VRARA partners with GUSEC for Meta and Meity Startup hub in India

Are you an Extended Reality (AR/VR/MR/XR) startup in India looking to fortify your growth to the next level? Apply for the XR Startup Program, a collaboration by Meta and MeitY Startup Hub, implemented by GUSEC, outreach partner VRARA.

The program has two components:

Accelerator:

For post-MVP / early-revenue startups using XR technologies. 10 startups to be selected for the Accelerator program and get grants of Rs. 20 lakhs each, alongside acceleration and networking support.

Apply Now: Link

Grand Challenge in Education, Learning and Skills:

For early-stage startups and ideas using XR technologies. 20 startups to be selected for the Grand Challenge and each to be supported with a Rs. 50,000 challenge grant. Top 4 startups in the Grand Challenge to also receive Rs. 20 lakhs in grants each.
Apply Now: Link for Startups focused on Education/Skills, based in Western India

The last date to apply is October 13, 2022.

More details are available here: www.gusec.edu.in/xr

VRARA contacts - Pradeep atpradeep@thevrara.comand Keyur atahmedbad@thevrara.com

Meta Explores Immersive Learning at the IGS 2022 Europe

Post originally appearing on xrtoday.com by Demond Cureton.

Our next Summit is in Miami Dec 5-7 Apply to Speak, Exhibit, Sponsor and Get Tickets here http://immerseglobalsummit.com

XR Today's David Dungay hosts Monica Arés, Head of Immersive Learning for Meta Platforms at the Immerse Global Summit (IGS) 2022 Europe in Madeira, Portugal.

In this session, we discuss the following:

1) Reasons for the rise of immersive learning amid the COVID-19 pandemic
2) How Meta Platforms is building XR learning solutions for the Metaverse
3) The future of immersive learning and key takeaways from the IGS 2022 Europe

If you’re looking for more information on this topic visit Meta Platform at their Immersive Learning website.

Unity Examines Digital Twins and the Metaverse

Post originally appearing on xrtoday.com by Demond Cureton.

Our next Summit is in Miami Dec 5-7 Apply to Speak, Exhibit, Sponsor and Get Tickets here http://immerseglobalsummit.com.

XR Today's David Dungay hosts John A Cunningham, Head of Government and Aerospace at Unity, at the Immerse Global Summit (IGS) 2022 Europe in Madeira, Portugal.

In this session, we discuss the following:

1) How digital twins are helping companies to enter the Metaverse
2) Why businesses should focus on digital twins as a primary entry into the Metaverse
3) Biggest takeaways from the IGS 2022 Europe and global tech community

If you’re looking for more information on this topic visit Unity Technologies at their website.

Free Delegate Passes to GITEX GLOBAL 2022 for VRARA Members

We are thrilled about our partnership with GITEX GLOBAL and giving out free Delegate passes (worth US$ 980 each) to our amazing members, reach out to <mena@thevrara.com> to avail them.

For more information about GITEX GLOBAL 2022, please see our events page.

Lenovo Reveals ThinkReality VRX at IGS Europe 2022

Originally posted on xrtoday.com by Demond Cureton.

Our next Summit is in Miami Dec 5-7 Apply to Speak, Exhibit, Sponsor and Get Tickets here http://immerseglobalsummit.com

Lenovo, a global leader in tech solutions, announced at the Immerse Global Summit (IGS) 2022 Europe on Wednesday it had launched its novel all-in-one virtual reality (VR) enterprise solution.

Jason McGuigan, Head of Commercial for Virtual Reality, announced the news at his speech at the premier event in Madeira Island, Portugal’s Savoy Palace, which joined some of the world’s largest tech firms, including Google, Qualcomm, EndeavorXR, Meta Platforms, and many others.

The ThinkReality VRX system offers several key features, including full-colour, high-resolution passthrough for mixed reality (MR) capabilities, three and six degrees of freedom (3DoF-6DoF) tracked by four forward-facing cameras, and a massive suite of end-to-end services, allowing firms to rapidly reach speed-to-solution and optimise return on investment (ROI), the company revealed.

The headset also features class-leading pancake optics for slim profiles to reduce the weight and form factor of the device. Battery positioning also allows a more balanced weight distribution for comfortable ergonomics and easier cleaning between uses.

The headset also works as a standalone device or tether to PCs and workstations for higher-grade immersive experiences. It can also leverage cloud-based rendering solutions, including NVIDIA’s CloudXR platform, for a graphics-rich XR experience with top graphics processing units (GPU).

The headset also incorporates Qualcomm’s widely-sourced Snapdragon XR platform for quality immersive experiences and optimised virtual environments.

ThinkReality VRX for the Workforce Future

With its latest solution, information technology (IT) professionals can deploy, configure, and manage all XR devices at scale, Lenovo explained, adding the platform supported enterprises with regular updates and analytics to boost performance among workforces.

Lenovo’s ThinkReality VRX solution works for numerous use cases, providing users with XR tools to radically improve employee training efficiency, and facilitating virtual collaboration for design and engineering workflows in 3D virtual environments critical for the modern hybrid employee.

According to company figures, VR has delivered up to a fourfold increase in training and readiness speeds for soft skills compared to traditional methods, along with a 275 percent jump in confidence when applying skills acquired during VR learning modules. Injury risks have also plummeted in the workplace by 43 percent, thanks to VR training and preparedness.

Lenovo’s ThinkReality VRX also aims to serve global workforces as a secure, adaptable conduit to the enterprise metaverse with its suite of services. Enterprises seeking consulting, content creation, cloud deployment, and customer service solutions can all leverage the ThinkReality platform to help companies reach new heights and realities for their operations amid the rise of the Metaverse.

Additionally, Lenovo’s latest product also secures operations with enterprise-grade practices and a rock-solid secure supply chain and manufacturing process for stellar quality control.

Designed for the Enterprise

Companies using Lenovo’s ThinkReality VRX platform can tap Qualcomm’s Snapdragon Spaces XR Developer Platform and OpenXR-based software developer kit (SDK), leading to a multitude of applications for bespoke and startup devices.

Vishal Shah, General Manager of XR and Metaverse at Lenovo, said in a statement,

“Our customers are looking for reliable, flexible and scalable gateways into the growing Enterprise Metaverse. They need business-class solutions for the new realities of working in hybrid scenarios and virtual environments. We engineered the Lenovo ThinkReality VRX to be the VR solution of choice for training and collaborating in immersive 3D”

In addition to global deployments using cloud-based platforms, ThinkReality VRX will also provide vendor-agnostic, end-to-end services.

Lenovo has also made headlines with its ThinkReality A3 augmented reality (AR) smart glasses, arguably one of the most sought-after enterprise solutions.

The North Carolina and Beijing, China-based firm has also teamed up with numerous metaverse platforms such as ENGAGE XR for collaborating, training, and educating users, offering users an ‘always-on’ hub for Lenovo to ‘engage’ with users with product updates and meeting others.

According to Lenovo, the device will open for early access to a select few partners by the end of the year, with general global availability in early 2023.

Lenovo will update audiences on the device’s pricing closer to the launch, with further updates provided on the ThinkReality VRX website in due course.

Only a Matter of Time

Speaking to audiences, McGuigan explained how scepticism on the Metaverse had mirrored previous commentary from media reports on 6 August 1991, a Tuesday, when the Internet had launched globally.

He said there had been numerous iterations of the Internet up to its release date, and that virtual reality (VR), opening with the release of the first commercially-available VR device on 25 March 2016, the Oculus Rift CV1, had launched 2,379 days before his speech.

According to him, the new generation of immersive technologies would lead to the development of viable metaverse solutions capable of building the spatial communications platform, leading to similar successes as the Internet, which faced strong headwinds from global media and analysts amid its rise.

Lenovo’s ThinkReality VRX aimed to create such a future with its innovative technologies, namely for enterprises, as many hoped to empower clients and customers with immersive solutions, he said.

Concluding, McGuigan told the audience,

“To get to the point where we are today with the Internet, just from a chronological sense, we have to get to 2047, or 25 years in the future. We are still in the early days, looking at this down the road, and we absolutely do not know what the future holds. The only thing we do know is that, at least it’s Saturday”

The news comes after Lenovo’s Vishal Shah spoke to XR Today along with representatives from RealWear and Longan Vision at the XR Summit in September, where the high-level exec spoke about the company’s ThinkReality platform and how it leverages the industry’s top-level AR technologies.

Lenovo’s leading XR solution has revealed results where it empowered businesses and workers, namely amid the COVID-19 pandemic and amid the rise of remote guidance business operations, leading to rapid deployments, reduced downtimes, and enhanced learning curves.

The IGS 2022 Europe is taking place from 28 to 30, with the three-day event uniting the global tech world for a series of panel talks, keynote speeches, product announcements, and other major updates.

Newest version of SynergyXR unlocks iOS for new groundbreaking VR experiences

SynergyXR, a growing no-code enterprise XR platform, is introducing a massive overhaul to the platform with brand-new demo experiences, UI improvements, and full iOS support. Dive into this new version of SynergyXR and explore how the Corporate Metaverse can benefit all industries.

It's always been our mission to bring “XR to the people”, and we’re happy to double down on that mantra by making it even easier to get started with SynergyXR. Introducing our new demo experiences that take you from A-Z in the Corporate Metaverse and spotlight the future of work!

Now you can sign up for a free 30-day virtual journey that lets you discover the vast opportunities for driving value in XR with our industry-tailored demo experiences and touch on everything from onboarding to sales and marketing in the Metaverse.

We’ve also given our UI an overhaul, and with user-friendly improvements that make everything more streamlined and intuitive to navigate in SynergyXR, even completely inexperienced users will feel right at home.

It’s equally important to us that we make the Corporate Metaverse accessible to everyone, and that’s why we’re now launching the complete SynergyXR experience for iOS mobile devices. That means working in XR is now as simple as grabbing your iPhone or iPad and collaborating with your colleagues in real-time in Virtual Reality.

SynergyXR 2.2 Release Highlights
Here’s what we’ve packed inside the latest version of SynergyXR

> Spectacular demo experiences
> Significant UI improvements
> Full platform support for iOS devices

Magic Leap 2 hits the market, and the UM community got a first look

Originally Appearing on Refresh Miami by Nancy Dahlberg

On Friday, Magic Leap announced that its next generation enterprise augmented reality platform, Magic Leap 2, is now commercially available.

Widespread availability follows its Early Access Program with companies like Cisco, SentiAR, NeuroSync, Miami-based Heru, Taqtile, PTC and Brainlab, where Magic Leap continued to improve the device for training, communication and remote assistance use cases in clinical settings, industrial environments, defense, and retail stores.

Magic Leap CEO Peggy Johnson said: “The Magic Leap 2 is the smallest and lightest augmented reality device built for the enterprise. After working with customers across industries like healthcare, manufacturing and the public sector, we’re proud to release a device that features innovative breakthroughs critical to driving widespread adoption, including Dynamic Dimming™ technology, the industry’s largest field of view, and unparalleled image quality and text legibility. Magic Leap 2 will take the current use cases to the next level, and we can’t wait to see what our customers create.”

In addition to Dynamic Dimming, Magic Leap 2 is 20% lighter and 50% smaller than its predecessor and includes proprietary optics breakthroughs and the largest field of view (up to 70° diagonal), compared to similar currently available AR devices, Magic Leap says.

The University of Miami has been a Magic Leap partner since 2018. Recently, students, faculty and the developer community were able to try out the Magic Leap 2 with a Magic Leap executive. Here is UM’s report:

By Janette Neuwahl Tannen – Guest Contributor, University of Miami

In a Magic Leap 2 Developer Event held in September, the company let students, faculty members, staff, and local professionals learn more about the newest headset, set to be released Sept. 30.

Oscar Arana and George Thompson have a vested interest in being familiar with the latest technology.

Thompson, a first-year music engineering major, and Arana, a sophomore computer science major, hope to delve into the virtual or augmented reality industries after graduation.

So, on Tuesday evening, they joined a group of students, faculty and staff members, and local extended reality professionals who attended the VR/AR Association’s Magic Leap 2 Developer Event, where leaders from Plantation-based Magic Leap unveiled the latest headsets, which will officially hit the market at the end of the month.

“The headset is very cool, and it will be interesting to think about its applications—I’m excited to see what will come out of it,” said Arana.

Founded by University alumnus Rony Abovitz in 2010, Magic Leap is one of a few companies specializing in augmented reality hardware, which layers digital images and experiences on top of the physical world. For example, augmented reality (AR) applications allow consumers to visualize digital furniture in their actual home, and they could allow first responders to immediately visualize hazards currently hidden behind walls, like gas lines or electrical panels when entering a fire in an actual building.

“The key to the future of digital technology in the physical world is keeping the human at its center,” said Lisa Watts, vice president of product marketing and developer programs at Magic Leap. “And we are here to make that digital content truly exist in the physical world and to enable humans to have that next level of interaction.”

The Tuesday event was hosted by the University’s Institute for Data Science and Computing (IDSC) and the XR Initiative and held in the Lakeside Village Auditorium. It was sponsored by Magic Leap and Unity, which creates software that is often used to build virtual and augmented reality experiences. It came just a few months after the Miami chapter of the VR/AR Association was launched on campus last spring.

“Magic Leap 2 has more capabilities to bring the digital and physical world together, and the University wants to be at the forefront of these technologies to expose our faculty and students to these new realities,” said Nick Tsinoremas, the University’s vice provost for research computing and data, as well as director of IDSC. “We are very excited about our relationship with Magic Leap and Unity, as well as how we can advance this technology and make it more pervasive. Because we want to create the next generation of developers, the next generation of creators, and the next generation of people that can change the world.” 

A representative from Magic Leap shows sophomore Oscar Arana the capabilities of the new Magic Leap 2 headset. Photo courtesy Kim Grinfeder/School of Communication.

During the evening event, Watts explained that the Magic Leap 2 evolved from the company making many revisions to its first headset, the Magic Leap One, to make it more human-centric. Some of these include expanding the user’s field of vision, so that people wearing the headsets can see a wider area.

The company also worked to make the digital images appear more solid before they are layered on the physical world, Watts noted. The new device also has more than 18 cameras and sensors, four microphones, and two speakers to make the AR experience more engaging.

The new headsets also have a global dimming feature that allows digital images to become sharper. In addition, Magic Leap has made its platform more accessible to developers and switched to an Android-based operating system. The device costs $3,299. 

The new features will help the headsets become more useful to people outdoors or in bright light, students and faculty members familiar with the previous headsets pointed out. Sophomore Marcos Morales, who works on the information technology Innovate team to develop Magic Leap applications with faculty members, said many of the changes were positive. 

“It’s a large improvement on how much you’re able to see onscreen in the new device, and the virtual objects look much more real,” he said. 

In 2018, Magic Leap and the University entered a partnership where students and faculty and staff members developed new uses for the devices. Through Magic Leap mini-grants sponsored by the Office of the Provost, applications were crafted to do things like teach three-dimensional vectors in physics and for surgeons to view and interact with 3-D images of a patient’s struggling organs.

Now, the hope is that the University community and professionals from a burgeoning Miami tech industry will help them develop more applications for the Magic Leap 2.

“In this new headset, we’ve given you more tools to help that digital content really blend into the real world,” Watts said, speaking to an audience of potential Magic Leap developers. “And you as the development community need to help us bring this to life. So, we want to enable you and give you access to the possibilities.”

Photo at top of post: A participant at the Magic Leap 2 Developer Event gets a chance to try on the company’s latest headset. Photo: Matthew Rembold/University of Miami.

This story was first published by the University of Miami and Refresh Miami here is republishing it with permission.

CYMAX Excellency award in AR VR

CYMAX has produced the official VR 360° video of Thub-2 and being launched by Telangana IT secretary Mr.Jayesh Ranjan on 30-09-2022 .The VR 360° video capturing is one of the products of Cymax where all the ceremonial functions, concerts , Architecture and real estate projects will come as real-time live experience before the viewers, as if they are at the place and are participating in the actual scene watching through the VR headset either the recorded content or 360° live streaming. All these features are pioneered by CYMAX over years of upgradation where the new generation will be able to see in its lifetime all that was good in the past and whatever is happening today and what is going to happen tomorrow with ease and finesse. At the outset on the same event CYMAX was felicitated with "TECHNOLOGY EXCELLENCE IN ARVR” award, organised by Sri Sandeep Kumar Maktala ,the global president of TITA (Telangana State Information Technology Association)

easics launches nearbAI™ IP cores for XR devices that will set the standard for extreme edge AI performance and immersive experiences

Battery-powered extended reality (XR) devices need to sense and analyze their environments within the response time of the human senses to provide instant visual and aural feedback towards the user. And do so with extremely low power consumption and with ultra-low latency. The easics solution meets these demands with their compact nearbAI semiconductor IP cores and its unique L3-Optimizer technology for low power + low latency + low area balance. The digital IP cores are optimized for integration in ASICs, ASSPs and SoCs inside XR devices and available as of today.

The growth of edge computing and edge AI is driving the need for high-performance neural network inference engines on edge devices. Gartner projects that by 2027, deep learning will be included in over 65% of edge use cases. XR edge devices in the form of virtual reality (VR) headsets and augmented reality (AR) glasses are forecasted to experience double-digit growth and surpass 50 million units by 2026, according to IDC. XR devices will increasingly employ edge AI to locally sense and analyze their environments, as part of the distributed computing landscape of the metaverse.

nearbAI IP cores are highly efficient neural network inference engines, configurable for an extensive and growing range of AI models and use cases optimized for energy consumption, performance and area. nearbAI powers functions such as scene segmentation and reconstruction, object and face detection and recognition, foundational to consumer and enterprise XR applications.

“nearbAI is unique, delivering best-in-class extreme edge AI inference solutions for XR devices. It builds on more than three decades of DSP and image sensor chip design. Our mission is to provide customers with IPs that perfectly fit their specifications, offer outstanding performance, and are seamless to integrate right through to tape-out”, said Ramses Valvekens, CSO & Managing Director at easics.

Ideal for mobile XR processor chips and even fits in the most compact near-sensor AI chips:

Extreme optimization
- Proprietary L3-Optimizer: low power + low latency + low area balance
- Scaled and tuned to the application, yet field upgradable
- Record-breaking MAC utilization up to 95%
- Wide-ranging configurable number of MACs: 16 to 4096
- Configurable MAC accuracy, independent coefficient and data quantization, 4 to 16-bit, single bit granularity
- Configurable internal memory bank sizes and bus widths

Low power
- As low as sub 10 milliwatt

Ultra-fast response time
- Face detection in 2 milliseconds

Zero-latency switching
- Continuous multiplexing between multiple neural networks on the same nearbAI core, saving silicon area

Support for any sensor
- RGB, ToF, NIR, thermal IR, LiDAR, hyperspectral, stereo, ultrasound, audio

“easics is committed to bringing the most advanced technology and solutions to market. With nearbAI, along with our partners and customers, we are pushing the latest AI innovation to the extreme edge”, added Mr. Valvekens.

To learn more about nearbAI for XR devices and experience a live demo, visit the easics booth at Augmented Enterprise Summit (AES) 2022 in San Diego, October 18-20, Booth 802 (www.augmentedenterprisesummit.com), or visit www.nearbai.com.

About easics

easics is a market leader in digital chip design and semiconductor IP licensing. With over 30 years of design excellence in embedded solutions, easics provide unique competence and development platforms that leads to first-time right, reliable and optimized logic. easics supports leading OEMs and semiconductor companies with custom designs and customizable IP blocks for smart embedded processing systems that can be realized in custom ASICs / ASSPs / SoCs and in FPGAs.

For more information, please visit www.easics.com or follow easics on LinkedIn.

MEDIA CONTACT:

easics:
Jon Jacobsen
Marketing Manager
E: marketing@easics.com
P: +32 16 395 611
Web: www.easics.com

Resources:
PR as Word document >>>
easics logo (High-resolution) >>>
nearbAI logo (High-resolution) >>>
nearbAI IP core diagram (High-resolution) >>>

Alberta-Based Project Deploys Consumer Health Monitoring Technology to Pilot an Innovative Home Environment for Aging Populations

CALGARY, Alberta--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The HealthTech Home project, a new initiative from The Brenda Strafford Foundation (BSF) and Health Cities, aims to address pressure on health systems by integrating and validating consumer technology and innovative health solutions in a residential setting.

s the largest generation of Canadians, the Baby Boomer Generation, reaches the senior age demographic, aging at home has become a priority in the health sector. Recent studies have shown aging at home can lower the cost to the health care system while enabling older adults to remain safe, independent, and connected to their homes and communities. However, understanding the technology required to support older adults to age at home is not always a straightforward selection, as many products are costly or do not integrate directly with existing consumer or health systems.

The HealthTech Home project creates a sandbox environment deployed within a BSF-owned condo unit for independent older adults that is connected to one of their continuing care homes. Health technology solutions are selected and installed to monitor the health of an independent-living condo tenant over the course of one year in an effort to slow, or reverse, any decline in health, and to aid aging in place. The selection, implementation, and evaluation of technology will build a framework that supports aging in place. Currently, little framework exists to inform technology implementation for aging care in a residential setting.

In addition to validating consumer and health technologies, this project has established the HealthTech Home Innovation Council, the first group of its kind. The Council, comprised of key stakeholder groups, will meet regularly to share results and review outcomes to inform policy and funding decisions. Once a technology has been validated within the project, the Council will assist with scale and deployment to ensure greater impact.

Best Buy Canada is the project’s first technology partner. The company's expertise in commercial technology designed to support aging in place, paired with its unique ability to introduce foundational elements into the HealthTech Home in a consolidated way, allows for an agnostic approach to vendor selection scalable across Canada. Additional partners include the University of Calgary’s Brenda Strafford Centre on Aging, CBI Health and W21C.

“Today’s generation of aging seniors have different expectations around remaining in their homes and maintaining their independence as they age," says Tony Weeks, President and CEO at The Brenda Strafford Foundation. "We are committed to leading research and innovation that enhances the quality of life and quality of care for older adults in support of our mission to optimize well-being and enrich people’s lives, creating impact within our seniors’ care communities, and beyond.”

"We know that enabling seniors to age in place, where they are comfortable and have the support of their communities, leads to better health outcomes,” says Reg Joseph, CEO at Health Cities. “Designing a technology and solutions framework is key to building a more efficient health system for aging populations. Alberta’s economy is dependent on creating these opportunities for Canadian health technology companies to integrate their solutions."

“Best Buy Health is driven by the belief that technology can make life better— at any age, for any need,” says Sara Aghvami, Director at Best Buy Health. “We are thrilled to work on the HealthTech Home project, and we believe it will provide a perfect example of how technology enriches lives and allows countless people to age in any place they call home.”

About The Brenda Strafford Foundation

The Brenda Strafford Foundation is a registered Canadian charitable organization established in 1975. The Foundation’s core operations are in seniors’ care, owning and operating five continuing care communities in and around Calgary, AB, and with a strategic focus on research and innovation in seniors’ health and wellness. The Foundation also operates local charitable programs to serve women and children fleeing domestic violence and families at risk of homelessness, as well as international charitable programs for vulnerable populations in need of health services in underserved regions of the Caribbean.

www.theBSF.ca

About Health Cities

Health Cities is a Canadian not-for-profit corporation that works with clinicians, innovators, philanthropic organizations, and companies to develop new models of care that can drive better health outcomes and economic growth in the health sector. Our focus is on transforming innovations from our health sector into solutions that have commercial application and global relevance, adopting them for impact locally and scaling them for export to global markets.

Visit healthcities.ca for more information.

About Best Buy Canada

A wholly owned subsidiary of Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE:BBY), Best Buy Canada Ltd. is one of Canada’s largest and most successful omnichannel retailers, operating the Best Buy, Best Buy Mobile, and Geek Squad (www.geeksquad.ca) brands. With over 160 Best Buy and Best Buy Mobile stores across Canada and an expanded assortment of lifestyle products offered through BestBuy.ca, Best Buy is a leader in total retail, catering to customers how, when, and where they want to shop. Best Buy Canada is committed to making a positive impact in the community by providing services and technology that help caregivers, enhance digital skills, and expand the reach of businesses that specialize in care.

For more information, visit BestBuy.ca.

Contacts

Media Inquiries:

Health Cities
Stephanie Gillis-Paulgaard
Email: media@healthcities.ca
Phone: 780-885-0458

The Brenda Strafford Foundation
Julie Arnold
Email: julie.arnold@theBSF.ca
Phone: 403-536-8682

Best Buy Canada
Mathew Wilson – Communications Specialist
Email: media@bestbuycanada.ca
Phone: 604-809-3416

Highlights from our VRARA Retail Forum 2022: We had 1249 attendees from 69 countries. Top Speakers and Sessions.

Goldman Sachs reported the Metaverse is estimated to be a $12 trillion opportunity. Our Retail Forum showcased how much commerce is part of this! Thank you to all the speakers, attendees, and sponsors!

Let’s continue the conversions! Join our weekly Online Meets and see you in Madeira, Portugal for our Immerse Global Summit Sept 28-30!

Highlights from our Retail Forum:

According to JP Morgan, direct-to-avatar sales of virtual goods have amassed a $54 billion market. Gucci sold a digital version of its Dionysus bag for $4,115 –more than the price of the physical item itself. Technology research and consulting firm Gartner, Inc. has predicted 25% of consumers in the U.S. will spend one hour daily in the metaverse shopping, socializing, being entertained and learning by the year 2026. ​According to McKinsey’s and Company, marketers and the metaverse represent an opportunity to engage consumers in entirely new ways while pushing internal capabilities and brand innovation in new directions. Now is the right time to adopt a test-and-learn mindset, to be open to experiments in the metaverse, and to move on quickly from failure and capitalize on success.

Event Sponsors

Thank you Marxent , Mixtiles , and ZERO10 for sponsoring our event!

JOBS AND SKILLS OF THE FUTURE: MIAT LAUNCHES TWO NEW MASTERCLASSES TO ANSWER THE MARKET DEMAND

In an extremely dynamic and constantly evolving market, brands and companies are increasingly  oriented towards innovation, driven by the spread of emerging technologies and metaverse. 

Nevertheless, there are very few courses that offer training in integrated and transversal skills of  this type to professionals and artists. 

For this reason, MIAT is launching two new on-site Masterclasses in the MIAT Academy: “XR  Optics” with Meta and “Live Performance in the Metaverse” in order to help professionals in to  answer the call of immersive technologies and the Metaverse and meet the demand of this fast growing markets. 

XR OPTICS MASTERCLASS 

In the span of about a decade, companies like Apple, Meta, Google, Microsoft, Samsung, Sony,  Huawei have opened VR/MR divisions, acquired companies and hired thousands of engineers and  PhDs in the field of optics to enable this technology leap. 

To help engineers and scientific profiles having a competitive advantage in the job Market, MIAT is  launching Masterclass with META on XR Optics, led by Dr. Giuseppe Calafiore - Manager  responsible for the XR optics at META Reality Labs, who with his team is responsible for the design  and implementation of all MR smart glasses and in VR for Meta around the world. 

The Masterclass, will be held in Milan from 12 to 16 December 2022, aimed at providing highly  specialised professionals (engineers and scientific profiles) with an overview of the fundamentals of  optics for virtual reality and mixed reality devices. 

The core of the course will focus on advanced and proprietary MATLAB scripts for the design of  Mixed Reality (MR) devices. This type of profile is in great demand at international level and there  are currently no courses of this kind available in the world. 

Link to the Masterclass: https://www.miat.tech/courses/xr-optics-masterclass-bootcamp/Link to  the Masterclass: https://www.miat.tech/courses/xr-optics-masterclass-bootcamp/ 

LIVE PERFORMANCE IN THE METAVERSE 

The metaverse increasingly requires the ability to conceive, design and realise essential practical  skills in live performances through collaborative and practical experimentation. 

The unique international “Live Performance in the Metaverse Masterclass” will take place on 18,  19 and 20 November and on 25 and 26 November full time. 

During the Masterclass, led by António Baía Reis - Ph. D in Immersive Media, Professor in Digital  Media, Co-founder and Stage Director of Cuarta Pared VR, Professional Actor and Digital Artist,  participants will also operate in a virtual world through VR headsets with an artistic crew connected  from Spain. They will acquire specialised knowledge and practical skills that will allow them to have  a kit of conceptual and practical tools to conceive, design, plan and implement any metaverse  project that needs know-how for live performance. The output will be the realisation of a prototype  for a live performance project for the metaverse that participants will present on the last day of the  masterclass to a jury of international experts 

• Jorge Esteban Blein: Co-founder & VR Creative Director in La Cuarta Pared VR,  Academy Coordinator & Mentor at Virtual Voyager academy, Metaverse theatre, Ph.D. 

• Mark Ashmore: Founder Future Artists, 3rd Year PhD Researcher Immersive Arts,  Twitch Producer, Live Event Producer. 

Link to the Masterclass: https://www.miat.tech/courses/live-performance-in-the-metaverse masterclass-bootcamp/ 

Here some useful links:  

https://www.miat.tech/the-institute-for-arts-and-emerging-technologies/ 

https://www.miat.tech/ 

ABOUT MIAT 

MIAT is an educational and creative hub for immersive arts and emerging technologies, integrating  an Immersive Academy with hands-on and practitioner-driven industry access training programs,  alongside a full-service immersive production centre generating original immersive and metaverse  experiences. 

We are an international team of immersive storytellers, filmmakers, producers, XR developers, lead  artists, animators, sound engineers, combining high artistic skills with a cutting-edge technological  expertise delivering training programs in immersive storytelling, metaverse, directing, creative  producing, filmmaking, VR shooting, XR art, interactive emerging technologies applications. We love  to strengthen the talents of the future and create together high-end original immersive experiences  for artistic expression and social impact. 

MIAT s.r.l. Via Carlo Freguglia, 10 - MIlan . www.miat.tech . miat@miat.tech . miatsrl@smart-cert.it Registro Imprese di Milano Cod. Fisc. e P.IVA 10581970968 . REA MI - 2543408

Stop by the Lenovo booth at our Immerse Global Summit in Madeira Island, Portugal, Sept 28-30

Lenovo ThinkReality offers an extensive portfolio of XR solutions because enterprises are looking for an easier pathway to scale into the Metaverse.

Hardware and software will always be critical to the future of successful XR projects, but they are still only part of a solution. Services are going to be a major differentiator in our nascent industry. Why? Because speed-to-solution is going to separate firms that accelerate in this new business reality from the rest of the pack.

Lenovo, a trusted global enterprise technology leader, not only offers XR hardware and software, but also end-to-end services to help customers quickly realize the return on their investments.  Lenovo helps enable enterprises by delivering immersive digital transformation solutions that span across engineering design and modeling, maintenance and repair, remote collaboration, worker safety and training, and much more.

Stop by our booth at the Immerse Global Summit in Madeira Island, Portugal September 28-30 and speak with Lenovo experts about how we can help your business transform and grow in the Metaverse.

Sanovo finds the perfect solution to maintaining machines

As international airspace quietened down due to the Covid-19 pandemic, local businesses proceeded as normal. But international companies with production facilities spread across the globe were working under conditions that were far from ordinary.

The challenge: overcoming travel restrictions

With the ongoing pandemic, Sanovo was forced to adapt to offering its products and services under these new conditions. Their international clients were still in full operation, maintaining a high demand for the firm’s products and services.

The pandemic, and its subsequent travel restrictions, made it challenging for Sanovo to provide their customers with the correct support and accurate machine reparations without being physically present.

The solution: maintenance and repairs through remote support

The remote support solution, offered by SynergyXR, successfully overcame Sanovo’s challenge by delivering an easy-to-use platform that enabled their technicians to repair, and offer support, completely virtually.

For instance, the client’s plant technician (located anywhere in the world) simply places their HoloLens on, and the support technician, located in Denmark, can assist and support remotely, through their computer.

The support technicians, in Denmark, are able to share 3D content such as instruction diagrams, manuals, and other documentation to help facilitate reparation. The physical actions are executed by the plant technician on location.

The plant technician can manipulate this content with their hands and follow instructions in real-time, while the support technician digitally “looks over their shoulder”.

The result: reduced downtime from 2 days to 2 hours

From two days to just a few hours. That’s how quickly this new solution lets Sanovo repair machines remotely. What was previously a laborious affair that required grueling international travel, often to remote areas, can now be remedied from Denmark in just a few hours.

The successful solution has the potential to profoundly reduce Sanovo’s time and costs spent on traveling to onsite locations, as well as improving productivity. The idea of being able to support a global fleet of machinery from a single base is now becoming a reality. And the reduced travel, says Olaf, “has the added benefit of helping us reduce our carbon footprint”, a goal that the company was already working towards.

Cognitive3D, a Spatial Analytics Platform for 3D Apps, Raises a $2.5M Seed Funding

Cognitive3D uses spatial analytics to help analyze user experiences within 3D simulated environments

VANCOUVER, CANADA: SEPTEMBER 8TH, 2022 - Cognitive3D, the spatial analytics platform that collates and measures how users behave within immersive 3D environments, has raised a $2.5M Series Seed round led by Konvoy, with participation from Space Capital and Boost VC. 

Jim Preston, Lead Technical Producer at Electronic Arts (EA), with over 20 years of experience in cutting-edge frontier technology and video games, and Konvoy Principal Taylor Hurst will be joining Cognitive3D’s board. 

Cognitive3D uses immersive technology to help provide an innovative way of researching consumer behavior within a 3D extended reality (XR) setting. As users move from content consumption through 2D web and mobile platforms, towards a more interactive content participation in 3D apps, Cognitive3D provides the ability to understand what happens within a 3D space, including how users interact with objects in the chosen environment.

With user experiences and metrics changing through the advancement of 3D apps, traditional analytics tools are becoming less efficient as organizations are struggling to gain important user insights within XR environments. As a result, Cognitive3D identified a unique opportunity through collecting spatial intelligence by leveraging virtual, augmented, and mixed reality devices as means for data collection.

This approach of using spatial analytics to carry out user research and collate essential data enables organizations to understand consumer behavior through a unique quantitatively measured platform. This includes showing where users look and how they engage with the 3D environment; how they navigate and where they spend the most time; and specific events that happen, such as users taking off their headsets which could indicate that they got stuck in an immersive 3D experience.

Through the launch of a freemium offering, the company is constructing industry standard benchmarks for application performance that evaluates telemetry from XR devices. These benchmarks provide baselines for a participant’s comfort, presence and performance, and provides insight into where developers should spend their time in app optimization, and how their app compares against other apps in their category. 

Vancouver-based Cognitive3D was founded in 2015 by CEO Tony Bevilacqua, and since launching has built a team of nine, all based in Canada, with the aim of doubling the headcount over the next 18 months. The latest seed round brings Cognitive3D’s total funding amount to date to $3.5M.

Cognitive3D Founder and CEO Tony Bevilacqua comments: “The interest and use of 3D applications is on the rise as it creates a simulated environment that can fully immerse users and be easily adapted and improved. As with all platforms there needs to be a way of assessing its effectiveness and efficiency, and this is where Cognitive3D’s innovative and unique methods come in. Our way of testing and assessing user experiences within 3D environments allows those building and creating them the ability to see what works and how their applications can be enhanced.”

Taylor Hurst, Principal at Konvoy, adds: “Cognitive3D’s ability to collect and measure spatial data to bring visibility to user participation, and help organizations optimize their games and apps is a game changer for all of those involved in creating immersive 3D environments. From training simulations, to consumer and academic research, and entertainment, the adoption of immersive 3D applications is increasing exponentially, and Cognitive3D is poised to be the market leader in this new category of spatial analytics.”

About Cognitive3D

Cognitive3D is a spatial analytics platform that collates and measures how users behave within immersive 3D environments. Vancouver-based Cognitive3D was founded in 2015 by CEO Tony Bevilacqua, and since launching has built a team of nine, all based in Canada, with the aim of doubling the headcount over the next 18 months. Cognitive3D has to-date raised $3.5M and is backed by Konvoy, Space Capital, Boost VC, and HTC Vive. 

About Konvoy

Denver-headquartered Konvoy (www.konvoy.vc) is an early-stage investment firm that invests at the frontier of gaming. With the launch of its latest fund, Konvoy Fund III, it will have $270M under management. Konvoy’s portfolio consists of 33 companies which have collectively raised $450M in follow-on funding. Founded by Managing Partners Josh Chapman, Jason Chapman, and Jackson Vaughan, Konvoy currently employs six investment team members and a Head of Platform.

For media enquiries please contact Nick Mouton at Nara Communications

nick.mouton@naracommunications.com

Catherine D. Henry Appointed as President of LA Chapter

We are excited to announce Catherine D. Henry as our LA Chapter President. A renowned global leader in the Metaverse and Web3 media and technology, Catherine is a strategic advisor to Boards and executive management teams, shaping how the world’s most successful companies will enter, market and monetize this new media landscape. She has developed successful branded AR experiences, VR films and documentaries and the first Awards Show in the Metaverse. 

“I am honored to lead the VRARA in Los Angeles as Chapter President and Industry vertical lead for Entertainment. As a leader in Metaverse and Web3 media and technology, I bring extensive experience as a strategic advisor to Boards and executive management teams, helping craft how the world’s most successful brands identify will enter, market and monetize the new media landscape. I am excited to help grow awareness of the possibilities of this medium for entertainment, enterprise, education and research by driving discourse and thought leadership in this emerging and important space. Please feel free to connect with me as we begin to build our agenda for 2023!”

With an MBA in Marketing and MA in Economics, Catherine D. Henry brings over 20 years experience as an institutional advisor on frontier technologies in investment banking, and driving thought leadership on global megatrends.  She is a futurist, a keynote speaker and the author of a forthcoming book about GenZ and Web3.  Catherine was recently awarded Campaign magazine’s top 40 executives in media for 2022-2023.

She currently sits on the board of advisors for the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB), The SXSW advisory board (2023) and is Chapter President of the VRAR Association of Los Angeles.

Plover Animation partners with i-Create!

Plover Animation is excited to announce our latest partnership with i-Create LLC!

i-Create LLC is a narrative and diverse brand licensed across NFTs, Gaming, and IRL retail.

Here are some interesting facts about them:

The founders, John and Steve Campanella, are brothers
i-Create LLC (formally known as i-Create International, Inc). who has been licensing and distributing its original, fashionable, colorful and fun content since January 1996 (pre-launched in late 1995). They were one of the first to offer originally-created, digitally born assets, as a licensed brand.
Their licensed assets have been on hundreds of category products, including international mobile distribution, and especially apparel in multiple mid, mass, value, upper and specialty retailers across the US.
They master trends with creative derivatives and concepts, all by utilizing their ownership to thousands of copyrighted assets.
Home to over 100,000 Digital Art Licensed Assets Combined for eCommerce Goods, Gaming, NFTs, P2E and Mobile.
They are the creators of the NFT collection Joe Ravioli, which has sold over 30K and will launch 60K in the future. Plover Animation will partner with them to create animations and art for this IP!

Check out the story and collection of the "cheesiest imPasta" at: joeravioli.io

Design Interactive Partners with American Diesel Training Centers to Bring Augmented Reality Training to Trucking and Transportation

ORLANDO – Design Interactive (DI), creators of the XRMentor™ training platform, announced its partnership with the industry-leading maintenance experts at American Diesel Training Centers (ADTC) to create and deliver instructor-led training and self-guided procedure modules to the trucking and transportation market.

XRMentor™ is an instructor-led training and self-guided procedure platform enhanced by augmented reality. Together, DI and ADTC will create instructor-led training modules and self-guided procedures for customer delivery using XRMentor™. Further, ADTC will offer live training courses to customers using XRMentor™’s instructor-led training feature ClassroomXR™ reducing the need for trainees to travel for onsite training that could be done remotely.

“We are excited to work with the team at ADTC”, says Matt Johnston, Director of Commercial Solutions for DI. “With their help we will address two big pain points. First, some firms need help to create and deliver training and secondly, it is expensive to travel for training, not to mention the lost productivity when employees are on the road. The relationship with ADTC means we can offer training content out of the box and save clients time and money with ADTC leading remote learning sessions”.

According to Aaron Picozzi, President of ADTC, XRMentor™ is an excellent fit with their vision. “We see XRMentor™ as a great fit with how we plan to grow and better support our partners and graduates, long term. Today, we train entry-level technicians to be value-added contributors on day one. With XRMentor™ we can maintain a long-term relationship with our students and support their career progression”.

XRMentor™ includes the following features
• ClassroomXR™ - instructor-led training, live streamed training enhanced by augmented reality
• Self-Guided Procedures – Step-by-step how-to guides for refresher training or use as job aids
• Remote Collaboration – 1:1 video collaboration between experts and remote employees
• Authoring Platform – A no-code, easy to use, website to create training modules

XRMentor™ enables organizations to rapidly create and share content such as how-to videos to remote employees at the click of a button. According to Picozzi, this helps ADTC support the philanthropic elements of their business. “The instructor-led feature allows us to record our live, hands-on demonstrations. We can then share that video with our former students. It will enable us to continue to help drive career advancement, and individual income growth of our graduates beyond the entry-level training we currently provide.”

About Design Interactive and XRMentor™ - Design Interactive Inc is a small, woman owned business with headquarters in Orlando, Florida. Founded in 1998, DI are experts in human performance and the development of augmented and virtual reality training. DI has delivered augmented and virtual reality training solutions for various customers in the trucking and transportation industry, utility, manufacturing, healthcare sectors and within the United States Department of Defense.

About American Diesel Training Centers - ADTC was founded in 2017 to address a nationwide diesel technician shortage and help American workers in low-wage jobs transition into sustainable careers. The program significantly cuts down the cost and time typically required for learners to become diesel technicians. ADTC launched its first class in July of 2017 and produced more than 2,000 entry-level diesel mechanics, who work for companies all across the United States. ADTC now works with more than 250 transportation and trucking companies.