Apply for the Lenovo ThinkReality Enterprise Dev Workshop at the VR/AR Global Summit! (Exclusive Benefits!)

APPLY HERE

You’re invited to apply for Lenovo’s first Enterprise Developer Workshop for ThinkReality, its newly announced brand for commercial AR and VR solutions.

The workshop will take place Nov 1 10am-3pm, during the VR/AR Global Summit, Nov 1-2, in Vancouver Canada at the new renowned venue, the PARQ Hotel and Casino. Deadline to apply for the workshop is October 15, 2019.

At the Developer Workshop, Lenovo product managers and engineers will be on-site to provide information on the platform, the pipeline of features and benefits, and demonstrations including the Lenovo cloud portal that can be used for device, app and user management.

You’ll get exposed to early ThinkReality app development partners who will present three types of AR apps built on the ThinkReality A6, and will review how they built these applications, offer best practices, and be on site to answer questions and assist in building your app.

Developers will be given the opportunity to develop a Proof-of-Concept (POC) application on the ThinkReality A6 during the workshop. This allows developers to build and deploy applications in a more open environment without the risk of sharing custom application solutions and IP with other attendees.

Lenovo is sponsoring approved workshop participants' VR/AR Global Summit ticket, providing lunch, and a private networking event Friday evening with heavy hors d'oeuvres and drinks, and car service from the airport to hotel and back for attendees arriving from the Vancouver airport.

Benefits:

• Private networking event Friday evening with heavy hors d'oeuvres and drinks

• Paid entrance, VR/AR Global Summit event ticket

• Free car service from the airport to hotel and back for attendees arriving from the Vancouver airport

• Lunch provided

• Exclusive access to Lenovo’s ThinkReality Developer Program

Are you an experienced AR Unity developer? Are you currently working at a large enterprise or systems integrator company? If yes, then apply now!

Limited space is available.

APPLY HERE

About the VR/AR Global Summit

This world-class conference and expo will welcome 1000+ Executives, 120+ Speakers and 70+ Exhibitors from leading companies like Lenovo, Microsoft, Niantic, Viacom, and so many more. With over 230 companies active in VR/AR, Vancouver is the 2nd largest immersive ecosystem in the world. This is the 4th time the show is happening in Vancouver and this year’s Global Summit will have a strong focus on enterprise and AR, as well as on immersive interaction design. Learn more at vrarglobalsummit.com

About VR/AR Association

The Summit is hosted by the VR/AR Association (VRARA), an international organization designed to facilitate collaboration between innovative companies and people in the VR and AR ecosystem that accelerates growth, fosters research and education, helps develop industry standards, connects member organizations and promotes the services of member companies. Over 4000 companies, brands, school and 27,000 professionals are registered with VRARA and 20 industry committees are working on best practices & guidelines for the industry. Learn more at thevrara.com

VR and Robotics: How High School Students Programmed a Robot In VR

Come meet us at the VR/AR Global Summit Nov 1-2!

In August 2019, Varwin collaborated with ROBBO, a company that provides an educational set for creating smart devices, to build a project that unites VR and robotics. We challenged high school students to build a project that helps a robot navigate in VR. Within just 9 days a team of three 17-year-olds managed to program a robot in virtual reality. This project was assigned to them as a part of the 9-day International Project School they participated in, which was held at Innopolis University. This Project School is organized annually for talented high-school students, and it includes working with innovative technologies to solve real cases.

The students chose Varwin Reality Management System (RMS) for their project, which helped them streamline VR development. While some of the team members already had experience programming on Unity (Varwin is a Unity-based platform), others had to learn on the go. Varwin RMS was new to all of them, however, according to the students, they found the platform quite easy to operate. Alex, one of the team members, said, “Navigating within the platform was not difficult at all. I would say that the main difficulty for me was the robot simulation. I tried to make it as believable and physically correct as possible.”

The end goal for the team was to create a VR project that would help a robot navigate in VR and to eliminate mistakes while programming it. From a technical standpoint, the students had to repeat the same programming blocks that were used in Google Blockly. Thanks to VR, it was possible to recreate all the actions that the real robot would be able to perform and optimize the set of skills for it. By connecting VR and robotics, we simplified the process of programming robots and allowed more people to participate in it - you no longer need to own a robot to set programs for it. Adel, one of the team members, shares, “Programming a robot in VR is much easier, and it saves time for peopl

Orlando tech targets growing VR and AR field at Florida Simulation Summit and VRARA event

Come meet us at the VR/AR Global Summit Nov 1-2

By Alexander Soderstrom – Staff writer, Orlando Business Journal

When Dan Ayoub addressed a ballroom full of people at the Florida Simulation Summit on Sept. 26, he acknowledged the flaw of his delivery method: a verbal speech aided by a slideshow. 

“This is the worst way for anyone to learn anything,” said Ayoub, general manager of education for Redmond, Washington-based Microsoft Corp. (Nasdaq: MSFT) and keynote speaker at this year’s iteration of the annual Orlando summit.

Ayoub shared his experiences working on Microsoft’s push to put augmented and virtual reality — known as AR and VR — programs in classrooms and training programs. Independent studies show the use of AR and VR leads to more effective learning, Ayoub said. 

AR and VR were the themes of this year’s Florida Simulation Summit, an event which brings together academic, business and military leaders involved in the modeling, simulation and training (MS&T) industry. AR and VR are predicted to become a $571 billion industry by 2025, according to Allied Market Research, and Central Florida businesses are well-positioned to act as major players in the field, which locally is a $6 billion industry.

The region’s MS&T industry has risen to prominence on the back of Central Florida Research Park. The campus, adjacent the University of Central Florida, serves as the center of simulation operations for the U.S. Air Force, Army, Marines and Navy, as well as the headquarters of multiple private companies. Many local MS&T companies already create AR and VR products.

During the summit, CEOs, researchers and industry experts shared the capabilities of AR and VR, from pairing with artificial intelligence to train autonomous vehicles to training surgeons how to operate in a virtual setting before allowing them to operate on a human. 

The theme of the summit reflects a recent push in the Orlando area to increase the focus on AR and VR. John Cunningham, chief revenue officer of Orlando-based modeling and simulation firm DiSTI Corp., launched a Central Florida chapter of the VR/AR Association, and the association held its second event the night before the Simulation Summit. The group's purpose is to provide exposure and organization for the area’s AR and VR companies, Cunningham told Orlando Business Journal.

“The idea here is we’re going to start putting Central Florida on the map — the global map — as a hub for VR/AR expertise,” said Cunningham, who serves as president of the local chapter. 

The summit explored AR and VR applications in diverse fields such as education, gaming and health care, but Central Florida’s MS&T industry has predominantly been tied to defense due to the close proximity of military simulation operations. But it's a good thing, since military contracts can give MS&T companies a source of funding when venture capital is hard to come by, Cunningham said. The challenge, he said, is when companies make the transition to commercial industries and must commercialize their products. 

The Simulation Summit has touched on MS&T topics from big data to health simulation in its five years of operation. The event is hosted by the National Center for Simulation, Orange County and the Orlando Economic Partnership. National Center for Simulation President and CEO George Cheros said this year’s summit brought on of the best turnouts, with an estimated attendance of least 400 people.

Source

Book your hotel by Oct 4 to get 40% off at Parq, Vancouver’s largest entertainment, casino, and conference destination! See you at our VR/AR Global Summit!

Book your hotels by Oct 4 to receive a 40% discount! All Summit attendees eligible! Book here!

This is the 4th time the event is happening in Vancouver and it will take place at the gorgeous Parq Vancouver, Vancouver’s largest entertainment, casino, and conference destination.

Don’t have Summit tickets yet? Get them here!

Parq Vancouver - EVERYTHING IN ONE PLACE - is a new international entertainment destination, located in downtown Vancouver, featuring two luxury hotels (JW Marriott and the Douglas), a 72,000-square-foot Casino (!) gaming floor, eight diverse restaurants and lounges, a 30,000-square-foot rooftop park, a tranquil Spa by JW, and Vancouver’s largest hotel ballroom.

AUREA Award further strengthens VR/AR Association’s Location-Based Entertainment Committee with sponsorship

Working towards a Global VR/AR Entertainment Community

With the sponsorship of the Location-Based Entertainment (LBE) Committee of the VR/AR Association (VRARA), the AUREA Award run by the MackNext creative team of Europa-Park, is expanding its role as enabler and promoter of Immersive Technologies. The support is a commitment to bring the AUREA Award even closer to renowned experts in the Entertainment sector by rewarding the best projects annually worldwide. The close cooperation with the VRARA is a crucial step in this direction by joining its extensive international network of professionals.

“In terms of strategic orientation, communicative approach and target groups, the international industry association, founded already in 2015, is a congenial partner that perfectly mirrors our intentions. Just like the AUREA Award, VR/AR Association is designed to foster collaboration between innovative companies and people in the VR and AR ecosystem. For this reason, we look forward to welcoming VRARA members from around the world to Rust next January.”

— Marcus Ernst – Creative Project Manager, MackNext

The next award ceremony and professional conference will take place on Jan. 15 - 16, 2020 at Europa-Park, a digital innovation leader in their own right with VR coasters, flying and dome theaters, and the latest 4D attractions, where shortlisted state of the art experiences will not only show where the industry is all headed, but will also be pitched live on stage in front of an all-star Jury. All stakeholders from the entertainment sector from startups to investors, and creatives to corporates are invited to get involved and help the community grow.

Interesting in applying? Submissions are now open until November 1, 2019 and come meet them in person at the VR/AR Global Summit in Vancouver on November 2.

“Sharing AUREA´s spirit and entertainment focus, the Location-Based Entertainment Committee’s mission is to build relationships between content creators and venue operators in the entertainment sector. The LBE Committee’s content creators & enablers include the likes of Battleverse, Backlight, Blueprint Reality (Mixcast), Dark Slope, Holocafé, Kaaya Tech, Teslasuit, Ultrahaptics, VR Studio, Dreamcraft Attractions, YDreams Global, The Park Playground, and SpringboardVR which have representatives that meet online monthly to work on everything from infographics and online webinar series to technical white papers and industry surveys. Since LBE consumer spending is expected to reach $809 million by 2022, AUREA Award and the committee will share experiences and insights in order to show the industry all the added-value potentials.”

— Philip Wogart - Co-chair Location-Based Entertainment Committee

About Aurea Award
With just 5 AUREA awards up for grabs, film projects, music experiences, live events, games, mixed reality experiences as well as enabling technologies receive center stage in front of a crowd VR & AR enthusiasts. Besides showcasing and awarding the most exciting products and experiences, the conference also delivers thought-leader talks, candid discussions on panels and a slew of workshops, while leaving room plenty of room for networking and enjoyment. In the setting of one of the world's leading theme parks, the conference offers multiple opportunities for groundbreakers to be heard and seen, to connect to the most relevant pioneers in the ecosystem and to become a part of the vibrant AUREA community. 
https://aurea-award.com/

About VRARA
The VR/AR Association is an international organization designed to facilitate collaboration between innovative companies and people in the VR and AR ecosystem that accelerates growth, fosters research and education, helps develop industry standards, connects member organizations and promotes the services of member companies. Over 4500 companies, brands, school and 27,000 professionals are registered with VRARA and more than 20 committees are working on best practices and guidelines for the industry.
https://www.thevrara.com/

200,000 listens to our Everything VR/AR Podcast! Listen to all episodes with the industry's thought-leaders

Our Everything VR/AR Podcast thevrara.com/podcast has been listened to 200,000 times!

Great job Sophia Moshasha Tyler Gates who will be at our VR/AR Global Summit - North America in Vancouver Nov 1-2 giving interviews at the Summit!

FactualVR gets $1M Business Innovation grant from DOE for a VR platform to help law enforcement

Come meet us at the VR/AR Global Summit Nov 1-2

FactualVR is pleased to announce they have received the $1.05M grant from the Department of Energy (DoE) as part of the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program. Having completed this step, FactualVR has secured funding for continuing developing their “HyperTunnel” product. Also, FactualVR has just hired two new members to their team and continue scouting for talent.

For more info contact Eduardo Neeter eneeter@factualvr.com

Visit factualvr.com

Recap of our Orlando Event with Microsoft and 200 business leaders hosted by the Orlando Science Center

Come meet us at the VR/AR Global Summit Nov 1-2

Thank you to all that attended and supported the VRARA Orlando / Central Florida Chapter event last night. We had over 200 business, technology and academic leaders join and a number of students from UCF, Full Sail, and DAVE School. The theme of the night was how VR/AR is going to transform how we learn!

The DiSTI Corporation was proud to sponsor the event Thank you to Alan Smithson from MetaVRse and Dan Ayoub from Microsoft for their fascinating talks!

For more info or to join VRARA, email John Cunningham at orlando@thevrara.com

Is VR sickness still a big factor for mainstream adoption? Watch this!

Come meet us at the VR/AR Global Summit Nov 1-2

Design Interactive presented research, findings and recommendations conducted by the US Army and the University of Central Florida.

The webinar received great reviews and feedback:

"Great talk, great presenters and content, discussing highly relevant and important factors in ensuring VR/AR can be enjoyed by everyone."

“It's great getting good design guidelines and understanding of our actual physical responses to VR and AR. It's not new; the science is out there.”

“Fantastic presentation. I particularly appreciated the evidence/science based approach to the general VR sickness issue. I think more VR designers need to understand the principals here. I've often said, with a nod to the buggles, that VR will kill the VR star. We can kill VR by making people sick; it's not fun. I also think every VR manufacturer needs to read this and understand how important IPD is. Bravo, thanks to the presenters.”

Watch here

VR/AR Global Summit: LBE program highlights for Nov 1&2: Microsoft, Niantic, Viacom, DreamCraft, VR Studios! Vancouver's game cluster includes Electronic Arts, Capcom, Nintendo!

For more info see www.vrarglobalsummit.com

On Nov 1 & 2 in Vancouver, the VR/AR Global Summit will bring together industry frontrunners from around the world to discuss the present and future of VR/AR for Location-Based VR/AR Entertainment.

Vancouver has one of the top Video Game clusters in the world — one that includes major publishers such as, Electronic Arts (EA), Microsoft, Capcom and Nintendo.

And, don't miss the Keynote by Niantic, the world's most successful AR game developer! And the Keynote by Viacom, who produced the phenomenal AR show at the MTV’s VMA's Missy Elliot Vanguard!

Below are some initial Summit program highlights related to LBE and Attractions:

• Viacom's Advanced Advertising Innovation Products team matches and operates emerging tech in support of sales needs. The team helped VR/AR spring to life in Nickelodeon (KCS, KCA, Henry Danger, Loud House), MTV (VMA's Missy Elliot Vanguard), and most recently Comedy Central (Your Brain On Clusterfest). Group lead, Diego J Medina, will be talking about the unique multiplicative quality VR/AR has of voicing IP and audiences through technology. PLUS, how VR and AR has a unique place in on the ground experiences for concerts and festival goers!

• Niantic, Inc. creates some of today's most popular AR games. But what does the future look like for Niantic and the rest of the AR industry? Ross Finman, Head of AR Strategy at Niantic, will discuss the future of AR; from games to mainstream adoption and beyond.

• Plus:

For more info see www.vrarglobalsummit.com

Call for Sponsors for VR/AR Executive Dinner event on November 5th, during Web Summit in Lisbon, Portugal

The VR/AR Association Portugal Chapter will be hosting an executive dinner event on November 5th, during the Web Summit in Lisbon, Portugal.

The VR/AR/XR community attending Web Summit will gather for drinks & dinner at a VIP restaurant for our executive dinner event. Come and join industry thinkers, C-level executives, investors and startups to explore ways to collaborate and network.

More info and RSVP here

Agenda:

- Keynote Speaker - TBA (to be announced)

- Presentation & Demo by event Sponsors

- Delicious food & drinks

Call for Sponsors:

If you are interested in sponsoring our annual event, email luis@thevrara.com for more info and sponsorship packages.

VR/AR Association Membership:

To become a member of the VR/AR Association (VRARA), email luis@thevrara.com

Disclaimer:

This dinner is not affiliated nor happens at WebSummit venue.  

VR/AR Global Summit: Program highlights for Storytelling & Immersive Interaction Design - Viacom, WorldBank, Nickelodeon, MTV, Time Magazine, Comedy Central

For more info, see the event’s website here vrarglobalsummit.com

On Nov 1 & 2 in Vancouver, the VR/AR Global Summit will bring together industry frontrunners from around the world to discuss the present and future of immersive technologies. Below is our initial schedule highlights for Storytelling & Immersive Interaction Design:

Nov 1st: Mainstage Keynotes featuring speakers from Niantic, Magic Leap, Viacom, Forbes, Hasboro, World Bank and more.

Nov 2nd: Immersive Stage Track: Storytelling, Content Creation, Marketing, Immersive Spaces, Art & Design, Ethics and Diversity. Talks by Yumebau, Hasboro, WondARlands, Mandy Stobo, Time Magazine, Viacom, Zu, VR Studios, WXR, HTC, MediaCombo, Normal Studios, Niantic and others.

A message from our Sponsor:

Viacom's Advanced Advertising Innovation Products team matches and operates emerging tech in support of sales needs. The team helped VR/AR spring to life in Nickelodeon (KCS, KCA, Henry Danger, Loud House), MTV (VMA's Missy Elliot Vanguard), and most recently Comedy Central (Your Brain On Clusterfest).

On Nov 1st, Group lead, Diego J Medina, will be talking about the unique multiplicative quality VR/AR has of voicing IP and audiences through technology.

About the VR/AR Global Summit

On Nov 1 & 2, 2019, in Vancouver, the VR/AR Global Summit will bring together industry frontrunners from around the world to discuss the present and future of immersive technologies. This world-class conference and expo will welcome 1000+ Executives, 120+ Speakers and 70+ Exhibitors from leading companies like Lenovo, Niantic, Microsoft, Viacom, and so many more. With over 230 companies active in VR/AR, Vancouver is the 2nd largest immersive ecosystem in the world. This is the 4th time the show is happening in Vancouver and this year’s Global Summit will have a strong focus on immersive interaction design.

About VR/AR Association

The VR/AR Association (VRARA) is an international organization designed to facilitate collaboration between innovative companies and people in the VR and AR ecosystem that accelerates growth, fosters research and education, helps develop industry standards, connects member organizations and promotes the services of member companies. Over 4000 companies, brands, school and 27,000 professionals are registered with VRARA and 20 committees are working on best practices and guidelines for the industry. Learn more at thevrara.com

The VR/AR Association publishes the Netherlands Ecosystem Report featuring over 50 Companies

Come meet us at the VR/AR Global Summit Nov 1-2

Download Report

VRARA Netherlands Ecosystem Report

We have published the first VR and AR Ecosystem report for the Netherlands! Over 50 Dutch VR and AR companies present their products and services in one clear format. See attached report.

Many thanks to our partner StickyLock who shares our ambition to put Dutch VR and AR organizations 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 VR/AR applications using cutting-edge technology.

If you are interested in finding reports from other regions, like the UK, Belgium, Canada, SF, NYC, or Taiwan, please see here.

In case of any questions, please don't hesitate to contact our Netherlands chapter president Maarten van der Lee via Netherlands@thevrara.com

Best regards,

Maarten van der Lee

Chapter President - The Netherlands

E: Netherlands@thevrara.com

W: www.thevrara.com

Recap of our Aerospace Committee meeting with Boeing, Lockheed Martin, US Air Force, among many others

Come meet us at the VR/AR Global Summit Nov 1-2

The VR/AR Association Aerospace Committee continues to grow and evolve.  Co-Chaired by Samuel Trevino, Insitu (a Boeing company) and Dr. Alethea Duhon, Air Force Agency of Modeling and Simulation. The Committee is comprised of industry players including DiSTI Corporation, Enduvo, FS Studio, Future Visual, Insitu (a Boeing company), J&F Alliance Group Inc, MAF, among others.  You can participate here

Below is a recap of what the Committee participants are working on:

J&F Alliance Group Inc is an award winning AR/VR company and we were highlighted in the NASA Spinoff Magazine this year. We are part of the NASA Tech Transfer program and are actively working with the Space Commerce out of DC.

Future Visual, a UK based VR/AR company, specialises in using VR for training, collaboration and behaviour change. It has developed a platform VISIONxR which enables multi user, multi location, multi device (VR, AR, desktop and mobile) collaboration in the same immersive space. Its key clients include IATA (International Air Transport Association) rLoop and the UK Defence Science and Technology Laboratory".  It has identified aerospace as a key sector due to the nature of high risk, high value training required and the need for collaboration and visualization involving complex models.

FS Studio is an emerging technologies and experience design agency with specialties in embedded/IoT development, computer vision, AR/VR and robotics simulations.  We’re an award-winning developer based in the San Francisco bay area that excels at bringing high quality experiences to life on complex, novel and proprietary hardware and software platforms for education, entertainment and enterprise usage. We solve complex problems in elegant ways, always with an eye toward the end to end experience. We keep great company having worked with some of the leading brands including: Virgin Orbits, Google Labs,  John Deere, Ford, Samsung, Unity, Hasbro, Spin Master, PBS kids and others.

Bending Time Technologies is a startup located in Vancouver, Canada developing the next generation 3D Earth application.  It provides real-time simulations from space down to the surface at true-scale with 1 cm or better precision in 3D and VR.  Founded by Sean Treleaven who has over 17 years of experience in the military and aerospace industries, Bending Time aims to bring high-quality military simulation and visualization capabilities for the cost of an app.

Enduvo is a powerfully simple, no code, way to create augmented and virtual reality content. It’s the only AR/VR content authoring tool that allows anyone, with just a few clicks, to create and quickly share visually stunning, interactive, and immersive experiences. Aerospace organizations use Enduvo to lower costs, speed content delivery, and improve the effectiveness of their training and collaboration. Enduvo is a recent winner of several US Air Force Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) contracts. The Air Force will use Enduvo to bolster mission readiness by creating and delivering consistent and cost-effective immersive training across many different skill levels, job classifications, and geographies. With Enduvo, people decrease content development costs up to 60%, reduce content delivery time up to 70%, and increase competency up to 80%.  

MAF International Mission Aviation Fellowship is an international Christian organisation whose mission is to fly light aircraft, and to use other technologies to bring help and hope to people in some of the world’s poorest communities. Every four minutes a MAF plane is taking off or landing somewhere in the world to assist over 1,000 other organisations. We have about 130 airplanes that fly in remote locations around the world. We are looking at training young people with engineering apprenticeships and growing our ability to train these local people who don’t have opportunities in poor countries. I would love to look at the internet of things to work on solutions with training. 

Boeing/Insitu designs commercial and military aircraft to be used around the world and in space. We seek to modernize a turn-key distributed training solution capable of maintaining compliance with various governing agencies around the world, while not sacrificing standards and quality of training. Over the past 2 years, Insitu has graduated more than 3,000 pilots and technicians to work on UAS deployed around the world. Our goal is to provide a seamless solution with critical contributors to continue our global training scaling initiative. 

More info here

Email info@thevrara.com if you would like to participate on our next conf call!

Canadian VR/AR Talent on the World Stage at AWE EU 2019

Canadian VR/AR Talent on the World Stage at AWE EU 2019

10 Canadian companies to attend Europe’s largest VR/AR conference

September 23, 2019 - The Vancouver VR/AR Association (VRARA), in partnership with Launch Academy, is proud to introduce the Canadian Pavilion at the 2019 Augmented World Expo (AWE), the essential international VR/AR conference and expo taking place in Munich, Germany, on October 17 and 18, 2019. 

Ten leading Canadian VR/AR companies from across five different provinces will showcase their technology in the Canadian Pavillion at the 4th annual AWE EU: VR Vision Inc., Finger Food Advanced Technology Group, MAMMOTH XR, Kognitiv Spark, Motive.io, Arcane Technologies, Volumetric Camera Systems, Precision OS Technology, Quantum Capture Inc., and YDX Innovation. 

The AWE EU attracts over 1,000 industry professionals each year, bringing together a mix of CEOs, CTOs, developers, and designers from top companies as well as creative agencies, investors, and media. The event is a fantastic opportunity to explore emerging technologies, meet and learn from industry leaders, and establish new partnerships.  

“Vancouver has established itself as one of the leading VR/AR ecosystems in the world and we are excited to use this momentum to showcase the innovation taking place not just in Vancouver, but across Canada. These ten exciting companies represent the incredible VR/AR talent and innovation at work here in Canada.” - Dan Burgar, President of the Vancouver VRARA.

The Canadian Pavilion will also host a curated panel discussion on opportunities in the Canadian VR/AR ecosystem moderated by Nancy Basi, Executive Director of Media and Entertainment at the Vancouver Economic Commission. The discussion will feature executive leaders Joannah Apelo from VR Vision Inc, Peter Wittig from Motive.io, Dan Burgar from Vancouver VR/AR Association and Daniel Japiassu from  YDX Innovation.

“Launch Academy and the Vancouver VR/AR Association are proud to showcase promising Canadian VR/AR companies at the largest VR/AR conference in Europe. This delegation is an important first step to cultivate a long-term partnership with the EU’s VR/AR ecosystem and demonstrate Canadian innovation and creativity.” - Alex Chaung, Co-Founder of Launch Academy and Vancouver VRARA Director. 

The VRARA represents the fastest-growing VR/AR and MR ecosystem in the world. In just a few short years, Vancouver has grown into the second-largest immersive tech hub with over 250 local companies developing technologies that span everything from gaming to healthcare and retail. Together with Launch Academy, the VRARA is excited to showcase these ten Canadian VR/AR companies at AWE EU 2019 and bring international attention to Canadian VR/AR technology, talent, and innovation.  

The Canadian Delegation is hosted jointly by the Vancouver VR/AR Association with support from their valued partners the Vancouver Economic Commission, Launch Academy, VHDA, Tourism Vancouver, Creative BC, Trade and Invest BC and the Canadian Government. The overall programming will feature key meetings, networking, hosted VIP dinner which will include global brands and enterprises like Audi, Siemens, Porsche, Deutsche Telekom and innovation thought-leaders, Canadian Happy Hour, panels, booth & demo activations and economic development to round out the program. 

Delegates include:

VR Vision Inc provides both hardware solutions and custom content developed in-house by their team of VR professionals. VR Vision Inc. offers a full range of immersive technology services to empower businesses and bring them to the forefront of immersive technology. 

Finger Food Advanced Technology Group creates industry-transforming solutions for global companies such as Microsoft, KPMG, Activision, Cirque du Soleil, Lowe’s, and Lululemon. Most recently they worked with MEC to develop an app that showcases life-sized virtual tent models and product information. Viewed through an AR or Hololens, customers can make tent buying decisions without needing to set foot inside a store. 

MAMMOTH XR is an award-winning studio that develops world-class AR/VR experiences. They recently worked with USAY, the Urban Society of Aboriginal Youth, to create a VR experience called ”Thunder.” The purpose of the project is to preserve the Blackfoot language and culture through a blend of storytelling and technology. 

Kognitiv Spark is a global leader in secure, reliable, and effective industrial AR task support software. They built an intelligent and interactive 3D worker support solution called RemoteSpark for the Microsoft Hololens. It connects frontline and field-service workers to the expert resources they need when they need it, so they can achieve a new dimension of productivity. 

Motive.io developed the Motive Training Platform to create and deploy AR and VR content for training at scale. It includes their XR Player which provides custom training solutions in a fraction of the time it would take to create a custom training app from scratch. 

Arcane Technologies is a software and hardware engineering company specialized in emerging and 3D interactive technologies. Their mission is to support businesses to integrate emerging and 3D interactive technologies for product R&D, marketing, design, training, and production. 

Volumetric Camera Systems is a studio that provides portable 4D capture services to create high quality and realistic “holograms-in-motion” of any moving subject. They also offer photorealistic 3D environment captures. These two unique technologies can be merged together as one experience or applied separately. 

Precision OS Technology provides the most high-fidelity virtual reality platform for surgeons to practice specific procedures. This includes educational modules that allow trainees to improve their surgical skills through practice volume and evaluation. They also have a preoperative tool that enables surgeons to upload peri-articular fractures to structure a pre-planned approach to their case which they can perform and analyze. 

Quantum Capture Inc. is bringing AI to life with their CTRL Human which embodies natural language and AI. The virtual humans are designed to enhance customer service, employee training, content marketing, and entertainment applications. CTRL Human is a software platform compatible with the Unreal 4 game engine.

YDX Innovation recently rebranded from YDreams after 16 years of building innovation projects for some of the world's biggest brands. They’ve since created disruptive companies to change VR technologies and gaming. Most recently they were commissioned to create an interactive VR experience for Shell Brazil. The project involves several 360°films combined with interactive branded content. 

Vancouver VR/AR Association (VRARA) The Vancouver VRARA is the industry association for the VR/AR ecosystem in Vancouver, our mission is to make BC and Vancouver a world leading hub for growing and scaling VR/AR companies. We promote technology adoption, incubate early-stage companies, facilitate international trade, attract foreign investment and build communities. 

We’ve helped turn Vancouver/BC into the 2nd largest VR/AR ecosystem in the world with over 250+ companies. 

The VR/AR Association (VRARA) global is an international organization designed to foster collaboration between innovative companies and people in the VR and AR ecosystem that accelerates growth, fosters research and education, helps develop industry standards, connects member organizations and promotes the services of member companies.

For more information please visit www.thevrara.com/vancouver-chapter/ and find the VRARA Vancouver on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. 

Dan Burgar 

President, VR/AR Association Vancouver

dan@thevrara.com 

Alex Chuang

Director, VR/AR Association Vancouver

alex@shapeimmersive.com

VR/AR Global Summit: New ticket types now available for 1-Day, Expo-only, Startup-pass, Students!

We’ve added new ticket types for 1-day, Expo-only, Startup-pass, and Students!

We look forward to seeing everyone in Vancouver Nov 1&2!

With over 230 companies active in VR/AR, Vancouver is the 2nd largest immersive ecosystem in the world. This is the 4th time the event is happening in Vancouver and this year’s sponsors include Lenovo, Microsoft, Niantic, Viacom, among others.

About VR/AR Association

The Summit is hosted by the VR/AR Association (VRARA), an international organization designed to facilitate collaboration between innovative companies and people in the VR and AR ecosystem that accelerates growth, fosters research and education, helps develop industry standards, connects member organizations and promotes the services of member companies. Over 4000 companies, brands, school and 27,000 professionals are registered with VRARA and 20 industry committees are working on best practices & guidelines for the industry. Learn more at thevrara.com

$1.3 M Investment to Grow Healium's Mind-Powered Mindfulness. Tinder Founder Joins as Advisor! Anxiety is the cause of 60% of all illness and disease

Come meet us at the VR/AR Global Summit Nov 1-2

Columbia, Missouri Company Closes $1.3M
Investment Round for Healium

Tinder Founder Joins as Product Advisor for Biometrically-Controlled Content Channel

Link to Download Photos: Contact: hello@story-up.com | Tryhealium.com | 573.268.1968 |

Columbia, Missouri, 2019-- StoryUP, the makers of a virtual anxiety management product called Healium, just closed a $1.3M oversubscribed Series A investment round. The Missouri startup, incubated at the Missouri Innovation Center, will use the funds to grow Healium, the world’s first interactive immersive media channel powered by wearables. Healium’s virtual and augmented reality apps are used worldwide as drugless solutions for the self-management of anxiety, sleep, addiction, and pain.

Anxiety is the cause of 60% of all illness and disease. Healium’s beautiful experiences are designed to quickly downshift the nervous system and allow the user to escape their current reality. Healium’s VR and AR apps can be powered by optional consumer wearables using either a consumer EEG headband or the user’s smartwatch. Power users can control Healium with three brain states including quiet mind, open heart, or focus. With 225 million wearables in the market currently generating 2D data dashboards, Healium’s patented technology is transforming how users interact with their biometric data by allowing them to control stories by shifting their brain patterns, or heart rate.

In addition to the equity investments, the company also announced the addition of Sean Rad, Founder of Tinder, as a product advisor. Rad built the top-grossing non-gaming app in the world. Rad joins clinical advisor Dr. Craig Cheifetz, Regional Dean Virginia Commonwealth School of Medicine, and advisory member, Noah Falstein, former Chief of Gaming at Google.

“The brain believes what it sees. So why are we still meditating with our eyes closed with an earbud? This investment round allows us to grow Healium’s eyes-open, visual escapes into new markets and further develop our content that’s powered by users’ emotions so people don’t have to wonder ...am I doing it right? Healium is not a replacement for cognitive behavioral therapy or pharmaceutical interventions. It’s a self-management tool that reminds users their memories have power to control things not only in the virtual world but the real world as well. ” --

Sarah Hill, CEO | Chief Storyteller, StoryUP the makers of Healium.

This is the fifth national group in as many months to recognize the women-owned small business. In 2019, Apple selected StoryUP for its summer Entrepreneur Cohort. The company secured a licensing deal that puts its stress management content on more than 20 airlines for passengers of long haul flights. The company won pitch competitions at CES, the world’s largest technology show, took home a first-place finish at South by Southwest in XR, and was nominated for a Webby for Best Use of Augmented Reality. Most recently, Nueterra Capital selected Healium as one of six companies “destined to disrupt healthcare”.

Two published studies in Frontiers in Psychology and the Journal of Neuroregulation showed Healium’s drugless kits reduced anxiety and increased feelings of positivity in as little as four minutes.

For more information on Healium’s impact on emotional wellbeing or the company’s social purpose with virtual Honor Flights for Veterans, please visit tryhealium.com or email hello@story-up.com.

After training over 25,000 designers, developers and engineers, Circuit Stream launches a new product, an Enterprise VR/AR Platform

Come meet Circuit Stream at the VR/AR Global Summit Nov 1-2

Circuit Stream clients include Lockheed Martin, the US Navy, VMWare, GE, Raytheon, INVISTA, Hershey's, and Boeing!

Accelerating spatial computing and scalable virtual and augmented reality, VR/AR educator and developer Circuit Stream has created a new platform that’s being implemented by industrial companies across North America

Circuit Stream, the leading educator and developer for virtual and augmented reality, today announced the launch of the Circuit Stream Platform, a cloud-based software as a service (SaaS) which enables companies to deploy, manage, and scale virtual and augmented reality applications that transform how their employees learn and work. First launched through a private beta program with participating manufacturer INVISTA, Circuit Stream released the software platform on September 17!

Today, industrial companies in markets like aviation, manufacturing, and aerospace are increasingly looking to virtual reality and augmented reality to train staff and manage operations with greater efficiency, accuracy, and safety. However, the ability to securely deploy and manage cross-platform VR/AR software using the most powerful 3D engines in the market today had not been possible. Recognizing the gap, Circuit Stream's software was designed to facilitate the delivery of VR/AR content for training, processes and operations at scale.

“Virtual and augmented reality can capture expert knowledge, increase training retention and improve safety, while reducing the time required for training and preventing operational downtime. As VR/AR adoption accelerates, companies are looking at the technology to transform operations, collect valuable data and improve productivity over time,” said Lou Pushelberg, co-founder and CEO of Circuit Stream. “Our software is designed to help deploy, manage and measure large-scale XR projects across major hardware platforms, which, in the niche but rapidly growing VR/AR training market, currently does not exist.”

Providing a comprehensive range of analytics, user management, and security features, the Circuit Stream Platform is backed by the company’s growth as leading VR/AR educators and developers. Building on the knowledge of tools, workflows and best practices through the company’s training programs, the new platform now makes it easier to quickly and securely publish XR apps and measure their impact against key success metrics.

Also,

VRARA members receive a 20% discount for the VR/AR Development with Unity course; in addition to this, Circuit Stream would like to offer every VRARA member a free trial of the Platform. No expiry.

More information about the Platform and the free trial is available here

About Circuit Stream

Circuit Stream is the leading education and training provider for virtual and augmented reality. Established in 2015, the company has trained over 25,000 designers, developers and engineers through workshops, team training and its XR Development with Unity course. Among its portfolio of clients include Lockheed Martin, the US Navy, VMWare, GE, Raytheon, INVISTA, Hershey's, and Boeing. Connect with us on Twitter: @CircuitStream