VR World Congress is proud to welcome our largest collection of new speakers and exhibitors yet, headlined by Ignacio Monereo and Jamieson Brettle of Google.
Google’s contribution to the modern VR scene has been nothing short of groundbreaking. The Silicon Valley giant has lead the way for mobile virtual reality since the inception of the Google Cardboard. Since then, Google has remained focused on making high-quality VR accessible to just about anyone.
The two VRWC17 talks will cater to this, typically Google, open and accessible mentality. Ignacio Monereo of Google’s Android Games division will be speaking on the company’s new Daydream VR platform and how Google plans on evolving and growing its VR efforts moving forward.
Jamieson Brettle, meanwhile, will be providing a more technically-minded talk on the possibilities of using the web to provide immersive virtual reality. Once again highlighting Google’s aim to bring VR to the masses.
Ignacio and Jamieson are joined by a huge new raft of speakers from an incredible range of backgrounds and sectors. Ronan Kelly, for instance, will be speaking on using VR to control robots in dangerous and challenging environments. Or Dave Black of Mixed Immersion who will be discussing immersive audio for VR, the ‘invisible advantage’.
We’re also happy to add a range of new exhibitors including the returning Play Nicely (who impressed at VRWC16 with their toilet cubicle stand!) and 360 specialists BIVROST. They're joined by audio masters Mixed Immersion and innovative data-visualisation studio Ghost VR.
You can read the full details on all our latest speaker and exhibitor additions below:
Speakers:
Ignacio Monereo, Google - VR for everyone: Daydream
Ignacio Monereo works in business development for Android Games in the EMEA region. In his role, he provides strategic & tactical advice in the areas of product development & distribution for mobile games.
Iganicio will be speaking on Google’s Daydream platform, which is already available to all developers. With new Daydream ready phones coming to the market, alongside the Google Pixel, Ignacio will be providing info on how Google aims to continue growing the user base. An excellent talk for all levels of VR interest and knowledge.
Jamieson Brettle, Google - Streaming VR/AR Content over the web
Jamieson Brettle is a product manager for Chrome Media technologies at Google. During his time at Google he has helped shaped next generation compression technology for VR applications including ambisonic audio and geometry. Jamieson is an advocate for open-source royalty-free compression technologies, allowing anyone anywhere, access to great content.
This talk will focus on the web as an emerging platform for VR/AR content and how new compression technologies are making 360 audio and geometry possible to any device with a browser and an internet connection.
Ronan Kelly, RACE - Using Game Engines to Develop Virtual Reality for Robotics in Challenging Environments
Ronan is a software engineer working at RACE, which is responsible for remotely maintaining JET, the largest nuclear fusion reactor in the world. He’s interested in how virtual reality can be used to build synthetic viewing systems and simulations of complex operations involving robots.
Robots are used to perform difficult tasks in environments that are hazardous for humans. Virtual Reality software allows operators to monitor and control these operations remotely as if they were there in person. This talk will explore how existing video-games technology can be leveraged to build low-cost, 3D synthetic viewing for remote robotics and autonomous systems.
Doug North-Cook, Chatham University & DecoderVR - Building for VR First: Design Thinking and Interactive Environment Design
Doug North Cook is an educator, developer, artist, and virtual reality convert. He splits time between developing virtual reality focused higher-ed programs and developing VR experiences for room scale. He is currently working on Forestry. His work explores the necessity of design thinking in VR development.
Virtual reality gives creators the unique opportunity to imagine worlds unhindered by human limitations. Doug will explore how to design human interactions and experiences for VR that transcend human capacity and create pathways for acquiring new intuitions.
Dave Black, Mixed Immersion - Immersive Audio: The Invisible Advantage in VR
Dave Black is a stalwart of both AR & VR, having been part of the team who launched Blippar in 2011. Previously CMO for VR Pioneers, REWIND, & co-founder of Mixed Immersion, bringing true Immersive Audio to the masses.
The talk covers all aspects for VR Audio Production and centres on multiple techniques which have been use within the film industry for the past 7 years and how these seamlessly merge into virtual worlds and help to tell stories using spatial cues to guide narratives.
Richard Nockles, Surround Vision - Sport Capture in VR
Having founded Surround Vision, the first UK specialist 360 production company, in 2011, Richard is now creative director of VR at Sky.
Surround Vision have been at the forefront of 360 sport capture and VR Documentary and work with the world's top agencies and broadcasters. As VR capture in sport moves into the game engine Richard will showcase their recent work with Anthony Joshua, Formula 1 and the Premier League.
Brynley Gibson, Curve Digital Entertainment Ltd. - Collaborating with brands in VR
Brynley has been producing in a range of creative industries for over eighteen years. Currently the head of studios for Curve Digital Entertainment and Kuju, Brynley is developing both traditional and immersive (VR/ AR) titles for PC, Console and Mobile. Kuju are focused on becoming 'the work for hire' service company, providing strong development support and specialising in enterprise projects by delivering interactive branded and licensed content.
Brynley will be discussing what creating VR for a brand entails. What is the purpose of it? How can we help clients? How can we all ensure we deliver an authentic experience for users? He’ll be using their latest VR project, The Chainsmokers Paris VR, as a starting point from which he will explore this topic.
Scott Fletcher, Play Nicely - Bristol: A Virtual Reality Check
As Founder of Play Nicely, Scott is highly experienced in the conception and production of cutting-edge, well-considered and highly-polished VR-MR-AR-360 experiences for public venues or the home.
An exploration into how and why Bristol has become a world authority in VR through its unique combination of adopted production models, geo-political landscape and immense tech-creative groundswell. Particular attention will be paid to the role of the BBC in Bristol, with VR releases like Oogi setting a creative, technical and collaborative standard for others to follow.
Lukas Roper - Practical advice for optimising for mobile VR
Lukas is a freelance VR Developer having worked on a wide range of VR projects. He was the lead developer at Opposable Group, working on titles for Cartoon Network, IBM and Akamai, amongst many others. His extended work on VR hardware including the "VRGO" has made him one of the UK’s top VR-focused developers.
In his talk, Lukas will give practical advice gained from personal experiences, detailing tips and tricks for optimising for Mobile VR. There's plenty of advice to give, but he wants to detail how to actually use that advice in real life situations.
Vin Sumner, Clicks + Links - Crossrail Tunnel in VR using eXperium Toolkit
Vin Sumner founded and runs Clicks and Links Ltd. C+L specialises in immersive technology. They have a long history working with virtual worlds ever since they were founded.. Since then C+L were one of the first to host virtual concerts in Second Life, a long way from what is considered to be immersion today. Lately, they've been focussing on bringing the exciting potential of virtual reality to new industries.
Vin will be discussing C+L designed virtual reality toolkit that allows engineers to visit a virtual version of a Crossrail tunnel using data CAD, laser scans and drone photogrammetry. This allows engineers to visit whenever they want, from wherever they want. They can choose to visit the site together, at the same time with colleagues anywhere in the world or by themselves, leaving comments or taking photos for others to review.
Exhibitors:
Play Nicely:
Play Nicely, a Bristol based VR-AR-MR studio, will be presenting Oogi - Developed in collaboration with BBC as an Oculus Commission and available for Rift and Gear VR. This authentically narrated experience tells the story of a small Beetle with big dreams. After catching a glimpse of his girl, Oogi sets out on a perilous journey across the South African desert that will see him face fierce ants, rugged terrain, and deadly predators.
BIVROST™
BIVROST™ is a European manufacturer of 360° video equipment, often used for live 360° streaming and cinematic VR video production. Their product line includes professional camera rigs, power & control utilities, (live) stitching software and VR video players.
BIVROST™ lets you take 360° video and virtual reality to the next level: whether you are a seasoned professional videographer or a simple enthusiast. At the VRWC17 you can experience our 360° livestream camera and camera rigs (for Blackmagic, GoPro and XiaomiYi cameras) for yourself.
Mixed Emotion
Mixed immersion is a London-based studio, delivering creative audio and music services to a new generation of immersive and interactive productions and platforms.
Having been focal in the invention of commercial VR and AR over the past 5 years, Mixed Emotion have seen very little attention to making amazing immersive audio, to compliment the advancements in visceral, visual VR. They help varied clients to apply techniques which have been developed over decades in film and music and create amazingly immersive and visceral, 3D audio experiences.
Ghost VR
GhostVR creates solutions that help you explore your data and create awesome interactive visualizations. You need real-time segmentation, A/B testing, heat maps, demography or other metrics? We have it. No matter what platform, SDK or headset. Our tool will assist you in managing them all. We also develop strategies for brands and companies to help them fully realize their VR marketing potential.
Tickets for VR World Congress 2017 are available right now, with full three-day delegate tickets (which will grant you access to all of the speakers and exhibitors above) currently available for £300.
We hope you'll be joining us and our new speakers and exhibitors from April 11th - 13th for VR World Congress 2017!
