The Immersive Wire - 14 November 2021 (Sunday edition)

By Tom FfiskeCurated VR/AR analysis every Wednesday and Sunday

// 14 November 2021

7 Wonders Duel is fantastic if you want to go for two-player board games - has Civilization VI vibes, though simpler.

IMVERSE Holo software for LIVE volumetric video capture

MAIN STORYLooking through XR events

The immersive community is seeing an influx of events, typical of the cold season and as the leaves fall to the ground. All are slightly different, and it is worth considering the best approach if companies start to make their own over time.This week saw the close of

AWE

, the major industry event in the USA. Based on the fountain of Tweets and postulating on LinkedIn, the event was a major success for the organisers as they pivoted back to an in-person event; for many, the first one in two years. That sense of connection, and seeing people for the first time in as many years, saw AWE uplifted to a healthy and positive degree. And why not? After months and months of talking to pixels on a screen, an in-person event is incredibly valuable. Then again, as AWE is such an embedded part of the community (at least in the US), that unique vibe will likely persist.By comparison there was

VRDays Europe

, with a virtual component based in Laval Virtual. (I recently hosted a panel at the event, and found that self-expression in the metaverse is another area that warrants additional exploration). The approach is as hybrid as it can be: an in-person event in bustling Amsterdam; a virtual element in a hosted world; and sub-events around the world. The approach meant that the number of attendees across all their platforms can be tallied up. But with the virtual version, technical issues can hinder the impact of the event as people navigate the complexities of updates and mic connectivity. Adding a virtual element will always add a level of friction to accessibility which may be too much for some. Long-term I suspect it may pivot towards a livestream that people can tune into, but I also see the benefits and fun of creating your own avatars and chit-chatting with other attendees.The final one is the

VR Awards

, based in London and hosted virtually. (I am a media partner of the event). Happening later next week, the litany of companies and projects will be reviewed, and with a ceremony that guides people to their winners. I cannot make further comments until the event itself, but I see the importance and benefits of hosting high-profile awards that celebrate the industry. At the same time, I also recognise the pay-to-play circumstance of awards where great companies do not get the attention they deserve. I also greatly dislike the role of voting for awards; it rewards popularity over quality, as some of the most popular YouTubers can also be incredibly toxic. If I were to take elements of all three, I would have an in-person version where people can come and network, and a video livestream equivalent where people globally can tune in to watch. In 2022, I personally hope to see more in-person ones.

The aLIVE METAverse is here!

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Q&AThe three Ps: people, products, and paying (customers)

Gary York, CEO of Help Lightning

What is your background? I’ve been in the tech industry for nearly 25 years and with Help Lightning for five of them. The company is the perfect blend of my interests. I am a technologist at heart, specifically trained in electrical and computer engineering. As a result, the majority of my career has been at the intersection of entrepreneurship and research. Prior to Help Lightning, I received my Ph.D. from Carnegie Mellon and held both technical and executive roles with a handful of leading technology companies across the country. I currently serve on the board of directors for TechBirmingham, the McWane Science Center, and Urban Avenues.What are you working on, and what’s a key learning that you’ve had from it?We work in augmented reality-enabled video collaboration, including a patented feature we call Merged Reality that is a key part of our remote visual assistance software solution. As you might guess, the pandemic really heightened awareness for a tool like this, accelerating both interest and adoption. We give a company’s experts the ability to both see and virtually reach out and touch whatever a customer or onsite technician is working on. To further those benefits, we recently acquired Fieldbit, an augmented reality-enabled platform. With access to additional capabilities that enhance real-time, expert-led problem solving while supporting a variety of self-help scenarios. With the Fieldbit acquisition, we found a strong, innovative team and complementary technology with a sharp focus on creating customer value. The remote assistance market is growing rapidly, and the combination will advance our leadership with the most complete, innovative, and proven solution in the market.If you had to give one piece of advice, what would you give?I never imagined myself as a tech entrepreneur; I sort of stumbled into the role many years ago. However, if two decades in the industry has taught me anything, it’s that you have to have a solid foundation if you want to build a world-class business. And that starts with the three Ps: people, product, and paying customers.

1. People: This focuses on the mission-driven, passionate employees working with you to achieve your vision.

2. Product: This is all about the world-class solution you’re developing to solve a pain point in the market.

3. Paying customers: This provides validation that you not only have product-market fit, but that you have a meaningful ROI for these businesses.

If you want to know more about Gary, connect with him on LinkedIn.

Jobs boardDIGITAL MARKETING MANAGER. ArborXR is device management for AR & VR devices. We power some of the largest headset deployments in the world with Fortune 500, ISVs and companies around the world. Looking for someone with experience in the B2B SAAS marketing space who would enjoy working with a fully remote team based in the US, Canada and Europe. Would join a quickly growing marketing team with a hot product that is selling rapidly. Click here for more. WEB-AR DEVELOPER wanted to work with veteran AR agency. Experience in JavaScript, Three.js, A-Frame, and 8th Wall preferred. Ideal candidate thrives working remotely. Includes competitive salary and full benefits. To apply, send resume to [email protected].INTERNSHIP, US. The intern will be primarily focused on developing proficiency in the use and application of tools designed for experiences in VR/AR headsets. GRIP-IE interns will assist the Get Real management team and clients in the design, development, and implementation of features within both internal and partner platforms. Interns will follow industry best practices including continuous improvement through code reviews of existing and new code. GRIP-IE interns will also be responsible for managing communication with software vendors on a variety of topics including bug identification, feature requests, troubleshooting, and documentation materials. Click here for more. BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT MANAGER, UK. Here at CIRCUS (an award-winning creative agency, specialists of Virtual Brand Experiences) we're on the lookout for an enthusiastic B2B Business Development Manager on a part-time, remote basis. If this sounds of interest and you love all things virtual, we'd love to tell you more. Click here for more. SENIOR WEBXR ENGINEER, US. Build a human-centric metaverse with a stellar team at www.urnowhere.com. Full-Time Position, Fully Remote Team, Core hours (10AM-5PM EST). NOWHERE aims to revolutionize gathering with patent-pending video presence technology that allows serendipitous social mingling between conversations with friends or colleagues at conferences, meetings, or parties all within dynamic web environments. Nowhere combines expertise from veteran founders, experience experts, engineers, game designers, theatre-makers, VFX artists from Windmill Factory to build a healthier digital future. Please share with anyone you think might be interested. JOIN NOWHERE.FULL STACK DEVELOPER, remote position. Looking for a competent Software Engineer with 4+ years of industry experience to join our dedicated Web development team. This talented individual must have a vision and drive and must not be afraid to back big ideas. Click here for more. SENIOR SOFTWARE ENGINEER (Node.js), remote position. Looking for a competent Senior Software Engineer with 5+ years of industry experience to join our dedicated Web development team. This talented individual must have a vision and drive and must not be afraid to back big ideas. Click here for more. SENIOR DEVELOPER (VUE.JS), remote Position. Looking for an experienced JavaScript developer who is highly skilled with Vue.js. You will be joining our Web development team to develop and enhance customer facing Web Applications, where you will be responsible for following best practices to produce modular and maintainable code. Click here for more. QA LEAD, remote positions available. Looking for a competent QA Lead with 2+ years of industry experience to join our dedicated QA Team in Waterford. This talented individual must have a vision and drive and must not be afraid to back big ideas. Click here for more. SENIOR UNITY GAME DEVELOPER, remote position. Looking for a competent Senior Unity Developer to join our team with 5+ years industry experience. The talented individual must have vision and drive and must not be afraid to back big ideas. Click here for more.  SENIOR PRODUCT OWNER, remote position. Looking for a competent Product Owner. This talented individual must have a vision and drive and must not be afraid to back big ideas. Click here for more. UI DESIGNER, remote position. Looking for a competent UI Designer. This talented individual must have a vision and drive and must not be afraid to back big ideas. Click here for more. UX DESIGNER, remote position. Are you looking for a unique challenge working in virtual & augmented reality with a bleeding-edge technology company? Then read on. Click here for more.ASSISTANT PROFESSOR IN DIGITAL MEDIA, UK. We are looking to appoint a dynamic and adaptable course director for our BA (Hons) in Digital Media to lead and deliver teaching, learning and assessment on the BA Digital Media and steer its next phase of growth. As well as a track record of academic leadership you will have extensive practical experience in digital media such as immersive storytelling (AR/VR/XR), modelling and animation, creative media design / production, or web / mobile app design and development. Click here for more.SENIOR IMMERSIVE LEARNING DESIGNER, UK. Make Real is looking to expand our digital learning team with a Senior Immersive Learning Designer. Your role will be to consult with clients in order to create exciting and imaginative design solutions. Your designs will affect behaviour change in order to deliver on specific learning outcomes, while being achievable within a set budget and timeline. Click here for more. SENIOR UNITY DEVELOPER, UK. As a growing and exciting business, we are looking for full-time talented multi-disciplinary Unity developers to join our expert team in central Brighton. Our ideal candidates will have a broad range of technical experience with a proven track record of delivering interactive Virtual & Augmented Reality projects across a range of HMD & mobile hardware. Working as part of our existing team of designers and artists, the roles will primarily involve the delivery of VR/AR projects for our global clients. Click here for more. Display your vacancy in front of thousands of talented VR/AR professionals in just a few clicks. Click here for more info.

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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) immersivewire (dot) com. Have an excellent day!