LAST CALL – Just over 24hrs left to submit for Aurea Award in Immersive Entertainment

The next Aurea Award ceremony and professional conference will take place on Jan. 15 - 16, 2020 at Europa-Park, where shortlisted state of the art experiences will not only show where the industry is all headed, but will also be pitched live on stage in front of an all-star Jury. All stakeholders from the entertainment sector from startups to investors, and creatives to corporates are invited to get involved and help the community grow.

Interested in applying? Submissions are open until midnight November 15, 2019!
Interested in attending? By invitation only. Request a spot here.

About Aurea Award
With just 5 AUREA awards up for grabs, film projects, music experiences, live events, games, mixed reality experiences as well as enabling technologies receive center stage in front of a crowd VR & AR enthusiasts. Besides showcasing and awarding the most exciting products and experiences, the conference also delivers thought-leader talks, candid discussions on panels and a slew of workshops, while leaving room plenty of room for networking and enjoyment. In the setting of one of the world's leading theme parks, the conference offers multiple opportunities for groundbreakers to be heard and seen, to connect to the most relevant pioneers in the ecosystem and to become a part of the vibrant AUREA community. 
https://aurea-award.com/

About VRARA
The VR/AR Association is 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 4500 companies, brands, school and 27,000 professionals are registered with VRARA and more than 20 committees are working on best practices and guidelines for the industry.
https://www.thevrara.com/

The VR/AR Association appoints Jimmy Vainstein of the World Bank as Co-Chair of the committee, VR for Good

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

In the increasingly interconnected global community, VR and AR can instigate massive change. Jimmy Vainstein of the World Bank, will co-chair our committee on VR for Good. Think Climate Change, Help end Poverty, Inequality, Education for all. VR for Good. VR for Change.

To participate in this or other Committees, see here and or email info@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.

Contact

Kris Kolo, Global Executive Director, VRARA

kris@thevrara.com 

The VR/AR Association is pleased to announce Tyler Wilson of the Whitecaps FC as the Co-Chair of the Industry Sports Committee

The committee will look to push new boundaries in sports through the application of VR/AR and increase the visibility of ESports in the wider community.  In addition, the Committee will create best practices and guidelines for the industry.

The Committee will meet every two weeks via video conference calling.  For more information see here. If interested to participate, email info@thevrara.com 

Tyler Wilson is Director of Strategic Partnerships and Innovation at the Vancouver Whitecaps FC. An avid VR/AR fan, experienced CRO in the Blockchain space and industry leader with over 15 years experience in the sports and entertainment sector. He’s been printed in the Sports Business Journal and presented on a global stage for the innovations and partnerships he’s created. Going outside the box and looking how tech can solve problems has allowed Tyler to push new boundaries throughout his career.

Tyler is proud to be Director of Strategic Partnerships and Innovation for the Vancouver Whitecaps FC, an advisor on Esports with the Vancouver Economic Commission and the luckiest dad in the world!

At the Vancouver Whitecaps FC, he creates strategic partnerships that empower the Club to push new boundaries and drive revenue. He does this by strategically integrating partners and utilizing tech to create rich interactions. Currently exploring ways to maximize connectivity with immersive experiences across Club development platforms. With over 40,000 athletes nationwide, it represents the largest development arm of the sport in North America. Tyler is also exploring ways to grow their emerging Esport platform in a unique fashion.

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.

Contact

Kris Kolo, Global Executive Director, VRARA

kris@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

Disruptive Education through Immersive Learning Technologies

By Carlos J. Ochoa, Co-Chair, VRARA Education Committee carlos@thevrara.com

Empowering the teachers of today, for the citizens of the future. 

“The true sign of intelligence is not knowledge but imagination” A. Einstein

Carlos J. Ochoa, VRARA Education Committee. Piacenza (Italy) 24.09.2019

New technologies are an emerging industry creating employment opportunities and entrepreneurial possibilities. Virtual reality and augmented reality represent incredible areas of opportunity. VR failed to live up to the wildest promises when the new VR systems launched in 2015. But the number of job postings for VR and AR have risen 93% since 2015, with 17% of that growth happening in the past year. 

According to projections set out by the European Commission, market demands for qualified information and communications technology (ICT) specialists will not be met, seeing a shortfall of up to 500,000 ICT professionals in 2020. Virtual and Augmented Reality solutions are amongst those with some of the highest market demand in the ICT sector. 

New skills development for more complex jobs is a daily industry demand. Technicians and engineers need to be proficient and continue to change rapidly as tasks become more complex. They need to find the right information at the right moment. Technicians need fast access to all integrated data, to take fast, right and complex decisions.

Education is the driver to sustainability of our economy and functionality of humanity. Educating the individual is the country’s most valuable investment. It represents the foundation for progress and development. Every day we seek to learn new information and the way we take the lessons and apply to our every day lives, is the core of how we explore we grow and we build futures for ourselves. 

If we wish to prepare a generation of citizens, entrepreneurs and leaders for the 21th. century who can face real-world problems, we must give them real-world problems to solve.

Through virtual and augmented realities, the technology allows the user to immerse themselves into a virtual experience or location and the immersive lesson is retained at a much quicker time frame with a more impactful lasting memory. VR & Learning, by the National Training Laboratory, advised retention rates for lecture style learning were at 5%, with reading rates at 10%. Meanwhile, the teaching method of VR scored a retention rate of 75%.

Understanding we are moving into a world with exponential growth, there is a necessary requirement to update our education system to support innovative technologies to understand how it will be applied to job creation and support digital support systems and processes.

The demand of the companies in the industry sector, with respect to their future workers, is that they have social skills and competencies such as leadership, motivation, perseverance, flexibility, communication, etc. Focusing on the development of skills and abilities aimed at a specific sector, in this case the virtual reality subsector, ensures its better assimilation, greater effectiveness of training and a more complete response to what companies demand in profiles of these characteristics. For instance, in the Vocational Training includes subjects oriented to career guidance and orientation, but they lack a transversal skills development approach, and these are not addressed directly in the itineraries.

The integration of transversal skills required for the sector, as well as technical competencies related to the latest trends, will comprehensively cover the labour market demands of new technologies and will ensure the best inclusion of VET students in the technological labour market of the future.

It is time to take actions and introduce disruptive elements in our education system. Traditional methodologies and normalization already fail to provide rapid solution to the society needs. Velocity and acceleration are key factor for this unpredictable horizon, where education will play a key role for citizens of the future.

Humanity is at the beginning of a Fourth Industrial Revolution which is building on both VR & AR applications and solutions. The changes to the way we teach, and the curriculum needed to support innovative time is required to support the graduating generations into a workforce rapidly changing and evolving using digital applications not yet taught in our schools’ systems. Day to day operations and day to day systems will be using VR and AR systems to be engaged in the operations.

• VR & AR for Education is mandated for the following reasons:

• To engage our current students and future generations in the Digital Age

• To provide education of the tools, the technology, the applications of VR & AR to be used in future jobs

• To provide best practices for the classrooms

• To provide engagement tools for Students, Parents & resources for Teachers & Mentors

• To be the leader and resource of VR & AR applications that relate to extending knowledge to support the application, build or creation of the technology to use in our everyday lives

At this moment, some relevant topics need to be include in the Disruptive School Environment and new teacher’s agenda for Schools of the Future:

• Reimagining new Smart Spaces at schools

• Classroom as a set of devices

• 5 Senses learning a immersive learning technologies

• Improve the hierarchy of needs in XR in Education

• Convergence of technologies with and integrated vision

• Soft skills integration with IT in the teachers training program

• Collaboration Platforms. Virtual environments where the educational community can share best practices and experiences in a global and multicultural environment. Videos, presentations and forums integrate education materials from different sources in different formats.

It is in this context where Carlos J. Ochoa, Co_Chair of VR/AR Association Education Committee and Co-Founder of ICICLE ( X-Reality for Learning and Performance Augmentation, collaboration with Acer Education presented “Immersive Realities in Educational 4.0 Ecosystems in the framework of Scuola e Virtuale in Piacenza.  Scuola e Virtuale, an international event along with Liceo Melchiorre Gioia, Impara Digitale, Indire and Microsoft, to spread awareness about immersive technologies in education, where more than 1000 professionals attendants ( teachers, students, managers and experts from different industries and sectors).

Chris Koomen of KLM, David Dicko of Skylights VR, Terry Schussler of Deutsche Telekom join our speaker lineup for Travel and Tourism Webinar

RSVP here

Come meet us at the VR/AR Global Summit Nov 1-2

Chris Koomen, KLM

As a child I always was interested in new technologies and I was dreaming about becoming an airline pilot. I passed all exams and was ready to start flying when I was in an accident. I could never fly again. I became a ground engineer and started working at KLM in 2007 in the Engineering & Maintenance domain.

In my spare time I have always been experimenting with new technologies and back in 1996 I tried to build a flight simulator on glasses. Though it was really hard but my experiment succeeded and the glasses worked! This is where my love for Virtual Reality started. Unfortunately, there was no market for this technology yet which made it too hard to keep working on it.

In 2015 Google cardboard came out which relighted my fire for VR. I started experimenting again and developed an interactive VR evacuation training for KLM. This turned out to be a success! I’m no longer work as a ground engineer. The last 3 years I’ve joined the Digital Transformation team at KLM where I was the VR-expert and created a team “the VR team” who makes proof of concepts with a thin slice approach. I currently work as VR specialist/consult for AF/KLM to guide and implement many different fields of VR, such as cabin crew training, social media, marketing and ground operations.

Terry R. Schussler, Deutsche Telekom

Terry works within Deutsche Telekom’s 5G group driving spatial computing research and the creation of immersive products that leverage the value of 5G and edge compute services. He collaborates with vendors of XR devices and enabling technologies to build a future that delivers pervasive and personalized B2B and B2C immersive experiences. While innovating 200+ software products for over 50M users he has focused on making software smarter for users while leveraging technology to enable new forms of communication.

Watch the recording of our Innovation in VR & AR in AEC webinar with Microsoft, Unity, VIATechnik, SmartVizX

Watch it here

Three Advancements for a Seamless Future in VR. Plus, VIATechnik's collaboration with Virgin Hyperloop One

RSVP for our AEC Webinar here

Come meet us at the VR/AR Global Summit Nov 1-2!

By Michael Fontana, Senior VDC Engineer, VIATechnik

Testing a virtual environment through VR. Photo: VIATechnik

Over the last few years, one of the biggest questions looming over the discussion of VR has been user adoption: "When will VR become a viable platform?" Development of VR hardware has advanced significantly, service platforms have been built around that hardware to deliver content to users, and yet it still seems that VR is a cumbersome (and expensive) endeavor.

This problem is especially acute for industries like AEC which rely heavily on visual content to deliver experiences and information. Professionals in these industries understand the symbiotic relationship between tools and design--that each has great potential to drive the development of the other--and so the problem for us is not just the experience of using the hardware, but the limitations that currently poses for our ability to design and communicate our ideas.

The Virgin Hyperloop One test site simulated in a gaming engine. Photo: VIATechnik

In tandem with this, the AEC industry continues to push towards ever higher levels of interaction and fidelity through visual mediums. VIATechnik has witnessed this drive first-hand through many of our projects. One in particular--our collaboration with Virgin Hyperloop One--incorporates scales of simulation beyond most traditional applications: anything from small bolts and wires to the entire surrounding topographic region. As these applications of 3D rendering become more dominant in the AEC industry, the scales of simulation will become more advanced and intricate as well, requiring greater degrees of computational power and sensory experience.

Beyond the “Trough of Disillusionment”

The emergence of Virtual Reality (VR) has been able to sustain this increase rendering demand to a point. It has crossed over from obscure niche technology to mainstream applications, and there is no longer a question of whether it will become viable; instead, we must ask what it will look like when it does. We can look to three particular developments in the near future which suggest that VR accessibility will become significantly more seamless, allowing the medium to meet these demands: First, networked VR environments will become much more commonplace, allowing users to collaborate remotely. Second, these environments will begin migrating to the cloud, reducing the need for powerful, on-site computation. And third, the deployment of 5G network technologies will increase data transfer and reduce latency, eliminating many of the noticeable limitations of streaming applications.

Many current VR applications are still restricted by hardware tethering. Photo: Stella Jacob

Environments Begin to Talk

Those users who have set up a high-end VR experience are familiar with some of the existing constraints: in addition to the cost of workstations powerful enough to run VR applications, most traditional VR setups require the use of a proprietary tethered headset. Further, much of the work done in the AEC industry requires high levels of visual fidelity, which in turn requires significant amounts of data storage and throughput, meaning that the headset cannot be easily untethered from this workstation.The obvious restriction here is mobility - a few feet of cable and a room-scale boundary does not permit much of a spatial experience, and removing this barrier requires the purchase of additional Wi-Fi adapter hardware. Moreover, only one user at a time can be “in” a VR space, limiting our ability to use a shared experience to communicate. Many products currently on the market have taken a first step to alleviating this problem by allowing the local environment to communicate over the internet with other users. Like a multiplayer video game, each player owns and runs a copy of the game on their system while certain information is coordinated across the internet to create a shared experience. This enables remote VR collaboration with one big caveat - each end user still needs the requisite costly hardware to run the VR application locally. In other words, the environment is more accessible but the interface with that environment is not. 

Remote servers may replace the need for high-end graphics processing that many VR applications require. Photo: Torkild Retvedt.

The Data Center Is Your Platform

New advancements in the gaming industry mitigate this problem through cloud-based streaming. Under this model, VR environments--which would ordinarily be run locally on the user’s computer--are instead hosted on powerful cloud platforms. These platforms will offer both high-end graphics processing as well as the ability to scale with users. The end user merely needs a headset that can stream the images and audio from the server. Put another way, like visiting a website, the end user’s workstation only needs to connect to the virtual environment, not contain it. Stadia, Google’s new cloud-based gaming platform, proposes this exact model through a subscription service to subvert the traditional purchase of expensive gaming consoles and game titles. Nearly any modern workstation can participate in Stadia by streaming games from the cloud and players can connect from anywhere at a fraction of the cost of a traditional console and game library. It is not a stretch, then, to think that we will begin to see the same standard emerge in AEC applications.

5G: When Networks Become Invisible

For VR to reach peak adoption, it must be able to be accessed by and streamed to numerous mobile devices at high resolution with ease. The introduction of 5G connectivity across mobile broadband is expected to solve this by dramatically increasing bandwidth while shrinking latency. This is a crucial step in eliminating the framerate loss and input latency that can cause negative physiological reactions in users. Currently, some desktop and mobile applications can achieve this, and with the proliferation of connected devices coming with 5G technology, we are sure to see further strides in this area. From the user’s perspective, the typical visceral aberrations of networked applications--things like input lag, slow download speeds, and buffering glitches--will seem to disappear. 

The maturity of a platform can be measured by how seamlessly it integrates into our daily lives. While several of these friction points still remain, doubts about VR’s potential have largely been answered: It is now clear that VR and other Mixed Reality interfaces will dominate as the next platform for visually-driven content. The question is no longer “will it be viable” but rather “what will viable look and feel like”. Looking to our existing devices and the advancements that have been made in connectivity, we can begin to understand that VR will become part of this family, offering users the ability to experience content and share information across multiple platforms. Content distribution and collaboration services will be built with seamlessness as a priority, driving greater numbers of users into their ecosystems which will in turn provide the demand for content and application marketplaces. For the AEC industry, then, what is left for us to consider is how we prepare for this future: What will we do with these new capabilities and what impact do we hope to have that was not possible before?

AUREA Award further strengthens VR/AR Association’s Location-Based Entertainment Committee with sponsorship

Working towards a Global VR/AR Entertainment Community

With the sponsorship of the Location-Based Entertainment (LBE) Committee of the VR/AR Association (VRARA), the AUREA Award run by the MackNext creative team of Europa-Park, is expanding its role as enabler and promoter of Immersive Technologies. The support is a commitment to bring the AUREA Award even closer to renowned experts in the Entertainment sector by rewarding the best projects annually worldwide. The close cooperation with the VRARA is a crucial step in this direction by joining its extensive international network of professionals.

“In terms of strategic orientation, communicative approach and target groups, the international industry association, founded already in 2015, is a congenial partner that perfectly mirrors our intentions. Just like the AUREA Award, VR/AR Association is designed to foster collaboration between innovative companies and people in the VR and AR ecosystem. For this reason, we look forward to welcoming VRARA members from around the world to Rust next January.”

— Marcus Ernst – Creative Project Manager, MackNext

The next award ceremony and professional conference will take place on Jan. 15 - 16, 2020 at Europa-Park, a digital innovation leader in their own right with VR coasters, flying and dome theaters, and the latest 4D attractions, where shortlisted state of the art experiences will not only show where the industry is all headed, but will also be pitched live on stage in front of an all-star Jury. All stakeholders from the entertainment sector from startups to investors, and creatives to corporates are invited to get involved and help the community grow.

Interesting in applying? Submissions are now open until November 1, 2019 and come meet them in person at the VR/AR Global Summit in Vancouver on November 2.

“Sharing AUREA´s spirit and entertainment focus, the Location-Based Entertainment Committee’s mission is to build relationships between content creators and venue operators in the entertainment sector. The LBE Committee’s content creators & enablers include the likes of Battleverse, Backlight, Blueprint Reality (Mixcast), Dark Slope, Holocafé, Kaaya Tech, Teslasuit, Ultrahaptics, VR Studio, Dreamcraft Attractions, YDreams Global, The Park Playground, and SpringboardVR which have representatives that meet online monthly to work on everything from infographics and online webinar series to technical white papers and industry surveys. Since LBE consumer spending is expected to reach $809 million by 2022, AUREA Award and the committee will share experiences and insights in order to show the industry all the added-value potentials.”

— Philip Wogart - Co-chair Location-Based Entertainment Committee

About Aurea Award
With just 5 AUREA awards up for grabs, film projects, music experiences, live events, games, mixed reality experiences as well as enabling technologies receive center stage in front of a crowd VR & AR enthusiasts. Besides showcasing and awarding the most exciting products and experiences, the conference also delivers thought-leader talks, candid discussions on panels and a slew of workshops, while leaving room plenty of room for networking and enjoyment. In the setting of one of the world's leading theme parks, the conference offers multiple opportunities for groundbreakers to be heard and seen, to connect to the most relevant pioneers in the ecosystem and to become a part of the vibrant AUREA community. 
https://aurea-award.com/

About VRARA
The VR/AR Association is 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 4500 companies, brands, school and 27,000 professionals are registered with VRARA and more than 20 committees are working on best practices and guidelines for the industry.
https://www.thevrara.com/

Recap of our Aerospace Committee meeting with Boeing, Lockheed Martin, US Air Force, among many others

Come meet us at the VR/AR Global Summit Nov 1-2

The VR/AR Association Aerospace Committee continues to grow and evolve.  Co-Chaired by Samuel Trevino, Insitu (a Boeing company) and Dr. Alethea Duhon, Air Force Agency of Modeling and Simulation. The Committee is comprised of industry players including DiSTI Corporation, Enduvo, FS Studio, Future Visual, Insitu (a Boeing company), J&F Alliance Group Inc, MAF, among others.  You can participate here

Below is a recap of what the Committee participants are working on:

J&F Alliance Group Inc is an award winning AR/VR company and we were highlighted in the NASA Spinoff Magazine this year. We are part of the NASA Tech Transfer program and are actively working with the Space Commerce out of DC.

Future Visual, a UK based VR/AR company, specialises in using VR for training, collaboration and behaviour change. It has developed a platform VISIONxR which enables multi user, multi location, multi device (VR, AR, desktop and mobile) collaboration in the same immersive space. Its key clients include IATA (International Air Transport Association) rLoop and the UK Defence Science and Technology Laboratory".  It has identified aerospace as a key sector due to the nature of high risk, high value training required and the need for collaboration and visualization involving complex models.

FS Studio is an emerging technologies and experience design agency with specialties in embedded/IoT development, computer vision, AR/VR and robotics simulations.  We’re an award-winning developer based in the San Francisco bay area that excels at bringing high quality experiences to life on complex, novel and proprietary hardware and software platforms for education, entertainment and enterprise usage. We solve complex problems in elegant ways, always with an eye toward the end to end experience. We keep great company having worked with some of the leading brands including: Virgin Orbits, Google Labs,  John Deere, Ford, Samsung, Unity, Hasbro, Spin Master, PBS kids and others.

Bending Time Technologies is a startup located in Vancouver, Canada developing the next generation 3D Earth application.  It provides real-time simulations from space down to the surface at true-scale with 1 cm or better precision in 3D and VR.  Founded by Sean Treleaven who has over 17 years of experience in the military and aerospace industries, Bending Time aims to bring high-quality military simulation and visualization capabilities for the cost of an app.

Enduvo is a powerfully simple, no code, way to create augmented and virtual reality content. It’s the only AR/VR content authoring tool that allows anyone, with just a few clicks, to create and quickly share visually stunning, interactive, and immersive experiences. Aerospace organizations use Enduvo to lower costs, speed content delivery, and improve the effectiveness of their training and collaboration. Enduvo is a recent winner of several US Air Force Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) contracts. The Air Force will use Enduvo to bolster mission readiness by creating and delivering consistent and cost-effective immersive training across many different skill levels, job classifications, and geographies. With Enduvo, people decrease content development costs up to 60%, reduce content delivery time up to 70%, and increase competency up to 80%.  

MAF International Mission Aviation Fellowship is an international Christian organisation whose mission is to fly light aircraft, and to use other technologies to bring help and hope to people in some of the world’s poorest communities. Every four minutes a MAF plane is taking off or landing somewhere in the world to assist over 1,000 other organisations. We have about 130 airplanes that fly in remote locations around the world. We are looking at training young people with engineering apprenticeships and growing our ability to train these local people who don’t have opportunities in poor countries. I would love to look at the internet of things to work on solutions with training. 

Boeing/Insitu designs commercial and military aircraft to be used around the world and in space. We seek to modernize a turn-key distributed training solution capable of maintaining compliance with various governing agencies around the world, while not sacrificing standards and quality of training. Over the past 2 years, Insitu has graduated more than 3,000 pilots and technicians to work on UAS deployed around the world. Our goal is to provide a seamless solution with critical contributors to continue our global training scaling initiative. 

More info here

Email info@thevrara.com if you would like to participate on our next conf call!

Lynn Rosenthal of Periscape VR will Co-Chair the VR/AR Association Travel & Tourism Committee

Come see the latest in immersive tech at the VR/AR Global Summit Nov 1-2

We are thrilled to announce Lynn Rosenthal of Periscape VR Experience Centers will co-chair our Travel & Tourism Committee along with Darshan Lama of Expedia and Craig Vezina of Realcast.

Email info@thevrara.com if you would like to participate!

This committee will create best practices, guidelines for Travel & Tourism. Specifically, we will identify opportunities and accelerate widespread adoption of VR/AR technologies in the travel industry by OTAs, Airlines, Airports, Lodging, Conference Centers, Destination Marketing Organizations and other Travel companies, for marketing, branding and enhancing the user experience through each phase of the traveler’s journey (dream, plan, shop, book, pre-trip and post-trip)

I’m excited to Co-Chair this committee and look forward working aside my esteemed colleagues to drive our mission forward globally

— Lynn Rosenthal

A Chance to Be Involved In the Largest Training and Simulation Conference in the World in our VRARA Pavilion on Dec 2-6 I/ITSEC 2019 in Orlando

The VR/AR Association has a unique partnership with I/ITSEC, the world's largest modeling, simulation and training conference. VRARA has set up excellent opportunities for their members who are interested in getting more involved in the government/military sector. Please see the information below with a description on how you can get involved.

Reserve Your Space at the VRARA Pavilion

The VR/AR Association has negotiated a discounted space for companies that don't traditionally do work with the government. If you have a solution that addresses training and simulation within the warfighting, first responder, emergency management, or healthcare sector, this is the conference for you! Join other VRARA members as we culminate to showcase the breadth of our work. If you are interested in learning more about securing booth space at the conference, please contact orlando@thevrara.com

RSVP for our Live Webcast on Innovation in VR & AR in AEC with Microsoft, Unity, Samsung, IrisVR, and VIATechnik

RSVP here

Also, come see Microsoft, VIATechnik, and many others at our VR/AR Global Summit, see here

The VR/AR Association's AEC industry committee will present the latest case studies and innovations.

The VR/AR Association's Defense and Intelligence Committee aims for Collaboration

Attend the VR/AR Global Summit Nov 1-2 in Vancouver to learn more about VR/AR solutions for Defense.

The ongoing mission of the VR/AR Association (VRARA) Defense and Intelligence Committee is to bring together industry, government and immersive technologists to collaborate on standards and use cases, according to VRARA’s DC Chapter Vice President Sophia Moshasha.

The defense and intelligence committee held its launch event in Washington DC in April, with almost 100 attendees amassing to discuss the development and implementation of VR technology within mainly maintenance training, wargaming and battlefield training.

Several particularities of intelligence and defense dictate a different approach going forward for the DC chapter than others within the VR/AR Association might take, according to Moshasha.

Virginia-based VR experience creator Brightline Interactive, where Moshasha works as director of immersive platforms alongside managing principle and DC Chapter President Tyler Gates, has worked with several government agencies over the past 15 years, most notably an emergency management agency on flood simulations used to raise awareness among and communicate issues to community leaders.

In her work at Brightline, Moshasha and her colleagues have learned that “government agencies want to prove out the technical capabilities of VR fast”.

She says: “They want a quick turnaround in the research and development and rapid prototyping, so they can start investing in building out this immersive ecosystem.”

The defense and intelligence professionals attending the event April, particularly those from Department of Defense contractors such as Booz Allen Hamilton, also needed the committee to have a Washington DC presence.

Moshasha explains: “It made sense to host the committee here. That’s not to say that the committee doesn’t have global appeal, but in order to attract the defense players, we needed a physical presence here in DC to draw them in and get their hands on the tech. That was the purpose of the launch, and we’re planning similar events.”

The end goal is to get defense and intelligence professionals involved in shaping future initiatives for immersive technology.

“Our major goal is to set the standards for the creation and implementation of virtual environments within defense and intelligence, and the only way we’re going to do that is with collaboration between government, industry and the makers of the technology.”

“That’s what I’m trying to do—gather those three groups to collaborate on standards and research, and have that one voice. I think the VR/AR Association is a great place for industry to develop those standards of practice.”

Source

Attend the VR/AR Global Summit Nov 1-2 in Vancouver to learn more about VR/AR solutions for Defense.

The VR/AR Association appoints Samuel Trevino of Insitu (a Boeing company) as Chair of the Aerospace Committee

Attend the VR/AR Global Summit Nov 1-2 in Vancouver to learn more about VR/AR in Aerospace!

To participate in the Aerospace Committee, email info@thevrara.com

The Aerospace Committee of the VR/AR Association serves as a resource to promote the application of VR/AR technology as a solution to a number of traditional problems in aerospace. The committee will enable the sharing of best practices and information on VR/AR related applications in the aerospace industry as well as curate industry relevant case studies. Furthermore, the committee will, as necessary, shape and recommend best practices for the scaling of VR/AR applications across aerospace.

Areas of focus for the Committee include:

• Data visualization

• Learning & Training an aging workforce;

• Learning and training a new work force; 

• Troubleshooting and live support;

• Safety & EHS as pertains to the aerospace industry

• Guided assistance of factory workers & field technicians in aerospace.

Samuel Trevino is a Global Product Training Manager at Insitu (a Boeing company). In his current role, Sam manages products and services for 30+ training courses on 5 Unmanned Aerial Systems in 6 schoolhouses, globally. Insitu has trained and certified more than 3,500 students in the past 2 years. Sam’s teams are spearheading efforts in implementing new instructional technologies that assist their SMEs in surging flow of training and product content leveraging Insitu’s 1.25 million operational flight hours worth of data. Sam’s efforts include implementing a flipped-classroom variant, growing the use and implementation of AR/VR, agile end-to-end product development, providing custom curriculum options, and supporting two programs of record while maintaining compliance with various industry standards. Sam has also served as an Infantryman and Sniper during OIF1 and OIF2.

Join other thought-leaders committed to the application of VR/AR technology in solving the problems associated with the aerospace industry by emailing info@thevrara.com

The Committee meets once a month online, and has a regular quarterly gathering via webinars or hosted events.

Attend the VR/AR Global Summit Nov 1-2 in Vancouver to learn more about VR/AR in Aerospace!

To participate in the Aerospace Committee, email info@thevrara.com

Seabery Sponsors the Training Industry Committee and has over 400+ clients worldwide. The Seabery Augmented Reality solutions are applied to skills training

Training Committee creates best practices, guidelines, and call to actions for our industry. 

Seabery is a global tech company pioneering the development of Augmented Reality (AR) edtech solutions applied to skills training. The Seabery platform is being used by more than 400 Government and Industrial clients in 45 countries, with Germany and USA as the early adoption markets. Seabery has 65 employees.

For more info contact Alejandro Villarán Vázquez avv@seaberyat.com

The VR/AR Association appoints Kevin Carpenter of Siemens as Co-Chair of the Energy Industry Committee

To participate in the Committee, email info@thevrara.com

The Energy Committee of the VR/AR Association serves as a resource to promote the application of VR/AR technology in confronting the challenges posed by the energy transition. The committee will enable the sharing of best practices and information on VR/AR related applications in the energy industry as well as curate industry relevant case studies. Furthermore, the committee will, as necessary, shape and recommend best practices for the scaling of VR/AR applications across the energy industry.

Some areas that the Committee will focus, include:

• Data visualization

• Learning & Training for industry specific needs

• Safety & EHS as pertains to the energy industry

• Guided assistance of factory workers & field technicians in the energy industry

Kevin Carpenter is currently Head of the Global Operations Technical Education and Competence Center Network for Siemens Power Service Power & Gas with technical education and competence centers located throughout the United States, Germany, China & Egypt. Kevin recently spoke at our VRARA Enterprise Summit

As a co-chair, Kevin will work with the Association and industry at large to create a community of thought-leaders committed to the application of VR/AR technology in solving the problems associated with the energy industry and its transition. Together we will establish a regular forum for exchange that will include industry relevant guest speakers and information exchange; This will include webinars and panels at events, in addition to industry guidelines and best practices publications.

To participate in the Committee, email info@thevrara.com

This Thursday, join us live online for our Storytelling expert panel presenting the latest work with Accenture, Deutche Telekom, Verizon, The Morgan Library, Carnegie Museum, and others

RSVP here

Our Storytelling Committee will present the latest case studies, use cases and best practices for how VR/AR is used in Storytelling.