The Immersive Wire - 30 May 2021 (Sunday edition)

The Immersive Wire - 30 May 2021 (Sunday edition)

May 30, 2021

NEWS DIGEST EDITIONCurated VR/AR analysis every Wednesday and Sunday 

// 30 May 2021

 

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Let's talk about the weird middle-place we are in with hybrid events. As the world opens up again, a lot of people - and particularly younger workers - want to head back to the office and speak face-to-face again. And who can blame them? The decaying array of pot plants that crowd cramped bedrooms aren't the best for conversations. Yet the corporate world is in a strange in-between where some people are coming back in, while others may be working from home. We'll see a hodgepodge of some calling in, others streaming via their kitchen counters, and perhaps another group strapped into VR headsets and using their hands. It's an experimental stage and one where businesses may build systems that will work across all parts of the office.

a willingness to have options, and it comes down to productivity, and businesses from multiple different industries need to make a decision on what may work best for them. But in general: 

  • Hybrid meetings will be set to double through 2021;

  • And simple meetings will be the first to recover, and will likely be face-to-face. These in particular don't need to have a VR headset. 

 But longer-term, there is no doubt that hybrid events and meetings are the most likely approach in the future. But the big money-maker question is, how many people will join virtual events or meetings in the future? The safe bet is that bigger events with a virtual component will be likely to draw in additional revenue. Both Venice and London Film Festival will happen again - but the accessibility of having virtual or VR elements only draws in more potential customers who can enjoy the festivities. Virtual events are an addition, not a replacement. For VR, I have no doubt that meetings for engineers to share multimedia files, such as CAD models of cars, will stick around. Services like VIVE Suites are one example of this, as they complement their high-end hardware with their suite of business software. The next big question mark is whether customers will join virtual events in between all the parties, gatherings, and hugging they will be doing over the summer. The solution lies in sticking the neck out and seeing what bites, and where. As the weather gets colder and people retreat back to the warm folds of their duvets, we may see a resurgence again. But for now, it is time to experiment. 

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"As you can see, this is a car." Photo credit: HTC. 

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Q&A with... an expert in AR and retail

Andrew Hart, Co-founder at Dent Reality.

What does your tech do?We help shoppers to find everything they’re looking for in-store, with maps and AR arrows to guide them. 

 to get a sense of it. We make it really easy for retailers to provide those things to their shoppers. We’ve built technology that figures out where the shopper is, by leveraging AR as part of the location system, so there’s no iBeacons or any other infrastructure needed. We’ve also figured out how to map stores really quickly (and keep it all up to date when things move around). On top of that, we’re working hard on the best mobile AR experience, so you have your shopping list and your map of the store, and then when you raise the phone up, the interface drops down to show the camera, and then we can guide you to your next item with AR arrows!How does it impact places like M&S?For those who might be reading from around the world, M&S is a large UK retailer and formed a development partnership. This technology completely changes the level of customer experience that M&S and others can provide to their shoppers.In the grocery space, retailers have seen how much value they can add to their customer experience online, with features like recipes, relevant promotions, and recommendations, but they haven’t found a way to replicate that in-store. Our technology enables them to connect with their shoppers much more deeply, and offer them the best experience. Through our work with M&S, we’ll be exploring which of those ideas add the most value for their shoppers.Where do you see the tech going?I think we can all see this AR future where the world is filled with digital overlays, giving us relevant information and guidance whenever we go shopping, or head into the office, or jump on a train, or whatever it is. When we share our technology videos online, we actually receive inbound from all of those types of places, asking to use our technology today. So we’d like to eventually take this beyond retail, and help build that AR future that connects us to all physical spaces.

For more information on Dent Reality, check them out here. 

Jobs board3D ARTIST: Futurus is looking for a 3D Artist who has experience with the 3D model pipeline, is a creative problem solver, and can produce mobile-optimized VR-ready art assets for an immersive experience.

MID-SENIOR FRONT END DEVELOPER (JavaScript, WebGL), UK. Continue the development of Fixie's first-of-a-kind architectural 3D printing platform by integrating extended reality presentation authoring tools.

JUNIOR-MIDWEIGHT WEB DEVELOPER (C#, .NET Core), UK. Looking for a web developer looking to work in immersive-related technologies.

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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!