2023 was a great year! Finally getting back into live get-togethers along with our virtual events. We had some great speakers and some memorable events. From mobile AR taking virtual tours to the next level, to in-person gatherings allowing HMDs (Head Mounted Displays) try-on demos, to fully immersed VR tutorials, to XR business insights and data analytics, 2023 had them all. AND we were just getting started!
Here, for your reading pleasure, are some highlights of our monthly events that drove the VRARA Seattle community in 2023 (OR if you rather watch a video click here.)
In February, we welcomed Julia Beabout as the new chair of Partnerships and Community. We also had Erik Horn, Brad Parrett, and the team from Fair Worlds talk about their mobile augmented reality app Space Time Adventure Tour, a historic AR experience anchored to the Seattle Center
In March, Hermes Frangoudis spoke about democratizing XR development with webXR.tools.
In April, Drew Stone of Locusium presented virtual worlds and how to choose a social VR platform for an event. We even started an Around the Virtual Worlds series with him a month later to try-on social VR platforms, starting with EngageXR.
In May, our second in-person event since 2020 where we hosted Snap Inc and different local partners at the Expansive to talk about AR for iOS, Android, and the web.
In July, the Seattle and Vancouver chapters hosted a joint virtual VRARA Summer West Fest. We welcomed Tony Bevilacqua to talk about capturing user metrics within AR/VR and how it varies from traditional web metrics. We also heard from Boaz Ashkenazy and Ashwin Kadaru of Simply Augmented talking about the intersection of generative AI and XR, along with using XR as a tool for exploring big data.
In August, we were at the Seattle Design Festival to share innovative VR and AR experiences with visitors.
In September, Cory Heizenrader spoke about the EducationXR platform for producing training within VR. We also had a follow up to our first in-person event centered on helping with further user testing of Fair World's Space Time Adventure Tour, a callback to our February meeting.
In October, Blue Origin hosted a limited number of VRARA members to tour their headquarters in Seattle and learn about their XR Innovations group. It was exciting to see and try-on such cutting-edge technology so nearby.
In November, John Cunningham discussed Unity and VRARA working together to drive adoption in the XR space. Also, Arian Kulp joined VRARA Seattle as Communications Chair. Later in the month, our own Roberto Haza spoke about spatial computing.
And last but not least, in December, we had our annual holiday social at the Rainier Club. It was a time for food, drink, and socializing along with an expert panel discussing AI's impact on investing. We had a wonderful time getting to know everyone a little better and celebrating the season.
IF you haven't attended one of our virtual or in-person meetings, we welcome you anytime. Also we encourage to sign-up for membership to not miss on unique opportunities available for VRARA members only, like the Blue Origin tour or the meet at Rainier Club.
We have an exciting line-up of events for 2024 and can't wait to see you join and be part of the community. We will get started in February, kicking off 2024 with our first online meeting of the year with Arian Kulp of VR Voyaging discussing travel and cultural heritage use cases in the realm of VR and AR.
Thanks again for a great 2023, and on to an even greater 2024!
Your VRARA Seattle team
Julia, Arian and Roberto
