Augmented and virtual reality technologies in the Asia Pacific Region, particularly in third world countries, have been hardly welcomed by the locals due to the expensive costs of the headsets and limited number of local suppliers.
Last May 30 to June 1, 2019, faculty members of De La Salle College of Saint Benilde (DLS-CSB), attended the Seoul VR/AR Conference to benchmark on the latest industry AR and VR trends. The faculty members who attended the conference were Rexcel Cariaga, Gerson Lopez, Patrick Astilla, Benjamin Marasigan Jr., Ma. Beatrice Lapa, and Johndale Julian Alfred. Mr. Cariaga and Mr. Lopez are from the Multimedia department of the said institution while Mr. Astilla and Mr. Marasigan are from the Animation department. Mrs. Lapa and Mr. Alfred, on the other hand, are from the Game Design and Development department.
During the Seoul VR/AR conference, DLS-CSB faculty members met with Mr. Pradeep Khanna (VRARA Asia Executive Director - Sydney Chapter) and Mr. Sangku Lee (VRARA Chapter President - Korea ) to discuss future collaborations with universities and colleges in the Asia Pacific Region. By being the first university/college VRARA member in the Philippines, De La Salle - College of Saint Benilde hopes to revolutionize the use of AR and VR technologies in the country, specifically its use in training and education in third world countries.
