General Overview
Conference for developers, users and investors in virtual reality, augmented reality, XR, AI, and spatial computing. There was a general tone of the point of doing this work is to make humanity better. There were sessions on data privacy, legal issues, manipulation in virtual worlds, health and wellness, facilitating collaboration, and enterprise level workforce development as well has higher order, visionary sessions.
The number of headsets/glasses available was overwhelming. All the different headsets have different ways in which they work with hand recognition and how they register locomotion/movement (unified input abstraction). Right now there is a great deal of complication in making all of the various VR/XR/AI systems talk to each other. For developers, development on WebXR can be pushed out to many different devices, but there are still challenges. Storage and data use are major challenges.
Powerpoints will be dead in the water, particularly for companies attempting to demonstrate VR concepts. Companies will need to spend the time and money to have demos in VR.
Notes and Takeaways:
- This technology will take over K-12 education, expectations in the future workforce will be affected by these tools (VR is being used in visualization to help kids better understand and like math)
- Smart glasses will supplant physical monitors
- Idea of the prosumer rather than the consumer
- In marketing, the need to personalize to thrive will be aided by VR/AR/AI
- Developers understand that there needs to be a focus on high performance with low power consumption. To this end, there is a shift in device collaboration, where all of your devices will share processing power and will be contextually aware of each other. Qualcomm AI Hub and Home - Snapdragon Spaces (qualcomm.com).
- With the proper tools, one could build prototypes in XR before production prototypes to further refine the design and make fixes. It allows one to skip some or all 3D printing in prototyping.
- This type of VR prototyping is also much more scalable and less expensive. Example: Lufthansa used VR to test new long-haul flight seat arrangements in their planes without having to build all of the configurations. They were able to set up and physically test only those that passed muster in the VR setting.
- Learning and training in mixed reality, immersive settings saves money, is much safer, reduces wear and tear on equipment, and can take 100+ page training manuals and turn them into something much more engaging.
- There is much development in products that allow people to create in VR/AR/XR without being a software coder - more drag and drop (or similar) options. This will accelerate the content available.
- Imbedded instructions/information for equipment, locations, etc. visible through AR
- Shift away from physical monitors/screens to headsets/glasses. Comfort and weight will be important.
- Tension in VR being promoted as aiding inclusivity while also being inaccessible to many
- Therapeutic uses of VR
- Never trust a butterfly - caution against being overly enamored with flashy new technologies without understanding potential risks or limitations…hype vs reality, security issues, sustainability, user friendliness
- Overall the tone was that one should only be in the tech field to transform humanity for the better.
- Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act - platforms can be dangerous
Notable Mentions
- Tom Furness (developer of the first VR cockpits for military jets) is active in working on the super cockpit for the mind. Created the Virtual World Society (Virtual World Society) to focus on humane uses of VR.
- Companies are using AR/VR to engage consumers in the crafting or building of the products they purchase, engage management to purchase for their sales floors, and promote the communities where the products are being produced. Example: Patron Tequila shared tours of Agave fields, distilleries, communities where Agave is grown, etc.