Varjo Secures $54 Million Series C Funding!

This morning the company announced it has closed a $54 million round of Series C funding. Tesi, NordicNinja, and Swisscanto Invest by Zürcher Kantonalbank are among the new investors contributing to the round, in addition to follow-on investment participation from existing investors including Lifeline Ventures, Atomico, EQT Ventures and Volvo Cars Tech Fund. The company also announced the appointment of Timo Toikkanen (previously president and COO of Varjo) as the new CEO. Co-founder and previous CEO, Niko Eiden, will continue to drive the company’s technological innovations as CXO and a board member.

Varjo Secures $54 Million Series C Funding 

XR technology leader receives strong support from new and existing investors to meet growing demand for enterprise virtual and mixed reality

Helsinki, Finland – August 12, 2020 – Varjo™, the leader in industrial-grade VR/XR hardware and software, today announced it has closed a $54 million round of Series C funding. Tesi, NordicNinja, and Swisscanto Invest by Zürcher Kantonalbank are among the new investors contributing to the round, in addition to follow-on investment participation from existing investors including Lifeline Ventures, Atomico, EQT Ventures and Volvo Cars Tech Fund. The company also announced the appointment of Timo Toikkanen (previously president and COO of Varjo) as the new CEO. Co-founder and previous CEO, Niko Eiden, will continue to drive the company’s technological innovations as CXO and a board member.

“We are seeing tremendous demand for virtual and mixed reality use cases, particularly as much of the world continues to work remotely,” said Timo Toikkanen, CEO of Varjo. “When you combine the photorealistic resolution and accurate, integrated eye tracking found in our devices with the broad software compatibility we offer, the possibilities for creating, training and running research in immersive environments are endless. With support from our growing group of investors, we look forward to scaling our operations and delivering the cutting-edge technology our customers need to transform the way they work.”

With this latest infusion of capital, the company has raised just over $100 million to date, which will allow Varjo to accelerate its global expansion and development of industry-leading hardware and software products. Varjo is the first and only company in the world to deliver human-eye resolution virtual and mixed reality devices to meet the most demanding enterprise applications across training and simulation, design and engineering and research. Global enterprises including Volvo Cars, Boeing, Audi and Siemens use the company’s XR-1 Developer Edition, VR-2 and VR-2 Pro devices to conduct immersive astronaut and pilot training, design the cars of the future, streamline product development, and more.

“Varjo has established itself as a proven industry leader, as evidenced by its ability to continually push the boundaries of virtual and mixed reality and support the most demanding enterprise applications across industries,” said Keith Bonnici, Investment Director at Tesi. “With their history of breathtaking product innovation, a strong and experienced team and increasing market demand, we are excited to be on board on their journey of revolutionizing computing for all.”

“We were early seed investors in Varjo and believed in their vision for how immersive computing could transform the way professionals work from the very beginning. In less than four years, Varjo has delivered both industry-leading hardware and software to the market,” said Petteri Koponen, founding partner at Lifeline Ventures and Varjo’s chairman of the board. “We are thrilled to be participating in this latest funding round as the company continues to scale and deliver an ecosystem capable of bringing enterprise XR adoption mainstream.”

This round of funding comes on the heels of a year marked by company success and product innovation. Recent milestones include:

●  Expansion of the company’s global operations and reseller network to over 40 countries in North America, Europe, the Middle East and Asia Pacific with the launch of sales and direct shipping to key markets including Singapore, Israel, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand.

●  Strong quarter-over-quarter customer growth with new customer acquisition of visionary enterprise companies including Boeing Starliner, Siemens, KIA, and Lockheed Martin.

●  A commercial partnership with MeetinVR to deliver photorealistic virtual collaboration, a much-needed solution for users to be able to collaborate remotely with colleagues, customers and partners around the world in an immersive and realistic environment.

●  The launch of real-time chroma key and marker tracking functionality so XR-1 Developer Edition users can seamlessly blend real and virtual content.

About Varjo:

Varjo (pronounced var-yo) is based in Helsinki and is creating the world’s most advanced VR/XR hardware and software for industrial use, merging the real and virtual worlds seamlessly together in human-eye resolution. www.varjo.com

Hiring VR Developers, 3D Artists, QA, Designers in Orlando, Florida

Are you a passionate creative looking for a unique team that is going beyond the ‘norm’ when developing immersive virtual experiences? Mass Virtual is growing and hiring for multiple positions to help create exceptional VR/AR training content.

For security purposes, all positions require US citizenship. Visit our careers page at www.massvirtual.com/careers for a complete list of openings or to apply today.

• Augmented/Virtual Reality Programmers
• Application Developers
• 3D Artists
• Instructional and Level Designers
• Quality Assurance
• Administrative and Contracts

Apply  http://www.massvirtual.com/careers

Call for Presenters! Age Tech market to grow to $2T and is the next frontier market for technology disruption!

If interested to present, email info@thevrara.com

In partnership with the Age Tech Association, we are organizing a webinar with an expert panel for Age Tech!

The growing population of the over 50 age demographic presents new opportunities for companies, which includes technologies designed for the community of 50 + years of age in consumer online, mobile, financial services, insurance, retail, property, health and wellness, leisure, transportation and the future of work.

Dark Slope Partners With CHEST To Develop Virtual Reality Intubation Training

TORONTO – AUGUST 10, 2020 - Toronto-based immersive learning company Dark Slope today announces its collaboration with The American College of Chest Physicians (CHEST). Based on CHEST’s curriculums Dark Slope will develop a complete virtual reality training program on intubation techniques and best practices.

The training will be made available through Dark Slope’s immersive learning platform Involve XR. Consisting of a fully immersive and interactive ICU environment, physicians and other critical care workers will engage with dynamic, team-based, true-to-life training scenarios on intubation procedures. Participants will be able to train from any location with other remote team-members and live instructors, using virtual reality headsets.  

“COVID-19 has underlined the need to train pulmonary and critical care workers effectively on proper intubation techniques,” said Robert Musacchio, CEO/EVP of CHEST. “VR allows trainees to practice a range of patient scenarios, visualize aerosolization, and train without the need to travel to a simulation center or conference.  We see virtual simulation as a key pillar of the future of healthcare training for our 20,000+ members, and the broader domestic and international clinical community.”

“Dark Slope’s approach to virtual learning is to partner with subject matter experts like CHEST to develop science-backed and accredited training programs that can be built once and then made available to learners globally.” said Raja Khanna, CEO, Dark Slope. “Spatial skills are best learned through practice and live simulation training, both of which are enabled in virtual and augmented reality by our Involve XR platform.”

The virtual intubation simulation program is set to launch this fall. Additional details will be announced at a later date.

ABOUT DARK SLOPE 

Dark Slope is a Toronto-based immersive learning and spatial software company. Founded by a team of technology and content veterans passionate about the possibilities of spatial computing, Dark Slope leverages Involve, its XR learning platform, to drive a new wave of effective training and team collaboration across verticals including health and safety, field operations and soft skill development. Dark Slope works with global organizations across VR, AR and MR platforms to build, integrate and deploy scalable learning solutions. Visit www.darkslope‍.com for more information.

DARK SLOPE MEDIA CONTACT 

Rakhee Sapra

rakhee.sapra@darkslope.com 

905.334.3516

About the American College of Chest Physicians

The American College of Chest Physicians® (CHEST) is the global leader in the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of chest diseases. Its mission is to champion advanced clinical practice, education communication, and research in chest medicine. It serves as an essential connection to clinical knowledge and resources for its 19,000+ members from around the world who provide patient care in pulmonary, critical care, and sleep medicine. For information about the American College of Chest Physicians, and its flagship journal CHEST®, visit chestnet.org.

CHEST MEDIA CONTACT

Susan Rice

media@chestnet.org

+1 224.521.9508

QWR to launch its flagship VR headset - VRone™ in India on 20th August

The emerging immersive technology upstart from India, Question What's Real™ (QWR) is all set to launch its flagship VR headset - VRone.™ & VRone.™ 4K in India on 20th August. Made in India, the VRone.™ 4K headset is the only device of its kind that offers warranty and support in India.

A part of QWR’s long term plan for adoption of immersive technology at scale, VRone.™ headsets showcase the highest quality of production including ergonomic design for user convenience, aesthetics, hardware specs, operating system.

VRone.™ is indigenously made, state-of-the-art, cable-free, all-in-one VR headset. It's a highly portable lightweight device, powered by the smartest, most powerful, dedicated chip, the Qualcomm® Snapdragon™ XR1 chipset. The Qualcomm® Snapdragon™’s dedicated eXtended Reality (XR) platform has been designed to accelerate high-quality video, audio, and interaction experiences on XR devices. 

“It’s really exciting to have our Member achieve this milestone and to see the quality of products coming out of India with best-in class chipsets and resolution,” said Kris Kolo, Global Executive Director, VR/AR Association.

VRone.™ Cinematic VR on Qualcomm® Snapdragon XR1 Platform offers  4K ultra-high resolution cinematic quality VR experience with 70Hz refresh rates. It is built on an easy-to-use, hyper-interactive OS that adapts to all your needs — gaming, movies, TV shows, education, animations or shopping. The all-new crystal-clear display has the most advanced technology in the industry. VRone.™ comes with 5,000+ hours of gaming content, 8000+ hours of movies, TV shows and animations powered by Viveport & VeeR TV. Certified by the global leader in eye comfort certification,  “TÜV Rheinland”,  VRone.™  ensures health &  safety for your eyes.

There are unlimited possibilities of using the VRone.™ controller. With Bluetooth 4.2, you can connect multiple input devices, like speakers, controllers and keyboard all at once. With high-precision sensors and 3DOF control system - you can click, swipe, pick, drop, throw stuff all in your Virtual World. The light weight design plays the most important role in delivering you a form factor that allows  hours of comfortable use. 

Question What’s Real™ flagship VR Headset VRone.™ makes you experience the multi-sensory adventure like never before. Delivery starts in the end of September 2020.

The VRone.™ 4K headset will be exclusively available for the Indian VRARA members at a special price, prior to the consumer launch, with priority shipping. VRone.™ 4K headset is the only device of its kind that offers warranty and support in the Indian Subcontinent.

Get your VRone.™ 4K headset at a special price now by clicking on this link and experiencing the multi-sensory adventure like never before. Coupon Code: VRARA3528

“At QWR our mission is to create products and services which are built to adapt, scale, and drive adoption of immersive technology in India and Southeast Asia. we believe the true impact of tech lies in empowering users with skills and knowledge & shift the control from tech owners to users, and our core purpose and design are to drive this change.” - QWR Spokesperson

Offer to extend to global members soon

For more,

Contact: Sanan Goyal

Email Address: sanan@qwr.asia

Website: https://vrone.qwr.asia/

Deadline is this Thur Aug 13th to submit your solution for our Healthcare Report! 50 companies to get featured. Plus, read the Foreword by our Sponsor

Submit your Company & Solution info here

It’s free, thanks to the sponsorship from 4DMED!

I picked up the phone and heard my long-time client Sam say, “How do I slow down the clients coming in? I can’t keep up!”

As we know that this virus has forced us to stay at homes and medical students, doctors and trainees are not able to go to their respective places. It is not just about the medical field, this pandemic has affected all without any discrimination. During these hard times, we are providing efficient ways to train the healthcare professionals. 4DMED Ltd is medical software and medical device Development Company that designs interfaces for the health care education research.

With the help of this platform, you will pass through these tough times. We have used the VR technology to help the VR industry achieve its target of training people. 4DMED has created a library so that people can achieve best health program for their environment. Cloud has started two programs; one is to train the surgeons virtually via senior trainers and the other is to train junior trainees, nurses and medical students. 4DMED products includes a simulator which offers double screen feature to keep the trainees engaged and help them learn quickly. Complete surgeries can be practiced at increasing levels of difficulty, so that the trainees get all the experience. 4DMED has also designed a software suite of virtual reality for the medical training sector. It will help reduce the human error and will assist the VR industry. This virtual reality platform created will help the seniors with improved mental health as well as physical health due to continuous movement of body while using VR. Discussions among the seniors will provide residents with much useful information; which is necessary for a happy community. 4DMED advanced software and hardware technology will help medical professionals to experience real life surgical simulation.  VR headset and touch sensor helps the user to interact with virtual operation rooms. This real life experience fills the communication gap and also increases the decision making of the medical staff. 4DMED offers a wide range of simulator technologies depending upon the objectives of respective medical professional. This virtual technology creates a realistic training environment for the medical professionals.

We are playing our part for the VR industry by using the virtual reality technology to teach different universities and colleges from around the globe. It includes universities of Canada, USA, Europe, Asia, and Middle East. The purpose of using this technology to assist people in training and making their lives normal during this rough time. Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality have proven to show value within many critical healthcare verticals including training, surgery, wellbeing, etc.

Dr Nevil Chimon

Title Director of 4DMED

XR Made Simple: PIXO Launches Groundbreaking Platform for VR, AR, MR

Extended Reality (XR) Solutions Provider Streamlines XR Implementation with New ‘PIXO Apex’ Platform

ROYAL OAK, Mich. — Extended reality (XR) solutions company, PIXO, which recently made news with its VR Training collaboration with global engineering firm Bosch and Big Three automaker Ford Motor Company, has announced the launch of ‘PIXO Apex’, a first-of-its-kind XR content distribution, management, and analytics platform designed to make XR easier than ever for enterprise clients and other major organizations to deploy, use, and scale. Critically, this new platform stands apart from other solutions with its ability to manage all three XR technologies, including virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), and mixed reality (MR) applications, with a single, cloud-based system. 

Fortune magazine recently estimated the XR industry will grow to $250 billion by 2026, particularly in light of the need for more remote and virtual work, collaboration, and training solutions due to the COVID-19 pandemic. But that rapid growth has created its own challenges, said PIXO Founder and CEO Sean Hurwitz.  “PIXO Apex solves issues around content, hardware, and distribution on a global scale which have, up until now, held the industry back from reaching its full potential,” Hurwitz said, referencing common implementation hurdles he’s witnessed since his company first started developing virtual reality training solutions for business in 2016.  

“Enterprise VR Training is an important space for us and why we invested in PIXO last year,” said Angelo Del Priore, partner at HP Tech Ventures, the venture capital arm of HP Inc. “In PIXO, we see a company delivering compelling XR solutions to customers across industries like construction, manufacturing, energy, and public safety.”

Hurwitz said the beauty of his company’s new platform is its simplicity, flexibility, and ease of use. With PIXO Apex, organizations that need content can access a growing library of VR, AR, and MR titles, license what they want, then provision that content to a wide variety of popular XR headsets, including models from HP, Oculus, HTC, and Pico, as well as non-XR digital devices. Organizations who already have content, developed internally or by third parties, can also distribute and manage it simply by integrating those titles with the PIXO Apex platform’s web-based API.

Perhaps even more exciting for the XR industry is what happens on the user end. Once VR, AR, or MR titles are provisioned to devices, authenticated users can securely download experiences to tethered, head-mounted displays (HMDs) or directly to tetherless, standalone headsets without the need to individually sideload content. SCORM-compliant data, session duration, and other user metrics can be viewed in real-time on an organization’s reporting dashboard, and can be integrated into a company’s existing learning management system, (LMS).

By offering content, distribution, and management, PIXO Apex represents a complete, end-to-end, XR solution, offered on a monthly subscription basis. Further, third party XR developers can partner with PIXO to license and distribute their own content, and affiliates and associations can offer their members easy access to a library of curated, immersive learning experiences, particularly for industries where on-site, instructor-led training is often too difficult, dangerous, or expensive to conduct, particularly with the added complications of a post-COVID world. 

“Apex makes XR for training, design, collaboration, and endless other uses more affordable and accessible to companies, developers, associations and resellers, helping to grow the industry,” Hurwitz said. “XR provides more immersive, interactive, and meaningful experiences for everyone, especially those now entering the workforce, who have grown up along with this technology through gaming and entertainment. PIXO Apex is XR for the entire world.”

Please join the PIXO team at the VR/AR Global Summit, Sept. 16-18.  For more information, visit pixovr.com. 

###

About PIXO

PIXO offers a complete, end-to-end, extended reality (XR) solution for enterprise. Our proprietary, patent-pending content distribution, management, and analytics platform makes XR — including virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), and mixed reality (MR) applications — easier to manage than ever before. With one cloud-based system, organizations can deploy, use, and scale XR content across potentially numerous global endpoints and 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. For more information, please visit www.pixovr.com, Like PIXO on Facebook, and follow on LinkedIn and Twitter.

Media Contact for PIXO:

Jo Bourjaily248.766.5765; jb@virgogroup.net

Scope AR Partners with ServiceMax to Deliver Enhanced Knowledge Management

Today, enterprise AR pioneer, Scope AR, announced a partnership with ServiceMax to bring improved knowledge management to both individual service technicians and to enterprise organizations overall. The integration of Scope AR's WorkLink platform with ServiceMax's Field Service Management platform gives workers real-time access to AR work instructions and remote assistance for on-the-spot guidance needed to complete work orders. At the enterprise level, the new integration brings the ability to create work instruction catalogs to build a knowledge repository, as well as the ability to now capture data available across both platforms, which offers visibility into areas of continuous improvement or where additional training may be needed.

Scope AR Partners with ServiceMax to Deliver Enhanced Knowledge Management

New integration between the companies’ WorkLink and Field Service Management platforms gives field service technicians real-time access to augmented reality work instructions and remote assistance

SAN FRANCISCO, CA – August 6, 2020 – Scope AR, the pioneer of enterprise-class augmented reality (AR) solutions, today announced it has partnered with ServiceMax, the leader in asset-centric field service management, to enable a visual knowledge base for industrial work processes. As a trusted technology partner, Scope AR’s WorkLink platform will integrate with ServiceMax’s Field Service Management (FSM) platform to give field service technicians the real-time knowledge they need to more efficiently and accurately complete work orders. Users will now have access to detailed augmented reality work instructions and the ability to initiate live, remote assistance calls, while enterprise organizations can now capture and scale expert knowledge through the creation of work instruction catalogs. 

“AR is uniquely positioned to help close the growing skills gap in field service across industries, and can deliver on-demand knowledge transfer and empower workers to become experts at any given task with very little training time,” said Dave Gosch, VP of sales and solutions at Scope AR. “We’re excited to be a part of the ServiceMax Partner Program and extend the value of their FSM platform.”

Beyond increased efficiencies out in the field, the partnership also delivers benefits at the enterprise level. Insights gained from data available across both platforms provide a comprehensive view of how work is actually completed, offering visibility into areas of continuous improvement or where additional training may be needed. Additionally, enterprise organizations can leverage the creation of work instruction catalogs to build a knowledge repository. This allows companies to effectively overcome the constraints of remote work and the growing skills gap that plagues field service teams. Additionally, companies retain and scale expert knowledge that can be permanently accessed after a worker retires.   

“Visual work instructions that leverage AR provide the ultimate form of knowledge transfer to both novice and expert front-line workers alike, helping them perform the job faster, thus increasing overall business agility,” said Joseph Kenny, VP Global Customer Transformation at ServiceMax. “With the integration of all systems that affect this experience - from field service management and learning and development, to competency management, team communications and now AR work instructions - organizations are finally able to achieve optimized service and skills management.”

To learn more about how WorkLink seamlessly integrates with the ServiceMax FSM platform, visit www.scopear.com/partners/servicemax/. 

About Scope AR

Scope AR is the pioneer of enterprise-class augmented reality solutions, and delivers the industry’s leading AR knowledge platform to get workers the knowledge they need, when they need it. The company revolutionizes the way enterprises work and collaborate through its industrial AR platform - WorkLink - which provides real-time work instructions and live, remote assistance in a single, integrated platform. The company’s device-agnostic technology supports smartphones, tablets and wearables, and makes it easy for organizations like Unilever, Toyota, Lockheed Martin, Becton Dickinson, P&G, Siemens and others to quickly scale their use of AR to any worker. The company was founded in 2011 and is based in San Francisco with offices in Edmonton, Canada and Tel Aviv, Israel.

See who will participate in our VR/AR Global Summit ONLINE on Sept 16-18 (brands, vendors, media, trade delegations)

We are finalizing curating the program to bring all attendees business opportunities during our VR/AR Global Summit ONLINE on Sept 16-18. See below for info on Participants and Attendee demographics. Deadline for Early-bird tickets is Aug 14 Get your ticket now! Reserve your Virtual Booth now to get the best placement in the Online Expo!

Participants in Sept

From global brands, to international trade delegations, to top companies and most innovative startups, the Summit will focus on engaging industry leaders, potential clients, and highly engaged executives.

Demographics of Attendees

By the Numbers: attendees by company type & roles you can expect at our Summit.

Testimonial

Our online summit uses a next-gen online event platform that enables different ways to interact with the attendees, including the Expo Area with Virtual Booths. Past online exhibitors got 100s of qualified leads! Book your Virtual Booth today!

Launch of Immerse’s Open VR Platform Brings VR Training to More Businesses Than Ever Before. Clients include BP, Shell, DHL, GE Healthcare and Facebook

Immerse have today announced the launch of their Virtual Enterprise Platform (VEP), which combines the transformative power of VR with enterprise-ready functionality. Businesses can put any VR content on the platform, make it securely available to anybody in their organisation, and then deliver it to hundreds of standalone headsets, with data gathered centrally.

Bringing together content creation tools with a market-leading platform and flexible deployment options, Immerse VEP provides a fully-integrated VR training solution for businesses for the first time. The open platform has been developed over the past six years, and clients include BP, Shell, DHL, GE Healthcare and Facebook.

Justin Parry, Co-founder and COO of Immerse, said: “We have been working closely with our clients to create an enterprise VR platform that really answers the needs of businesses and is truly flexible, usable and scalable. VR is such a powerful learning tool, and we want to make it available to as many businesses as possible, especially at a time when technology for effective remote-learning is so critical and businesses are seeking ways of building the resilience of their workforce.”

Immerse VEP enables companies to create, scale and deploy VR training. Existing VR content can be imported with ease, while new content can be created with the help of the software development kit (SDK). The platform’s openness means that it can easily be integrated into existing enterprise systems, with seamless but secure entry for employees. Training can be rapidly deployed via either standalone devices like the Oculus Quest or tethered devices like the HTC Vive.

Parry explains: “Any VR content can be used on our platform, meaning it can be securely deployed to all employees via standalone VR headsets, with data gathered centrally. This user flow is groundbreaking: it simply doesn’t exist anywhere else. Many business leaders and training professionals already recognise the transformative power of VR, but a solution for enterprise needs to be practical, results-driven, and long-term. This platform has the potential to push VR into the heart of enterprise, making it accessible on a whole new scale.”

Anthony Del Barto, Learning Technology Manager at BP, said ‘’At BP, ensuring that our employees have the best training possible is paramount. The Immerse platform allows us to upskill our people efficiently in an innovative and engaging way, and to gather the vital data that we need to constantly improve our training and processes. This benefits us as a company, but also benefits our staff, providing them with the best learning and development possible, wherever they are located in the world.”

Contact

Name: James Watson

Email Address: james.watson@immerse.io

Website URL: http://immerse.io/2020/08/04/launch-of-immerses-open-vr-platform/

Varjo Receives grant from Epic Games to further its support for Unreal Engine. MegaGrants is a $100M program.

Varjo announced its receipt of a MegaGrant from Epic Games. Varjo will use the grant to further develop and expand its enterprise-grade mixed reality support for Unreal Engine. More specifically, the grant will be utilized in support of the Varjo XR-1 Developer Edition headset as part of the mainline offering of Unreal Engine, strengthening immersive solutions for enterprises worldwide.

Varjo to Bring Enhanced Mixed Reality Solutions to Enterprise Customers

Varjo receives Epic MegaGrant to further develop and expand its enterprise-grade mixed reality support for Unreal Engine

Helsinki, Finland – July 30, 2020 – Varjo, a leading provider of industrial-grade VR/XR headsets and software, has received a MegaGrant by Epic Games to further develop its mixed reality support for Unreal Engine. Epic MegaGrants is a $100 million program that supports creators doing amazing things with Unreal Engine or enhancing open-source capabilities for the 3D graphics community. The sizable MegaGrant will be utilized in support of the Varjo XR-1 Developer Edition headset as part of the mainline offering of Unreal Engine, strengthening immersive solutions for enterprises worldwide.

“Varjo currently provides one of the most advanced mixed reality hardware and software solutions for demanding industrial use,” said Sebastian Loze, industry manager for simulations at Epic Games. “We are excited to soon have mainline support for Varjo products in the primary Unreal distribution to continue delivering the highest-end visualization for our customers. The addition of new mixed reality features in Unreal Engine enables a new class of application development.”

Varjo devices are used worldwide by commercial, government, and academic organizations to train pilots and astronauts, conduct automotive design reviews, and run consumer and clinical research leveraging immersive environments. With Varjo, professionals can create and train in true-to-life VR/XR with analytics capabilities enabled by the integrated 20/20 Eye Tracker. Varjo’s key customers include Volvo Cars, Boeing Starliner, FlightSafety International, and Lockheed Martin.

“We are thrilled to have this support from Epic Games to expand our delivery of mixed reality solutions for the most demanding enterprise VR/XR applications through Unreal Engine,” said John Burwell, global lead of simulation and training at Varjo. “With OpenXR as the target interface, developers will, for the first time, have access to the industry’s most advanced enterprise-grade mixed reality features to support composing real and virtual environments for a wide variety of applications. Planned features include full support for Varjo’s photorealistic visual fidelity, eye tracking and real-time chroma keying. The resulting solution is likely to position Unreal Engine as the most advanced platform for enterprise mixed reality development.”

The Varjo XR-1 Developer Edition brings unique features to the market offering human-eye resolution visual fidelity (over 60 PPD in the center of the field of view), integrated depth sensing, and low latency video pass-through mixed reality. With the Varjo XR-1, developers are able to create highly immersive, cost-effective virtual and mixed reality simulation experiences for a broad range of use cases including industrial design, AEC, medicine/telemedicine, research, and simulation and training scenarios across land, sea, air, and space use cases. With Varjo, trainees can for the first time read text on displays and interact with the smallest buttons, switches and gauges, as well as see objects at realistic visibility ranges.

Click here to learn more about how Varjo’s devices are being used in some of the world’s most demanding industries.

About Varjo

Varjo is based in Helsinki and is creating the world’s most advanced virtual and mixed reality devices for industrial use, merging the real and virtual worlds seamlessly together in human-eye resolution. www.varjo.com

About Unreal Engine

Epic Games’ Unreal Engine is the world’s most open and advanced real-time 3D tool. Creators across games, film, television, architecture, automotive and transportation, advertising, live events, and training and simulation choose Unreal to deliver cutting-edge content, interactive experiences, and immersive virtual worlds. Follow @UnrealEngine and download Unreal for free at unrealengine.com. 

Call for Participation in our Education Report for immersive solution. Call for Sponsors!

Submit here

Given the world’s current pandemic situation with school closures and the increased need for remote and virtual education (i.e, virtual classrooms), it is now more important than ever for companies to have education ready, easy to deploy digital solutions.

There are plenty of other examples and predictions that demonstrate the importance of VR and AR to forward-thinking education in the immediate future. Successful trials (and increasing number of deployments) of VR and AR in education are getting the competitors of early adopters companies to start recognizing that they may be missing out on the real strategic advantage they can achieve.

This report will be published in early Sept and will be promoted to the industry globally via our Newsletter (35K+ subs), Website (20K monthly visitors), at our upcoming VR/AR Global Summit Online, and via our partners.

Submit your company and Education solution info here by Aug 20

Modest Tree Awarded TISAX Certification Supporting Delivery of Immersive Solutions to Global Car Manufacturers

Modest Tree, a global software development company specializing in augmented and virtual reality training for manufacturers, has achieved Level 2 TISAX (Trusted Information Security Assessment Exchange) certification to support and enhance the acceleration of immersive training for the automotive industry.

The TISAX standard was established in 2017 by the German Association of the Automotive Industry (VDA) based on ISO 27001 data and information security certification standards. Tailored specifically to the advanced security requirements of the automotive industry, TISAX is recognised internationally by automotive manufacturers and the entire supplier network, including industry leaders like Audi, BMW, Mercedes Benz, and Volkswagen.

TISAX certification recognizes Modest Tree’s robust processes for maintaining the secure exchange of sensitive automotive manufacturing data. The automotive supply chain is now able to access a security credential that enables them to readily adopt and rollout immersive technology solutions as part of their digitalization efforts.

TISAX is a recognized security level that is compatible across industry segments, allowing any supplier company to engage with Modest Tree’s advanced virtual and augmented reality services. This allows Modest Tree to meet current demand within the market—one that has been accelerated within many sectors, including automotive, as a result of COVID-19—to adopt remote immersive solutions to support industrial training and product marketing.

With offices in North America and Europe and partnership connections to the German manufacturing industry through RENK AG, part of the Volkswagen Group of Companies, Modest Tree is positioned to make a strategic impact on the digitalization efforts of German as well as global automotive manufacturers.

“Modest Tree’s acquisition of the TISAX certification represents an important milestone for the automotive industry to leverage immersive technology in their operations,” states Sam Sannandeji, CEO of Modest Tree. “Modest Tree is now well-positioned to further accelerate the global use of immersive learning and marketing technologies across the automotive supply chain.”

About Modest Tree:

An award-winning modeling, training, and simulation company, Modest Tree uses innovative software to provide rapid development and streamlined delivery of 3D immersive training and client engagement solutions. Modest Tree’s award-winning software is used internationally by OEMs and defence leaders to enable remote collaboration from any device.

Contact

Name: Laura Bohnert

Email Address: lbohnert@modesttree.com

Website URL: http://www.modesttree.com

VividQ Receives Funding for Development of Holographic Headset Prototype

Cambridge, UK (July 2020) - VividQ, a deep tech software company with world-leading expertise in 3D holography, has secured £334K ($434K) from an Innovate UK Smart Grant to fund groundbreaking R&D for a world-first Holographic Headset Prototype. The prototype device will showcase VividQ's latest cutting edge software for holography, providing an enhanced visual experience and best-in-class optics and ergonomics.

Through the engineering of light, holography offers a visual experience that allows users to focus and defocus on virtual objects naturally, just as in real life. VividQ software generates holographic images in real-time on a standard GPU by computing high-quality 3D holograms. This innovative technology allows users to experience full 3D scenes, retaining all necessary depth cues and thereby eliminating VAC (vergence-accommodation conflict).

The industrial research will integrate the latest developments in optical systems for holographic projection, and VividQ's newest software release to greatly improve image quality. This will enable VividQ to project a clear path towards holographic smartglasses, capturing audience imagination and eventually leading to consumer mass adoption.

Contact

Name: Maira Hayat

Email Address: maira.hayat@vivid-q.com

Website URL: http://www.vivid-q.com/uncover-our-upcoming-holographic-headset-prototype/

Why global companies are choosing Snobal's enterprise VR deployment platform over Oculus for Business

This week investment company, Square Peg Capital partner Paul Basset (founder of Seek) outlined why Australia needs to invest more in home grown technology companies rather than boosting overseas technology giants.

In the article Basset referred to the need for Australia to produce “our fair share of global winners, ”he highlighted example Australian home grown tech successes such as Airwallex (a Square Peg Capital portfolio company) and education startup A Cloud Guru.

We’d like to highlight another Australian tech success story not mentioned.

Snobal.

Here’s why.

Today our enterprise platform for VR deployment is used by global companies and government organisations in Europe, North America and Asia.

For full story visit: - https://snobal.substack.com/p/why-global-companies-and-government

Contact

Name: Ann Nolan

Email Address: info@snobal.io

Website URL: http://www.snobal.io

Augmented Reality developer job at Smith and Nephew for Surgical Robotics and Orthopedics solutions!

For more information, contact Costa Nikou (costa.nikou) at smith-nephew.com.

Smith and Nephew is developing Augmented Reality solutions for operating room to work in conjunction with its existing and products in Surgical Robotics and Orthopedics.  We are looking for an individual with a proven track record of fast-failure/fast-success development to push the forefront of AR in the OR.

Your Duties

• Prototype and build next generation high performance AR products in Unreal/Unity3D/C#/C++

• Rapidly iterate in smart glasses application development (Android)     

• Work closely with the robotics development team to concept and iterate on product ideas

• Build with the latest mixed reality hardware (HoloLens2, Magic Leap, NReal)

Desired Skills and Experience:

Required Skills

• 3D graphics programming expertise with Unity, Unreal, OpenGL, DirectX or similar

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, Mathematics or equivalent experience

• 5+ years of experience with C/C++/C#/Objective C or Java

• Proven Android development experience

• Amazing attention to detail, self-motivated and collaborative

• Experience with 3D tracking and video processing

• Passion for creating new, innovative, and ground-breaking user experiences

• Knack for writing clean, readable, and easily maintainable code

• Proven Augmented/Virtual Reality development expertise

• User interface and rapid prototyping experience

• Passion for changing lives through innovation

Strongly Desired

• Deep knowledge of Unity3D and C#

• Experience with surgical navigation technologies

• Experience with OpenCV

• Experience with Kinect, Leap Motion, Gesture recognition

• Experience with Hololens, Google Glass or Magic Leap headsets

• Understanding of computer vision algorithms, spatial mapping, shaders

• Strong generalist/hacker spirit who tinkers with various emerging technologies

For more information, contact Costa Nikou (costa.nikou) at smith-nephew.com.

LBX Immersive sponsors VRARA Education to produce a resource guide

We are thrilled to have LBX Immersive sponsor VRARA Education.

LBX Immersive is looking forward to working with our Education community in order to help highlight use cases and encourage innovation in education.

LBX Immersive believes we must improve access to VR and AR for both faculty, students and developers. As affordability continues to be a barrier to expanding VR and AR in research and in the classroom at both universities and in secondary schools.

LBX Immersive and VRARA will play a role in highlighting the current and potential role of VR/AR in education and publish and present a resource guide for educators, faculty, and developers to access grants, as well as strategies to bring this valuable resource into the classroom and other learning environments.

To get involved email info@thevrara.com

Trace3 is Bringing Enterprise Digital Transformation into the X-Reality Space

Prior to being quarantined, much of the world’s understanding of Virtual Reality (VR) surrounded the gaming industry. As a nice-to-have platform largely used by gamer enthusiasts, VR and other XR solutions have quickly become a need-to-have for businesses across industries. Today, only five months since the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the global pandemic, organizations are looking beyond 2D web video to provide an immersive experience unlike anything else to their customers, employees, and communities.

With client needs rapidly demanding enterprise-ready XR solutions, Trace3 is currently supporting projects in academia, manufacturing, entertainment, and healthcare. As a technology solutions provider, and leader in innovative services and emerging tech research, Trace3 has been meticulous in helping our clients get ahead of the curve through our Venture Capital Briefing program. By taking an engaging look at a client’s environment and needs, our VC program connects them to the most effective emerging technologies to provide transformative results for their business.

Given that the remote work model is here to stay, recently one of Trace3’s longtime clients and VC regulars has engaged our team to implement a solution around a new VR pilot. The multinational automotive manufacturer is exploring new VR platforms with Trace3 to support remote assistance use cases on the manufacturing floor— allowing content or 3D models to be seen up close while collaborating with others via avatars.

Tom Funk, principal technologist at Trace3 and VR/AR expert is supporting this client and others to focus their strategy on new XR technology platforms capable of multiple scaling options. “XR lets you ‘walk through’ a digital twin of a physical asset (data center, retail store, manufacturing floor, etc.) and simulate optimizations or explore 3D models up close. More importantly, it allows collaboration across distances,” he shares. “To deliver collaborative opportunities for industry-specific use cases, our ability to assist with rapid 3D modeling, rendering, and AI training through Nvidia or with partner support, including events like concerts or conferences, is showing our clients just how versatile Trace3 is.”

The ability to connect with others without physically being at risk is a value that is evolving this new era of business, especially in the entertainment industry. A well-known organization responsible for putting on one of the most notable outdoor music festivals of our time is exploring the XR space with Trace3 with hopes to take their globally recognized event virtual. It doesn’t get much more compelling than an industry leader demonstrating their relevance and transformative edge by showing how they will continue to operate in interactive space. Especially when the consensus among virtual event attendees seems to be that 2D web events have become commonplace, and the value of an immersive experience is worth their time and dollars.

Given that the environment now requires an increasing number of virtual events, this notion is being explored at all levels. From executive-led “stage” presentations to event breakout rooms and social hour activities, XR technology is being justified and explored. In addition, large B2C product groups are reviewing technologies that support the new hybrid work model where they anticipate 50 percent of their workforce will continue to operate remotely and the other 50 percent will come in the office; therefore diving into new collaboration technologies that bridge the gaps between Zoom, Slack and Teams.

One of our latest partners in this category is HTC Vive, with their Virtual Events and Virtual Campus platforms. Alvin Graylin, HTC President, China is very excited to be partnering with Trace3, as the team has connected him to one of our tier one clients looking to leverage Vive technology. “It’s been a great pleasure working with Trace3, they are deeply connected to their clients and have proven to be an outstanding resource in connecting HTC to the right companies that are ready for growth.”

Trace3 and its partners are also leveraging AR marks, AR video markup apps and remote POV. To learn more about Trace3’s VC Program or how to get involved, visit: https://www.trace3.com/innovation/vc-briefings or contact VRARA Member, Savitha Srinivasan at SSrinivasan@trace3.com

Contact

Name: Savitha Srinivasan

Email Address: ssrinivasan@trace3.com

Website URL: https://www.trace3.com/