Register today!

Come join us for a fun and interactive evening at Bitter Pops on Wednesday April 3rd at 7:00pm where we will be discussing the latest technology from Apple - the Vision Pro.

The night will feature an open discussion led by Rob Merrilees (co-founder of Get Real XR) and Reza Pahl (Head of US Operations at VRdirect) focusing on early reviews and potential impact this new device could have on the adoption of extended reality (XR) technologies.

Don't miss out on this opportunity to enjoy some of Chicago's finest craft beers (free for VRARA members and their guests!) in a unique and relaxed setting for learning and networking with local immersive technology professionals.

Register today!

Reserve your spot today!

Join the St. Louis and Chicago VRARA Chapters for captivating exploration of the next frontier in immersive technology: haptic exoskeletons for the hand. This webinar, jointly presented by the St. Louis and Chicago Chapters of the VR/AR Association, highlights the ground-breaking innovations of Magos, and the broader applications of their technology to potential end users.

Why Attend?

Exclusive Insights: Hear directly from the CEO of Magos, our lead panelist, who will unravel the intricate workings of their state-of-the-art haptic device.

Broad Applicability: Discover the transformative potential of haptic exoskeleton technology across diverse industries such as Healthcare, Engineering, Education, Telerobotics, and Gaming.

Pioneering Innovation: Engage in discussions about how Magos's haptic technology is shaping the future of spatial computing, bridging the gap between the digital and physical realms.

Who Should Attend?

Professionals, enthusiasts, researchers, and decision-makers keen on understanding the cross-industry applications of haptic technology should not miss this opportunity. Whether you're in healthcare looking to understand the future of telemedicine, an educator keen on leveraging AR/VR for teaching, an engineer aiming for precision in simulations, a gamer, or a telerobotics professional, this webinar has something enlightening for you.

The VR/AR Difference

Jointly presented by the St. Louis and Chicago chapters of VRARA, this webinar upholds our commitment to fostering collaboration, accelerating growth, and promoting the services of pioneering companies in immersive technology. As champions of research, education, and industry best practices, attendees will gain a comprehensive and holistic understanding of the topics driving the immersive technology industry.

Register Today!

Register Today!

As VR adoption slowly gains traction with businesses and organizations, the industry is consistently looking for successful cases where the technology has been deployed and is delivering ROI to stakeholders. Enter Madison College. Madison College has emerged as a pioneer in the adoption of VR in its curriculum for students. Carly Brady, Academic Manager – Academic Technology Strategic Academic Initiatives and Bill Ballo, Faculty – Academic Technology Strategic Academic Initiatives will join our panel and talk about their journey through initial trial phases, hardware choices and pilot programs - culminating with their successful grant writing process that led to a full-scale deployment across the entire Madison College system. Carly and Bill will be joined by Jon Brouchoud, CEO of ARCH Virtual - the VR platform that is at the foundation of the program at Madison College. Jon will talk about his work with the team, including key features that the platform offers, and how their tools were integrated into the Madison College program. The panel will be moderated by Ed Haravon, VRARA - Chicago president and co-founder of Get Real - an immersive technology consulting firm headquartered in Chicago. Please join us on January 31st at 1pm CT for a lively panel discussion and audience Q&A. Regardless of your industry or use case - the story of Madison College is ideally suited for anyone looking to deploy VR in their organization.

Sign up for this Bright Talk Event here!

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Join VRARA-Chicago, Aldo Petruzzelli, CEO, Omnia, and Sina Sadrzadeh,Head of Growth, myNFT for a

discussion on the current state of the marketplace for AR creators, and how

companies like Aequilibrium Inc and myNFT are using blockchain and NFT technology to make it easier for creators to match their skills with

exciting new client opportunities.

Moderator : Ed Haravon, Chapter President VRARA Chicago

Register here (click on the Upcoming tab)

VRARA Chicago invites you to join our own Distinguished Research Professor Stephen H. Haliczer in a webinar presenting three highly innovative researchers whose collective work suggests ways of incorporating touch, smell, heat and cold into VR experiences.

Cathy Fang, from Carnegie Mellon University, has created “Wireality,” which combines the mechanical with the virtual to simulate the feel of walls, metal bars, sculpture and other objects in virtual reality. 

Brad Radvansky’s work at Northwestern University’s Dombeck Laboratory, demonstrates that the brains of mice can form a map of virtual space using only olfactory information. 

Jas Brooks’ research at the University of Chicago Human-Computer Integration Laboratory, has shown that the controlled release of certain chemicals like capsicum can produce illusions of heat or cold during a virtual reality experience. 

Taken together, these researchers’ results point the way to a dramatic expansion of the sensations that could be made available to the designers of VR experiences in order to make them more realistic and immersive. The potential applications for retail, user experience, and entertainment are boundless.  Join us for a first look at how our experiences with sight, smell, and touch will link together in the future of VR technology. 

Register here (click on the Upcoming tab) 

RSVP here

Come talk with industry experts about how VR and AR are growing through all aspects of corporate and industrial training, and how you can get involved yourself. We will have networking, demos and an audience Q&A with our expert panel.

Corporate Training is using virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) to enhance retention, save money, and explore safer and more productive ways to train employees. From morning stand ups in VR with decision makers from around the globe to demonstrating essential lifesaving skills in dangerous work environments like an offshore oil rig, VR/AR training is here to stay. AR lets businesses put the experts out in the field training and supervising work in real time using precise equipment overlays without them leaving the main office. Immersive training works well for multiple departments from Human Resources to Customer Experience with empathy training in VR that lets employees walk in someone else’s shoes.

Come talk with industry experts about how VR and AR are growing through all aspects of corporate and industrial training, and how you can get involved yourself. We will have networking, demos and an audience Q&A with our expert panel.

What's The Format:
This event is all about you, our members, and not the host or presenters. Come and try some new technology, get your questions answered, and take your next step in XR Technology.

5:30-6PM Technology Demonstrations & Networking
6:00-6:30 Introductions & Welcome Message
6:30-7:00 Panelist Presentations
7:00-8PM Panel Discussion with Q&A
8:00-8:30 More Networking & Technology Demos
8:30-8:45 Clean up

Speaker/Panelist/Demo Information:

• Laurent Da Dalto - CEO & Founder @ Mimbus, https://www.linkedin.com/company/3006884/admin/

• Tim Quinn - VP, Sales @ Enduvo, https://www.linkedin.com/in/tim-quinn-b82621/

• Zach Martin - Project Director @ BUNDLAR, http://linkedin.com/in/zach-martin-5a844718/

• Dorothea Emery Duenow -  Senior Sustainability Content Specialist @ UL, https://www.linkedin.com/in/dorothea-emery-05aa90107

• Matt Wren - CTO @ BUNDLAR & Chicago Chapter President @ VRARA, https://www.linkedin.com/in/matthewwren

This month’s catering and drink service is being sponsored by UL.

UL helps create a better world by applying science to solve safety, security and  sustainability challenges. We empower trust by enabling the safe adoption of innovative new products and technologies. Everyone at UL shares a passion to make the world a safer place. All of our work, from independent research and standards development, to testing and certification, to providing analytical and digital solutions, helps improve global well-being. Businesses, industries, governments, regulatory authorities and the public put their trust in us so they can make smarter decisions.

To learn more, visit UL.com.
To learn more about our nonprofit activities, visit UL.org.

Thank you to 1871 Chicago, BUNDLAR & VR/AR Association Chicago Chapter for providing venue, management, marketing & logistics support to the VR/AR Chicago event series.

TICKETS  https://www.eventbrite.com/e/vrar-chicago-thenextevolution-in-tv-film-tickets-89176079053   

Details:

Film and Television as an industry embraced immersive technology from the very start – and not just as subject for Black Mirror or British television series The Feed. VR was used both as subject matter and a primary creative tool for Ready Player One, but also extensively utilized for content creation of the latest Lion King movie. Studios are using VR to complement their movie franchises with Virtual Reality games like Star Wars’ Vader Immortal and Augmented Reality promoting Game of Thrones using SnapChat and Magic Leap.

Come talk with industry experts about how VR and AR are growing in the TV and film industry, and how you can get involved yourself. We will have networking, demos and an audience Q&A with our expert panel.

What's The Format:
This MeetUp is about you, our members, and not the host or presenters. Come and try some new technology, get your questions answered, and take your next step in XR Technology.

5:30-6PM Technology Demonstrations & Networking
6:00-6:30 Introductions & Welcome Message
6:30-7:00 Panelist Presentations
7:00-8PM Panel Discussion with Q&A
8:00-8:30 More Networking & Technology Demos
8:30-8:45 Clean up

Speaker/Panelist Information:
Donald Hyun Kiolbassa - Managing Partner @ The Law Offices of Kiolbassa, Holmes & Ansong, https://www.linkedin.com/in/dkiolbas/
David Mellor - Director | Creative Director | VFX Supervisor, https://www.linkedin.com/in/dmellor/
Adam Carroll - Head of CG @ The Mill, https://www.linkedin.com/company/9328
Dean Velez - Creative Director / Mentor / Immersive Content Creator @ ANVEL Studios
Matt Wren - CTO @ BundlAR & Chicago Chapter President @ VRARA, https://www.linkedin.com/in/matthewwren

Thank you to our sponsors: 1871 Chicago, BUNDLAR & VR/AR Association Chicago Chapter

Tickets: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/vrar-chicago-meetup-tickets-54348034434

Description:

In life’s critical moments, emergency responders take initiative. They rely on honed instincts and years of training. They are provided with tools to prepare them for every situation they may encounter. They make split second decisions that often mean the difference between life and death.

Virtual and augmented reality are tools that emergency response industries have embraced for a long time. The military has used heads up displays – one of the earliest forms of AR – in planes & helmet goggles since the 1960’s. Firearm Training Situation Simulators for law enforcement date back to the early 1980’s. Today, VR and AR provide tools for training, logistics, fleet management, operational planning, on-location support, and more to the military, police, fire, and emergency response departments at all levels of government.

Come hear from the experts how immersive technology is supporting the jobs of the people who protect society.

Host:
Matthew Wren - BUNDLAR & VRARA Chicago

Confirmed Panel:
Carla Bond - Upskill VR
Thomas Brady - Homeland Security Training Institute
Alan Beauchamp - Terminal54
Sean DeCrane - Underwriters Laboratories (UL)

Confirmed Demonstrations:

UL: Close Before You Doze VR experience - The VR experience you pretty much feel the heat of the fire, it’s surreal. The Close Your Door safety initiative comes as the result of over 10 years of research by the UL Firefighter Safety Research Institute (FSRI). After proving that a closed door could potentially save lives in a fire, UL FSRI has committed to share this finding with the world.

Questions: If you have any questions, please email Chicago@thevrara.com

For reservation info, send an email to Chicago@thevrara.com

The Magic Leap One offers unprecedented opportunities in spatial computing, utilizing World Reconstruction, a 6 DoF controller, hand and eye tracking, spatial audio and other bleeding-edge affordances.

In this intensive, hands-on series of workshops, Magic Leap evangelists Tricia Katz and Michael Hazani will enable participants to get started with the Magic Leap One and their engine or platform of choice.

Starting from scratch, you’ll be walked through setting up your dev environment, learn the many available development tools and how to best use them, and dive into the Lumin SDK to create anything you desire using the device’s powerful feature set. Magic Leap Mentors will be available to assist you every step on the way.

How to Register:

There are only 30 seats available, so request yours today. Magic Leap has asked that these 30 seats be reserved for students that will complete the class and have the correct skills to make use of the training. As such there is a screening form to complete before being invited to reserve your seat. 

The training is free, however you will be required to purchase a non-refundable ticket through Eventbrite to reserve your seat for the class. At the beginning of the class each student will sign in. Upon completion of the class each student will sign out and your reservation fee will be refunded. You must complete the entire class to receive the refund.

If you have any questions, please email Chicago@thevrara.com

RSVP here

Description

VR/AR Chicago brings together people who are interested in working with virtual and augmented reality technology.

The group includes developers, business leaders, investors, students, and more. Many of our members are actively working with VR and AR technology here in Chicago - providing consulting, business development, and technology development services. What makes us different from other groups is that we are not just interested in seeing what's out there, we are actively producing, promoting, and demonstrating VR and AR technology in our businesses and community.

We generally meet on the 1st Wednesday every month. There a few months where we move for holidays or to avoid other known Immersive Technology events, but it always takes place on a Wednesday. Throughout 2019, all of our monthly MeetUps will be held at 1871 in the auditorium. Topics and panel details are schedule to be announced at least 2 weeks prior to each schedule MeetUp.

If you are interested in sponsoring, demonstrating technology, or participating on the expert panel, please email the organizer. We're also happy to answer any questions.