Blockchain Event at the VR/AR Global Summit

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VR/AR Global Summit - Blockchain Event  

Hosted By: Ron Segev, Segev LLP

• Mark "Rizzin: Hopkins aka Dr. Bitcoin
• Devon Zielinski - Veritoken
• Anne Ward - IBM Futurist
• Amy Peck - EndeavorVR
• David Daniels - YouAR
• Kalin Stoyanchev- Otoy/RNDR
• Gabriel Rene - VERSES
• Dave Gratton - IMBY Real Estate Corp
• and more to be announced soon.... 

Topics include:

• The Future of Blockchain Reality: Where Are We Headed? 
• What Comes Next: Innovative New Uses of Blockchain in LBE
• The History of Blockchain and Crypto
• Blockchain is the New Black: The Convergence of Blockchain, XR, AI and Adjunct Technologies

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VR Scout: The VR/AR Global Summit Puts Content First

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by Dan Burgar, Kate Wilson (source: VR Scout) 

In 1996, Bill Gates first coined the phrase “content is king”. Today, his statement is truer than ever.

Every day last year, the average North American consumed over 10 hours of digital media. On-demand streaming and the internet have transformed how individuals interact with screens, with most spending more time in front of a monitor than any other activity – including sleeping. Constantly seeking the rush of engaging with new material, consumers aren’t gripped by their hardware – phones, TVs, or laptops – but are drawn in by unique, well-crafted content. 

The same is true of the VR industry. The past 24 months have seen the rapid proliferation of headsets, with companies vying to create the sharpest, most realistic display. Now, the hardware cycle is drawing to a close. After the release of Magic Leap One earlier this month – the most anticipated launch in the sector – the industry’s best minds have shifted to content.  

That trend has been keenly anticipated by the VR/AR Global Summit. One of the largest industry events in North America, the conference will spotlight how tech giants and startups are creating new ways to visualize and interact with virtual worlds. It’s a focus that conference speaker Andrew Melchior, an executive producer who has married the music of Björk and Massive Attack to VR, believes will help the industry go mainstream.

“Bibles sold printing presses,” he says. “Shared experiences such as the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth and the televised moon landings made people buy TVs. Real time mapping, fart apps, and music players sold iPhones. It goes on and on. Already a Battle Royale [has] happened in the past five years for buying first option broadcast rights for AR content across sport, music, comics, and films. I think this is a good thing, as the gigantic pockets of Apple, Google, Magic Leap, Huawei and such like will help fund the creative endeavours of a whole new content ecosystem.”

The VR/AR Global Summit is poised to bring together apps from different corners of the sector. Speakers from goliaths like Amazon, Ford, and IKEA will rub shoulders with Vancouver up-and-comers including Motive.io and LNG Studios, each showcasing programs that put hardware like HTC Vive or Microsoft HoloLens through their paces. Highlighting the content from these creators will, Summit speaker Charlie Fink believes, help usher in a world where head-worn displays are commonplace.

“Conferences like the VR/AR Global Summit proliferate on the cusp of disruption,” says the columnist and author. “Like internet conferences in the 90s, mobile conferences in the aughts, social media conferences earlier this decade, or XR conferences like this one today, everyone is desperate to understand what’s happening. 

“Making hardware is incredibly hard, expensive, and time consuming,” continues Fink. “Magic Leap is tackling this as a humble start up with $2.3B. Peoples’ eyes are popping out, but these guys are going up against Apple and Microsoft, hoping to develop a third way. [But] Magic Leap, like all the devices that came before it, is dependent on the ecosystem of independent developers and entrepreneurs who build cities at the foot of the mountain, so to speak. 

The increased recognition of content development has lead to some of the most inventive uses for VR and AR. In the past year alone, the technology has enabled individuals to remotely pilot submarines in virtual reality, monitor stress levels based on eye movement, and help athletes improve their game. While it might not yet boast a killer app like email, e-commerce, or social media, VR and AR are quietly transforming the way users interact with the analogue world. 

For Christopher Lafayette, an advisor on VR and AR in Silicon Valley who will be talking about the need for diversity and inclusion in the industry at the Summit, the most interesting integrations are occurring in the medical and manufacturing sectors.

“Manufacturing environments are now seeing early entry employees operate machinery with augmented guidance at a very fast learning pace,” he says. “Products are being built and delivered quicker to consumers. This is a signature component of future city development. MedTech is significant, too, specifically in the VR vertical. Surgeons, psychologists, occupational therapists and nurses are given new immersive tools to deal with pain management, PTSD, experimental treatments, pre-surgical discovery, and surgery operations. It’s personally one of my favorite aspects of this industry.”

At this point in the technology’s life cycle, says Cathy Hackl, futurist at You Are Here Labs and partner at Mixed Reality Ventures, the VR/AR Global Summit is right to focus on content rather than hardware. Hosting discussions that will cover education, 5G technology, blockchain, esports, and location-based entertainment, the September 21-22 event will feature two full days of talks, panels, workshops, investor events, and pitchfests, all offering fresh examples of both commercial and enterprise creations. In Hackl’s view, the most exciting part of the sector is trying out new experiences. 

“I speak all around the globe and I urge creators and devs to join our industry for a simple reason,” she says. “While the hardware is universal, there will always be a need for culturally relevant content in VR. This presents a great opportunity for creators, developers, journalists, and artists, across all cultures and nations.”

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VRARA Training Committee to Present Industry Research Results and Best Practices at the VR/AR Global Summit

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Co-Authors/Contributors: David Trainor (Sentireal), Matthew Wallace (VRSim), Sara Blackstock (VRSim)

The VRARA Training Committee have conducted a survey to capture the industrial landscape for one of the major use cases for Virtual, Augmented and Mixed Reality – namely training and development of employees. A total of 108 people responded to this survey and provided valuable insight into how VR, AR and MR (collectively XR) are becoming an integral part of industry-based training. A number of interesting trends have emerged from the survey responses. In this article we’ll explore these trends by considering the responses to the individual questions in turn.

Initially we were interested in seeing what training roles and activities were represented by the survey respondents:

The vast majority of the respondents already have some active role in the training process. Managers, Influencers and Decision Makers were well-represented and the training technology Developer community featured strongly too.

Next, we were interested in seeing what experience the respondents had in utilising XR within their training activities:

Over 90% of respondents indicated that they had already used XR in training or would consider doing so in the future. Of course the nature of the survey would naturally attract a high proportion of respondents with an existing interest in or enthusiasm for immersive training, but this is still a gratifying result nevertheless. The few respondents that said they would NOT use XR in training cited cost, lack of content, device availability and benefit/value/cost relationship as the reasons for not using the technology.

Next, we were interested in seeing what devices and software the respondents a) used b) had tried and c) use most regularly:

These three questions highlighted the relative popularity of the VR medium for training, compared with AR and MR. With VR-based training, mobile VR solutions and the Oculus Rift and HTC Vive headsets featured strongly. With AR-based training, newer mobile AR software frameworks from Apple (ARKit) and Google (ARCore) have started to gain a significant foothold. Dedicated AR glasses did not feature strongly in our survey results but Microsoft’s Hololens device proved a popular choice for MR-based training.

Next, we were interested in how often the respondents used VR or AR in terms of hours per week:

Here we can see that the significant majority of respondents (69.6%) spend 5 hours a week or less actively using VR, AR or MR. This may correlate with the concept of using these technologies for short “bite-sized” training experiences rather than prolonged training activities.

While usage rates will vary widely depending on circumstances and training budgets, the training market needs to increase adoption by demonstrating the effectiveness of VR, AR, or MR as training media. This not only includes incremental hardware improvements, but also a concerted effort on content improvements to deliver simulations worthy of a trainees immersion. Significantly, trainers will be given valuable insight through the use of big data across time and trainees.

Next, we were interested to what extent the respondents thought that certain attributes were strengths or weaknesses of VR and/or AR, when applied to training activities.

This series of questions revealed that respondents rated immersion, presence and simulation capability as key strengths of VR-based training and rated showing information in context and presenting expert information as key strengths of AR-based training. Interactivity and progress-tracking were highlighted as strengths of both VR and AR.

Next, we were interested in what activities the respondents felt would a) most benefit and b) least benefit from XR training:

Clearly the survey respondents feel that manual skills and mechanical/industrial operations will especially benefit from XR-based training, with the realistic simulation capability of VR and the interactive real-time guidance provided by AR/MR being particularly relevant. In certain skilled trades, XR has made significant inroads into the training communities, such as coatings application or welding. For example, some level of training with VR/AR is the defacto standard for welding training throughout the United States.

Although process-driven activities scored particularly highly on this question, some creative activities such as art and precision crafts also feature strongly, indicating that XR-based training does have a role in activities that are not necessarily driven by process and compliance. However other creative activities such as art and activities involving human relationships, such as organizational leadership and management, are indicated as weak areas for XR-based training.

Next, having identified some strong and weak applications for XR-based training, we were interested in the opinions on weaknesses of the media and technologies themselves:

Understanding where the perceived weaknesses or deficiencies lie in current forms of XR-based training is key to addressing those issues in future versions of the training technologies. Clearly the survey respondents feel that cost is still the major barrier to introducing or increasing the use of XR within training programs.

Reduction in headset costs and innovative business models around content access should help to address this. Availability of the technology has also been highlighted as an obvious weakness, suggesting that hardware providers should consider future manufacturing and distribution processes and software providers should consider subscription and distribution models beyond the “app store” format. In discussing barriers to entry and expansion, the potential relationship between barriers should be considered. For example, cost might not be considered prohibitive if greater libraries of content or potential for re-purposing training solutions existed.

Resistance to change is also highlighted as an issue, suggesting that the efforts of the VRARA Training Committee in evangelizing and promoting XR training are still well-placed! Finally, lack of relevant content was highlighted by the survey respondents. Considering the results, the concept of relevance should also be extended to consider the depth and proven validation of the efficacy of that content.

The overall set of results for this survey question echoes the earlier sentiments citing cost, content, availability, and overall value proposition as barriers to entry/expansion within XR-based training.

Finally, we were interested in what types of company/organization the respondents felt would use XR training most successfully:

Respondents have clearly prioritised some types of organization that have a longer and better-known association with immersive training and simulation, including the military, emergency response organizations and organizations dealing with safety-critical processes. Interestingly schools also featured heavily in the responses, indicating a crossover in the “enterprise training” and “education” sectors. It should be noted that the value proposition in these sectors is improved by factors outside of the immediate value proposition of VR, AR, or MR. Education budgets, worker compensation, rework cost and employee health costs serve as a constant driving force to explore innovations that can deliver in terms of safety and efficiency.

The VRARA Training Committee would like to thank everyone who took the time to respond to this survey. It’s produced a very interesting and insightful snapshot of the XR industry as it relates to enterprise training markets.

Launching at the VR/AR Global Summit: Shape Immersive + Occipital + Axiom Zen to bring Blockchain into the World of Mixed Reality

At this year’s VR/AR Global Summit in Vancouver (Sept 21–22), Shape Immersive is partnering up with Occipital, a leader in spatial computing, and Axiom Zen, the makers of the most successful blockchain game, to bring CryptoKitties into the mixed reality world. Players will be able to rescue these adorable digital cats from the notorious Kitty Kong.

“Working with a familiar IP like CryptoKitties adds a new layer of immersion to our mixed reality experience,” said Alex Chuang, Co-founder and CEO of Shape Immersive. “By digitizing the physical world, virtual characters can understand our physical environment and interact with it, which creates a sense of wonder and magic for the end users.”

“The line between the physical world and the digital world is increasingly blurred,” says Bryce Bladon, one of the founding team members of CryptoKitties. “With blockchain technology, digital assets like CryptoKitties are given life — but with augmented and virtual reality, they can come alive.”

This new multiplayer mixed reality experience is powered by Occipital’s depth sensor and its mixed reality framework, Bridge Engine. The depth sensor is used to scan the physical space, generating an accurate 3D model of the world that the AR devices can track on. This makes occlusion (hiding virtual objects behind physical objects), collision (colliding virtual objects with physical objects) and casting of virtual shadows on real-world objects possible.

“Understanding the environment is a foundational component of convincing mixed reality,” says Jeff Powers, Co-founder and CEO of Occipital “Having this knowledge equips storytellers and game-makers with a powerful tool for increasing believability and immersion.”

As the race for augmented reality technology heats up, VCs and tech giants are pouring billions of dollars into building the next computing platform. When AR devices become more ubiquitous, the demand for geospatial data will increase exponentially. Shape Immersive believes that blockchain technology can help make geospatial data universally accessible so that anyone can create scalable and persistent AR experiences.

Media Contact:
Alex Chuang
Co-founder & CEO, Shape Immersive
alex@shapeimmersive.com

About Shape Immersive

Shape Immersive is building a decentralized marketplace that will make geospatial data universally accessible so that anyone can create scalable and persistent Augmented Reality experiences. By using blockchain technology, Shape Immersive can create a trustless and open network that allows a distributed workforce to provide, validate and authenticate geospatial data.

About CryptoKitties

CryptoKitties is the world’s most successful blockchain game; since launching, tens of millions of US dollars in transactions have been conducted on the platform, with some of the game’s most popular cats selling for the equivalent of over US$100,000. Unlike cryptocurrencies, CryptoKitties are individually unique digital assets akin to digital art. CryptoKitties was created by Axiom Zen and spun out into a new company called Dapper Labs in February 2018, raising $12.85M from leading investors including Andreessen Horowitz, Union Square Ventures, and the founders of Dreamworks, Reddit, Coinbase, Zynga, and AngelList, among others. For additional context or access to key team members, please contact press@cryptokitties.co

About Occipital

Occipital is equal parts science lab and technology company, dedicated to building full stack computer vision hardware and applications.

Founded in 2008 and backed by leading investors like Foundry Group and TechStars, Occipital first rose to prominence with mobile applications like RedLaser and 360 Panorama. In 2013, Occipital expanded into hardware with the launch of Structure Sensor, the first 3D sensor for mobile devices.

Since then, Occipital has released additional hardware products including Bridge (a mobile MR headset), Structure Core (an embeddable depth sensor) and the Paracosm PX-80 (a large-scale 3D mapping system).

Occipital has also continued to release innovative spatial applications like Canvas and TapMeasure, both used for home mapping and measurement.

Intel, HTC Vive, Microsoft, Amazon, HP to Speak at the VR/AR Global Summit. Save 30% on Tickets now!

Unity Technologies, Google, Ford, Forbes, Bell Flight, The Pentagon and Holiday Inn, plus many more.

VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA (PRWEB) AUGUST 29, 2018

The VR/AR Global Summit will welcome world-class speakers to their conference and expo in Vancouver, Canada on Sept 21-22, 2018. The Summit brings together world leaders to discuss the present and future of immersive technologies. The event will feature two full days of talks, panels, workshops, investor events, pitchfest and demos that cover the entire immersive industry, including both commercial and enterprise VR and AR.

Speakers at the conference include representation from Unity Technologies, Google, Ford, Forbes, Bell Flight, The Pentagon and Holiday Inn, plus many more. Topics to be discussed and explored at the event include education, 5G technology, robotics, blockchain, location based entertainment, esports, retail, uses of VR and AR in training, mixed reality and immersive tech in the music industry, AI and virtual humans, to name a few.

“We have carefully curated a show that focuses on the real conversations and unique collaborations that are driving this industry forward,” says Anne-Marie Enns, Executive Producer of the VR/AR Global Summit. “It’s important to us to delve deeper and look for unique and interesting voices working in, and with, VR and AR and their supporting industries.”

Presented by Shape Immersive and Victory Square Technologies, the VR/AR Global Summit is set to feature over 75 speakers from around the globe and more than 70 exhibitors, sponsors and workshops.

Other top reasons why you should attend the VR/AR Global Summit include: 

• Global audience - confirmed industry leaders from US, Canada, Europe, and Asia.

• Dynamic speakers from Amazon, Intercontinental Hotels, The Pentagon, Microsoft, HP and more.

• See the latest technologies from the likes of Autodesk, YDreams Global, Archiact, Toshiba, LlamaZoo, Blueprint Reality, ThirdEyeGen, InspireVR, Atheer, Quantum Capture and more.

• Top ecosystem - Vancouver is now one of the largest VR/AR hubs in the world with over 200 companies; plus, the #1 Global VFX & Animation Cluster; #2 Best City for Asia Pacific Business; and #3 Largest Film & TV Production Centre, resulting in all the necessary components, talent, and resources for VR/AR that you’ll find in Vancouver.

• Startup Pitchfest with $15K USD prize money and judges from The VR Fund, Women in XR (WXR) Fund, Google VR/AR Strategy, Gree Fund, Outpost Capital, Victory Square Technologies, SuperVentures and others.

• Brand new venue - PARQ Vancouver is a new international entertainment destination, featuring a 72,000sq ft casino and Vancouver’s largest ballroom.

Tickets are on sale for the Summit.. Save 30% on limited discounted tickets by using promo code PR30 here.

The VR/AR Global Summit will take place from Sept 21-22, 2018 at the newly launched Parq Vancouver, a casino and entertainment complex in Vancouver Canada. The event will also feature creative hubs, demos, exhibits, breakouts and amazing VIP events. It will showcase the best, and most interesting projects, that the industry has to offer.

For press inquiries or for more information please visit the website at http://www.thevrara.com/vr-ar-global-summit

About VR/AR Association

The VR/AR Association (VRARA) is an international organization designed to foster 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.

PR Source

Call for Partners for XR Experiences at our VR/AR Global Summit (Deadline is July 11th)

The Summit's presenting sponsor has an exclusive opportunity to create a mixed reality experience for all 1000+ conference attendees. We are looking for partners who have access to licensed IP (movie/game/tv franchise) so we can bring virtual characters to life and into our physical world. 

Deadline is July 11th.

As a partner you will receive:
- Brand recognition
- Booth space ( 20 x 20 shared space with us)
- Access to attendee information
- Dedicated e-mail promotion leading up to the event
- 2 conference passes
- Media exposure
- Stage time

You will be responsible for
- licensing the media IP
- content, narrative and storytelling
- 3D modeling, animation for the virtual characters

We will be responsible for
- capturing the LiDAR scans of the space
- technical development of the experience
- media and promotion

If you’re interested in creating the world’s first and most compelling multiplayer mixed reality experience, apply here and tell us your idea!

VR/AR Global Summit Announces Presenting Sponsors

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The Summit brings together world leaders in the space of VR/AR/MR to discuss the present and future of immersive technologies.

VANCOUVER, CANADA (PRWEB) JUNE 20, 2018

Today the VR/AR Association (VRARA) announced their partnership with Shape Immersive and Victory Square Technologies as the Presenting Sponsors for the VR/AR Global Summit to be held in Vancouver Canada in September 2018. The VR/AR Global Summit brings together world leaders in the space of VR/AR/MR/XR to discuss the present and future of immersive technologies.

Shape Immersive is a new spatial data exchange startup incubated by Victory Square Technologies that aims to make spatial data universally accessible so anyone can create scalable and persistent AR/MR experiences. The startup is only four months old, but it had already demonstrated the world’s first and most spatially accurate multi-player MR experience at TED 2018 and Augmented World Expo.

“Vancouver is poised to become a leading international hub for VR/AR, and we can’t be more excited to partner with the VR/AR Global Summit,” said Alex Chuang, Co-founder and CEO of Shape Immersive. “In the next few years, advancement in immersive technologies will allow us to interact with digital information in a more natural and intuitive way. We're excited to support the growth of knowledge and partnerships for immersive technologies across all industry verticals."

Shape Immersive and Victory Square Technologies will also be hosting a Pitchfest at the Summit, featuring judges from The VR Fund, Women in XR Fund (WXR), GFR Fund and SuperVentures and more. The Pitchfest will take place on Friday, September 21, 2018 at the event, with a grand prize of USD $15,000. Submissions will open on June 26th, 2018.

The VR/AR Global Summit will take place from Sept 21-22, 2018 at the newly launched Parq Vancouver, a casino and entertainment complex in Vancouver Canada. The event will feature dynamic keynotes, collaborative conversations, workshops, creative hubs, demos, exhibits, breakouts and amazing VIP events. It will showcase the best, and most interesting projects, that the industry has to offer.

Speakers at the conference include representation from The Vatican, NASA, HTC Vive, IBM Watson, Amazon and more.

“Having the support from Shape Immersive and Victory Square Technology as a Presenting Sponsor of the VR/AR Global Summit is truly an honor, and is helping to bring together a global community of some of the brightest minds in the VR and AR industry, as well as some of the leading brands utilizing VR and AR technologies,” said Nathan Pettyjohn, President of the VR/AR Association.

The Vancouver VR/AR/MR Ecosystem is the second largest in the world, with over 200 companies that are documented working in this technology. Other great Cascadia sponsors for the Summit include Microsoft, YDreams Global, Atheer, Blueprint Reality, LlamaZoo, and many others.

The VR/AR Global Summit will take place September 21-22, 2018 in Vancouver Canada.

For press inquiries or for more information please visit the website at http://www.thevrara.com/vr-ar-global-summit

To get involved in the Summit, please contact Anne-Marie Enns, Executive Producer at am@thevrara.com

About Shape Immersive

Shape Immersive is building a decentralized marketplace that will make geospatial data universally accessible so that anyone can create scalable, persistent and multi-user Augmented Reality experiences. By using blockchain technology, Shape Immersive aims to build an open and meritocratic network that empowers a distributed workforce to provide and validate geospatial data.

About VR/AR Association

The VR/AR Association (VRARA) is an international organization designed to foster 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.