Mixed Reality
4 Augmented Reality Key Trends 2021: Future-Oriented Technology
In the words of Dave Di Veroli, head of strategy and innovation at VMLY&R,
“AR is no longer a niche. It’s mainstream, and it’s something that every single brand will need to figure out how they’re going to use it.”
Given the recent global scenario where the whole world has come to a halt, digital tech has proven to be a powerful force both to survive and thrive amidst the chaos and changing conditions, no matter the nature of disruption.
The year 2020 witnessed unprecedented growth in augmented reality. The immersive tech’s valued at over $15 billion and the number of AR users is estimated to grow up to 2 billion by 2024.
Introduction:
Augmented reality is a future-oriented technology that provides an interactive, immersive, and highly visual experience to the viewer by superimposing digital world information upon the real world of the viewer. AR has wide-scale applications, and in the right hands, ensures the fastest and enhanced ROI.
AR blurs the line between the real and the virtual by blending interactive visuals into the real-world environment. Although, the whole AR journey isn’t as smooth as it looks. It has its own challenges and problems. AR content needs to be adaptable and flexible to look natural in any kind of unpredictable real-world environment generated by the user’s smartphone camera, unlike virtual reality where the 3D content remains consistent. In movies and TV shows, you get to spend hours generating each frame, but with real-time AR experience, you have only 16 milliseconds to render the 3D content.
Despite the challenges, AR is firmly finding its feet and by having a look at the current trends in augmented reality, one can get a pretty clear idea about its wide-scale applications.
Trend #1: AR In Retail & E-commerce
Retail & E-commerce has benefitted first-hand from augmented reality and has become a battleground for AR as brands and companies are sweating it out to compete with each other based on this lifelike technology’s application. Let’s take a look at some of the successful implementations of AR in Retail & E-commerce:
1. Amazon:
There’s a reason why everyone knows the name Amazon. The reason being their ability to fast-recognize the trends and working on its implementation. With AR, Amazon provides a viewer with an enhanced shopping experience. Using one’s smartphone device camera, a customer can easily view the products in 3D, in hyper-reality. This improved product visualization and ‘try-before-you-buy’ feature, has already shown an 11% increase in the conversion rate, with customers spending almost 3 times more than they did earlier.
Apart from this, virtual fitting rooms have also made the whole shopping experience much more convenient for the customer. A customer can buy products right from the comfort of their homes without having to sacrifice the hands-on feel.
2. Nike:
Nike has constantly been harnessing the power of AR and the newest way of incorporating this immersive tech into their footwear has come in the form of “Nike Fit.” This is a foot measuring feature which allows a customer to measure the size of their feet as accurately as possible. This feature has been successfully implemented both on the app as well as in-store. Using this feature, a customer needs to scan for the right shoe size just once.
This information is then stored in the customer’s ‘NikePlus’ profile and can be accessed anytime for future shopping.
This feature has not only made the shopping experience convenient but also, provides the customers with higher product satisfaction. By getting an accurate measure of one’s feet, a customer gets the right pair of footwear which shall ensure that there will be fewer returns.
3. Ikea:
With its highly immersive visual experience, AR has massively reduced the guesswork and unsurety involved in the shopping-decision making, especially in the case of online shopping. This doesn’t just apply to apparel. IKEA, a multinational furniture company has come up with its innovative AR implementation that has changed the whole furniture and appliance shopping experience.
IKEA’s app allows customers to view furniture and other products in their own surroundings using AR. This allows a comprehensive look at the products, from all angles and a customer can make sure that it’s the right fit for them before buying.
AR-application is not only limited to the online experience. For the in-store AR experience, smart mirrors and RFID tags make sure that a customer leaves with a memorable experience.
With its highly accurate and precise ability to approximate the real world, AR has ensured a firm grip over the customer’s mind. AR is an ever-developing technology and it won’t be wrong to say that as AR matures, the comfort and convenience of the users will only increase.
Trend #2: AR in Navigation
Augmented Reality has immense scope when it comes to navigation. AR can be used to solve several long-standing problems with traditional navigation.
Apple recently introduced a powerful tool for outdoor AR navigation called Geo Tracking, which utilizes street view to ensure the best positioning.
Google’s AR Live View walking directions for Google Maps is another example of AR enabling precise and accurate navigation. With its ability to overlay landmarks and an expansion of Live View to more cities, AR has changed the whole perception of navigation.
Apart from this, AR also enhances In-store navigation, which stands to improve greatly from advances in this immersive tech. This allows a customer to find exactly what they need.
To enhance this experience, several tools can be used like QR codes, bluetooth beacons, ceiling antennas, etc.
Trend #3: AR in Events & Tradeshows
AR in Events & Tradeshows creates highly interactive and engaging experiences. With its 3D visualization, AR comprehends the whole idea of the brands and companies in a much ideal way, which allows for better bonding and connection with the viewers. This can be done via WebAR or dedicated apps.
Expodle × XS Worldwide × BEML:
Expoodle and XS WORLDWIDE joined hands for the 7th International Military-Technical Forum “ARMY 2021” organized at the Patriot Expo(Moscow Region) to deliver an AR experience for BEML. The AR experience created for BEML’s Arjun ARRV tank proved to be a resounding success at the Indian Pavilion and the two together paved the way for a new-age immersive experience resulting in enhanced engagement and multifold visitor interaction.
Here’s a look at the user experience on the show floor:
Trend #4: AR IN SPORTS
Augmented reality has entered the sports arena too, and with its 3D rendition and immersive visual experience, it has already shown fruitful results. AR can be used to create avatars of sports players and the viewers can interact with these avatars to get a feeling of actually getting to talk to their favorite players and idols. One of the best parts about an AR experience is that it is easily accessible and can be experienced using a simple smartphone device.
One of the best and latest examples of AR in sports events is Volkswagen’s new ID.4. Volkswagen of America partnered with U.S Soccer to provide an exciting fan experience to all the soccer fans, while at the same time promoting their newly launched car.
This WebAR experience allowed the fans to check out the new ID.4 electric car and experience the U.S Soccer event via the car. All a user needed to do was to scan a QR code placed on the car and just sit back and witness the magical WebAR experience.
The animation features the players from the U.S National Soccer Team, both men and women, and the animation depicts them celebrating after scoring a goal.
Future of Augmented Reality
The future of augmented reality can be viewed with a perspective that AR in itself is the future of all tech, marketing, and advertising. Its value is expected to rise to $25 billion by 2025, and the more people become aware of it, the more the number of AR users will rise.
AR-application allows your company/brand to enter the market early and stay at the forefront of the competition.
Where Does Expoodle Come In?
AR was considered to be the wine in Eiffel Tower, but we are planning to make it simple, affordable, and accessible to all the brands and companies who can in turn provide this to the end customers.
Augment towards the limitless ’blurring the lines’ of virtual and real. To improve your business outcomes and stand out among your competitors, now’s the time to get your hands on AR.
Expoodle applies digital innovations to the physical world to make the whole immersive experience unforgettable. With our innovative marketing solutions, we turn possibility into reality.
Expoodle focuses on democratizing the AR space with its experiential marketing solutions.
Start Your AR-Journey Now!
Want to start your AR journey? Get in touch with our AR experts and leave the rest to us.
We are one of the top ar companies in India and we offer customized end-to-end solutions for creating, testing, and deploying AR-based marketing solutions based on the client’s needs. For more information or to get in touch with us, Contact us now.
Entertainment & Empathy | How VR Is Set To Transform Cinema
With the invention of the video camera, an entire industry has been created around the trade of telling stories. Visualized on a screen and recorded for posterity, movies remain one of the most far-reaching and engaging channels for cultivating an audience. With the advent of VR, the medium of movies is set to experience a paradigm shift, propelled by the increasing availability and affordability of Virtual Reality software and headsets across the world.
Image Courtesy: Brilliant Eye from Adobe Stock
For cinematographers, being able to modulate sensory input for viewers is of paramount importance. In order to portray immersive and empathy-inducing experiences, cinema halls have been perfected over the last century as the ideal place to catch a movie. Even then, the best cinema hall in the world cannot compete with a VR headset. Given their ability to isolate viewers’ senses, headsets provide seamless (and screen-less) visuals. Combined with spatial audio, the immersive experience provided by VR is unparalleled.
The technological edge of VR lends itself best to two disparate movie genres – horror, and documentaries. Here’s how:
VR in Horror
Since Alfred Hitchcock elevated the genre to the limelight, horror movies have been an important part of pop culture. Yet, despite a marked improvement in graphics and cinematic tech, horror movies are not as fear-inducing as they used to be – especially since audiences have grown wise to repetitive plotlines and jump scares.
With VR, horror can be reimagined entirely. When viewers see a story unfold around them through a 360-degree interface, the veil of separation becomes virtually non-existent. Isolated by the headset, the viewers of a horror flick will be truly transported within the story’s setting. The reactions generated in this setting will not simply be sympathetic to the protagonist, but a real reaction to the horror atmosphere.
Image Courtesy: aijiro from Adobe Stock
The internationally acclaimed ‘The Ring’ franchise has taken the lead in this direction, with the launch of “The Ring VR”. Shot from the PoV of the antagonist, the film provides a promising glimpse into how the genre is set to change and adapt with new technology.
VR in Documentaries
While horror deals with the realm of nightmares, documentaries delve into the details of our world as it exists. Commemorative and educational in nature, documentaries are considered dull and slow by most viewers – to the point of being considered “cinematic lectures”.
Yet, the genre plays the critical role of spreading awareness and starting conversations on a host of topics – cultural, political, and economic. Given the surge in VR usage in recent years, documentary makers across the world have started exploring the genre through the lens of a headset.
With the newfound ability to make the viewer the protagonist, the avenues available to tell stories have multiplied manifold. Culturally significant narratives – such as Anne Frank’s experience of living in the Secret Annex during WW 2 – are being rejuvenated with the help of VR, where a viewer can walk and interact with the living space she shared with her family.
Image Courtesy: hiv360 from Adobe Stock
Using the same principle, viewers can be transported back in time in order to experience narratives attached to their geography. A viewer can explore the ruins of Pompeii, the Roman city wrecked by volcanic debris, as a pedestrian amongst the preserved structures. Using VR, viewers can also witness first-hand the effects of climate change on coral reefs, an experience that most people cannot access in-person.
As the viability and fidelity of VR tech rises, the entertainment industry is set to keep pace with each development. The foundation of this increasingly immersive and interactive storytelling is empathy; with the advent of narratives we live through and not merely witness, the new age of cinematic experiences has begun.
Entertainment & Empathy | How VR Is Set To Transform Cinema
With the invention of the video camera, an entire industry has been created around the trade of telling stories. Visualized on a screen and recorded for posterity, movies remain one of the most far-reaching and engaging channels for cultivating an audience. With the advent of VR, the medium of movies is set to experience a paradigm shift, propelled by the increasing availability and affordability of Virtual Reality software and headsets across the world.
Image Courtesy: Brilliant Eye from Adobe Stock
For cinematographers, being able to modulate sensory input for viewers is of paramount importance. In order to portray immersive and empathy-inducing experiences, cinema halls have been perfected over the last century as the ideal place to catch a movie. Even then, the best cinema hall in the world cannot compete with a VR headset. Given their ability to isolate viewers’ senses, headsets provide seamless (and screen-less) visuals. Combined with spatial audio, the immersive experience provided by VR is unparalleled.
The technological edge of VR lends itself best to two disparate movie genres – horror, and documentaries. Here’s how:
VR in Horror
Since Alfred Hitchcock elevated the genre to the limelight, horror movies have been an important part of pop culture. Yet, despite a marked improvement in graphics and cinematic tech, horror movies are not as fear-inducing as they used to be – especially since audiences have grown wise to repetitive plotlines and jump scares.
With VR, horror can be reimagined entirely. When viewers see a story unfold around them through a 360-degree interface, the veil of separation becomes virtually non-existent. Isolated by the headset, the viewers of a horror flick will be truly transported within the story’s setting. The reactions generated in this setting will not simply be sympathetic to the protagonist, but a real reaction to the horror atmosphere.
Image Courtesy: aijiro from Adobe Stock
The internationally acclaimed ‘The Ring’ franchise has taken the lead in this direction, with the launch of “The Ring VR”. Shot from the PoV of the antagonist, the film provides a promising glimpse into how the genre is set to change and adapt with new technology.
VR in Documentaries
While horror deals with the realm of nightmares, documentaries delve into the details of our world as it exists. Commemorative and educational in nature, documentaries are considered dull and slow by most viewers – to the point of being considered “cinematic lectures”.
Yet, the genre plays the critical role of spreading awareness and starting conversations on a host of topics – cultural, political, and economic. Given the surge in VR usage in recent years, documentary makers across the world have started exploring the genre through the lens of a headset.
With the newfound ability to make the viewer the protagonist, the avenues available to tell stories have multiplied manifold. Culturally significant narratives – such as Anne Frank’s experience of living in the Secret Annex during WW 2 – are being rejuvenated with the help of VR, where a viewer can walk and interact with the living space she shared with her family.
Image Courtesy: hiv360 from Adobe Stock
Using the same principle, viewers can be transported back in time in order to experience narratives attached to their geography. A viewer can explore the ruins of Pompeii, the Roman city wrecked by volcanic debris, as a pedestrian amongst the preserved structures. Using VR, viewers can also witness first-hand the effects of climate change on coral reefs, an experience that most people cannot access in-person.
As the viability and fidelity of VR tech rises, the entertainment industry is set to keep pace with each development. The foundation of this increasingly immersive and interactive storytelling is empathy; with the advent of narratives we live through and not merely witness, the new age of cinematic experiences has begun.
Forbes Forecasts VR as the ‘Next Big Thing’ in Meetings & Conferences
The adoption rates for Virtual Reality are rising every day, the technology moving closer to occupying a place of prominence in the mainstream with each new use case. This meteoric trajectory has caught the attention of many business publications and pundits, including sectoral forerunners like Forbes.
Forbes has recently taken stock of the Meetings & Conferences landscape, labelling Virtual Reality the ‘next big thing’ set to disrupt the market. The hybrid style of working that has become prevalent in the last few months has spurred an influx of players in the digital communication market; while employers continue to weigh their options, it is clear that Work-From-Home is at least partially here to stay.
VR stands to revolutionize this hyper-connected way of working. In the linked piece, Forbes details the improving perception of VR Tech in corporate spaces; while Virtual Reality has had little difficulty establishing itself in the entertainment space, its uptake in business has been slower owing to the significant shift in workflows required. The benefits of using VR in the workplace, however, are many – and corporations are warming up to the idea of making Virtual Infrastructure a part of their holdings.
Image Courtesy: aijiro from Adobe Stock
VR in the Office
A Virtual Reality office may appear to many a phenomenon still in the making. Yet, the VR Tech heavyweight Facebook has already beaten everyone to the punch – silently releasing the ‘Facebook Horizon Workroom’ on their Oculus Quest 2 as a free app.
FHW marks the third iteration of virtual workspaces by the global giant. The application allows users to enter virtual office meetings with up to 50 other users, share their screens, operate in-app presentation boards, and interact via 3D customizable avatars. Given VR’s capacity for mimicking reality, the creation of a shared virtual environment such as an office promises to offset the traditional costs of leasing and maintaining physical premises.
Going forward, corporations can now go fully-virtual without facing the repercussions of lacking a shared workspace – especially those associated with cultivating a shared mission among teams. Large organisations operating internationally can also use VR to mitigate the logistics of flying their leadership to common destinations for important internal seminars.
Image Courtesy: DragonImages from Adobe Stock
VR Conferencing and Meeting – NextMeet
VR’s ability to create interactive and immersive environments lends itself to large conferences as well. Events such as scientific symposiums, auto shows, ComicCon etc. were previously inaccessible to most people living outside metropolitan pockets. Even in the big cities, a variety of other logistical challenges, including the paucity of space and accessibility of environs, diminished potential attendee pools.
However, through VR, these events can be made open to all. Virtual attendees can become a part of these experiences through true immersion, enjoying a far richer experience than live camera broadcasts and visitor streams can accord. As the number of visitors rises, advertising revenue also increases – offering a much higher RoI to event organizers and sponsors. On all fronts, virtual reality events promise a win-win situation.
Avatar-based platforms like NextMeet are building on this premise, providing their users a host of immersive and interactive virtual conferencing and meeting venues. In NextMeet, users can free-roam across a range of interconnected virtual spaces, and interact with each other using realistic spatial audio. Event organizers, at their end, can also tailor the virtual environment to streamline event messaging, rope in product sponsors, or even reinforce brand recall.
Image Courtesy: NextMeet
With the growing case for VR events, offices and conferences, the time is ripe for organizations to switch to fully-digital operational models. These cost-effective yet as-rich-as-real-life experiences are the pragmatic way forward for gatherings of all sizes.
3 Ways in Which AR/VR is Making Surgery Safer
The study of medicine, especially surgery, has always been a very hands-on process. Medical trainees spend years under the supervision of experienced doctors, learning by practicing on whoever is wheeled through the doors of the hospital. As every case of surgery comes with its own set of challenges, surgeons are forced to learn in a high-pressure environment.
In a field where even a small mistake can prove fatal, Virtual Reality provides us the unique opportunity to impart skills without endangering lives. A much higher rate of surgical success can be achieved by recreating fully immersive environments to conduct training in.
The use of AR/VR in surgery was predicted way back in the 1990s by the US Army Colonel Richards in his seminal paper “The King is Dead”. Expounding on the effects of the information revolution in medicine, he predicted that AR/VR in surgery would be omnipresent by the 2000s. While he wasn’t entirely accurate in forecasting the rate of change, his vision for the technology to evolve all aspects of surgery was uncanny – and is now coming to fruition.
Image Courtesy: vectorfusionart from Adobe Stock
Uses of VR in Surgery
There have been multiple attempts to incorporate simulation training in surgical education – however, until recently, their scope has been limited. Due to the lack of proper haptic and visual immersion, such simulations have either proven to be ineffective or only applicable for highly simplified tasks. With emerging tech, the scope of usage has expanded far beyond training – here’s a look at 3 ways in which AR/VR is changing the field:
1. Surgical Training
Typically, a surgeon takes 10 to 20 repetitions to gain proficiency in a particular procedure. As the number of procedures a surgeon must learn increases, the learning curve is becoming steeper and far more strenuous. This intense pressure has serious repercussions – a recent WHO report documents the drop in quality of surgical procedures, reporting that post-surgical complications are the third leading cause of death within the ambit of medical care.
With improving haptics and headset technology, simulation-based surgical training modules simulations are quickly becoming a possibility – as well as a necessity. FundamentalsVR has unveiled a state-of-the-art training simulation that uses high-tech haptic kinesthetic feedback to create a precise model for surgeons to practice upon. This added step of practice between theoretical knowledge and real-life application is a demonstrably effective way to improve overall accuracy of surgical procedures.
Image Courtesy: lenets_tan from Adobe Stock
2. Patient Education and Assurance
Surgical procedures are intrinsically invasive. As a result, most patients experience anxiety regarding these interventions – some even opting out of procedures out of fear of complications.
A large part of this anxiety is owed to lack of understanding; not having a clear picture of what to expect interferes with patients’ ability to make the best decisions regarding their care. To address this, researchers and surgical students at Stanford Medical School are using VR to educate patients about planned procedures.
Patients in the program have reported feeling calmer about their impending surgeries, and reassured about their treatment plans. This added layer of transparency between doctors and patients has helped reinforce trust between the two parties.
3. Live Surgery Assistance
Due to the interconnectedness of the human body, even simple surgical procedures can lead to unexpected complications. This compounds the complexity of the tasks that surgeons have to perform – the consequent data sets to account for are simply too many.
With the evolving use of AR/VR in surgery, a combination of MRIs, CT scans and other body imaging can be used to create virtual twins of the affected organ. These replicas can be used to plan procedures, anticipate complications and create AR surgical guides to assist medical practitioners in providing the best possible care for their patients.
Image Courtesy: Yingyaipumi from Adobe Stock
Medivis, in conjunction with Microsoft Hololens, has created a surgical assistance suite that projects anatomically-correct AR visuals of the body. Surgeons can use this visual guidance to make the right decisions during surgery, while also minimizing the damage to surrounding tissues and bone.
Being a surgeon has been one of the most stressful occupations, ever since its inception 2000 years ago. All advances in the field have been made through trial and error, often at the cost of human life. This extremely high-stakes environment can be less error-prone through strategic use of AR/VR tech. The immersive visual experience provided by AR/VR tech can replicate the process of surgery without the risk of failure, ensuring that all surgical students receive ample training before they face a real case.
3 Major Differences Between VR Camera And 360
Virtual reality is a crucial filming reality that takes users into a digital world. Still, the 369 videos are live-action. The 360 videos would capture 360-degree cameras that can view on 360 devices device-related with various apps, computers, or smartphones, where the 360 cameras are the technology that continues to grow and improve. The 360 videos are more affordable, and the differences between the 360 video or VR have wowed. The experiences are significant to enjoy the adventure, and it provides a 1080p HD video camera that works great and new reality tech.
Discuss Virtual reality camera?
It is the experience that replaces the real world with an alternate one. It gives the interaction with the alternate world with six degrees of freedom that is always required.
In VR, there have pretty many years of popularity in the gaming industry. Some of the applications were outlines in the VR. You will see that the VR environment will engage the ordinary five senses that include taste, smell, touch, sight, and sound. Virtual reality relies on the degrees of freedom offered.
Discuss 360?
It has a spherical video that allows the viewer to look in all directions and has no freedom to interact with or move through the imagery.
In fact that you might watch someone on your phone while scrolling through the Instagram feed, using a finger to move and scroll the feed to get the 360-degree perspective. Perusing YouTube videos and using the mouse to gain 360 views must be wearing a VR headset to feel immersed while video playing.
While aside from sound, you lack other sounds. You are missing other senses that are lacking absolute freedom. Not being able to move in a 360-degree environment, you are not having the six degrees of space required for VR. While using 360 videos, you are not allowed to interact with the environment.
Differences between Virtual reality and 360?
| Virtual Reality | 360 video | |
| Photography | Digital environment | Live-action |
| Mobility | It is related to the world whereas, you can walk around as long as you are connected with a computer and not tethered. | It gives a 360-degree view from the camera’s perspective limited by the filmmaker’s camera movements. |
| Video timeline | Here the video can progress a series of experiences that can be simply existing or that the user can explore | Here the video can progress a timeline created by the filmmaker’s camera’s movements. |
| platforms | The complete kind of experience is needed to require a VR headset that can tether. | Here the 360 compatible players include a YouTube, including a desktop and mobile. |
| Story | The story is a filmmaker where it does not control the viewer’s physical location in the environment and must be capture attention and helps to motivate the user to travel in the direction of the events of the story. | The story is a filmmaker controls the camera’s physical location but must capture the viewer’s attention that helps to direct the story as well. |
Conclusion:
Hopefully, the details related to the article named 3 Major Differences Between VR Camera And 360 would help you understand the topic carefully. Some of the details associated with the differences between the VR camera and 360 are mention in the article. After knowing the differences, you would understand that both play a significant role in their perspective and are being used essentially in the world nowadays. Markets are being successful with the experience with VR and 360 cameras and videos. To hold onto these experiences, you need to have knowledge related to VR and 360.
Forbes Forecasts VR Meetings & Conferences as the ‘Next Big Thing’
The adoption rates for Virtual Reality are rising every day, the technology moving closer to occupying a place of prominence in the mainstream with each new use case. This meteoric trajectory has caught the attention of many business publications and pundits, including sectoral forerunners like Forbes.
Forbes has recently taken stock of the Meetings & Conferences landscape, labelling Virtual Reality the ‘next big thing’ set to disrupt the market. The hybrid style of working that has become prevalent in the last few months has spurred an influx of players in the digital communication market; while employers continue to weigh their options, it is clear that Work-From-Home is at least partially here to stay.
VR stands to revolutionize this hyper-connected way of working. In the linked piece, Forbes details the improving perception of VR Tech in corporate spaces; while Virtual Reality has had little difficulty establishing itself in the entertainment space, its uptake in business has been slower owing to the significant shift in workflows required. The benefits of using VR in the workplace, however, are many – and corporations are warming up to the idea of making Virtual Infrastructure a part of their holdings.
Image Courtesy: aijiro from Adobe Stock
VR in the Office
A Virtual Reality office may appear to many a phenomenon still in the making. Yet, the VR Tech heavyweight Facebook has already beaten everyone to the punch – silently releasing the ‘Facebook Horizon Workroom‘ on their Oculus Quest 2 as a free app.
FHW marks the third iteration of virtual workspaces by the global giant. The application allows users to enter virtual office meetings with up to 50 other users, share their screens, operate in-app presentation boards, and interact via 3D customizable avatars. Given VR’s capacity for mimicking reality, the creation of a shared virtual environment such as an office promises to offset the traditional costs of leasing and maintaining physical premises.
Going forward, corporations can now go fully virtual without facing the repercussions of lacking a shared workspace – especially those associated with cultivating a shared mission among teams. Large organisations operating internationally can also use VR to mitigate the logistics of flying their leadership to common destinations for important internal seminars.
Image Courtesy: DragonImages from Adobe Stock
VR Conferencing and Meeting – NextMeet
VR’s ability to create interactive and immersive environments lends itself to large conferences as well. Events such as scientific symposiums, auto shows, ComicCon etc. were previously inaccessible to most people living outside metropolitan pockets. Even in the big cities, a variety of other logistical challenges, including the paucity of space and accessibility of environs, diminished potential attendee pools.
However, through VR, these events can be made open to all. Virtual attendees can become a part of these experiences through true immersion, enjoying a far richer experience than live camera broadcasts and visitor streams can accord. As the number of visitors rises, advertising revenue also increases – offering a much higher RoI to event organizers and sponsors. On all fronts, virtual reality events promise a win-win situation.
Avatar-based platforms like NextMeet are building on this premise, providing their users with a host of immersive and interactive virtual conferencing and meeting venues. In NextMeet, users can free-roam across a range of interconnected virtual spaces, and interact with each other using realistic spatial audio. Event organizers, at their end, can also tailor the virtual environment to streamline event messaging, rope in product sponsors, or even reinforce brand recall.
Image Courtesy: NextMeet
With the growing case for VR events, offices and conferences, the time is ripe for organizations to switch to fully-digital operational models. These cost-effective yet as-rich-as-real-life experiences are the pragmatic way forward for gatherings of all sizes.
PandaMR: The Place Where the World eMeets
What is PandaMR as a virtual event platform?
PandaMR (Panoramic District Alternative – Mixed Reality) is a mixed reality platform for organizing, hosting, or participating in any scope and scale virtual events. Crammed with a variety of real-life event components, it came to life to conform businesses to a broader community and adjust them to the required co-working flow.
When depending on specific circumstances a business environment needs to turn virtual and be something different than just a video broadcasting, there should be a method to keep those ‘present’ engaged during the whole event, and implement all this with no venue and attendees on the site.
Virtual User Types and Their Adaptation
PandaMR virtual platform is geared toward 4 main user profiles.
- Those are organizers, responsible for conducting, arranging and coordinating a virtual event;
- Exhibitors, who come as interested parties willing to present their products, solutions and brand in general on the medium;
- Visitors, the end-users in our chain who attend the exhibition, discover all benefits provided by the platform and enjoy their unique experience, and finally,
- The help desk crew, which is supposed to be a part of an event organizer’s staff and is responsible for the informational and technical support of the event attendees.
From the Organizers’ perspective, virtual reality events can be organized with thousands of participants. They can use the platform anywhere anytime, make sponsorship recruitment, and create virtual ad placements. Also, promote their event through a dedicated event website and reach out to broader audiences.
Any scale Exhibiting companies have a wide range of opportunities within the platform, namely; limitless design 3D stands, where their attendees can interact with each other via in-app channels and functionalities, network by making connections, exchanging virtual business cards, and many more.
Visitors can see their favorite speakers and participate in world-scale conferences, conventions, and other events sitting comfortably at their homes, without worrying to fit into the conference hall, visa, flight, time zone adaptation, and other traveling challenges.
Virtual Features and 3D Components
Mixed Reality Interior
In the MR space participants may find 3D
- Conference rooms,
- Public and private meeting rooms,
- Party zone,
- Stands, and
Secondary Features
- Dedicated Event Website
- Floor Plan
- 24/7 Support
Communication
After the closer exploration of the innermost parts of the platform, comes the most popular question “FINALLY, HOW DO PEOPLE INTERACT IN SUCH A CLIMATE”?
PandaMR Platform integrated all the possible content transmission channels namely;
– Text Chatting (Group and Private)
– Video Calling
– Real-time Voice Communication
Also, in the Contacts section of the PandaMR app, one would have the possibility to collect Virtual Business Cards and lately dispatch to the provided email.
Events
On a weekly basisPandaMR holds worldwide events from a variety of industries from IT, iGaming (East & West Virtual), blockchain and finances (iFEX Virtual and CIE Virtual) to underground music & art (UNDERVR).
The World’s First Underground Music & Art Fest is taking place on PandaMR from May 31 to June 18. In the frame of PandaMR’s UNDERVR project, the electro-queen Nina Kraviz rocked the virtual space and brought hundreds of streamers to one place. Those who were not able to attend the event watched it via the platform and enjoyed the same atmosphere, because the virtual venue with the lighting effects, sound and the spirit is exactly one-on-one.
The next electro, minimal techno and microhouse music genre guru Ricardo Villalobos will be LIVE on PandaMR on June 18, promising another unparalleled virtual experience.
The VR in PandaMR
PandaMR currently offers its users a mixed reality experience, that is a new environment visualization created through merging real and virtual worlds. The participants exist and interact in real-time in a space where physical and digital objects co-exist.
Soon the users will be able to apply VR headsets and share what the virtual industry full-pack offers.
The Emerging Tech Evangeliser working towards building a Future ready India
We are in the greatest technological transition witnessed in human history courtesy of “Industrial Revolution 4.0”.
The convergence of emerging technologies will make our world unrecognizable in the next coming decades from self-driving vehicles, flying cars to colonizing mars, technologies such as artificial intelligence, Synthetic biology, nanotechnology, Augmented Reality/Virtual Reality, Blockchain, Quantum computing will redefine mankind taking us to the next step in human evolution, Like Yuval Noah Harari’s best-selling book suggests “Homosapiens to Homo Deus”.
Change is the only constant and we cannot become what we want by staying who we are.
Fear of the unknown holds back the majority but it also brings out the best in a few and truth be told those are the few who are most likely to change the world.
The Pandemic has disrupted the entire world but it also created opportunities.
every challenge, every adversity holds the seeds for opportunity & growth.
Today we again stand at the edge of the mountain and I believe exponential technologies is the tool that will help us take the leap of faith & lay the building blocks for a world with inclusion & diversity at its core, an equitable world, where we transition from the current notion of scarcity to a future of abundance for all.
We are fast moving from science fiction to science fact & you too can play a role in building a better future because we are all capable of greatness.
Start from breaking the shackles of limiting beliefs, traditional & narrow thinking, become lifelong learners.
The Transform Impossible & XROM podcast are two platforms where I encourage inquiry, thought, and intelligent conversations with change-makers, disruptors, policymakers & exponential tech entrepreneurs on pragmatic steps to build an equitable future for all.
Subscribe, Support, ring the bell & spread the word because Change happens only when we all come together.
www.youtube.com/thetransformimpossiblepodcast
Eddie Avil: Is a serial Entrepreneur, AR/VR & Emerging Tech Evangelist
Founded: IMMERSION- India’s 1st & Largest AR/VR ThinkFest
Founded: VR Storytellers – Dir/Prod India’s 1st Stereoscopic, Award-Winning VR Film-CRACKLE
Founded- XROM – India’s 1st & largest AR/VR Marketplace
Founded: Change Transform India / The Transform Impossible
Email/Connect: https://in.linkedin.com/in/eddieavil