Analysis of trends from Immersive Tech Week 2022

I've written about immersive technologies for many years, but this is the first time that I attended an international conference. I loved it. It was like having tens of pen pals for many years, and then seeing them all at the same time over a week. Immersive Tech Week was a lot of fun, and it coupled nicely with the VR Awards later in the same conference.

A few trends peeked out of the event as well. Haptics saw a lot of attention, as did digital twins. The metaverse was mentioned from time to time, but the focus was on the core technologies of VR and AR. And the art space remains as strong as ever. The article will touch on them all, peppered with my own insights, from the beginning to the end of the event.

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Opening ceremony and discussions

After a 6am Eurostar trip from London to Rotterdam, I deposited my items in the hotel and attended the first main event. Immersive Tech Week and XR4Europe offered a group of invitees - a mix of policymakers and industry representatives - to discuss how XR will impact multiple sectors, particularly in Europe. Markus Reinisch, VP of Public Policy Europe and Global Economic Policy, represented Meta at the event.

Afterwards was the opening ceremony, where Benjamin de Wit, the Festival Director, had an argument with a virtual version of himself (made by Virbe). The timing was slightly off as it was clearly pre-rehearsed, but otherwise, it was a cute way to start the day. It raises interesting questions on the role of AI in engagement; I can see many virtual versions of a person peppered across a retail space, as people shop and ask questions. Think of a legion of Tim Cooks that guide visitors to the Apple Campus, as a terrible idea.

I then wandered through the stalls and caught up with people throughout the day. During dinner, I caught up properly with Dinesh Punni, who founded immersive insiders. it was one of many examples where I met people who I have known for some time (we started our projects at similar times), and I loved it.

Insights from panels on the workforce and business in XR

Part of my trip included a variety of panels to moderate, which drew out some interesting insights. The first was on business, attended by Oliver Woehler from Pico, David Burch from ArborXR, Marco Janmaat from VR Expert, and Freek van Polen from SyncVR Medical. The discussion pivoted around the healthy growth of immersive technologies in the business sector, touching on the core themes that the Immersive Wire has covered regularly in the past. The area remains strong, with Pico clearly indicating a partner-led approach to growing the enterprise side of its VR business.

A similar theme came in the next panel, exploring the workforce of the future. Tom de Koninck from TNO, Jon Iñaki Martinez Lopez de Guereña from LUDUS, and Harriet Bartlett from XR4Europe. But the key difference was positivity. The former focused more on the positives of business, with a dialogue on support for other companies wanting to be a part of it. This one was less so, with conversations on what can be done to detach more from reality. Do we need to have a corporate meeting room in VR, or can we do better? Do we need to bind our design methodology to reality, when we can go beyond it?

I got really into football with the Meta Quest Pro, in an experience made by Rezzil. Another version has more sophisticated trackers and uses the Valve Index, which makes me think that tracking will be the next bigger step for some types of experiences.

Haptics and booth browsing

After that came another panel, this time on haptics with Orestis Georgiou from Ultraleap, Ifigeneia Mavridou from emteq labs, Gijs den Butter from SenseGlove, and Ben Greenhough from Rezzil. The panelists primarily explored the benefits of haptics technology, primarily in the enterprise space - the consumer side will likely take several more years for development. Slides went into detail on the technology behind it, while the technical questions afterwards were expertly fielded by Orestis in particular.

What struck me was the popularity of some topics over others. The business and workforce panels were comparatively quieter, with fewer attendees than haptics. Beyond haptics was VR for healthcare and digital twins, both of which filled out the theatre with inquisitive professionals. I am unsure if it is representative of the interest in Rotterdam or the Netherlands, or perhaps a wider industry trend. But in any case, it is clear that digital twins are seeing a lot of attention while other areas are ebbing slightly.

I then roamed around and tried out many experiences I intended to do for some time. Patchworld is one example, where I played musical instruments alongside aliens - a lot of fun. Sensiks is also notable; think of it as a booth that can replicate wind, scents, and heat while absorbing an experience. I can see a fair few cases where it can work; perhaps as a bird that flies higher, the wafts of grass subsiding as chilled air breezes through. I also loved trying out the Valkyrie EIR, which grants muscle resistance when exercising (as a disclaimer, I supported its PR when it was announced). Organisation representatives from Spain were there too, to highlight the work of developers from the region. It highlights to me the continued support that the ecosystem provides, across many European companies.

Winners of the VR Awards 2022

We then came to the VR Awards, dressing up for the evening and chatting with others. It was the first time since 2019 that the VR Awards were in person, and the first that they partnered with Immersive Tech Week. In my view, it works well. The cross-pollination of European professionals brought some new people into the system, and I enjoyed the spectacle of coming to another country to celebrate the winners. (I should also declare that I judged for two categories in the awards as well).

The awards started with two performers who seemed to wear VR headsets (they were not), and then a comedian who rattled through the categories and victors. The event was well organised, and ran smoothly throughout the evening with a fantastic afterparty. I also had some thoughts on what could be changed for next year:

• Change the 'Experience of the Year' category. It is difficult to separate the difference between an 'experience' and other forms of VR, like films or social impact. The nebulous term might benefit from more exact wording.

• Split the 'Innovative VR Company of the Year' category between enterprise and consumer versions. The criteria to judge enterprise companies would differ drastically, focusing on other metrics for success or growth. Splitting the two would allow for companies in a similar field to compete.

The winners this year, with the categories in alphabetical order:

Content Creator of the Year Award: Habie147

Education and Training of the Year: Immerse, with its education platform

Enterprise Solution of the Year: SEAT S.A. (SEAT & CUPRA), with Immersive Design Check (IMDCH)

Experience of the Year: The MetaMovie, with Alien Rescue

Film of the Year: Baobab Studios, with Namoo

Game of the Year: POLYARC GAMES, with Moss: Book II

Hardware of the Year: Pico, with the Pico Neo3 Link

Healthcare of the Year: Osso , with its VR training for surgical teams

Innovative VR Company of the Year: Immerse

Location-Based Entertainment of the Year: Emissive / Orange, with Eternal Notre Dame

Marketing of the Year: NEKONATA XR TECHNOLOGIES, with XQ Avatar for Porsche

Rising VR Company of the Year: Anotherway

Social Impact Award: Upstream / Yazda / Surround Vision, with Nobody’s Listening

The Accenture VR Lifetime Achievement Award: Dr Jacquelyn Ford Morie

Analysis of Immersive Tech Week

Immersive Tech Week provides a fun hodgepodge of activities and panels. It also marked a time where Meta and Pico spoke to attendees to show off their capabilities and collaboration approach.

On the one side we had Meta, with the aforementioned lunch and deeper conversations. 'This is the first time we have brought European XR leaders and policymakers together', said Juan Bossicard, the European Strategic Campaign Manager for the metaverse at Meta. 'Europe has an advantage here, and we want to continue our open dialogue to tap into the potential of the metaverse.' On the other side we had Pico, who had partner companies situated in the same booth. SyncVR and VRExpert were two examples. The enterprise team were in full force too, with the aforementioned Oliver Woehler from Pico attending moderated talks.

My thoughts are positive on both approaches. Pico is collaborative with its enterprise partners, and wants to highlight them alongside how the hardware supports the wider ecosystem. Similar vibes were given by Leland Hedges, the GM for Pico EMEA, who I had a lovely chat with at the VR Awards. On the other side, it is clear Meta wishes to engage more on the European level and used Immersive Tech Week as a platform to continue its approach. We should hopefully see more over time.

The event itself was very well organised, and I would happily return to Immersive Tech Week again. I do have some casual thoughts for next time:

• Better layout mapping. I would make it clearer where all the items of Immersive Tech Week are, as it was unclear where all items were throughout the programme. Perhaps leaflets with a map of the location would work well to find all the nuggets around the space.

• Better diversity on panels. I noticed that some panels I was moderating were not inclusive of the wider immersive ecosystem. For one panel, I invited Harriet Bartlett from XR4Europe to come at the last minute (and did an excellent job). The industry has a wide pool of talent to draw from for sessions, and I encourage the next show to bring them in for future sessions.

Overall, what a way to end 2022!

Disclaimer: VRDays paid for my hotel and travel for the event. The team had no editorial oversight on the content, which means you are reading this at exactly the same time they are with zero amendments.