VR First & VRARA: Two Global Players Complementing Strengths to Accelerate the VR/AR Market

Two global players complementing strengths

By VR First 

VR First, the global program which has been successful at enabling creators, universities, companies, and governments to explore the power and great potential of immersive technologies, has announced their global partnership with the VR/AR Association (VRARA) to strengthen collaboration between industry and regional/academic institutions.

The cooperation between the two globally operating companies is designed to bring well-thought-out regional growth opportunities to create VR/AR tech hubs in key destinations by providing access to their respective services and facilities. VRARA offers access to industry committees for different verticals, marketing, event discounts and further promotion activities. VR First offers educational programs, open innovation challenges, Regional Growth Consultancy, Center of Excellence Facilitation, VR/AR expert circles and its mentorship program.

“The immersive tech industry is currently at a breaking point where the rules and players of the future begin to establish themselves,” explained Global Executive Director of VRARA Kris Kolo when he started to draw a comprehensive picture of the current state of the industry. “Our vision for the immersive tech industry requires that the industry takes advantage of the latest advances in research, while VR First’s vision of the democratization of VR/AR innovation adds value to our goal — lowering the entry barriers towards an immersive future.”

VRARA sees 500% Growth by Connecting the VR AR Industry (read here)

VRARA’s growth is reflective of the momentum the entire immersive technology industry is experiencing. With technology hubs around the world now supporting VR/AR seemingly en masse, VR/AR is quickly becoming part of our everyday lives — whether it’s the way we communicate or consume data. Being able to adopt the new technology and smartly execute it will separate the winners from everybody else — it’s the ability of changing clothes even though you are at steering wheel of a rapidly evolving business while avoiding crashes and minimizing hiccups.

So, how do I get started, what can my company do now to stay up-to-date on the technology? VRARA provides training, shares best practices, creates industry standards, and — most importantly — connects companies, brands and developers by evaluating their needs and use cases on a case by case basis. See here to read what VRARA members are saying and why they joined the Association.

VR First accelerates its program as the industry picks up pace

To the question which actions VR First is going to take to react to the recent growth spikes, COO of VR First Rahel Demant answered, “We have been creating and scouting opportunities to ignite growth in the immersive tech industry for several years and supporting universities worldwide to enhance their VR/AR labs and commercializing VR/AR solutions, which we are increasing with demand. Recently, we have added VR/AR labs from Bangladesh, South Africa and Vietnam to support developers in all regions of the world.”

See the benefits for VRARA members for becoming part of the VR First network here

VRARA joins VR First, Intel, HTC Vive, LeapMotion to Launch World’s First VR Bundle for Innovation and Research

VRARA Members benefit in the following ways:

VRARA Individual, University, Non-profit members get:

1. Free access to 50 VR First labs worldwide as a developer

VRARA University members get:

1. Application to Lab Seed Support program through VR First

Company members:

VR First will offer the below services offering 30% discount for annual in-kind commitment to VRARA members that wants to become VR First:

1. Adding your product/service into VR First Bundle for Innovation and Research to bring bulk sales opportunities through academic channel
2. Academic/educational and science parks global outreach with more than 10000 institutions
3. Direct cooperation with VR First labs for marketing use of VR/AR content/projects created
4. Branding in VR First website, online and social media announcements globally
5. Branding inside VR First labs and events locally

VR First, the global initiative for enabling VR/AR innovation, along with a team of VR/AR industry leaders, announced the launch of the world’s first VR Academic Purpose bundle, consisting of hardware, services and support/mentorship by key industry organizations, designed for academic research, development and innovation purposes. The bundle will allow academic institutions and science parks to engage with immersive technologies and grow their VR/AR labs.

VR First’s Academic Purpose VR Bundle

VR First’s Academic Purpose VR Bundle is being made available in partnership with Intel, HTC Vive, Leap Motion, CDWG, Futuremark, MixCast, SpringboardVR and Senses Global. Created to lower entry barriers for students, developers, entrepreneurs and researchers to access the latest VR/AR technologies, the bundle includes:

• HTC Vive’s VR headset with accessories such as the Vive Deluxe Audio Strap and Vive Tracker, as well as education-related content through the Viveport store;
• Intel Core i7: VR Ready PCs powered by Intel Core i7 processors to deliver the best experience and performance for VR content creation and development;
• Leap Motion hand tracking technology directly attached to VR/AR headsets;
• VRMark Professional Edition benchmarking software for VR performance from Futuremark;
• MixCast by Blueprint Reality, which enables blending of real people with virtual worlds to create compelling 2D content from VR applications in real-time;
• SpringboardVR’s VR management software for automating storage, distribution and launch of VR Content;
• The Academic Bundle catalogue of procurement and logistics services by international technology solutions provider CDWG;
• Access to technology solutions & services in VR, AR, Human Augmentation and Smart Robots by Senses Global;
• Access to VR First’s extensive network of industry partners for expertise insight on building powerful communities equipped with cutting edge technology and knowledge.

The Academic VR Bundle is now available through VR First as part of its Regional Growth Services program. VR First is inviting all academic institutions, science parks and innovation centers to join and learn about special bundle rates and opportunities available through VR First’s industry network.

Starting early 2018, we will add further hardware devices and software solutions to the academic bundle. By that, VR First also expands the addressable market for partners through global academic and developer reach,” said Ferhan Ozkan, CEO of VR First. More details are available at VR First’s website.

“Education and academia are pushing the forefront of what’s possible in VR today,” said Daniel O’Brien, GM US, Vive. VR First has created a bundle of hardware and software that serves academic needs, educational requirements and increases the accessibility HTC Vive globally. We are happy to support their efforts to bring VR to more educational institutions.”

“As the core innovators of technology, Intel is constantly working on new ways to incentivize VR/AR development on a global scale. It is only right that we cooperate with VR First, IEEE and other industry and network partners to strengthen early adoption and reiterate our shared commitment to the democratization of VR/AR innovation,” said Frank Soqui, General Manager for VR and Gaming at Intel.

VR First’s Regional Growth Services

The new Academic Purpose VR bundle is a key component of VR First's Regional Growth Services that include renovation of existing facilities or end-to-end solutions for establishing new VR/AR facilities, as well as training, mentorship and crowd-based online competitions.

As an enabling organization, VR First provides not only expertise but also access to the VR/AR industry and community network on a global scale. This network access is essential to the development of regional strategies and industry vertical clusters centered around these growing facilities.

Democratization Effort Grows with Support from IEEE, E&I, IASP, IGDA, SMARTlab-IDRC, VRARA and WBAF

In this regard, mutual partnerships have been initiated between VR First and global network partners who share the vision of democratizing VR/AR innovation. They include IEEE (the largest technical professional organization in the world with more than 423,000 members in 160 countries), E&I (Cooperative of Higher Education Institutions in the US with 4,100 members), IASP (International Association of Science Park and Areas of Innovation covering close to 400 members in 77 countries), IGDA (The International Game Developers Association with 12,000 members), SMARTlab-IDRC (global research institute for social change based on innovation), WBAF (World Business Angels Investment Forum with 267 angel networks and investors from 52 countries), and VRARA (the VR/AR Association with 51 chapters in 24 countries and 3,900 companies).

For more information on VR First and its services, please visit www.vrfirst.com.