Marsha Maxwell appointed as Chair of VR/AR Association's Diversity Committee

We are thrilled to have Dr Marsha Maxwell help lead our Diversity Committee. As part of this role, Dr Maxwell will host our Online Meets with guest speakers and the committee will continue creating best practices, guidelines for diversity in our industry.

With over twenty-five years of strategic, tactical and operational technology experience, Dr. Marsha Maxwell creates innovative environments and applications that harness the power of emerging technologies and neuroscience to enhance the educator's reach to better engage students and foster a culture of innovation in organizations. Her areas of interest include eXtended Reality, Augmented Analytics, Immersive Experiences, Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, STEAM programs, and Smart Spaces.  Marsha has also been very active in bringing STEM/STEAM initiatives to life especially for underserved and underrepresented groups throughout their educational journey from kindergarten to university and beyond. Marsha has been a featured speaker for various organizations’ educational summits and workshops including Microsoft, Apple, and Google for her skills in education technology, innovation leadership, strategic analysis and decision-making, and equity & inclusion in technology.  

“ I’m excited to help lead the committee to create a community of educators using extended reality equitably to improve the lived experience of students worldwide.”

— Marsha Maxwell

The VR/AR Association welcomes Rahel Demant as Co-Chair of VR AR Women

We are thrilled to have Rahel Demant help lead our VR AR Women community!

Join our Online Meets to learn from and get inspired by Rahel and other women working in our industry!

Rahel is the Co-Founder of VR First, a global network organization of over 850 universities and 410 Science Parks. Since its foundation in 2016, she has led the program to a network of thousands of developers. The mission: to democratize VR/AR development worldwide through VR First’s various support programs. Since 2020, she's heading XR Bootcamp, an academy for advanced VR/AR development. XR Bootcamp is a global online academy, offering cutting-edge VR/AR development courses to experienced developers and researchers. Our masterclasses are engaging and reinforcing deep learning through hands-on real-world projects and digestible bite-sized content. Curricula are developed by professionals and taught by the world's best experts. XR Bootcamp further supports the VR/AR Creators community with free and open access to knowledge, peer-to-peer learning, and networking opportunities. XR Bootcamp alumni work at companies like Accenture, Boeing, Magic Leap, Microsoft, Siemens, Riot Games, IBM, and Dell.

Since 2016, I'm working with higher education institutions for VR/AR engineering and development. Since then, the number of women learning VR/AR has been incredibly low - making them miss out on many opportunities and a high growth sector. My mission is to making tech and learning more accessible through the development of shorter and part-time programs. I'm looking forward to connecting with many women in the sector and supporting anyone to advance in their careers. - Rahel

Four Pragmatic Ways Immersive Healthcare Can Help Alleviate the Corona Virus Outbreak

As on 7th February 2020, there have been 31, 535 coronavirus cases registered, out of which a shocking 4826 or 15% belong to a critical condition. The death toll has risen to 638 within a fortnight. Additionally, the novel Coronavirus has spread to at least 27 countries. The coronavirus pandemic is a real cause for concern and has put everybody on high alert. 

Several corporations, including LG, Facebook and Razer, are restricting employees’ travel to China, over fears of the Coronavirus. Moreover, employees who returned from China are to work from home strictly.

On a side note, desperate air passengers are spotted wearing plastic bottles and motorbike helmets, in an attempt to stay uninfected. One flight from Shanghai to Perth had numerous passengers wearing face masks. Moreover, the same flight even got a special disinfecting spray down following it's landing.

While sophisticated technologies can indeed slow and possibly even eradicate the coronavirus’ impact, time is of the essence. Every passing minute could mark more cases and deaths.

Enter: Immersive Healthcare Technologies

Leveraging the power of VR (Virtual Reality) and AR (Augmented Reality) to improve the current healthcare scenario is at the core of Immersive Healthcare. This technology has consistently revolutionized conventional healthcare systems, and has the potential to impact the coronavirus outbreak significantly:

Preventive Medicinal Strategies Become Economic & Feasible

Best practices like washing your hands or immunization are amongst preventive healthcare measures that help prevent contracting a particular infection. However, in the absence of mass education and awareness campaigns, the majority of the population remains oblivious to preventive measures.

Cultivating preventive measures by setting up courses and getting healthcare professionals to take up the training are complicated. Conventional training approaches, such as reading manuals or conducting classes, are very expensive and time consuming.

In contrast, immersive technologies help effortlessly train patients and even healthcare professionals in slowing down and preventing deadly outbreaks like the Coronavirus. For instance, specialized AR/VR training designed for pathological scenarios is immensely useful.

VR/AR powered training is easy to deploy as a manual classroom setup isn’t required. Moreover, the training is value-centric and practical, thus enabling students/doctors to immediately apply learnt concepts in the real world.

“Immersive preventive medicine could very well be the trump card in eradicating the Coronavirus, and ensuring such outbreaks are predicted and well dealt with in the future.”

Hospital Construction is Streamlined & Accelerated 

Alarming times require drastic efforts, and China swiftly rose to the occasion. The city of Wuhan constructed a makeshift emergency hospital in a meagre 10 days for the coronavirus casualties. The facility can serve up to 1,000 patients at a time. 

However, every second saved in construction is an extra second available for treatment and recovery. Fortunately, VR can help initiate hospital development and planning by enabling healthcare providers to walk-through facilities using a VR device like HTC Vive, before even drafting a blueprint. This visualization helps attain a much-needed head start that could prove pivotal for efficient construction and subsequent patients' onboarding. 

“Immersive technologies can immensely fine-tune quick hospital construction, resulting in guaranteed and enhanced care administered to patients.”

As a result, governments can roll out hospitals much faster and save more lives in the process.

Heightened Decisiveness & Geographical Awareness

The deadly Coronavirus is on the verge of being declared a global pandemic. In a crisis like this, immersive maps powered by VR & AR are invaluable, as they enable real-time tracking of the Coronavirus plight.

Researchers and global healthcare strategists can quickly scan the globe and identify "hot" Coronavirus affected areas. Moreover, AI can even aid in the prediction of which regions might get struck by the Coronavirus in the future.

“Just imagine how much more effective a 3D globe with real-time coronavirus statistical updates would be than static excel sheets requiring tons of manual effort. We need futuristic immersive healthcare solutions to tackle the new challenges of today.”

Immersive technologies provide golden nuggets of information, which can significantly improve decisiveness, and help devise effective strategies to control and contain a possible spread of the Coronavirus.

Sharper Diagnosis & Treatment Accuracy

The infamous Coronavirus is alas, a new infection that has taken the world by storm. What's disheartening is that there is still no vaccine to prevent the Coronavirus infection. 

The time it takes for a doctor to diagnose and confirm a coronavirus infection is a determining factor in the subsequent treatment. Early diagnosis is vital, and VR powered healthcare setup can exponentially aid in conducting accurate diagnoses.

Immersive Healthcare provides comprehensive visualization tools to aid diagnosis and treatment. As a result, doctors can create virtual models of a patient’s anatomy. Therefore, early detection of the Coronavirus could be made possible. 

What’s Next?

The intervention of immersive technologies is transforming and will continue to renovate the entire healthcare landscape, only if we spread the word about this revolutionary breakthrough. 

In an attempt to evangelize immersive healthcare, organizations conducted several impact programs in the MENA region, to highlight the essence of VR/AR in the field of medicine.

If you are curious about why immersive healthcare is the future of medicine, contact Dr. Sana Farid at mena@thevrara.com

RECAP: The VR/AR Global Summit Featured Applications in Every Industry. And, what's next for the Association

The most exciting developments in virtual and augmented technologies from the VR/AR Association’s two-day global summit in Vancouver, BC

VANCOUVER,BC, Nov. 07, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- In the second-largest VR/AR ecosystem in the world, the final day of the VR/AR Association's Global Summit saw the launch of an international women’s committee dedicated to closing the industry’s gender gap, the successful test of airborne virtual and augmented reality for military training purposes, leaps forward in health and security, and much more.

“Virtual, augmented, and mixed reality technologies are relevant to every facet of the world as we know it. The technologies being created in this space have far-reaching impacts on the workforce, health, art, entertainment, sports, national defense, and more. The importance of virtual, augmented, and mixed reality simply can’t be overstated,” said Nathan Pettyjohn, Founder and President of the VR/AR Association and Commercial AR/VR Lead at Lenovo.

Virtual reality is officially in flight
The US Air Force and Navy are increasingly leveraging advances in virtual and augmented reality to train their troops. During the summit, Red6 announced the first-ever successful execution of an airborne multiplayer AR experience. This prototype was created for the US Air Force, enabling pilots to use augmented reality to simulate and respond to threats in the air. Watch the demo video here.
Meanwhile, Heidi Buck, who heads up the Battlespace Exploitation of Mixed Reality, shared how the US Navy is using virtual reality tools for defense training and cultural immersion -- saving lives on the frontlines. 

How 5G is going to make VR and AR accessible at any time, and any place
Rapid advancements in network technology like 5G and Edge Computing are changing the way we experience immersive technology. Terry Schussler, Senior Director of Spatial Computing at Deutsche Telekom, shared how we can defeat what he calls ‘the mobile zombie apocalypse’ – a term he uses to describe the increasing number of people looking down at their phones to participate in AR experiences (think Pokémon Go or Google AR Objects). Instead, what becomes available with this technology are lightweight pieces that allow users to be constantly connected, seamlessly moving between reality and AR – ultimately creating a safer and more aware society.

Augmented reality makes the world an art gallery
Artist Nancy Baker Cahill can hang her art anywhere in the world using augmented technology. Her desert installation, “Revolutions”, depicts the impact of human interference with the natural environment, whereas her series “Battlegrounds” in New Orleans uses technology to commemorate historically significant sites. This unprecedented body of work is a truly innovative application of virtual and augmented reality, making art accessible to anyone with a smartphone.

First-ever Women’s Committee launched
Announced over a session hosted and dedicated to women in VR and AR was the VR/AR Association’s Women’s Committee – dedicated to identifying, encouraging, and empowering women in the traditionally male-dominated industry of VR and AR. The Global Summit committed to a 50% female speaker roster, including the likes of Heidi Buck from the Battlespace Exploitation of Mixed Reality, Cezera Windrem of AARP, and Cathy Hackl of Magic Leap. Cathy Hackl, the #4 Top Tech Voice on LinkedIn, took the opportunity to unveil her personal commitment to empowering women in the space through a fund she has developed to invest in women, offering to cover one VR/AR Association membership, as well as personal coaching from her for a year. 

Why did an VR/AR design company partner jump into the world of cannabis – and what did they learn?
Cannabis companies are embracing mixed reality as a solution to overcome certain barriers (like the fact that customers can’t handle the product and that it’s tough to transport the product over state lines) and to give both consumers and investors an inside look at their products, processes, and facilities. PATIO demonstrated how they’re solving several pain points with custom-made tools, and disrupting both industries in the process.

What’s next for the VR/AR Association
Following the successful summit, the VR/AR Association has just announced a number of newly formed committees to accelerate the market’s best practices, guidelines, and standards, as well as their plan to implement projects to further explore the vast, and potentially life-changing applications that this technology can have. 

• Privacy & Security Committee: Although virtual, augmented, and mixed reality products and content are becoming more widely available to consumers, there is no industry-wide regulatory or safety standard. This is why the VRARA has formed its own Privacy & Security Committee.

• VR for Good Committee: In the increasingly interconnected global community, VR can instigate massive change. Jimmy Vainstein, Interactive Media Program Lead at World Bank, will co-chair a committee on VR for Good.

• Sports Committee: Co-chaired by Tyler Wilson, the Director of Strategic Partnerships and Innovation at the Vancouver Whitecaps, the committee will look to push new boundaries in sports through the application of VR and increase the visibility of ESports in the wider community.

About VR/AR Association's Global Summit
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 summit will welcome 1,000+ Executives, 120+ Speakers and 50+ Exhibitors from leading companies like Lenovo, Niantic, Microsoft, Viacom, and so many more. 

• To learn more about the VR/AR Global Summit, please visit: https://www.vrarglobalsummit.com/

• To learn more about the VRARA, please visit: https://www.thevrara.com/

Contact

Kris Kolo, Global Executive Director

kris@thevrara.com

Half of the VR/AR Global Summit's 120+ Speakers will be Women! From HTC, IBM, Intel, Magic Leap, Stanford and more!

Hear from women-speakers from HTC, IBM, Intel, Magic Leap, Stanford Health, 6Dai, and other leading companies at our Summit Nov 1-2 in Vancouver! We are trying to keep this industry not only inclusive but a leader in celebrating and furthering the progress of women in tech. See all speakers 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, schools 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

The VR/AR Association will celebrate VRARA Women at this year's VR/AR Global Summit

We will celebrate VRARA Women at this year VR/AR Global Summit vrarglobalsummit.com in Vancouver Nov 1-2!

Use promo code VRARAWomen30 for 30% discounts on tickets!

This year, the lineup is purposefully split almost equally between men and women. Undeterred by stats that state only 16% of women have tried VR as opposed to 30% of men, the VRARA is trying to keep this industry not only inclusive but a leader in celebrating and furthering the progress of women in tech. To mark this commitment, we will launch the VRARA Women’s Committee at this year's summit! See the Speakers and Program here vrarglobalsummit.com

Watch the recording of Joanna Popper of HP from our VR/AR Global Summit (Video)

Sign up for our upcoming VR/AR Global Summit in Europe here

Joanna Popper is a Hollywood and Silicon Valley media executive. She recently became HP’s Global Head of Virtual Reality for Location Based Entertainment. Prior she was EVP of Media & Marketing at Singularity University and VP Marketing at NBCUniversal. Joanna developed a TV show partnership with NBC and Singularity University for “The Awesome Show,” a new TV series on technology and innovation. Joanna was selected as “50 Women Can Change the World in Media and Entertainment,” “Top Women in Digital: Game Changers,” “101 Women Leading the VR Industry”. Her previous experience includes McKinsey, JP Morgan Chase and DHL. She has degrees from Northwestern University and The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.

VR/AR Companies Need To Attract More Women. Here’s How They Can.

VR Scout article written by Kate Wilson and Dan Burgar

With the industry growing hungry for female influence, women in VR has never been more important.

In the early nineties, a TV studio took a risk. Executives were casting for a character named Dana Scully: a supporting role, they envisioned, being played by a woman with the same physical attributes as Pamela Anderson. Despite that brief however, The X-Files producers ultimately chose actor Gillian Anderson. Turning Scully into a fierce, whip-smart medical doctor, the newcomer offered a portrayal of a female leader in STEM that was missing from mainstream pop culture.

The performer’s high profile allowed young women to imagine themselves in her position for the first time. Soon after, something unexpected happened. A few seasons into the show’s run, institutions saw a huge uptick in women’s enrollment in university technology and science courses. They dubbed the phenomenon the “Scully Effect”.

It’s an experience that many want to see translated into the world of VR.

Like most areas of the tech industry, the sector is guilty of a gender imbalance. With individuals moving into the business from areas such as VFX and animation – traditionally male-skewing professions – VR and AR companies typically have more men than women on the payroll.

On top of that, organizations are often segregated by gender roles. While project management, HR, or marketing jobs might be handled by female employees, very few companies hire an equal number of male and female developers. As a result, women looking to move into technical positions in the industry lack visible role models.

In the view of Joanna Popper, global head of virtual reality for location at HP, it’s vital that women become more observable in all areas of the VR industry.

“I support the principle of ‘see it, be it’,” she says. “It’s important to look at who’s getting quoted in articles, who’s getting the opportunities to step into executive jobs, who’s onstage at panels, and what part women play at every level of the company. When it’s possible to physically see women in high-ranking positions, it encourages more women to enter the industry.”

There are many reasons why VR companies should be trying to attract more female employees. For profit-driven directors, the most convincing is the impact on their bottom line. Numerous studies – most notably that published by McKinsey in 2015 – have revealed that hiring more women, and promoting them to leadership positions, correlates with significantly higher profits. Reports showthat having a diverse upper-level management leads to better decision-making, which allows companies to create better products, and shape a healthier culture.

By placing women in supervisory roles, companies can tap into a fresh pool of experiences. Marginalized groups – both women and people of colour – tend to see different problems, and can therefore solve alternative issues. Female-led company Vantage Point, for instance, provides sexual harassment training in VR, while businesses like Virtro create colourful games as an alternative to gory first-person shooters. Virtual reality is, quite literally, a technology that portrays different views. When companies create more varied teams, it opens up a bigger market share.

Despite understanding how a gender-balanced office can improve their business, though, VR organizations are often slow to adopt tactics to boost their female representation. In the view of Amy Peck, founder and CEO of EndeavorVR, there are a few easy ways for companies to start.

“I live by a principle called ‘me plus three’,” she says. “I take a look around and identify the three women closest to me who I can move the needle for, and make a difference to their career. As each person participates, that three becomes 30, and that 30 becomes 300, and it grows exponentially from there. Both men and women can use the strategy, and it’s important that they do, because we need to galvanize together as a team. We’re all on the same side... Read the full VR Scout article here

Image Credit: VRScout / Amy Peck / Joanna Popper / Martina Welkhoff

The VR/AR Association Welcomes Cathy Hackl To Advisory Board

NBC News named Hackl as one of the top Latina women working in Virtual Reality

NEW YORK, January 29, 2018, - The VR/AR Association (VRARA) is adding industry leader, Cathy Hackl, to its advisory board. Hackl, who works as a VR Evangelist in Atlanta for HTC VIVE, will be giving the Association insight and counsel as the VRARA continues its global expansion.

“As the VRARA continues to grow, we welcome Cathy, and appreciate her leadership in our industry as one of the most important women who are helping move our industry forward,” said Nathan Pettyjohn, VRARA Founder and President.

VRARA is the global industry association for VR, AR and MR, connecting leading solution providers with brands and customers with almost 4000 companies registered, over 50 Chapters, and 20 industry committees. VRARA programs and initiatives are designed to accelerate growth, knowledge, and connections.

Hackl is a renowned speaker, consultant and expert in the immersive industry. Before joining HTC VIVE, she worked as chief communications officer for Future Lighthouse, one of the world’s leading cinematic VR studios and was also selected as an Oculus Launchpad fellow in 2017. Hackl counseled UPS as a VR expert during the launch of their VR driving training program. She’s the co-author of Marketing New Realities: An Introduction to VR & AR Marketing, Branding & Communications. Prior to joining the VR/AR industry, Hackl, an Emmy nominated communicator, worked in marketing and public relations and with media outlets like CNN, ABC News and Discovery Communications.

For more information please visit www.thevrara.com
 

About The VR/AR Association

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

MEDIA CONTACTS:
Kris Kolo, Global Executive Director                                               
kris@thevrara.com

Podcast: Women in the VR/AR industry talk with New Reality Arts founder Jodi Schiller

Listen here

New Reality Arts founder Jodi Schiller is our guest this week and we chat about what led to the creation of the company along with why she also founded the rapidly growing ARVR Meetup for Women in San Francisco.

If you are looking for a company to help you get noticed at trade shows and other events utilizing VR & AR technologies, make sure to reach out to Jodi and the team at New Reality Arts to see how they can help you do just that.