The Immersive Wire - 13 June 2021 (Sunday edition)

The Immersive Wire - 13 June 2021 (Sunday edition)

June 13, 2021

NEWS DIGEST EDITIONCurated VR/AR analysis every Wednesday and Sunday

// 13 June 2021

 

Watch the launch date announcement teaser trailer by ANABURN.

The benefits are clear. Not everyone can travel across the country to watch, nor afford to pay the expensive tickets. It is why so many people watch Glastonbury from TV, organising a social event among friends and family while cracking open a beer. Not everyone can be fussed to come. VR does bring a fun element to it as well. Ravers and dancers can hang with strangers, who are in turn invested in the music and bonding over a shared passion.

But so, so many positive parts are lost as well. No waves of heat as bodies press between each other. No scurrying to the darkness to chat with friends or shivering in a tent. No mud or water to spoil clothes or food. A part of festivals is the barrage of senses that overwhelm people, around temperature, sound, and taste. The elements add character. Dispel them, and you are left with a sterile festival.In mid-2020 Apple bought NextVR, a company specialising in delivering sports events via VR. The technology has its eyes on delivering more events to people in easier and accessible ways; both theatres and festivals should keep the future in mind as well.More on this topic will come soon, but what do you think? Where do you think the future of events lie? Pop me an email and let me know your thoughts.

Party hard. Photo credit: Vodafone.

Smash Drums is an arcade VR drumming game that will shake your house on 17 June! Get ready to ROCK and DRUM HARD in this VR rhythm game for the Oculus Quest! Embark on an epic drumming journey that will have you destroying multiple environments through chaos and flames! Be prepared to smash drums to 21 awesome indie rock songs at launch, with more content coming after release! This is Smash Drums! Rock & roll has never been more alive...DEMO: Check out the free demo now on

.TRAILER: Watch the launch date announcement

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Q&A with...

Matt Tullis, Director, Product Management, Spatial Computing at Ultraleap

How did you get into hand tracking?I was raised by an engineer so I’ve always been a big fan of technology. Virtual Reality has been just science fiction for a long time but now we can all see it actually coming to market. Hand tracking will be a huge part of making that happen, so when the opportunity to join the world leaders at Ultraleap, I jumped at the chance. How is it different from other kinds of development?Hand tracking is really interesting because for most of us it’s the first way we learn to both communicate and interact with the world. However, the technology is brand new so learning how to get the most out of it is a challenge. We are still blazing trails in both hardware and throughout the software stack. On top of that, the content being created in VR is also very new and sometimes exploratory.  If you can incorporate hand tracking into one already-released product, what would it be and why?There are some games that come to mind but honestly, I wish hand tracking was incorporated into the main system launcher for every VR headset. I really want to be able to share the experience of VR with people like my parents but the controller is such a huge barrier to entry. If they could use their hands to navigate, I know they’d love all the incredible experiences made possible in this fantastic medium. 

Find out more about Ultraleap’s hand tracking here.

Jobs board

SENIOR AR DEVELOPER, UK. 

, The AR Outdoor Media Company is looking for a Senior Front-end Developer, ideally with some back-end skills to join, and help lead, our AR development team. This senior role will primarily require you to use your skills to build high-quality, exciting AR experiences for our brand and property clients as well as mentor and grow the team. We are looking for passionate and motivated individuals who love exploring the cutting edge of immersive technology and delivering exceptional projects for high-profile clients.

BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT MANAGERS, UK. VRTUOSO, a rapidly growing and multi-award winning company, is looking for three full-time B2B Sales Managers who are excited about technology advancements, and able to sell to CxO/Director level within enterprise accounts.

HEAD OF MARKETING, UK. VRTUOSO, a rapidly growing and multi-award winning company, is looking for a Head of Marketing capable of taking VRtuoso to the next level. We’re looking to make the leap to working with enterprise level companies at scale and we hope you’re the one to help us accomplish this.

CHANNEL SALES MANAGER, UK. VRTUOSO, a rapidly growing and multi-award winning company, is looking for a Channel Sales Manager to lead the channel and reseller programmes. The role is primarily responsible for onboarding new partners, serving as the primary liaison for new partners, growing the sales of existing partners, and assisting with sales/marketing initiatives for our reseller channel as a whole.

DIRECTOR OF ENGINEERING, UK. VRTUOSO, a rapidly growing and multi-award winning company, is looking for a Director of Engineering to lead our engineering department and help us build, deliver, and maintain the leading VRtuoso Virtual Reality products for the enterprise market.

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That's all for this week! Want to have a chat, let me know about a news story, or talk business? Either reply to this email, or contact tom (at) virtualperceptions (dot) com. Have an excellent day!