6 / 4 / 17: Ghost in the Shell VR talk confirmed with REWIND'S Sol Rogers! Plus new talks, panels and hosts!
17 / 3 / 17: Unity joins VRWC17 as Silver Sponsor along with new exhibitors
24 / 2 / 17: Google joins VRWC17, along with largest number of new speakers & exhibitors yet!
10 / 2 / 17: Edward Saatchi, co-founder of Oculus Story Studio, joins VRWC17 along with new speakers, exhibitors and sponsors!
27 / 1 / 17: David Holz, Leap Motion co-founder and CTO, to keynote at VRWC17
13 / 1 / 17: IBM, Royal Opera House, Framestore VR and more announced for VRWC17
23 / 12 / 16: Microsoft, BBC and more added to VRWC17 speaker lineup
2 / 12 / 16: Introducing the first wave of VR World Congress speakers & exhibitors!
VR World Congress features a phenomenal line-up of speakers from a huge range of industries, all ready to share their knowledge on VR and its near-endless possible uses.
We're still adding more speakers as we draw closer to the event, so be sure to check back regularly. You can view the full speaker agenda using the button below.
Roy Taylor is Corporate Vice President and Head of Alliances at Radeon Technologies Group, AMD. He is responsible for a global team managing all aspects of the AMD ecosystem and external relations. In his current role, Taylor manages AMD relations with Microsoft, Google, major games publishers and developers. In VR he heads up partnerships with film, broadcast, gaming, academia, industry as well with Oculus, HTC/Valve and others.
Taylor joined AMD in 2013. A 25-year veteran, Taylor has had a multi-faceted career as a technology evangelist, content strategist and entrepreneur in both start-ups and established companies. Taylor was also the founder of NVidia in Europe.
April 12th, 10:10, At-Bristol
We are excited to welcome Roy Taylor, AMD Corporate Vice President, Content, Alliances & VR, as our dynamic key-note speaker. Roy will share insights on the role technology is playing in the fast-growing world of virtual reality, and some of the latest developments in content and technologies that are propelling VR forward. He may even have a surprise or two saved just for VRWC attendees.
Mary graduated from Ringling College of Art and Design in 2016 with a major in game art and design. She interned at Intel developing an augmented reality prototype for their RealSense camera, and now works at Google in their VR department, Daydream, as an user experience engineer.
Her talk will cover the technical and design limitations of VR and AR and how to overcome those challenges
April 13th, 15:40, At-Bristol
Olly Nicholson works as a field engineer at Unity. He presents and conducts training in EMEA and at global events such as GDC and Unite. He troubleshoots issues for artists and developers using Unity and creates artwork for demos and internal production. Areas of expertise include VR, lighting, animation, effects, optimization, art pipelines and Unity features.
April 13th, 10:10, At-Bristol
This talk begins with an overview of the rendering pipeline in Unity, which will help you understand where you can make optimisations. You'll get simple recipes and other tips and tricks for AAA content rendering on mobile VR, like how to bake high-resolution cubemaps and content directly in Unity.
Mike Taulty works in the developer group at Microsoft where he has spent the past decade helping developers understand and get the best from the Microsoft platform. Prior to this, Mike worked for Microsoft’s developer consulting services for a few years after a decade in various software development/lead roles.
April 12th, 11:10, At-Bristol
Microsoft HoloLens is the first fully self-contained holographic computer running Windows 10. It is completely self-contained-no wires, phones, or connection to a PC needed. HoloLens allows you to place holograms in your physical environment and provides a new way to see your world. This session provides a developer’s overview of the HoloLens and holographic app development in Unity and C#.
Sheelagh Carew is Product Designer for IBM, Ireland. She is the UX lead designer on products throughout the various stages of product development from user-research and frameworks to help teams solve end-user problems at the speed and scale that modern enterprises demand.
April 13th, 11:00, Watershed - Waterside 1
At IBM, we’re on a mission to bring human-centered design to our thousands of product and service experiences. During this fast-paced workshop, Sheelagh will introduce you to IBM Design’s approach to design thinking. You’ll engage in a Virtual Reality Design Thinking Challenge where you will be guided through the process of developing ideas using proven problem solving skills.
Graham Breen is the product lead for Virtual Reality in Europe. Part of Vive since the early days his passion for both Vive and VR as a whole are clear to see. His work includes with developers, channel partners and marketing the Vive with responsibility for European events.
April 12th, 12:10, At-Bristol
Vive has been available for over a year but in this rapidly changing world the VR landscape doesn’t stop moving. Looking at what we’ve learnt and more importantly the directions for the future of VR the talk will give an insight into the world of Vive and the wider VR ecosystem.
Pete D is a technical evangelist for Microsoft based in the UK. He started out in 3d graphics and following a few years working on apps and web he has made a comeback with the resurgence of VR/AR/MR technologies.
April 12th, 11:10, At-Bristol
Microsoft HoloLens is the first fully self-contained holographic computer running Windows 10. It is completely self-contained-no wires, phones, or connection to a PC needed. HoloLens allows you to place holograms in your physical environment and provides a new way to see your world. This session provides a developer’s overview of the HoloLens and holographic app development in Unity and C#.
James Knight is Virtual Production Director for AMD. In addition to being Performance Capture Supervisor on Columbia Pictures' The Amazing Spiderman, he spent four years managing the motion capture for James Cameron's Avatar. He has additional experience in Performance Capture and Virtual Production. James is on the Board of Directors at BAFTA-LA and an Executive Member on the BAFTA VR Advisory Group.
April 13th, 11:40, At-Bristol
This panel of BAFTA VR Advisory Group Executives and leaders in the VR industry will discuss whether VR is just an add-on to the TV, film and games industries; or a stand-alone medium, deserving of its own ecosystem, rules and regulations
Dr Wendy Powell is a pivotal academic at the University of Portsmouth. Her research focuses on the ways in which VR systems and software can influence behaviour and perception, and improve health.
April 12th, 15:40, At-Bristol
In her talk, Wendy will be providing an overview of the areas in which VR is already being used (or has the potential to be used) for improving health, drawing on examples from our own work as well as leading researchers and clinicians around the world.
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.
April 13th, 10:40, At-Bristol
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.
Dave manages all aspects of new media and AV at The Science Museum and has worked there for over 30 years, developing exhibitions and leading development teams on systems such as the Wellcome Wing and Dana Centre.
Recent work includes Web Lab, the multi-award winning collaboration with Google, Engineering Your Future, and a three month secondment to Frost Science in Miami to help develop exhibitions and systems for a new museum.
April 13th, 11:40, Watershed - Waterside 3
This talk will explore the challenges of designing VR for a physical space (in this case a museum) and present data and lessons learned from the first 3 months of audience testing. It will also present a future view on the role of VR in the arts and culture sector.
Resh is Creative Director of Framestore VR studio and one of the most well-regarded names in Virtual Reality, her most recent work is the groundbreaking Fantastic Beasts VR experience launching on Google’s Daydream Headset.
April 13th, 14:40, At-Bristol
Framestore VR took fans of the wizarding world on a Fantastic Beasts virtual reality experience in the most immersive mobile VR experience built exclusively for Google Daydream. Resh Sidhu, Creative Director VR Studio, will share the lessons learned, the creative process from concept to reality, sharing the challenges and solutions they found to deliver this award winning experience.
April 13th, 16:50, At-Bristol
The panel will discuss the future of narrative design and creative storytelling for Immersive Entertainment formats, aimed to provide different viewpoints and outside expertise. Original VR Writers Room.
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.
April 12th, 14:00, At-Bristol
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.
Josie Wardle is Project Manager for the Immersive Technology Group within Sony Interactive Entertainment Worldwide Studios. She manages a range of PlayStation® VR and immersive technology projects connecting her and the team within the Sony business and across the wider industry. She is a keen advocate of multidisciplinary applications for VR.
April 11th, 17:30, Watershed - Waterside 3
Josie Wardle describes her journey of working across multiple aspects of PlayStation®VR, from its inception to present day. Her talk will include insights into the innovative elements of VR gaming and how these may translate into the next chapter of future-facing VR games and experiences.
Edward is a Co-founder and Producer at Oculus Story Studio, arguably the world’s leading VR storytelling specialists. Starting the studio in 2013 in an effort to pioneer, share and excite in a new medium, he would go on to produce the studio’s first two original pieces - Henry and Dear Angelica.
April 13th, 15:00, At-Bristol
Join Edward Saatchi, cofounder and Executive Producer of Oculus Story Studio for a series of guesses and predictions about where VR storytelling might be by 2020.
Catherine is a VR director and producer, with a multidisciplinary background of apps, documentary and theatre. She specialises in creating immersive experiences for diverse audiences. Catherine's most recent project is No Small Talk, a 360 talkshow for the BBC, aimed at millennial women. Catherine also produced one of the BBC's first VR documentaries, Easter Rising: Voice of a Rebel, which has toured festivals globally, showed for six weeks at the National Theatre in London and was described by Broadcast Magazine as 'genre-defining'.
April 13th, 11:30, Watershed - Cinema 1
Focus on where diversity and challenges have lead in the past year. Is this still an area that needs to be worked on? What work still needs to be done?
Tom is Creative Producer at the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden. His work encompasses digital firsts, live streaming and exhibitions. Recent projects include 360-degree initiatives, World Ballet Day and The Opera Machine – an award winning online experience taking viewers behind the scenes.
April 13th, 12:35, At-Bristol
Tom Nelson will detail how VR can bring together the old and the new and build audiences for opera and ballet. He'll be laying out his reasons with reference to beautiful projects already created including Nutcracker in 360 and Nabucco in 360.
April 13th, 16:50, At-Bristol
The panel will discuss the future of narrative design and creative storytelling for Immersive Entertainment formats, aimed to provide different viewpoints and outside expertise. Original VR Writers Room.
Emily Smith is Director of Marketing and Business development at Alchemy VR and Atlantic Productions where she manages the strategic marketing, corporate communications and commercial and cultural partnerships.
April 13th, 14:00, At-Bristol
Alchemy has worked with the world’s leading Museums to use VR to deliver insight into important objects. In her talk, Emily and Alchemy’s latest partner Science Museum London will discuss how they collaborated to produce the most dramatic experience to ever come out of the studio - Space Descent VR with Tim Peake
April 13th, 11:30, Watershed - Cinema 1
Focus on where diversity and challenges have lead in the past year. Is this still an area that needs to be worked on? What work still needs to be done?
Mel Slater is an ICREA Research Professor at the University of Barcelona and Professor of Virtual Environments at University College London. He has been involved in research in VR since the early 1990s. In 2005 he was awarded the Virtual Reality Career Award by IEEE ‘In Recognition of Seminal achievements in Engineering Virtual Reality.’ He is a Founder of the company Virtual Bodyworks S.L. and is currently Immersive Fellow at Digital Catapult London.
April 12th, 11:15, Watershed - Cinema 1
Using immersive virtual reality it is possible to visually substitute the body of a person by a virtual body that is spatially coincident with their real body seen from first person perspective and that moves synchronously with their own movements. This typically leads to a perceptual illusion of ownership over that virtual body. Over the past few years we have studied how the form of the body influences aspects of their physiology, attitudes, behaviours and cognition. Here we will introduce the topic of virtual body ownership, and discuss examples of how this has been used both for personal enhancement and for changing attitudes and behaviours, helping to diminish racial bias, and gender harassment in social situations.
William Uricchio is Professor of Comparative Media Studies at MIT and Professor of Comparative Media History at Utrecht University in the Netherlands. He is Principal Investigator of the MIT Open Documentary Lab.
April 12th, 12:00, Watershed - Cinema 1
From Barker’s 1787 panorama to Heilig’s 1960s Sensorama…from claims to ‘being really on the spot’ to the promise of Star Trek’s holodeck, the desires bound up in the term ‘virtual reality’ have a rich history of claims, technologies, and public deployments. And oddly, despite widely varying circumstances, many of these precedents have experienced similar fates. Taking a long view, we can see that the ‘reality’ implicit in ‘virtual reality’ seems to cut two ways, and therein lies a story. It can refer to the reality of things seen … perfect for non-fiction; or it can refer to the reality of a way of seeing … a claim with wider latitude. Both senses have deep and instructive histories that blossomed and bore fruit as recently as the early 1990s, before fading into yet another nearly forgotten chapter of our fascination with ‘being there’.
But we haven’t quite seen it all before. Even if the basic desires underlying VR seem to be persistent, conditions have changed, and with them, technological capacities. Responsive eye-tracking systems and the accelerating power of predictive algorithms offer two examples. History offers a useful way not only to see what is the same, but to demarcate what is different, and in so doing, to understand the dialogue between the two. This talk will draw from history in order to chart forgotten lessons, tease out long term continuities, and map sites of difference as we continue our elusive pursuit of redefining reality.
Hrvoje Benko is a senior researcher at Microsoft Research. He has coauthored more than 60 scientific papers and journal articles and has served as General (2014) and Program Chair (2012) of the ACM User Interface Systems and Technology conference. His work has been featured in the mainstream media including The New York Times, BBC News, and Forbes.
April 12th, 15:05, Watershed - Cinema 1
One of the best ways to design compelling AR and VR interfaces is to think about them not as simulations of reality, but as perceptual illusions, designed primarily to fool us or surprise us in (hopefully) fun ways. To highlight how one can create fundamentally novel experiences by exploiting the human perceptual system, Hrvoje presents a progression of research prototypes in AR/VR, each exploring a different use scenario, including interactive projection mapping, wide-periphery head-mounted displays and VR haptic simulations. In discussing the challenges of authoring such experiences and what makes them effective, he will showcase how recent advances in sensing and display technologies make it possible to manipulate user’s perception in surprising ways.
Michael Madary is a co-author of The First Code of Conduct for Research and Consumer Use of Virtual Reality (2016). He received his Ph.D. in Philosophy from Tulane University and has also published widely on the philosophy of perception.
April 12th, 15:50, Watershed - Cinema 1
After many years of anticipation, virtual reality is now commercially available. There is much optimism about the technology, but little discussion of the new risks that it might bring. In this talk, Michael will first cover some of the most important scientific results relating to the psychological effects of virtual reality. Then he will use those results as a basis for identifying possible risks. Finally, he will offer some concrete recommendations for minimising those risks in order to take full advantage of the substantial opportunities that virtual reality has to offer.
Amy works in the brand and marketing team at Plan International UK and is the associate producer of Mamie’s Dream. The virtual reality film is part of the charities Because I am a Girl campaign helping to end the prejudices that threaten girls’ safety - and their lives.
April 12th, 16:20, Watershed - Waterside 3
An informal panel with VR creators, directors and charity professionals discussing the subject of how VR/360 can be used to drive change in perception or increase charitable giving amongst government or the general public.
With an R&D-background in streaming and broadcast media, Martin’s focus is helping broadcasters, operators and media organisations with media innovations such as Social VR. Martin is the lead architect of TNO’s TogetherVR web-platform which enables running technological and user based trials for evaluating Social VR experiences.
April 12th, 10:35, Watershed - Cinema 1
Martin will be speaking about how TNO uses web technologies such as WebVR and WebRTC to create social and collaborative VR experiences, in which participants can actually see each other. The in-house developed TogetherVR framework, which builds on many web technologies allows us to connect people for audio-visual interactions, while being able to engage in interactive content, in a VR or mixed reality setting. In the talk, Martin will address some of the challenges and experimental outcomes of watching TV, playing a game or having a videoconference with other participants in VR.
Apache is a UK based VR/AR development studio founded 26 years ago.
Jade joined Apache in early 2016 and has since produced numerous AR and VR projects for clients such as Cartoon Network and The NFL.
April 12th, 16:20, Watershed - Waterside 3
An informal panel with VR creators, directors and charity professionals discussing the subject of how VR/360 can be used to drive change in perception or increase charitable giving amongst government or the general public.
Mark has been Technical Director of Aardman’s Interactive department since 2012 where he oversees development of a wide range of VR projects, mobile apps, and HTML5 web games. He is currently representing Aardman on the Bafta VR Advisory Group.
April 13th, 11:40, At-Bristol
This panel of BAFTA VR Advisory Group Executives and leaders in the VR industry will discuss whether VR is just an add-on to the TV, film and games industries; or a stand-alone medium, deserving of its own ecosystem, rules and regulations
Mitch Turnbull is an award-winning Producer/Director with over twenty years experience in the feature film and television industry. She has produced and directed factual programmes for broadcasters and studios including Disneynature, PBS, NHK, BBC, National Geographic and Discovery.
April 13th, 12:15, At-Bristol
Stepping through the 16:9 screen into a 360 world means that the visual and auditory language factual directors utilise to drive narrative have to either be thrown out or radically reimagined. Mitch Turnbull will talk about how she tackled building narrative when she produced and directed factual 360/VR experiences for the UN and BBC Earth.
Ian is an engineering graduate. He founded his first software business in 1989 and has been leading businesses in the games and technology sectors ever since. This has included a 4 year spell as CEO of Kuju Entertainment, an IPO, several trade sales of businesses and various fund raising activities. Ian was also Chairman of TIGA, the UK game developer's trade association, for 4 years. Ian is now Chairman at Focal Point, a technology startup dedicated to producing the technology needed to give true presence for viewers of VR video streams.
April 12th, 16:35, Watershed - Cinema 1
Lisa is a commercial lawyer at TLT LLP who advises a wide range of tech and creative businesses in relation to intellectual property and tech law issues. Previously Lisa worked at Penguin Random House where her role involved advising the group in relation to its global digital strategy.
April 12th, 15:50, Watershed - Waterside 3
Lisa will talk through some of the legal issues that can arise during the lifecycle of a VR product, through the stages of narrative building and production through to reaching consumers via hardware and platform providers.
Passionate about VR & AR and the boundless potential the technologies have to benefit businesses, Jason set up Captivate to provide a comprehensive, holistic and impartial service enabling businesses to embrace opportunities offered by cutting-edge immersive technologies. In 2017 he also co-founded Amplio.co, an VR platform designed to improve performance in athletes.
April 13th, 15:50, Watershed - Waterside 3
This panel will look at the hurdles needing to be overcome in the year ahead for creative studios working in the VR space. Led by an industry-leading analyst and featuring a highly-experienced team of successful VR professionals, the discussion is poised to produce a veritable wealth of useful advice.
Alex is a communications expert for the UN Convention to Combat Desertification and leads the Great Green Wall public awareness campaign. He is the Executive Producer of the award-winning VR film Growing a World Wonder which premiered to world leaders at the Paris Climate Conference leading to USD 4 billion pledges for the Great Green Wall over the next 5 years.
April 12th, 16:20, Watershed - Waterside 3
An informal panel with VR creators, directors and charity professionals discussing the subject of how VR/360 can be used to drive change in perception or increase charitable giving amongst government or the general public.
Fiona has worked at the nexus of innovation and on the impact of emerging technologies on the creative sector for over 25 years. At KTN, she identifies innovation challenges and opportunities, informs policy development, shapes funding programmes and supports access to investment and finance for business. She leads Immerse UK, a new, cross-sector network for businesses and research organisations.
April 12th, 15:20, Watershed - Waterside 3
The panel will be discussing where financing options available at the moment, and the trends that investors and the government are keen to explore.
Founder and CEO of REWIND, the content production agency behind award-winning work such as BBC Home - A VR Spacewalk. Sol is a BAFTA VR Advisory Group Executive and advisor to globally recognised conferences including Autodesk University, FMX.de and MIPTV. He was recognised as one of the digital industry’s brightest stars in the BIMA HOT 100 in 2016
April 13th, 11:40, At-Bristol
This panel of BAFTA VR Advisory Group Executives and leaders in the VR industry will discuss whether VR is just an add-on to the TV, film and games industries; or a stand-alone medium, deserving of its own ecosystem, rules and regulations
April 12th, 14:20, At-Bristol
Sol Rogers, REWIND's CEO & Founder gives a behind the scenes insight into the studio's latest project - a real-time virtual reality experience for the release of ‘Ghost in the Shell’. The project is a partnership between HERE BE DRAGONS, REWIND, Paramount, Dreamworks, and Oculus. Built from the ground up with Unreal Engine 4 and Unity game engines, the experience brings the audience inside the sci-fi classic.
Tanya has been at the forefront of emerging creative technology spanning games, film, TV, comics, music, immersive theatre, Transmedia VR, AR and AI. She is the creator of the the VR Writers Room and the co-organiser for the world’s largest VR & AR focused meetup group “Augmenting Reality”, a Trustee for both the World Youth Organisation and UN Influx, the winner of a Women in Games Award and the vice chair of BAME in Games.
April 13th, 16:50, At-Bristol
The panel will discuss the future of narrative design and creative storytelling for Immersive Entertainment formats, aimed to provide different viewpoints and outside expertise. Original VR Writers Room.
Russell has been creating ground breaking AR & VR experiences for over 20 years. During his 10 years at Sony Interactive Entertainment he creatively led the BAFTA nominated EyePet & Wonderbook franchises and successfully launched PlayStation VR Worlds.
Russell is focusing on creating a ground-breaking application utilising his vision technology experience to benefit the visually impaired as well as a highly creative yet to be announced game that empowers players to participate in social change.
April 12th, 11:00, Watershed - Waterside 3
What does creating VR for a brand entail? What is the purpose of it? How can we help clients? and how can we ensure we deliver an authentic experience for users? Russell will use the latest special VR project he has worked on, The Chainsmokers Paris VR as a starting point to explore this topic.
Muki is an award-winning Executive Digital Producer creating groundbreaking content for music, entertainment and tech. Having 10+ years overseeing MTV’s digital platforms, she now runs her own production company, which has included being BBC’s Digital Exec for The Voice UK, where she produced their first-ever series of 360°VR experiences.
April 12th, 10:50, Watershed - Waterside 3
Intro
April 13th, 11:00, Watershed - Cinema 1
Jon has been instrumental in driving the engineering and product development of Nuke since he joined Foundry in 2007.
Since becoming CTO, Jon’s remit has expanded to include all IP at Foundry, both existing in its current product range and beyond into R&D. Jon has over 20 years experience in software leadership roles within the media production and telecom industries, was recently appointed to the BAFTA VR advisory group.
April 13th, 11:40, At-Bristol
This panel of BAFTA VR Advisory Group Executives and leaders in the VR industry will discuss whether VR is just an add-on to the TV, film and games industries; or a stand-alone medium, deserving of its own ecosystem, rules and regulations
Anna works closely with key stakeholders in government and across the Creative Sector industries, advising on the application processes for every area of Creative Sector tax relief.
She has extensive knowledge in this field, being instrumental in assisting government with the structure of new cultural requirements as each new relief has been introduced. Through this Anna has extensive experience in working with the UK’s tax regime and state aid policy.
Anna was also involved with devising the BFI’s Diversity Standards which apply to lottery funded projects.
April 12th, 15:20, Watershed - Waterside 3
The panel will be discussing where financing options available at the moment, and the trends that investors and the government are keen to explore.
Multiple award-winning writer & narrative director Rob Yescombe began his career on franchises including THE DIVISION, ALIEN and STAR WARS and experimental indie games like QUBE: DIRECTOR’S CUT and RIME.
His feature screenplay OUTSIDE THE WIRE landed on the 2014 Brit List. Currently, he is working on three major Virtual Reality projects: FARPOINT and HOW WE SOAR for Sony Entertainment, and THE INVISIBLE HOURS for Tequila Works and Game Trust. He is also writing the feature film GOOD GAME for Universal Pictures.
April 13th, 16:50, At-Bristol
The panel will discuss the future of narrative design and creative storytelling for Immersive Entertainment formats, aimed to provide different viewpoints and outside expertise. Original VR Writers Room.
For the past thirty years Philip has held senior finance related positions with various successful organisations in the South West, becoming instrumental in their success in activities from Venture Capital, Corporate Finance, to manufacturing (Inch’s Cider – successfully sold to Bulmers). Philip was instrumental in the creation of SWAIN, UK’s most successful regional Business Angel Network, raising over a hundred rounds of investment for almost eighty entrepreneurs who have since gone on to raise total finance of approximately £65,000,000
April 12th, 15:20, Watershed - Waterside 3
The panel will be discussing where financing options available at the moment, and the trends that investors and the government are keen to explore.
As head of Mercia Fund Management’s (MFM) Digital and E-commerce Division, Mike’s main focus is to build a portfolio of digital media, gaming and e-commerce EIS and Seed EIS investments. Mike brings over 23 years’ experience in interactive businesses and at multinational games company SEGA, he was CEO for Europe and America.
April 12th, 15:00, Watershed - Waterside 3
Mike will be providing an insightful and useful talk focus on the opportunities out there for virtual reality investment. It was Mike’s division, for instance, that funded UK VR specialists nDreams.
Jon leads TLT LLP’s venture capital, private equity and corporate technology practice. His team advises a wide range of investors, from business angels through to institutional funds, strategic corporates and high growth companies on equity investment and corporate M&A deals. Jon holds an MSc in Entrepreneurship from Bristol University,is the author of “Business Law for the Entrepreneur” and is an advisory board member at Engine Shed.
April 12th, 15:20, Watershed - Waterside 3
The panel will be discussing where financing options available at the moment, and the trends that investors and the government are keen to explore.
Simon started in the games industry as a low-level programmer in 1999. He ran indie studio Four Door Lemon from 2005 to 2015 producing a large range of games across many genres and platforms. In 2016 he setup Cooperative Innovations to develop social VR titles including recently announced ‘Raiders of Erda’. He’s also a board member of trade association Ukie and ambassador for charity SpecialEffect.
April 11th, 17:10, Watershed - Waterside 3
Hear about how Cooperative Innovation’s online co-op RPG ‘Raiders of Erda’ came about and the technical and gameplay innovations behind it!
April 13th, 16:50, At-Bristol
The panel will discuss the future of narrative design and creative storytelling for Immersive Entertainment formats, aimed to provide different viewpoints and outside expertise. Original VR Writers Room.
Agnis is a founder and CEO of Experimental Foundation. He is the driving force behind EF EVE - the live holographic streaming engine. He is interested in philosophy, architecture but above all in capturing moments and sharing them live in VR/AR.
April 11th, 17:50, Watershed - Waterside 3
Ieva, together with Agnis who will join the conference from Lithuania via live holographic stream, will demonstrate that today it is possible to bring live 3D events into VR/AR. Showcasing and discussing the future of real time holographic streaming.
Mary is an award-winning producer/director. She specialises in filming in difficult environments for international charities. In 2016 she directed her first VR film, Mamie's Dream, shot in Sierra Leone. Made for children’s charity Plan International, the film has become a vital tool for both campaigning and fundraising.
April 12th, 16:20, Watershed - Waterside 3
An informal panel with VR creators, directors and charity professionals discussing the subject of how VR/360 can be used to drive change in perception or increase charitable giving amongst government or the general public.
Programmer and Game Designer at SVRVIVE Studios, Daniel has been making VR games since he forced his university to purchase VR development kits in 2013, and has since gathered experience by (among other things) making games for Museum of Science and Technology in Stockholm, spending a year as a VR consultant helping clients such as Kelloggs and Tobii, and frequently speaking at events about VR development.
April 12th, 14:40, Watershed - Cinema 1
A retrospective on development struggles and learnings from developing and releasing a VR game in under 6 months, including how, why, and what did and didn't work.
April 13th, 16:00, At-Bristol
We’re seeing many success stories emerge from companies starting or transitioning to the world of Virtual Reality. Many of these companies have had some hardships that they’ve overcome over the past few years and there’s always more challenges to come. Hear from 5 successful companies from across Europe and how they solved problems they faced and what issues the envisage in the future.
Joining Unity as a graduate in Computer Science, Josh’s love for Unity led him down the path of getting a job telling everyone how awesome it is. He spends his days helping our users in EMEA, showcasing new features, delivering training and writing tech blogs. By night he develops his own 2d games. #madewithunity of course.
April 13th, 16:00, At-Bristol
We’re seeing many success stories emerge from companies starting or transitioning to the world of Virtual Reality. Many of these companies have had some hardships that they’ve overcome over the past few years and there’s always more challenges to come. Hear from 5 successful companies from across Europe and how they solved problems they faced and what issues the envisage in the future.
Liz heads up the creative team at Alchemy VR, overseeing projects from initial pitch through delivery. She began her career as a science communicator, directing and shooting specialist factual & documentary TV, before turning her attention to VR and digital, excited by the new storytelling opportunities they present.
April 13th, 15:50, Watershed - Waterside 3
This panel will look at the hurdles needing to be overcome in the year ahead for creative studios working in the VR space. Led by an industry-leading analyst and featuring a highly-experienced team of successful VR professionals, the discussion is poised to produce a veritable wealth of useful advice.
Luciana is a founding member and head of business development for the Realities Innovation Centre & Academy in central London, a new hub, accelerator and incubator for thought leadership in the UK’s VR/AR industry. She’s a dedicated member & organizer of Code First Girls, SheWorx, Women of Wearables, EmpowerHack, VR Manchester & Women in VR UK.
April 12th, 16:20, At-Bristol
Luciana will be speaking on unlocking the power of ‘NeuroVR’, exploring recent findings on the treatment of phobias, PTSD and mental health issues using VR, and theories around the virtual-physical illusion of presence. A discussion that asks how neuroscience has been affected and/or advanced by the development of immersive tech.
Tom started exploring ultrasound technology during a study in the final year of his Master’s degree in Computer Science at the University of Bristol. He further developed the initial concept to form the basis of his PhD studies, during which time he published numerous papers and filed various patents. Recognising the technology’s commercial viability, Tom founded Ultrahaptics in November 2013. He now heads up the ARC (Advanced Research Cluster) as part of his role as CTO.
April 12th, 14:40, At-Bristol
Touch is essential for VR and AR experiences to feel real and respond intuitively to users' interactions. Haptics allow us to feel immersed in our activities, feel in control of our actions and feel connected to the virtual environment and social interactions they enable. Tom will be discussing how Ultrahaptics' incredible haptics technology provides this new level of immersion.
April 13th, 16:20, Watershed - Waterside 3
This panel will explore the part haptics must play in the future of truly immersive, interactive experiences. From tactile experiences to kinesthesis, the panel will explore the information that the sense of touch can give the user, what current technologies can simulate this information, and how they see haptics being brought to virtual worlds in the future.
Diego Gonzalez-Zuniga, PhD (diekus) is a Developer Advocate at Samsung. He recently completed his PhD in Informatics researching Stereoscopic Graphical User Interfaces in Barcelona. His main interests are the use of 3D in applications, Graphical User Interfaces, VR, creative uses of technology, videogames and gadgets.
April 13th, 14:20, Watershed - Cinema 1
Many say that 2017 will be the year of WebVR, the JavaScript API that allows you to load up VR using your browser. Join a mixed panel of industry veterans who are placing their bets on WebVR and learn why it will play a key role in jumpstarting the industry.
Steve Lane is a trailblazer for the new horizons opened up by 3D and binaural sound. He is constantly being asked by creatives how they can create campaigns with this new technology, and sees it as having so much more potential than as just an element to enhance the VR/360 experience.
April 13th, 15:40, Watershed - Cinema 1
In this session, leading sound designer Steve Lane (GCRS) will talk about the importance of Sound Design in creating truly immersive VR experiences. He will explore how traditional sound design methods can be applied to VR, while also discussing how new techniques and technologies allow for a much more detailed spatial audio environment.
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.
April 12th, 14:20, Watershed - Waterside 3
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.
Daniel Efergan is the Group Creative Director of Digital at Aardman Animations. What this actually means is he gets to spend lots of time doing fun things like making games, forming playful communities, and messing around in the murky bits between storytelling and interactivity.
April 13th, 14:20, At-Bristol
Aardman will be dissecting their projects to look at how emotional connections between audience and story are established in VR, and how genuine mastery of this new medium is a long way off.
Having founded Surround Vision, the first UK specialist 360 production company, in 2011, Richard is now creative director of VR at Sky.
April 11th, 14:30, Watershed - Waterside 3
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.
Bradley had his first VR experience when he should have been in lectures at University. It involved lots of money but very few pixels. Since then he's always had a dream of recreating the magic and immersion of that experience, but with a bit more fidelity and a little less neck-ache. He has worked in television, film, ‘new media’, gaming and now looks after bringing BBC brands to interactive digital platforms.
April 13th, 11:40, At-Bristol
This panel of BAFTA VR Advisory Group Executives and leaders in the VR industry will discuss whether VR is just an add-on to the TV, film and games industries; or a stand-alone medium, deserving of its own ecosystem, rules and regulations
Jonathan has managed EMEA wide data-collection projects for major ICT vendors and is currently responsible for the UK & IE ICT distribution, reseller, and retail panels at CONTEXT. He has specialist knowledge of the UK ICT supply chain, and the global VR, Smart Home, and PC Gaming markets.
April 13th, 15:50, Watershed - Waterside 3
This panel will look at the hurdles needing to be overcome in the year ahead for creative studios working in the VR space. Led by an industry-leading analyst and featuring a highly-experienced team of successful VR professionals, the discussion is poised to produce a veritable wealth of useful advice.
Returning speaker Sarah Jones is an immersive storyteller who uses original 360 films to interrogate ideas of virtual embodiment, multi-sensory experiences and changing perceptions. Sarah is also co-founder of VRGirlsUK.
April 12th, 14:00, Watershed - Cinema 1
This talk uses Chungking 360 - a multi-sensory film - to examine and reveal how adding different sensory experiences changes the level of immersion an audience feels. It draws upon new data and audience studies to highlight how presence can be optimised through adding heat and smells to film.
Phil is co-founder and Creative Director of Preloaded, a BAFTA winning applied games studio that create innovative experiences to solve real world problems and change people’s lives. He is based on London, and also sits on BAFTA’s Games committee and GameCity’s advisory board.
April 13th, 11:40, Watershed - Waterside 3
This talk will explore the challenges of designing VR for a physical space (in this case a museum) and present data and lessons learned from the first 3 months of audience testing. It will also present a future view on the role of VR in the arts and culture sector.
Drew and his company Gardner Creative has been working in 360 imagery for 5 years shooting immersive projects for Rolls Royce, Louis Vuitton, Crossrail, Sports Illustrated and The New York Times.
April 13th, 14:20, Watershed - Waterside 3
360 video is one of the most exciting mediums of recent years. One of the challenges for clients is how to integrate it effectively as part of any project. In this engaging presentation Drew will share some examples of how clients, such as Sports Illustrated, have successfully integrated immersive media to work in conjunction with more conventional media.
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.
April 13th, 16:00, Watershed - Cinema 1
In his talk, Doug will explore how to design human interactions and experiences that exist in virtual spaces that transcend human capacity. He will look at how creators can craft new affordances in order to create uncanny experiences.
Trina has worked in engineering and marketing roles within the technology industry for over 23 years. Always interested in translating technical concepts into understandable messages, Trina left ARM Holdings to set up a dedicated technical marketing company focusing on helping companies maximise the impact of technology on their business.
April 12th, 11:40, Watershed - Waterside 3
Trina's talk will discuss the importance of translating increasingly complex technical concepts into easily digestible messages. She’ll discuss key approaches so the audience can translate their VR innovation into messages about the benefits of the products and customers buy them because of the innovation rather than be confused by it.
Anna Stoilova is a co-founder of Dual Good Health, a startup that uses VR to make CPR training as accessible to the generic public as possible. Coming from a design background, Anna manages the design side of the business, as well as business development.
April 11th, 15:50, Watershed - Waterside 3
How do we engage medical professionals in virtual reality? Anna will be talking about her experience creating a medical app for CPR training using a physical mannequin in combination with VR and all the challenges she faced - from doing a prototype in 24h to finding a user base for the product.
Charles Nduka is a surgeon, technologist and internationally recognised facial muscle expert. He has won numerous R&D awards including from the Wellcome Trust, and the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR).
April 12th, 15:20, At-Bristol
Charles will be speaking on how virtual reality offers extraordinary opportunities for researchers and healthcare practitioners.
Erfan is a director/producer for Surround Vision and has created 360 films for clients such as United Nations and the Royal Opera House. In 2016 Erfan directed Home: Aamir, a VR expose about the Calais Jungle alongside Rufus Norris and Toby Coffey of the National Theatre. It won two awards including Best Director at SIMA2017.
April 12th, 16:20, Watershed - Waterside 3
An informal panel with VR creators, directors and charity professionals discussing the subject of how VR/360 can be used to drive change in perception or increase charitable giving amongst government or the general public.
Gunita’s background lays in architecture, urbanism and urban strategies. She is a member of Forbes’ 30 under 30 and a TEDx speaker. Since 2015, she and her partners established startup company Vividly embracing VR with the aim of progressing the architecture industry.
April 12th, 14:00, Watershed - Waterside 3
Gunita’s talk will elaborate on VR beyond just a visualisation/marketing/sales platform, rather as new medium for design processes and creativity integrated communication within scales and stages.
Sam Downie is an experienced Broadcaster / Investigative Journalist with the BBC World Service, TWiT TV, ITV Studios and other TV and Radio platforms. He's currently experimenting with pushing the boundary on 360 VR live streaming and the psychology behind how we as Humans interact with it all.
April 13th, 12:20, Watershed - Waterside 3
Domestic Abuse is around us but how much of it is focused upon silent voices? How do you hear them? Producing 360 films for Police training helps to identify them, it helps to bring the subject into the light, to ask more deeper questions. Sam will be speaking on this unique topic, helping to bring the issue into the limelight.
Ieva is a co-founder of Experimental Foundation, the company which brought EF EVE - the World’s first live holographic streaming engine. Its main focus is bringing real time 3D experience to the VR/AR industry.
April 11th, 17:50, Watershed - Waterside 3
Ieva, together with Agnis who will join the conference from Lithuania via live holographic stream, will demonstrate that today it is possible to bring live 3D events into VR/AR. Showcasing and discussing the future of real time holographic streaming.
At the age of 21, Samuel held Physics, Engineering and Management degrees from best ranked Universities in Switzerland Sweden and the UK. After a 2-year stint as a strategy engineer in the Formula One industry he left his job to setup two gaming startups: Betify, which failed spectacularly and a mobile game called RogueTrader which he exited a year later. Foreseeing the explosion of immersive technologies, Sam recently founded Advir to help content creators monetize in a non-disruptive way.
April 12th, 11:20, Watershed - Waterside 3
As brands constantly fight to disrupt our attention, we have become blind to advertising. In this talk, backed by behavioural experiments, entrepreneur Samuel Huber argues that immersive technologies such as VR and AR are the biggest media revolution since television and will reshape the way brands tell their stories while minimising ‘ad blindness’. He presents his vision of a world where advertising doesn’t need to be disruptive and contributes to enhance the user experience.
Maria del Carmen Gil Ortega is Senior teaching fellow of the Higher Education Academy in the UK, Senior Lecturer in Innovative Pedagogy and Programme Leader for the Masters in Education in Virtual Worlds at the Education Innovation Centre of the University of the West of England.
April 11th, 15:10, Watershed - Waterside 3
Maria will be speaking on the design of virtual learning experiences and the Affordances of Immersive 3D Virtual World Environments for Education and Training.
Digital/VR agency owner and communications expert Lucy Hayman is passionate about the impact of digital solutions on human behaviour. Her agency, Blueprint Partners, produced a Virtual Reality Spine to help patients understand their condition, and the results are astounding, with dramatic implications for corporate training as well as healthcare.
April 12th, 16:40, At-Bristol
Lucy, along with Chiropractor Matt Flanagan, will be speaking on the ‘Virtual Spine’ that Blueprint Partners built for chiropractors Back to Health. The aim of the project was to help patients visualise their condition by walking round and comparing their own spine to a healthy one. The dramatic response and engagement from patients shows that the application of VR in corporate training will have a transformational effect on the delivery of training, particularly where the subject matter is complicated or technical.
Matt is a chiropractor who has been practicing for 22 years. He has a health care technology company focussing on providing technology solutions for health care practitioners and has been using virtual reality in practice to deliver world class educational programs on spinal health as well as allowing patients to see their own spine in VR. Matt has seen transformational results with patient understanding, compliance and results using VR technology.
April 12th, 16:40, At-Bristol
Lucy, along with Chiropractor Matt Flanagan, will be speaking on the ‘Virtual Spine’ that Blueprint Partners built for chiropractors Back to Health. The aim of the project was to help patients visualise their condition by walking round and comparing their own spine to a healthy one. The dramatic response and engagement from patients shows that the application of VR in corporate training will have a transformational effect on the delivery of training, particularly where the subject matter is complicated or technical.
Carl has over 15 years research and consulting experience within the media and entertainment space; he is currently responsible for the direction of Futuresource’s industry and consumer research programmes across all forms of entertainment and content distribution, spanning broadcast, video, games and music.
April 11th, 15:30, Watershed - Waterside 3
Drawing on Futuresource’s ongoing industry and consumer research, Carl aims to draw rational, balanced and realistic conclusions of what to expect this year and beyond in VR. Discussing trends across the hardware ecosystem and assessing the challenges and opportunities of monetisation models.
Another returning speaker, Samantha Kingston is the award winning client director for VR marketing agency Virtual Umbrella. She is a advocate and proactive voice for women in tech and VR, and Co-founder of VRGirlsUK. In 2016 she won the regional and national New Business awards at the Venus Awards and became Bima 100 2016.
April 13th, 11:30, Watershed - Cinema 1
Focus on where diversity and challenges have lead in the past year. Is this still an area that needs to be worked on? What work still needs to be done?
Last year James attempted to destroy VR from the inside with a mixture of bad showmanship and bad organisation. This year he redoubles those efforts and takes the battle to new fronts against the encroaching threats of AR, MR, and whichever other new R's have been concocted in the meantime.
April 12th, 10:30, Watershed - Cinema 1
April 13th, 10:50, Watershed - Waterside 3
With more than 16 years of experience, Tom Bible has had Audio Lead roles on Oculus Story Studio's Emmy award-winning Henry, Dear Angelica, Robo Recall, Star Wars: 1313, and the Monkey Island: Special Edition series.
April 13th, 15:00, Watershed - Cinema 1
Based on his experience with Oculus Story Studio's Henry, Dear Angelica and Epic Games' Robo Recall, Tom will be talking about some of the best ways to work with audio in VR, including some best practices and pitfalls of different approaches.
Dave specialises in Business Development at Holovis with a strong focus on Augmented and Virtual Reality, using these platforms to enhance communications for marketing, training, visualisation and production. Throughout his career he has been at the cutting edge of the media world, working alongside brands including Disney, Unilever, Ford and Sky.
April 12th, 12:00, Watershed - Waterside 3
Dave’s talk will be exploring VR used for training and the impact this is having, based around Holovis’s proprietary LearnView platform. This includes the Near Miss Simulator; an immersive VR solution recreating high-risk working scenarios concluding with a moment of jeopardy, eg height drop.
Steven is the Chief Operations Officer and Co-Founder of MelodyVR. Prior to this, Steven gained over 15 years’ experience at senior management level, within events management where he worked with music artists around the globe and also numerous FTSE 100 companies, managing more than 150 staff on a daily basis. More recently, Steven was the Commercial Manager at Ibiza Rocks, one of the fastest growing youth lifestyle brands in Europe, where he oversaw sales and marketing. In early 2015, Steven joined forces with Anthony Matchett to create MelodyVR.
April 13th, 16:30, At-Bristol
An analysis of how VR technology from MelodyVR will change the music and live events industry by making gigs, festivals and concerts easily accessible from anywhere in the world.
Paul Mowbray is the Director of NSC Creative, an award-winning immersive studio based at the National Space Centre in the UK. He has over 14 years experience of animating, writing, directing and producing for immersive environments across VR, domes, theme parks and museums.
April 12th, 15:00, At-Bristol
360° video production is not just about navigating the immense technical and creative challenges but how to actually monetise and distribute your film. Paul Mowbray from NSC Creative explores the challenges of producing the world's first cross-platform dome and 360° VR science film, We Are Stars, and lessons learned so far.
As owner 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.
April 13th, 11:10, At-Bristol
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.
James has successfully managed projects on a wide range of platforms during his career including PC, Xbox, Playstation, iOS, Android, online social platforms, websites and multimedia DVDs. He loves working new technologies and he’s currently overseeing the production of Rebellion’s first VR project, Battlezone.
Games James worked on: Star Wars Battlefront series, Playstation Home, Sniper Elite 2&3, Rebellion Mobile Titles (Judge Dredd vs. Zombies, Harmony Isle, Raceline) and Battlezone for PSVR
April 13th, 15:50, Watershed - Waterside 3
This panel will look at the hurdles needing to be overcome in the year ahead for creative studios working in the VR space. Led by an industry-leading analyst and featuring a highly-experienced team of successful VR professionals, the discussion is poised to produce a veritable wealth of useful advice.
Jon Hibbins is Executive Producer and Director of Psytec Games Ltd, a dedicated VR games studio, Psytec Games released Windlands and Crystal Rift on PSVR, Vive and Oculus Rift.
April 13th, 15:50, Watershed - Waterside 3
This panel will look at the hurdles needing to be overcome in the year ahead for creative studios working in the VR space. Led by an industry-leading analyst and featuring a highly-experienced team of successful VR professionals, the discussion is poised to produce a veritable wealth of useful advice.
Amir Bozorgzadeh is the co-founder at Virtuleap, a sandbox for creative developers to showcase their VR concepts to the world, which is currently running the world’s biggest WebVR Hackathon. He is also the European Partner at Edoramedia, a games publisher and digital agency with its headquarters in Dubai. Amir will be speaking on how WebVR's role in jumpstarting the VR industry is paramount during the hype cycle stage.
April 13th, 14:00, Watershed - Cinema 1
Amir will be speaking on how WebVR's role in jumpstarting the VR industry is paramount during the hype cycle stage.
April 13th, 14:20, Watershed - Cinema 1
Many say that 2017 will be the year of WebVR, the JavaScript API that allows you to load up VR using your browser. Join a mixed panel of industry veterans who are placing their bets on WebVR and learn why it will play a key role in jumpstarting the industry.
Isabel is the CEO and Founder of Immersive Rehab, a VR health tech start-up that focuses on the creation and development of interactive rehab environments & games in VR that will improve the effectiveness of physical rehabilitation.
April 12th, 16:00, At-Bristol
People with limited mobility in upper limbs, due to stroke for example, often cannot engage with objects due to lack of strength. This slows down their recovery process and can be very demoralising. Through virtual reality, Immersive Rehab offers effective physical rehabilitation that keeps them engaged with their physical rehabilitation programme.
Tom has worked in the games industry for over 9 years, firstly with Blizzard Entertainment before co-founding Coatsink. He’s a writer by education but has learned to be a general creative director and business manager by practice.
April 13th, 14:40, Watershed - Waterside 3
Coatsink is a passionate and talented game development team working on games for PC, VR platforms, console and mobile. Tom’s talk will discuss Coatsink’s discoveries, successes and failures over three years of developing games, experiences and tools for VR.
Ian is an advocate and consultant working throughout the games industry to raise the profile and understanding of accessibility.
April 13th, 15:00, Watershed - Waterside 3
A look at VR-specific barriers for people with impaired vision, hearing, cognitive and motor ability, and how to overcome them through design, ensuring as many people as possible can benefit from all that VR has to offer.
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.
April 12th, 14:40, Watershed - Waterside 3
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.
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.
April 13th, 11:10, Watershed - Cinema 1
Dave's talk covers all aspects for VR Audio Production and centres on multiple techniques which have been used 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.
As a design and development studio RUST LTD. has worked on VR projects in a variety of contexts. About three years ago, they started doing some contract work in the attractions industry. In 2016 they launched Hot Dogs, Horseshoes & Hand Grenades on Steam for the HTC Vive. Recently they have worked on adapting that project for use in arcades and started developing new work specifically aimed at both the consumer and out-of-home contexts.
April 13th, 11:20, Watershed - Waterside 3
This talk is a distillation of Luke and Lucas’ experience designing VR experiences for both consumer and out-of-home contexts as well as the work they have done porting projects between the two. Some topics they plan on covering include: consumer VR vs. attraction VR, depth vs accessibility, operator concerns, custom hardware, user on-boarding and throughput and business models. An all-encompassing talk for developers and would-be VR creators.
As a design and development studio RUST LTD. has worked on VR projects in a variety of contexts. About three years ago, they started doing some contract work in the attractions industry. In 2016 they launched Hot Dogs, Horseshoes & Hand Grenades on Steam for the HTC Vive. Recently they have worked on adapting that project for use in arcades and started developing new work specifically aimed at both the consumer and out-of-home contexts.
April 13th, 11:20, Watershed - Waterside 3
This talk is a distillation of Luke and Lucas’ experience designing VR experiences for both consumer and out-of-home contexts as well as the work they have done porting projects between the two. Some topics they plan on covering include: consumer VR vs. attraction VR, depth vs accessibility, operator concerns, custom hardware, user on-boarding and throughput and business models. An all-encompassing talk for developers and would-be VR creators.
Håvard Christensen is a VR developer with background from game programming and game design. In addition to game and VR development, he has a solid experience with android development. He has most fun working in short cycles and especially with game jams or similar.
April 12th, 10:55, Watershed - Cinema 1
How do you move from a detailed and scientific text book to teaching in room scale VR, with the constraint that you have only one month and a limited budget? Håvard argues that our weekly design, prototype, test cycle was key to their understanding of how to best adapt biology content for VR. Come learn how he believes science education can benefit from interactive teaching in VR.
Edward Miller is an interactive imagery specialist with 7 years experience producing 360 degree video & immersive digital content. Edward has produced work for the likes of BBC, UEFA, ESNP, Vogue, NHS, Daily Mail and Royal Ballet.
April 12th, 14:20, Watershed - Cinema 1
Over the past few years, AR content creators have been limited to creating 'marker-based' AR experiences, using toolsets such as Vuforia or ARToolkit. In this session, we will walk through a new tool for creating city-scale AR content, allowing developers and creatives to truly bring the virtual world, to life.
Pablo Coca is Director of Business Development and Operations at Fundación CTIC, a technology center specialized in Information and Communcation Technologies. He is Lead Auditor of R&D Management Systems according to the Spanish standard UNE166002, performing certification audits for the Spanish Association for Standardisation and Certification (AENOR). He is also external evaluator of the European Commission in R&D and innovation Programmes.
April 11th, 14:50, Watershed - Waterside 3
Pablo's talk will be based on CTIC's conversor called RealCAD. It allows them to make quick conversions (some hours) from CAD3D files to VR scenarios. Thus current economic barriers to use in the VR industry are overcome. They have used this technology in several industrial and engineering applications that will be presented in the talk as real use-cases.
Will Freeman is a freelance journalist and critic specialising in video games, the game industry, tabletop gaming, technology and VR. Beyond The Guardian and The Observer, his writing can be found at Edge, Eurogamer, Gamespot, Develop and more. He'll be hosting the main track at VR World Congress, assuming the role for the third year straight!
April 12th, 10:00, At-Bristol
Will Freeman gets the day off and running - 12th April.
April 13th, 10:00, At-Bristol
Will Freeman gets the day off and running - 13th April.
April 11th, 14:00, Watershed - Waterside 3
A multi-media VR/360/AR expert, Kim is a BAFTA nominated, award winning creative & director born in Canada and based in London. Specializing in high impact visual storytelling, her background as an illustrator and designer imbues each project with imagination and originality, while her skills as writer, director and producer ground her ideas in the reality of what works on screen.
April 13th, 11:30, Watershed - Cinema 1
Focus on where diversity and challenges have lead in the past year. Is this still an area that needs to be worked on? What work still needs to be done?
April 13th, 16:50, At-Bristol
The panel will discuss the future of narrative design and creative storytelling for Immersive Entertainment formats, aimed to provide different viewpoints and outside expertise. Original VR Writers Room.
IT engineer who went from developing video games to social networks and TV apps, Thomas used his taste for adventure to discover different domains. He's now dedicated to the Web and to VR, connecting both to build pieces of the Metaverse!
April 13th, 14:20, Watershed - Cinema 1
Many say that 2017 will be the year of WebVR, the JavaScript API that allows you to load up VR using your browser. Join a mixed panel of industry veterans who are placing their bets on WebVR and learn why it will play a key role in jumpstarting the industry.
Rowland Manthorpe is Associate Editor of WIRED, where he writes about the politics and philosophy of technology. An award-winning writer and journalist whose work has been published in the Observer, the Economist, the Atlantic and the Sunday Telegraph, he is also co-author Confidence, a philosophical novel published by Bloomsbury in August 2016.
April 13th, 16:20, Watershed - Waterside 3
This panel will explore the part haptics must play in the future of truly immersive, interactive experiences. From tactile experiences to kinesthesis, the panel will explore the information that the sense of touch can give the user, what current technologies can simulate this information, and how they see haptics being brought to virtual worlds in the future.
Ally has over 10 years’ experience in the field of virtual reality, haptics, robotics and simulation. He has worked as research associate on simulation projects, collaborated on training simulators and was awarded a research fellowship to explore the use of advanced haptic technologies. Ally acts as Applications Lead for Generic Robotics delivering products such as SimuTeach® and Toia®
April 13th, 16:20, Watershed - Waterside 3
This panel will explore the part haptics must play in the future of truly immersive, interactive experiences. From tactile experiences to kinesthesis, the panel will explore the information that the sense of touch can give the user, what current technologies can simulate this information, and how they see haptics being brought to virtual worlds in the future.
Serial entrepreneur & angel investor with experience both in China and Europe. From a background in blue chip companies he has founded then various tech related start-ups as well as joining the angel investment community in London. Recently launched the Realities Centre in London to accelerate innovation in the AR & VR space. The centre is focusing on acceleration and co-working specifically for the AR/VR industry with events, courses and mixed reality production.
April 13th, 16:20, Watershed - Waterside 3
This panel will explore the part haptics must play in the future of truly immersive, interactive experiences. From tactile experiences to kinesthesis, the panel will explore the information that the sense of touch can give the user, what current technologies can simulate this information, and how they see haptics being brought to virtual worlds in the future.
Alyssia Frankland is a producer / director working for Breaking Fourth, a London-based VR studio focused on long-form narrative and storytelling. Following the success of their first drama last year, and with multiple upcoming VR productions being released in 2017, she is at the forefront of immersive storytelling in virtual reality.
April 13th, 11:30, Watershed - Cinema 1
Focus on where diversity and challenges have lead in the past year. Is this still an area that needs to be worked on? What work still needs to be done?
Freelance Creative Director / Producer specialising in games and in particular VR games and interactive content. Usually found in Bristol, mostly at Aardman Animations.
April 13th, 12:00, Watershed - Cinema 1
The talk will cover various practicalities, tips, information sources and techniques developed from my experience or adapted from traditional producering
Andre Elijah is the Creative Director and CTO of OPIATS, a startup based in Toronto, Canada that tackles interactive marketing initiatives through the use of game engines and VR. Having worked in multiple industries from film, to enterprise technology, to digital media - Andre is always pushing technology to its breaking point in service of thoughtful and engaging narratives.
April 12th, 12:20, Watershed - Waterside 3
Andre has been taking the pillars of VR and 360 degree design and turning them into engaging projects that immerse and delight users while leaving lasting impressions. The last couple of years have seen the foundation of VR concepts and workflows be defined, now is the time to adapt and think outside of the box in delivering especially creative and awe inspiring experiences.
Fabien is a WebVR developer focusing on building tools to make us smarter by exploring faster.
April 13th, 15:30, Watershed - Waterside 1
During this 90min workshop we will walk through all the key steps of making an AFrame experience. From defining a scene, adding primitives and assets, adjusting their position with the inspector to publishing it online as WebVR content. Finally we will test on whatever device we have available.
April 13th, 14:20, Watershed - Cinema 1
Many say that 2017 will be the year of WebVR, the JavaScript API that allows you to load up VR using your browser. Join a mixed panel of industry veterans who are placing their bets on WebVR and learn why it will play a key role in jumpstarting the industry.
Sam is actively engaged in the immersive technology community, living his passion for VR and games. Focused on delivery and deployment of Make Real products, he ensures that Make Real’s production teams are fully aligned with customer needs and that quality is assured.
April 13th, 16:00, At-Bristol
We’re seeing many success stories emerge from companies starting or transitioning to the world of Virtual Reality. Many of these companies have had some hardships that they’ve overcome over the past few years and there’s always more challenges to come. Hear from 5 successful companies from across Europe and how they solved problems they faced and what issues the envisage in the future.
Andy co-founded Accelerated Digital Ventures (ADV), a UK-wide Venture Capital investment company,created by entrepreneurs and operators, that invests in digital technology at every stage of the lifecycle from pre-seed to late stage. Previously, Andy co-founded internet software company Brightpearl which raised $36M Venture Capital and processes more than $3 billion of orders per year.
April 12th, 15:20, Watershed - Waterside 3
The panel will be discussing where financing options available at the moment, and the trends that investors and the government are keen to explore.
Co-founder of World of VR - startup searching for implementation of virtual reality in marketing, education and entertainment. Manager of campaigns and events in Poland and abroad for international organisations, public administration and private sector. Former spokesperson of the UN Development Programme (UNDP) in Poland.
April 13th, 11:00, Watershed - Waterside 3
Forget about a great 360° concept and high-end content if you can’t distribute it well, reach mass audience, and achieve high turnouts. People want to experience VR together! Like on a football game or a concert. Jan and Marcin will present challenges in managing multicast shows & solutions used by event agencies, VR cinemas, fairs, schools and more.
Some sources may lead to VRóblewski. After spending 8 years in game development, Michal is now at the core of VR division in Setapp with a challenging task - to find best answers to the question “How to VR?”. Michal has worked with the Setapp team on Overflight for Gear VR and Neverout coming out to Oculus Rift and HTC Vive.
April 13th, 16:00, At-Bristol
We’re seeing many success stories emerge from companies starting or transitioning to the world of Virtual Reality. Many of these companies have had some hardships that they’ve overcome over the past few years and there’s always more challenges to come. Hear from 5 successful companies from across Europe and how they solved problems they faced and what issues the envisage in the future.
Co-founder of World of VR – startup searching for implementation of virtual reality in marketing, education and entertainment. Event manager with 12-year experience, co-owner of the Windmill event agency. Responsible for organisation oversight of the two largest events in Poland - United Nations Climate Change Conferences COP 14 in Poznan and COP 19 in Warsaw.
April 13th, 11:00, Watershed - Waterside 3
Forget about a great 360° concept and high-end content if you can’t distribute it well, reach mass audience, and achieve high turnouts. People want to experience VR together! Like on a football game or a concert. Jan and Marcin will present challenges in managing multicast shows & solutions used by event agencies, VR cinemas, fairs, schools and more.
Kevin Williams has an extensive background in the development and sales of the latest amusement and attraction applications and technologies. The UK born specialist in the pay-to-play scene is well-known through his consultancy KWP and as a prolific writer and presenter covering the emergence of the new entertainment market.
April 11th, 14:10, Watershed - Waterside 3
Kevin will be speaking on the possibilities for VR to grow outside of the home.
April 13th, 16:50, At-Bristol
The panel will discuss the future of narrative design and creative storytelling for Immersive Entertainment formats, aimed to provide different viewpoints and outside expertise. Original VR Writers Room.
Katie is the Creative Director of award-winning Triangular Pixels. She has worked in VR and AR and has been described as a VR ‘pioneer’ by pushing the technology forward in “Unseen Diplomacy”, nominated for the BAFTA award for innovation. She is passionate about developing VR and the VR community.
April 13th, 16:00, At-Bristol
We’re seeing many success stories emerge from companies starting or transitioning to the world of Virtual Reality. Many of these companies have had some hardships that they’ve overcome over the past few years and there’s always more challenges to come. Hear from 5 successful companies from across Europe and how they solved problems they faced and what issues the envisage in the future.
Antti is a founder at Vizor.io, a platform for creating WebVR experiences. Vizor has been a part of the WebVR community since day one and Antti has created hundreds of web-based VR scenes during this time.
April 13th, 14:20, Watershed - Cinema 1
Many say that 2017 will be the year of WebVR, the JavaScript API that allows you to load up VR using your browser. Join a mixed panel of industry veterans who are placing their bets on WebVR and learn why it will play a key role in jumpstarting the industry.
Adam has been developing since 2009, and has been involved in AR and VR productions such as Wrath of Loki and ISS tour. House of Fables is known for popular Time Management games as well as many Hidden Object Puzzle Adventure titles such as Dark Heritage: Guardians of Hope, Mind Snares: Alice's Journey and most recently Eventide series.
April 13th, 16:00, At-Bristol
We’re seeing many success stories emerge from companies starting or transitioning to the world of Virtual Reality. Many of these companies have had some hardships that they’ve overcome over the past few years and there’s always more challenges to come. Hear from 5 successful companies from across Europe and how they solved problems they faced and what issues the envisage in the future.
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.
April 13th, 12:00, Watershed - Waterside 3
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.
