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Join the VRARA Orange County Chapter for an unforgettable night of food, drinks, networking and most importantly, fun! Our bioluminescent beach-themed event will put the "AR" in PARTY!

There will be a DJ, photo booth, AR trivia, thrist-quenching drinks, delicious food and best of all, it is a five minute walk from the Long Beach Convention Center / AWE. Come dance, chat, network, eat, drink and socialize with the rest of the AR world at AWE!

The 15th annual AWE will be in Long Beach this year and with over 6,500 expected in attendance, we are ready to celebrate and pARty!

This event is co-hosted by the VRARA Los Angeles Chapter and together we are planning this to be a night not soon forgotten.

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Join us on Thursday, April 18 from 6 - 8pm for an exciting night focused on radiance fields, the cutting-edge technology that enables hyper-realistic 3D reconstructions from 2D images. We will be discussing the state of the technology and its use in XR experiences. 

We have Jonathan Stephens returning after last year's NeRFs in XR event where he introduced neural radiance fields (NeRFs) and demonstrated rendering a capture in a Meta Quest Pro. 

Joining Jonathan virtually, we also have Michael Rubloff, Founder and Managing Editor of RadianceFields.com. Michael has collaborated with some of the most influential and reputable players in the tech world, such as NVIDIA and Shutterstock, to showcase the impact of Radiance Fields. He has also spoken at prestigious events like GTC 2024 and SIGGRAPH 2023. Michael will be helping us get down to where radiance fields, like guassian splatting, are being utilized in different industries.

LINKS: 

In-person tickets: https://radiance-fields-xr-24.eventbrite.com 

Live stream registration: https://www.crowdcast.io/c/radiance-fields-xr-24 

Join us in person or online on Feb 22 from 6 - 8pm for a night of discussions and insights into the widespread use of AR ads with Takeshi Tawarada from Snap Inc.

Join us on Thursday, February 22 from 6 - 8pm for a night of discussions, networking and insights into the growth of augmented reality. According to ThreeKit, there are over 1.4 billion AR device users so whether you’re a tech-focused company or not, AR should play a part in your business decisions.

To better understand the broader impact AR is having, we have Takeshi Tawarada from Snap Inc. joining us to share about the research he’s doing to determine the effectiveness of AR advertising. Snapchat has a long history of utilizing AR at scale, which gives Takeshi a perspective that not many have and he will be sharing his research with us.

We will also be introducing our newest member to our chapter, Irvine Valley College, who are working on exciting immersive programs to help educate and prepare the next generation of leaders.

LINK FOR IN PERSON REGISTRATION: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/ar-insights-and-beyond-tickets-835594895827?aff=oddtdtcreator.

LINK FOR VIRTUAL/ONLINE REGISTRATION: https://crowdcast.io/c/oc-ar-insights-24

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Join us for the OC VRARA Halloween Mixer on Monday, October 30th, from 6-9PM at the Classic Q in Newport Beach. Free admission and a hosted bar with delicious food. Come dressed up for Halloween and don't miss the opportunity to flaunt your creativity with the chance to win a prize for best costume. Network with like-minded XR/AR/VR professionals, discuss your XR challenges, share your new ideas and experience our spine-tingling Haunted VR Experience.

Arvin Tehrani will discuss how Contrast Media Labs integrated NVIDIA’s CloudXR into their Haunted Mansion PCVR experience. He will share the achievements and challenges they ran into while converting the project from a location-based experience with theatrical elements to a wireless cloud-rendered experience.

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Join us on October 4th from 6 - 8 PM for "Homecoming 2023", an interactive presentation on the different AR/VR educational programs available in OC. This event is for students, educators, and professionals and will provide an insider look at the different schools in OC offering immersive curriculum. There will be demos of student work, booths, and short presentations about the different programs.

Renah Wolzinger, Ed.D from EON-XR will be talking about the state of immersive programs and the impact of EON-XR in bringing XR to educational institutions.

Gary Graves from Fullerton College will discuss their new initiatives and how they are working with employers and industries to train the workforce of tomorrow in immersive technologies.

LOOKING TO ATTEND VIRTUALLY? https://crowdcast.io/c/oc-vrara-homecoming-23

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Join us on July 13 from 6 - 8PM for "Generative AI: XR", a presentation on the current state of the exciting field of generative AI and its uses in XR/VR/A!

Peter Pang, Senior Product Manager of VR / AR at NVIDIA will be joining us to discuss how Project Mellon and RIVA can be used to bring conversational features to your XR application. He will also be discussing NVIDIA VCR, its benefits and uses as well as other trending topics in VR and AR.

Peter Pang, Senior Product Manager, VR/AR | NVIDIA:

Peter Pang is a Senior Product Manager at NVIDIA. He is responsible for NVIDIA VRWorks SDK and NVIDIA VCR product development focusing on user workflow, UI/UX, and workflow features critical to enterprise professionals. Working closely with development and marketing, his role is to promote end user requirements and to identify partner relationships and growth opportunities. Pete joined NVIDIA in his current role after a 17-year career at Toyota’s Calty Design Research, where he held positions in CAD, IT, and visualization operations. Pete holds a BS from Art Center College of Design, Pasadena, CA in Industrial Design with focus in Automotive.

Neural Radiance Fields, or NeRFs, allow us to re-create 3D scenes using a set of input images with the help of AI/ML. NeRFs are becoming increasingly more popular in use with many apps available utilizing the technology. In this special presentation, we will learn about what NeRFs are and how they can be utilized by the XR industry.

EVENTBRITE REGISTRATION REQUIRED FOR IN-PERSON: https://nerfs-in-xr.eventbrite.com

CROWDCAST REGISTRATION REQUIRED FOR LIVE-STREAM: https://crowdcast.io/e/nerfs-in-xr-featuring

Our featured speaker, Jonathan Stephens, Chief Evangelist from EveryPoint, will be sharing how to create NeRFs, with a walk-through on the ins and outs of making NeRFs. Jonathan was featured at Infinity Festival early this year covering how to utilize NeRFs in Hollywood. He will be covering key tips to help you compile and explain how to capture good input imagery, walking through the GUI interface and explaining how to optimize your scene parameters. Jonathan will show us how NeRFs can be used in XR and how to optimize your NeRFs for VR and AR.

Our evening is an opportunity to learn, connect and engage with professionals facilitated by the VRARA, the world's largest VR/AR association. This free event is open to all seeking to network with VR/AR professionals, learn more about how VR and AR are being used in OC, and connect with other AR/VR organizations.

Jonathan Stephens

Jonathan Stephens is the Chief Evangelist and Marketing Director at EveryPoint. Beginning his career as a GIS analyst, Jonathan pivoted into computer vision and image processing technology as a solutions consultant focusing on solving inventory management and logistics problems for bulk material producers. In his current role at EveryPoint, Jonathan’s main focuses are in market discovery, research, and growing customer awareness through technical education.

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Want to kick off the Halloween weekend with some fun? Join us on Friday, October 28, 2022 from 5:30pm - 7:00pm for our Haunted VR Experience! Come enjoy an immersive haunted VR story and enjoy some holiday treats with us. Get your Halloween weekend started off with a BOO!

WARNING: The experience may contain scenes which some might find to be too gory.

Register Today to attend in-person ***OR*** virtually!

Join us for an evening featuring AR and VR experiences created by individuals and organizations in Orange County. Our evening is an opportunity to learn, connect and engage with professionals facilitated by the VRARA, the world's largest VR/AR association. This free event is open to all who are seeking to network with VR/AR professionals, learn more about how VR and AR are being used in OC and to connect with other AR/VR organizations in Orange County.

We will have three informative speakers covering topics such education, training and enterprise featuring Renah Wolzinger Ed.D., Chief Learning Officer at EON Reality who will present EON-XR (https://eonreality.com/platform), which enables educators, trainers, employers, and other users to create interactive and immersive AR and VR lessons without needing any coding or advanced technological knowledge.

We will have Sean Bartee from 3D Infotech who will be presenting Spotlight AR++ (https://www.3dinfotech.com/products/software/spotlight-ar), an augmented reality software for manufacturing environments that accurately projects computer-generated visual aids on three dimensional, real-life objects.

Lastly, we will have Gary Graves from Fullerton College to discuss their new Digital Campus and how they hope they can work with employers and industries to train the workforce of tomorrow in immersive technologies.

There will be multiple AR/VR experience stations set up so attendees can engage and use the experiences that are being presented.

We'll start the night off with free food and drinks along with a networking session at 6:00 pm and presentations will begin at 6:30 pm. Looking forward to a great event!

Join us for this FREE in-person event showcasing VR / AR experiences from organizations around the OC on Thursday, Sept 29th from 6pm to 8pm

About this event

Join us for an evening featuring AR and VR experiences created by individuals and organizations in Orange County. Our evening is an opportunity to learn, connect and engage with professionals facilitated by the VRARA, the world's largest VR/AR association. This free event is open to all who are seeking to network with VR/AR professionals, learn more about how VR and AR are being used in OC and to connect with other AR/VR organizations in Orange County.

We will have two informative speakers covering topics such education and enterprise featuring Renah Wolzinger Ed.D., Chief Learning Officer at EON Reality who will present EON-XR (https://eonreality.com/platform), which enables educators, trainers, employers, and other users to create interactive and immersive AR and VR lessons without needing any coding or advanced technological knowledge.

We will also have Sean Bartee from 3D Infotech who will be presenting Spotlight AR++ (https://www.3dinfotech.com/products/software/spotlight-ar), an augmented reality software for manufacturing environments that accurately projects computer-generated visual aids on three dimensional, real-life objects.

There will be multiple AR/VR experience stations set up so attendees can engage and use the experiences that are being presented.

We'll start the night off with free food and drinks along with a networking session at 6:00 pm and presentations will begin at 6:30 pm. Looking forward to a great event!

Register here (click on the Upcoming tab)

This all-star panel will unveil how industry leaders are shaping augmented reality and artificial intelligence to enable breakthrough business performance. IBM, NuEyes Tech, and AVATAR Partners will share the latest including IBM Watson AI, AR infused with AI and MR smart glasses.

About the Panelists:

Darrel Pyle, Technical Partner Specialist, IBM
Darrel helps partners understand the potentials of Cloud and Cognitive technologies and how to embed solutions so they can go to market faster with the latest technologies. By being a trusted advisor, he helps partners unlock value through data, analytics, artificial intelligence, machine learning, data science, digital business automation, and cloud technologies. He has over twenty years of experience in various aspects of technology with his latest focus on Automation, Data, and AI and believes that some of the most impactful applications of the technology are unleashed when combining them in creative and revolutionary ways.

Trevor Backlin, Executive VP, NuEyes Tech
For fifteen years, Trevor has joined the ranks of both Industrial Manufacturing, AR/MR, and Enterprise software companies. He’s developed extensive consulting and business development experience with Augmented and Mixed Reality hardware and software applications. He has helped position Fortune 100 enterprises to accomplish successful AR use cases, KPI's and ultimately large scale deployments. His expertise lies heavily in manufacturing, field services, pharma/life sciences, automotive, oil & gas, utilities, retail, telecom, AEC, and healthcare.

Marlo Brooke, Founder, AVATAR Partners
Marlo Brooke is Founder of AVATAR Partners®, an 18-year digital transformation software services company known for heavy-duty, industrial Mixed Reality for Aerospace, Construction, Defense, Healthcare, Manufacturing and Defense. In her new position as Founder of simpleAR, she leads her team to provide affordable AI-based augmented reality software for businesses worldwide. Marlo serves as Chapter President, VR/AR Association Orange County, CA, and is an active philanthropist for disadvantaged youth and the underprivileged.