate this interactive content from scratch for future sales and marketing programs and devices. We want to tell our story everywhere our buyers are, and Kaon's platform affords us the ability to do that. Not only did Kaon help us push the envelope, they gave us an innovative technology platform that allows us to break new ground and raise the bar.”

CenturyLink: Communicator Award of Distinction, Business Campaign

CenturyLink was selected from over 6,000 entries for the Communicator Awards, competing against submissions from companies and agencies of all sizes. The awards program is one of the largest international awards for big ideas in marketing and communications. Kaon earned a Distinction Award for its VR experience application, “Why Milliseconds Matter,” for global technology giant CenturyLink in the Business Campaign category. Developed by Kaon Interactive, the “Why Milliseconds Matter” VR experience was originally created for CenturyLink’s exhibit hall presence at AWS re:Invent in order to meet two goals. First, in lieu of approaching tradeshow attendees cold, CenturyLink wanted to ease the barriers for its booth staff to engage prospects. Second, the company wanted to have a better interaction with customers, once engaged, to help them understand why CenturyLink isn’t just another network service provider. Through a digitally simulated “connected city” with immersive animations and videos, customers were able to select interactive elements that communicated the value of CenturyLink’s robust global fiber network, allowing them to explore the world of autonomous vehicles, interactive signage, mobile communications, and cloud services. As a result of this innovation, the immersive VR experience drove four-and-a-half times the number of leads as the previous year’s AWS re:Invent.

Experience Kaon’s non-immersive VR experience for CenturyLink: http://m.kaon.com/c/cl

Learn more about CenturyLink: https://www.centurylink.com/business.html

“Customer engagement lies at the heart of our mission to bring greater marketing efficiency and sales effectiveness to B2B brands,” said Gavin Finn, CEO & President of Kaon Interactive. “The evolution of our platform to include non-immersive VR has taken individual, isolated VR experiences and made them accessible to customers everywhere, on commonly used devices. This extension of reach and scalability has given our enterprise customers a more engaging way to tell a value differentiation story everywhere their prospects are.”

Kaon Interactive's applications are created once and can be deployed everywhere. Currently available on devices running iOS, Android, MacOS, and Windows, Kaon Interactive's solutions are used by sales teams and marketers in nearly 40 countries.

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About Kaon Interactive

Kaon Interactive is a B2B software company. Kaon’s interactive sales and marketing applications simplify complex product and solution stories in a visually engaging way anywhere, anytime, turning prospects into customers. The company’s interactive 3D sales and marketing applications transform product and solution marketing content into visual interactive storytelling experiences to deepen customer engagement, reduce marketing expenses and accelerate the sales cycle. More than 5,000 Kaon Interactive applications are being used worldwide at trade shows, remote sales demonstrations, product launches, executive briefing centers, and websites by leading global product manufacturing companies.

For more information about Kaon, visit www.kaon.com.

Media Contact for Kaon Interactive

Ryan McKenna

ryan@hollywoodagency.com

(781) 749-0077 x21

Seabery Sponsors the Training Industry Committee and has over 400+ clients worldwide. The Seabery Augmented Reality solutions are applied to skills training

Training Committee creates best practices, guidelines, and call to actions for our industry. 

Seabery is a global tech company pioneering the development of Augmented Reality (AR) edtech solutions applied to skills training. The Seabery platform is being used by more than 400 Government and Industrial clients in 45 countries, with Germany and USA as the early adoption markets. Seabery has 65 employees.

For more info contact Alejandro Villarán Vázquez avv@seaberyat.com