Why an Association can be a Boon for your VR AR Business

By Mickaël Dailly (original article here)

Expand Your Growth and Network With the VR/AR Association (VRARA)

Zürich – May 5, 2017 – As long as there have been professions, human beings have often seen the need to associate along shared interests. In the past, these were in the form of guilds. Today, they are the modern professional associations representing the numerous professions and endeavours.

These associations are important because of the value they add to these professions and trades. Foremost among these is the bargaining power you get with the strength in numbers. If you are planning to push an agenda within your industry, you are likely to get results and impact when you do it within the umbrella of an association.

Associations also serve as important networking platforms. Because you meet people in your industry who are involved in diverse endeavours in the sector, it is very easy to forge personal and professional relationships that can in the future be transformed into job or business opportunities.

However, you shouldn’t just look at associations in terms of what you can take from them but what you can give in. Many senior professionals in fact join professional associations to add value in the form of knowledge, experience, networks or financial support. Some do it to nurture a new generation of dedicated professionals that will be capable of taking the industry to new heights.

In the context of an industry such as the rapidly developing virtual reality industry, a professional association helps in building a support system and institution infrastructure that will help in guiding this industry to future greatness. Many of the people joining the virtual industry right now are pioneers and a professional association can serve as an anchor point for all the activities that they are engaged in, coalescing their efforts to drive growth, innovation, networking and linkages which are very much needed in an industry that is rapidly in flux.

Because the virtual reality and augmented reality industries are a relatively new phenomenon, many assume that there is no professional organization in this small and still obscure industry. However, there is in fact an association for virtual and augmented reality professionals called The VR/AR Association or VRARA that is already deeply engaged in various activities in the industry.

The VRARA Association

The association was founded in 2015 as a platform for bringing together global experts and professionals in the virtual reality, augmented reality and mixed reality industry. The association helps to accelerate the growth, knowledge and connections in the industry. Its main mission is to offer a collaborative platform between the best minds in the industry and innovative companies with the aim of accelerating growth, research and development, education, developing industry standards in the virtual reality and augmented reality space. The association also connects member organizations and helps in promoting the products and services of the disparate member organizations.

The VRARA association membership comes from diverse backgrounds including entertainment, retailers, universities, advertising, software developers, academics, content developers, VR hardware developers and developers of the various accessories used in the VR industry.

The VRARA has a presence in various cities around the world through local chapters in those respective cities. Part of the association’s mandate is supporting and promoting the growth and development of these local chapters in the process helping in the dissemination of virtual reality and augmented reality knowledge and expertise at the local level throughout the world.

The association carries out various responsibilities every year that help it meet its objective of fostering collaboration and accelerating growth and development of the industry. These include organizing meetups, conferences, and industry panel discussions. The association also supports research and case studies development work carried out by the disparate local chapters to help build local and global bodywork of knowledge in the virtual reality, mixed reality and augmented reality space. Companies and individuals in the industry interested in expanding their scope and reach can also account on the association for promotion and exposure to the greater industry and market.

What are the Benefits of Joining the VRARA Association?

Perhaps the biggest advantage of the association is its reach and the scope of its activities. There are more than 3400 industry organizations in its directory and it has a mailing list of 15,000, mainly consisting of the best minds in the VR and AR industry. If you want to make things happen and are looking for networks, this is the best platform to reach the right people and make things happen.

The association also has a dedicated staff of 30 located around the world that you can leverage to get to assist you in organizing events, in business development and marketing your VR/AR initiatives.

As a member, you can get access to the VRARA Directory, the most comprehensive yet, of organizations in the world involved in various aspects of virtual reality, augmented reality and mixed reality.

If you are an expert of thought leader in the industry, you can participate in even steer Industry Committees and work with multiple stakeholders in creating a body of work and best practices that can guide the various industry verticals.

Other perks of VRARA membership include access to attendee passes for all the VRARA events globally, get unrestricted access to all industry reports and publications that have been commission and produced by VRARA; get speaking opportunities on VRARA events or partner events; you can opt to be included in test market campaigns for relevant products and services; get a 50% discount on all industry events and also get featured in VRARA media channels including e-newsletters, podcasts and blogs if you have something to share or showcase. If you are hiring, you can also post your jobs freely in the VRARA jobs boards and get access to a highly skilled pool of VR/AR talent.

What are Some of the VR/AR Events That I Can Attend in 2017?

As a VRARA member, you get generous discounts on all the main VR/AR/MR events globally. Some of these events include the following:-

  • Immersive Architecture Conference IM-ARCH – Venice, Italy June 1st 2017
  • VRARA Birmingham Chapter Launch Event June 5th 2017
  • Up The Ante with the VRARA – The Investor Edition (Los Angeles) June 6 2017
  • VRARA Singapore Chapter Event June 13th 2017
  • SF Chapter: Road to the Holodeck, Lightfields and Volumetric VR June 14 2017
  • VR/AR Association – Kentucky Chapter Event June 21st 2017
  • The WAVE Congress – Birmingham UK June 22nd 2017
  • VRTO – TorontoJune 24th – 26th 2017
  • VR/AR Excellence Days 2017 – Hamburg, GermanyJune 27th – 28th 2017
  • 2nd Global VR/AR China Summit 2017June 29th to 30th 2017
  • Gwangju ACE Fair (Asia Content & Entertainment Fair) – South Korea September 17th – 24th 2017
  • Shop.org LA September 25th – 27th 2017
  • MEC Congress – Berlin September 26th – 28th 2017
  • 2017 Display Summit – Sterling, Virginia October 4th – 5th 2017
  • VRevolution NYC on November 15, 2017

The VRARA Local Chapters

Currently, there are VRARA local chapters in all the major cities of the world. There are 30 chapters in total in all the major cities in Europe, US, the Middle East, Asia, New Zealand, Canada and Australia.

The purpose of a VRARA local chapter is to provide you with a local network and platform to network with other best minds in the industry in your city. Membership in your local VRARA chapter also plugs you in to global opportunities.

 

The local chapters are run in a structured way according to the VRARA constitution. Each chapter is administered by a Chapter President who carries out a host of local chapter responsibilities such as hosting local VRARA events, organizing industry panel discussions along with presentations and supporting members in the chapter in growing and scaling up their virtual reality and augmented reality business initiatives.  If you live in a city with a local chapter, you can attend the local events and network with the other VR and AR professionals. You can also take it further and leverage your access to the global chapter network to grow your initiatives beyond local borders.

How Do I Form VRARA Chapter in My City?

To form a local VRARA Chapter in your city, you can simply submit an application to the parent organisation to express your interest in forming a local association and becoming a Chapter President. The association requires that every Chapter President be familiar with some of the best minds in AR and VR in their city.

As a Chapter President, it is also important to have good proximity to a network of local thought leaders in the industry. These thought leaders and business leaders don’t necessarily have to be experts in the virtual reality and augmented reality but they should be leaders in industries that are going to directly benefit from innovation in this industry. These will include areas such as advertising, media and entertainment, content producers, the gaming industry etc.

The Chapter responsibilities are not particularly exerting. You will need to put in less than five hours per week handling the various chapter responsibilities such as organizing events, coordinating meetings, onboarding new members to the chapter and coordinating research and case study development in your city. To apply for a local Chapter President position for any inquiries, you can contact the European Memberships and Events Director Mickaël Dailly at md@thevrara.com.

VR/AR Association hosting the biggest tech party in Vancouver for CVR!

RSVP HERE

The VRARA is an association that accelerates growth, knowledge and connections and what better way to cultivate this mandate by throwing an entertaining night after CVR Industry Day. The Vancouver Chapter led by Dan Burgar is showing the world why this city should be recognized as a top global hub for VR/AR/MR.

CVR has really grown into one of the biggest global VR/AR/MR events in the world, led by one of our chapter Board Directors of the Vancouver Chapter Anne-Marie Enns. The VRARA is fully embracing this event and having the technology be at the forefront by bringing together leaders of all types.

We're hosting the biggest tech party of the year tomorrow Friday, May 5th, with not only leaders in VR/AR/MR like HTC, Google, Microsoft, CognitiveVR, Super Ventures and Meta. But some of the other attendees joining us will include Oracle, Lululemon, CNN, Ford, Accenture, Nasa, Delta, Sony Imageworks, EA, Capcom, Best Buy and many more. 

  • Network with the VR/AR Industry influencers, companies of all types, VCs and thought-leaders of top companies

  • One of Vancouver's hottest musicians Alex Maher, Alex’s music fuses elements of soul, pop, funk, and jazz with insightful lyrics, he utilizes a loop pedal and is called "the one man band"

  • Our VRARA DJ will be spinning all your favorite tunes

  • Amazing street script artist Mega McGrath will be painting live and we'll be auctioning the painting off and the proceeds will go towards the Canuck Place Children's Hospice

  • Futurist, Entrepreneur and Global TV personality Lindsay Smith will be the MC for the night

VR/AR Experiences:

  • IngeniousVR from LA called First Date experience, an exciting interactive virtual reality comedy experiences and more

  • Aloha 360 is a VR experience that brings people to one of the most beautiful places in the world, Kaua’i, Hawai’i. Here they meet one of the most beautiful people in the world, Sabra Kauka, a Hawaiian Kupuna (elder) who is known as a living embodiment of aloha (love). Experience the beauty of this special place as Sabra shares a blessing of Aloha with you. The experience made it's debut at VRLA and NAB 2017. Aloha 360 is directed by award-winning filmmaker and National Geographic Explorer, Josh Thome.

Sponsors:

Skyrocket Digital A global digital branding agency offering global services in branding, web app development, ux, ecommerce, digital strategy & social marketing. 

Gowling WLG With a team of over 80 legal professionals, Gowling WLG's Vancouver office is one of the city's leading business law, litigation and intellectual property law firms.

CreativeBC Creative BC is an independent not for profit agency responsible for promoting and developing the creative industries in British Columbia.

Archiact A leader in VR/AR products and content.

BCLC Entertains players with the chance to dream, play and have fun, benefiting the people of British Columbia

BC Lions BC's CFL team, gearing up for the 2017 season

Brainstation BrainStation is a global leader in digital skills training empowering individuals and organizations to achieve digital success through courses, workshops, events and corporate training.

We're proudly supporting Canuck Place Children's Hospice. Canuck Place offers a comprehensive clinical care to over 670 children living with life-threatening illnesses the families who love them throughout British Columbia. The unique program offers world-class health care within a home-like environment. 

Whether a life is measured in days, weeks, or months, children deserve the opportunity to learn, develop and grow. Canuck Place encourages families to live in the moment.

Please contact Dan Burgar (President, VRARA Vancouver) at dan@thevrara.com for any inquiries.

VR/AR Association: What, Where, and Why

By Tom Ffiske, virtualperceptions.com

“The VR/AR Association (The 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.”

That is what they say, and they back up what they say. By its nature they have many fingers in many pies, creating an umbrella network which, when tugged correctly, can bring the right people to the right places.

What I particularly like is the strength of its committees; they range from advertising to movie making to fintech, and bring in the right people to discuss common practices and bring insights into its future.

Dennis Adamo from SpaceoutVR particularly likes the organisation as well: “The VRARA has given us the boost we needed to get into the places we need to be. In a short time, the exposure to major strategic partners like the USPS, Venture Capital Investors and Major Corporate clients has given us the opportunity of a lifetime in the VR space. We continuously leverage our VRARA team and member community to gain access to the most important contacts to make our business grow.”

Ultimately it seems to be an interesting organization, and I look forward to keeping track of its growth with time. Much like any spider in the middle of a spiders web, the organization seems to know hat is happening around the world. But unlike a spider, they want to help others grow; like a benevolent spider. Which doesn’t eat people.

Vanessa Radd, President VRARA Singapore Chapter, Featured in Women of Wearables

Original article here

Interview by Marija Butkovic (@MarijaButkovic)

Vanessa Radd, currently flies between Singapore, Shanghai and California, brings +15 years of experience in broadcast (TV Everywhere and LiveTV solutions), tech and VR/AR. Currently, Vanessa is President of the global VR/AR Association Singapore Chapter and heads partnerships in Asia for Holition, a UK-based augmented reality creative agency. Vanessa is ranked among the global Top 10 influencers in Augmented Reality. Vanessa is also the founder of the VR/AR Women in Asia Society and a member of The Media Alliance’ Board of Directors.

What projects are you working on at the moment? What does your current job role entail?

I wear several hats. I work on VR and AR consulting projects and represent several European/American brands in Asia. One of the companies that I represent is Holition, a London-based augmented reality experiential agency that provides immersive augmented reality experiences for luxury brands, entertainment and more. Holition creates beautiful experiences in augmented reality, as seen with the magic mirrors developed for Charlotte Tilbury’s Westfield store in London (which was mentioned in Forbes and New York Times as a retail trend to watch out for) and the virtual try-on makeup app for Coty’s Rimmel ‘Get The Look’ mobile app which won the DigiDay Europe Mobile App of the Year award. Holition also produced the largest augmented reality fashion show for Dunhill in Shanghai that was experienced ‘live’ by the audience present. At Holition, we believe in melding art and technology, to create beautiful experiences.

I’m also the president of the global VR AR Association (VRARA)’s chapter in Singapore. The role I take on is very industry development focused, and together with the members, and my global VRARA colleagues, we aim to promote a vibrant VR/AR ecosystem worldwide.

How long did it take you to be where you are now?

I have always taken a very independent, quintessential path in my career and in my entrepreneurial ventures.

I have a major in accounting, and a content creator’s mind in a career in media and technology. I’ve traversed from tech (software and hardware), to the broadcast and satellite industries, and now, VR and AR. I’m pretty much self-taught throughout my 15+ year career, and at every stage, I’ve taken what I’ve learned, and my skillsets and transitioned to a new product or platform.

In hindsight, perhaps there were early signs in my life of the sort of career path that I was going to get into -- the first website I had to build in one of my university courses was on satellites -- little did I know I would go into this field. It kind of seeked me out. I was also actively involved in the organizing of a regional robotics competitions in one of my earlier jobs, and have worked in helping close the broadcast-digital divide between developing and less developed countries through technology and education. Personally, I’ve always focused on using the right technology to help create content that benefits society-at-large and how it can bring diverse ideas together.

It is a natural progression for me and I feel very fulfilled in what I do in this new medium. In some way, I believe, VR/AR chose and embraced me as much as I’ve embraced it.

What was the biggest obstacle?

Broadcast technology, to many in the media circle, does not necessarily seem sexy as working in the content side of things. But I stuck at it as innovation is my passion. It’s an observation but not an obstacle.

What are the challenges of being an entrepreneur in the niche you are in? How about being a female entrepreneur?

As VR/AR is a nascent industry, people have varying expectations. In the greenfield work that I do, I find that I’m thrust into a position where I have to find the answers myself and educate the market about this new medium, and how it can be utilized. Companies are excited about VR and AR, however, to create beautiful experiences, there are specific instances that work, and some instances where VR and AR do not fit what they seek to do.

And because it’s something new, clients sometimes are not able to gauge and assess what a proper VR/AR creative agency is supposed to provide, and when traditional advertising agencies come into the picture and rebrand themselves as VR/AR companies, it may get even more convoluted. This is where, as president of VRARA’s Singapore Chapter, I’m able to help to set the guidelines on the industry standard for VR and AR to  promote really good quality VR and AR work, for the benefit of the industry and a healthy ecosystem.

Secondly, pundits may come into the picture and want to invent new jargons. We need to circumvent this for the good of the industry.

As for being a female entrepreneur, there may be some few instances where men may ask questions that they might not ask men, even if you are a senior level executive, just to test you. In these instances, you know, you just take it with a smile and some humor. For me, this is all small stuff, don’t sweat it. I think women now, are already very much empowered in this day and age, and there are more opportunities than challenges.

Just hunker down and do the work. People will notice good quality work and strong leadership.

What are your biggest achievements to date?

Being part of a founding organizer-team of a digital-broadcast conference which is running now for over a decade. Growing the VR AR community in Singapore/Asia-Pacific as part of VRARA. Founding the VR/AR Women in Asia society. Being listed as global Top 3 Augmented Reality influencer by Onalytica.

What will be the key trends in the VR and AR in the next 5 years and where do you see it heading?

  • The intersection of AI, IOT and AR/VR will transform the way we work, communicate and collaborate.

  • More great VR arcade/theme park experiences.

  • We live in a 3D world, why not market brands and experience entertainment in 3D.

  • Conversations about security concerns in VR and AR.

  • Exploration of the open source platform in VR and AR.

This is the time to leap, and a very interesting time at that. My hope though, is that VR/AR will not effect a wider digital divide.

Is #WomenInTech and #WomeninVRAR movement important to you and if yes, why?

Personally, I haven’t really being conditioned to think so much about this but I do acknowledge that my gender does give me some opportunities, as well as barriers that come along with the package. It’s recognizing this and utilizing your strengths, being fearless, and taking action with grace.

As founder of VR/AR Women in Asia, I do actively seek out women at events and ask them to join the community. My personal mission is to raise the number of women developers in the field of VR and AR.

Diversity to me is important, and beyond the gender issue, it’s great if #WomenInTech and #WomeninVRAR can help open the doors to conversation on other diversity topics as well. Let us women support each other, and in addition, help to speak up for other groups.

What is the most important piece of advice you can give to all female founders and female entrepreneurs out there?

This has been said before, but I can’t stress enough the importance of true grit. On tough days when people may beat you down or doubt you, at the end of the day, you answer to yourself. Are you going to give up? Or are you going to get up and show up? Myself, being an aikido practitioner, it helps to know how to take falls well, and also getting up and rising for the next battle.

I’ll add to this -- stay curious, maintain a beginner’s mind, and be humble.

Who are your inspirational women in VR and AR industries?

Evelyn Miralles and the inspirational VRARA women.

Twitter: @vanradd

Linkedin: Vanessa Radd

Medium: Vanessa Radd

Podcast with Doug Magyari and the IMMY Mark 1

Learn more about a company called IMMY who has been flying under the radar in regards to their upcoming VR and AR headset, called the IMMY Mark 1 and IMMY Mark 2, from the founder, CEO and CTO, Doug Magyari.

Hear why Doug feels their device will stand out from the more recognizable names in the space and how important it is to him to have it manufactured in the United States.

Also, learn why Doug Magyari was recently invited to the White House to talk about the IMMY Mark 1 and 2 along with his impressions of President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence.

Listen here 

Recap of VRARA Russia (St. Petersburg) Chapter Kickoff Event

By Sergey Doudy, Co-President of the Russia Chapter of VRARA

Russia's IT and tech spheres are rapidly growing and show no signs of slowing down, and the VR/AR industry is no exception. With a plethora of talented programmers and forward-looking companies, there is a lot of interest in the development and adoption of VR and AR technologies. The Russia chapter of VRARA held its first meeting in the Russian northern culture capital, St. Petersburg, in April 2017.

We partnered with Peter the Great Saint-Petersburg Polytechnic University, a leading engineering and research institute, to host the event and had a turnout of over 80 people. Three guest companies presented their views and outlooks from the enterprise, education, and entertainment standpoints which gave an in-depth overview of where the VR/AR industry as a whole is moving. We had a unique and fun networking experience before and after the presentations thanks to a guest DJ and creative-thinking contest for a chance to win prizes.

We kicked off the evening with Cerevrum discussing the implications of virtual reality on the sphere of education and the ways VR is drastically changing the way students learn. Cerevrum showed off Skill Hub VR, a unique platform for education which can be employed for an all-encompassing approach allowing for the presentation of empirical material via VR for semantic education.

Next we jumped to our enterprise segment, where Planoplan, one of the co-chairs of VRARA’s real-estate committee, covered the opportunities virtual reality has opened up to real-estate marketing. Planoplan showed its editor, a simple 3D room planner for creating interior design, renderings, VR room tours and calculating home renovation costs which gives would-be homebuyers the ability to virtually “visit” homes from anywhere in the world. Planoplan brought a few mobile VR units to let the audience experience real-estate home and apartment walkthroughs for themselves.

Finally, we dove into VR from the standpoint of entertainment. Panoramik, who create games for various platforms including mobile, social media, and Steam, went over the current state of the VR gaming industry and discussed the pain points it currently faces and the revolutionary future of VR technologies that’s to come. After the presentation, we launched Panoramik’s current VR games on an HTC Vive giving the audience the opportunity to experience the magic of games in virtual space.

We asked our audience to think of the most unique yet viable applications of VR/AR technologies for the future and awarded the top 2 creators of the best answers with mobile VR units from Fibrum and Piligrim XXI. The most creative answer actually warranted the top prize - an opportunity for an internship in one of St. Petersburg's game and VR development studios.

The Russian chapter of VRARA will hold a meetup every quarter and will alternate between St. Petersburg and Moscow for the meeting locations where attendees can learn about the fast-paced world of VR/AR and immerse themselves in the world of virtual reality firsthand. VRARA members and interested public alike: we will be happy to see you at our next event!

If you want to stay updated on industry trends, major news and gadgets alike, join our newsletter today http://www.thevrara.com/newsletter/

To get in touch with Michael Doudy and Sergey Doudy, the co-presidents of the Russian Chapter of VRARA, see the contact info here http://www.thevrara.com/st-petersburg/

Bay Area: Come Talk About Lightfields with Us (6/14)

Register here. VRARA members, choose the member option at checkout. 

For the VR/AR Association's next San Francisco chapter event, we'll dive into lightfields. Join us on June 14 for an evening of networking, food and illuminating discussion.

We'll examine the future outlook, as well as work being done today for volumetric photo capture in interior spaces like real estate. 

What's a lightfield, you ask?

Several technologies are required for VR's holy grail: the fabled holodeck. We already have graphical VR experiences that let us move throughout volumentric spaces, such as video games. And we have photorealistic media that lets us look around a 360 plane from a fixed position (a.k.a. head tracking).

But what about the best of both worlds?

We're talking volumetric spaces in which you can move around, but are also photorealistic. In addition to things like positional tracking and lots of processing horsepower, the heart of this vision is lightfields. They define how photons hit our eyes and render what we see.

Because it's a challenge to capture photorealistic imagery from every possible angle in a given space -- as our eyes do in real reality -- the art of lightfields in VR involves extrapolating many vantage points, once a fixed point is captured. And that requires clever algorithms, processing, and whole lot of data.

Join us on June 14 to learn more about this key lynchpin in VR's future

Register here. VRARA members, choose the member option at checkout. 

Speakers

Ryan Damm, Lightfield Thought Leader, Co-Founder, Visby

Additional speakers to be announced

 

Learn more about the VR/AR Association, San Francisco Chapter here. 

And Facebook Rules the (VR & AR) World

Facebook just made a few huge announcements at F8.

Deep Neural Networks, AR and Facebook Surround 360 will change how people live their lives. Hear me out, with the ability to model complex non-linear relationships; Deep Neural Networks (i..e, "brain click") will power everyday tasks with an AR interaction. In other words, if you want to leave a message on the fridge for your roommate, the device will record the location with GPS and the geometry of that environment in order for your roommate with their device to read it.

Likewise, your phone’s camera is becoming the tool for ubiquitous AR. Facebook opened its AR platform to developers to build on top of the ‘basic effects’ already available to users. As a result, people will expect  to see more fun effects but also practical applications digitally layered on your morning commute to the office. Think PokemonGo but for real life.

And finally, let’s not forget about VR/360. Facebook unveiled a preview at F82017. The new Facebook Surround 360 will offer  6 camera and 24 camera designs with ‘depth-estimation algorithms.’ This essentially enables users to film and render content that is more life-like and immersive. For example, the ability to walk in a 360 space in real time, seeing the space change as you move throughout. Think the holodeck from Star Trek! Okay maybe I’m just as excited as Mark but you get my point.

So as I said earlier, Facebook will change how people live their lives and I can’t wait.

Take our VRARA Survey: Challenges for Healthcare related VR AR Companies

Are you a VR/AR healthcare product/service provider? The VRARA Digital Health Committee would like to ask you a few questions about the current challenges that you face bringing your product to the healthcare market. The results will be anonymous and published to help the VR AR community and the healthcare industry. If you have a spare minute or two to answer these few questions below, we would greatly appreciate it. Access survey here. 

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VR/AR Association Fintech Industry Committee

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VR/AR ASSOCIATION WELCOMES DEVEXPERTS TO INDUSTRY COMMITTEE

Another move toward infusing finances and growth to the mixed realities industries was marked last week with the appointment of Devexperts, developers of financial markets and providers of cloud-based financial data infrastructures. In conjunction with this new alignment of forces, Devexperts has also set in motion an initiative to found the VRARA FinTech Committee. This may result in a significant growth boom in the industry, which is certainly their hope. Kris Kolo, Global Executive Director of the VR/AR Association, explains, “Devexperts has been an established leader in FinTech solutions and services for the Capital Markets industry, and once again challenging the market with this new technology for Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality financial analytical applications. We are excited Devexperts have joined the VR/AR Association and are Co-Chairing our FinTech Industry Committee.”

Devexperts Becomes a Co-Chairing Member of the Global VR/AR Association Fintech Industry Committee

DEVEXPERTS, developers of the financial markets' most successful professional retail and institutional trading platforms and providers of one of the largest cloud-based financial data infrastructures, is pleased to announce that they have become the newest member of the VR/AR Association, the global industry association for Virtual Reality, Augmented Reality, and Mixed Reality, connecting leading solution providers with brands and customers.

Both the VR/AR Association and Devexperts are dedicated to fostering growth in the virtual reality and augmented reality industries. As a member, Devexperts will participate in the association's initiatives to facilitate VR/AR market growth in a joint effort with other solution providers.  In addition, Devexperts has put forward an initiative to found The VRARA FinTech Committee.

FINTECH COMMITTEE MISSION:

To accelerate widespread adoption of VR/AR technology by traditional financial companies (banks, brokers, exchanges), technological FinTech firms and startups around the world in order to improve the customer experience, deliver analytical power, innovative visualizations, gamification and new dimensions of interactivity to user interfaces, and introduce innovative ideas of Mixed Reality collaboration.

One of the main goals of The VRARA FinTech Committee is to analyze the current challenges of industry players and propose innovative and relevant solutions that will help boost the value of VR/AR in the FinTech vertical. The committee will also conduct research with end users for a better understanding of how visualization of large amount of information and the immersion in it influences the quality of financial and analytical decision-making.

"Devexperts has been an established leader in FinTech solutions and services for the Capital Markets industry, and once again challenging the market with this new technology for Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality financial analytical applications. We are excited Devexperts have joined the VR/AR Association and are Co-Chairing our FinTech Industry Committee," says Kris Kolo, Global Executive Director of the VR/AR Association.

"We are excited to become a Co-Chairing FinTech committee member in the VR/AR Association and help to make financial data analytics and market data visualization intuitive and reliable in the Virtual and Augmented Reality space," says Dmitry Parilov, Managing Director, dxFeed Data Solutions and Products, Devexperts. "We believe that VR is going to break into our daily life soon and together with The VRARA we see our main role in promoting and supporting the philosophy, the members and developers to make it available to everybody."

About Devexperts:

www.devexperts.com  
Headquartered in Munich, Germany, Devexperts, was founded in 2002 and specializes in the development of highly complex software solutions and services for the global Capital Markets industry. Our clients are retail and institutional brokerage houses, exchanges and buy-side firms. The high performance, scalability and integration capabilities of our products and services, along with 24x7x365 monitoring and support, result in some of the global financial industry's most recognized and reliable technology applications. Millions of people trade daily using Devexperts technology.

Media Contact:  

Kris Kolo
VR/AR Association
650-690-5361
info@thevrara.com

Dmitry Parilov
Managing Director, dxFeed Solutions and Products, Devexperts
USA: +1-201-3714130
Germany: +49-89-99952024
dparilov@devexperts.com

Related Links

Devexperts website

VRARA Training Program - Learn or Teach VR AR

In response to requests from members and the industry at large, VRARA is building a Training ecosystem and we want to partner with leaders and experts in the industry to offer VR and AR training courses and workshops around the world. 

As VR AR move more towards the mainstream through the development of new, more affordable consumer technologies and in the enterprise, the industry needs to teach professionals to be equipped with the right skills for the careers within the industry. This includes programmers, UX designers, as well as executives in marketing and product management roles. 

Call for Educators 

If you're interested in being part of this program let us know what you would like to teach and in which city, and your credentials.

CONTACT US

 

Interested in Taking the Training Sessions?  

Let us know what training needs you may have and what classes you would like to take and in which city.

EMAIL US

 

 

Any questions, email us at info@thevrara.com 

VRARA Members: Let's Meet at VRLA

As noted, VRARA and VRARA SF are media partners at VRLA, happening this week at the LA Convention Center. And of course, there's our much-anticipated afterparty.

In addition to opportunities to engage at the afterparty and in serendipitous moments at the show, the SF Chapter presidents want to meet you and have a chance to interact. 

Whether you are a member of the SF chapter or another chapter, we'll be holding lunch get-togethers on Friday and Saturday at the convention center. Contact us for deets. 

SF Chapter Event, May 3: UX in VR with Oculus and Unity

Register here. Members contact us for comp.

The next VRARA SF Chapter event is set, and it's coming up fast (May 3). For this event, we'll zero in on the increasingly important area of UX and design in VR. 

To do that, we've called upon some heavy hitters. We have the industry's leading headset provider and game engine. That's right, it's a one-two punch of Oculus and Unity. 

We're also proud to say that we're partnering with the good folks at ARVR Munch'nLearn to produce the event. And our friends at San Francisco State University will host us. 

The event description is below and you can register here. VRARA members can contact us for a comp code, and we're available for any other questions, such as sponsorship. 

We hope to see you there.

EVENT DESCRIPTION

We will hear from a panel of legendary speakers representing perspectives across the whole VR ecosystem.

  • Brian Sharp manager of the Oculus Medium team at Oculus
  • Dylan Urquidi UX engineer on the Editor VR project at Unity Labs (which allows you to use the Unity engine in VR)
  • Rafael Brown - prolific game designer and founder/creative direcator at Digital Myths Studio

Brian Sharp: Product & Engineering Manager at Oculus

Brian formed and presently runs the team that built Oculus Medium, a sculpting application for virtual reality for the Oculus Rift headset and Touch controllers. As Product Manager he owns and guides the vision for the project, as Engineering Manager he directs the project's technical execution, and as an engineer he personally implemented substantial portions of the product.

Dylan Urquidi: Senior UX Engineer at Unity

Dylan is senior Engineer @ Unity Labs, developing Unity3D's EditorVR. In this role, Dylan works across art/tech-art/UI/UX/animation. Dylan has many years of experience developing 3D applications including: 

  • “Dream” – Oculus VR Store
  • Unannounced Vive/Oculus VR titles / experiences / art installations
  • http://madewith.unity.com/profiles/du3d
  • www.du3d.org
  • Dream (VR) - Oculus Gear VR Store - Engineering, Tech-Art, 2D/3D Art
  • 8-Bit Armies - Tech-Art
  • Zombie Chopper - Lead engineer & Tech-Artist (mobile port) - iOS / Android
  • Super ICEE Maker 3D - Lead Engineer - iOS
  • Circus Food Maker - Lead Engineer - iOS

Rafael Brown: Cofounder & Creative Director at Digital Myths Studio

Rafael has 20 years in the videogame industry across 30+ projects. He is studio head/co-founder in immersive entertainment XR (VR, AR, MR & FP). He has worked as a game designer, producer, project lead & creative director. Rafael is a common speaker at many top industry events. He has worked on many titles in the past under John Carmack at Id Software and other companies including 

  • Mafia 3 [PS4/XB1/PC]
  • Trailer Pop [iOS/Android]
  • Rage [360/PS3/PC/Steam]
  • Quake 4 [PC/Steam]
  • Doom 3 BFG Ed [PC/360/PS3]
  • Doom Classic [iOS]
  • Wolfenstein 3D Classic [iOS]
  • Rage: Mobile HD/SD [iOS]
  • Quake Live [PC]
  • Need for Speed: Undercover [360/PS3/PC/PS2/Wii]
  • Mass Effect 1 [360]
  • Tony Hawk's Project 8 [360/PS2/GCN/XBX/PC]
  • True Crime: New York City [PS2/GCN/XBX/PC]
  • The Hobbit [PS2/GCN/XBX/PC]
  • Thief 2 [PC]
  • Thief Gold [PC]
  • Dark Vengeance [PC/Mac]

He has done creative direction, game design and project leadership for a range of studios with development experience in VR, 1st, 3rd, vehicles across action, combat, adventure, stealth, platforming, RPG, racing, combat, open world, and multiplayer gameplay types in studios large and small.

Südwestdeutsche Medienholding Executive Meeting Sonthofen - Germany

By Michael Rava, VRARA Swiss Chapter President

At the 2017 executive meeting in Sonthofen, Michael Rava of VRARA Swiss Chapter had the opportunity to present. Michael is also the CMO of WION, which is part of the Swiss Professional Media (Basel, Switzerland) and of the Südwestdeutsche Medienholding (SWMH - Munich, Germany). The holding unites several dozens companies in the field of publishing, radio stations, marketing companies and tech enterprises.

Michael had the opportunity to speak in two break out sessions about VR/AR/MR to a broad audience. Everyone was invited to go for a test drive with the HTC Vive and the HoloLens.

Besides the keynote and demoing there was time for socializing and connecting with other decision makers in the holding. The upcoming weeks and months several follow-up meetings will take place.

WION as a market dominator and Michael as a key-influencer will push VR/AR technology forward in Switzerland and Germany.

Whether you are a fresh new start-up, established small business or a large corporation, we would be happy to get in touch and see what we can achieve together! We all look forward to celebrate joint successes with you! Email Michael Rava at mr@thevrara.com 

Everything VR & AR Podcast: Retinad VR

In the virtual and augmented world, content is king. We expect to be wowed by a variety of experiences that engage multiple senses one by one or at the same time.

Alexander Haque of Retinad VR talks about how his company can help make sure your VR & AR creations give users that "WOW!" moment by analyzing how users experience your content. Do they focus on what you want them to based on visual and audio cues or are they distracted by something else that has caught their eyes?

We discuss how Retinad VR can help with this and much more.

Listen here 

LAUNCH Legends: Journey to the Past To Inspire Future Healthy Food Choices

The subject(s) of this coverage are paid sponsors or members of VRARA. For more about sponsorship and membership, contact us

by Davar Ardalan

Every sense is awakened as you travel through Timor-Leste: vast farmlands, deep turquoise waters, and steep rugged peaks that bear the clutch of history in this young Southeast Asian nation. Timor-Leste became a sovereign state just fourteen years ago but it’s striking natural beauty contrasts sharply against its staggering rates of poverty and acute malnutrition as indicated by high prevalence of childhood stunting and wasting. 

In his recent book, The Seventh Sense, author Joshua Cooper Ramos notes that ancient roots offer the energies we need to understand modernity in this era of connected crisis. What a gift to a storyteller embarking on a journey to the future of food, to begin with learnings and inspirations from history. Paying respect to traditional way of eating and the power within the land in Timor-Leste where so much nature is still untamed helps me understand why the world craves to be healthier and more productive. 

My nature, our nature — by design works as a system. When you tear the system apart and stop nourishing it you upset its equilibrium. So in our era of "connected crisis,” as Ramos says, what are some of the unexpected innovations we can create to construct narratives that are inclusive and impactful? 

We at SecondMuse through our global innovation platform LAUNCH, are embarking on an exciting journey together with the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade’s innovationXchange and communication technologist Ben Kreimer. Our goal is to team up with Pacific nations, Papua New Guinea and Timor-Leste to support the exploration of new ways to inspire pride in traditional local ingredients and thereby support positive impact in nutrition. 

All around the world, agencies for sustainable development are becoming attuned to the value of immersive storytelling technologies - like 360° video, virtual reality, augmented reality and gamification - to both galvanize a bigger, stronger network of change makers and derive greater impact from their partners social impact campaigns. But we understand that even if we apply VR/AR tools to healthy eating social engagement campaigns -- we need to tap into the past in order to make an impact in the future.

As storytellers, digital technologists and development agencies we are asking this question: Can we use emerging communication tools in this disruptive age directed by ancient wisdom to inspire positive change in the lives of many around the world who are in the process of being connected for the first time ever?

Virtual reality and game projects, for example, could help inspire a “day-in-the-life” journey focused on the key health and food challenges facing the community. An augmented reality-enhanced card game with local legends as the protagonists might help promote an image of good nutrition from traditional foods and thereby reduce the consumption of nutritious poor imported food with high sugar, fat or salt.

In October 2016, together with the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade’s innovationXchange (DFAT iXc) Ben Kreimer and I traveled to Timor-Leste as part of a LAUNCH innovation capacity building project for food innovators based in the Pacific region. We documented the work of food innovators in the cities of Dili and Baucau using new 360° video/virtual reality (VR) storytelling. We also trained local Timorese on how to use these new immersive storytelling tools, and loaned them a couple of our toolkits. 

With the immersive toolkit we left with them, Catalpa International has been documenting the Hamutuk project, (an initiative aiming to reduce stunted growth in Timorese children under age two and supported by DFAT iXc and others). In our soon to be released, Eating with the Seasons 360°/VR video, we included a scene captured by Catalpa during one of their nutrition training workshops. In addition to contributing content, Catalpa's Gabriela Leite-Soares did the narration for our 360°/VR video. DFAT iXc and Catalpa have also been actively producing their own content, with viewers including Prime Minister Rui Maria de Araújo of Timor-Leste. 

Furthermore, our first team of LAUNCH producers, including Tash Tan of Australia’s S1T2, are beginning ground-level ethnographic research, content development, and technology access iteration to help grow a local movement around healthy eating in the Pacific rim where malnutrition is at crisis levels. 

At a recent LAUNCH Legends roundtable in the Bay Area, Tan recounted his investigative journey to Fiji, where he learned about the history and culture behind Fijian storytelling traditions. Tash shared his experiences with leading experts in immersive storytelling and food and nutrition, from sharing legends and folklore around the kava bowl to reading the pages of treasured books.

“Just as stories are shared through time,” Tan says, “the traditional recipes and culture of healthy and organic eating are passed down through each generation in the most magical of ways. My fear is that this culture is now under threat because the traditions of the people are being replaced with new-found values in foods that are highly-processed and rich in salt or sugar.”

The focus of the roundtable was to engage guests’ collective insights and knowledge, get feedback, and explore opportunities for collaborative partnerships that could benefit the goal at hand— to make an impact on nutritional outcomes within targeted sites in the Pacific using immersive storytelling and emerging technologies. 

“The roundtable participants came from a diverse range of backgrounds, from nutrition to virtual reality and journalism, which created a fertile environment for creative problem solving around the nutrition challenges we’re looking to tackle with our toolkit of emerging technologies,” said Ben Kreimer, technical advisor for LAUNCH Legends.

The aim of our prototypes: to impact health and nutrition outcomes within targeted sites in the Pacific through experiments using new storytelling tools and to grow understanding of malnutrition more broadly as a development problem, particularly acute in the Indo-Pacific.

We will be working on delivery systems that will make such content accessible to people who don’t have high speed internet access, or own the necessary mobile device or computer. By fostering content creation and the development of delivery platforms that cater to non-western audiences, we hope to help democratize access to 360°/VR/AR technologies while helping create crowdsourced movements in the service of development and social good.

We have eight prototype proposals from VR/AR Producers on ways to bring immersive storytelling technologies to the Indo-Pacific. Let us know if you’d like to partner on this learning journey with us. 

 

Davar Ardalan is Director of Storytelling & Engagement at SecondMuse where she leads storytelling around sustainability and social impact issues, citizen science, health and nutrition, ocean conservation, and materials innovation. Ardalan directs the LAUNCH Legends VR/AR project and sits on the Advisory Board of the VR/AR Association of Sydney, Australia. As a veteran journalist and former social media strategist at NPR News, Ardalan’s real-time campaigns garnered millions of impressions on Twitter and Facebook. She has been recognized with a Gracie Award from the American Women in Radio and Television, two NABJ Awards, and a shout-out in the popular comic strip Zippy.

About LAUNCH:

Established in 2009, LAUNCH is an innovation-centered platform founded on the belief that today’s problems are too big to be solved by any one organization working alone. To date, LAUNCH has accelerated 100 innovations disrupting pathways for sustainable change. LAUNCH Legends is a program supported by the Australian Aid program’s innovationXchange.

Can Virtual Reality Play a Role in the Area of Criminal Justice?

By Rory Wells

The arrival of new technology will always also bring new opportunities for nefarious behavior.   I am certain it was not long after the invention of the mass produced automobile, where we had our first vehicular homicide.  Similarly at some point after the invention of the telephone we were introduced to phone scams.  This behavior continues to persist because there are always people who succumb to these cons.  Some of us may have received a call (or even an email) from a far away “lawyer” or “banker” requesting a small fee or perhaps your social security number and a great inheritance will be sent your way.  Some of these crimes seem obvious now in hindsight; however the problem with new technology is that it is “new”.  We can’t always predict how some may use it to harm, steal or even kill another human being.

Like many of you reading this blog post I am very excited about the development of virtual reality/augmented reality and the incredible promise it holds.  Whether it be, gaming, shopping, recreation, education or communication, it is exciting to have a front row seat and watch this technology develop.  

Although courts have a resistance to new technology, or anything new for that matter, there are clearly opportunities for VR/AR to impact the criminal justice system.  We now have 360 degree video which could easily put a jury into the crime scene in a much more interactive way than merely looking at photos or regular video.  But I wonder what if we had a virtual experience supported by the latest brain research could assist a violent criminal break old habits and patterns by developing new neural connections.  This experience might help a violent offender change or control their behavior thereby assisting in rehabilitation and overall safety of others.  

Or perhaps a virtual reality program where one who is up for parole, voluntarily submits to a series of scenarios enabling us to see his or her choices played out.  Let’s say the individual is at his first job after release and we have a scenario where his new boss yells at him for breaking a dish, or he is walking down the street and various crimes of opportunity are presented in subtle ways.  These developments may lead us to a more definitive conclusion on whether to release an inmate on parole.    

Of course the technology can be used for the training of police officers as well.  This would include everything from community policing scenarios to hostage negotiations.  

With the development of new technologies there are always ethical questions that should be asked.  What are we doing, why are we doing it and should we be doing it at all?  Regarding these developing technologies and their applications to human behavior we should not ask; what is available and how can this help us?  We should ask what do we need and how can we create it?  

Rory Wells is a member of VRARA NYC Chapter and Co-Chair of the newly formed Criminal Justice Committee.  He is an Assistant Prosecutor with the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office in Ocean County New Jersey.

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