Hi there! 👋
How is the summer going? Did you enjoy the nice weather? Have you joined Eirmersive Forum already? If you haven’t, this is the perfect time!
Some of the interesting conversations we had this month include how Out-of-home Social VR is making a comeback after the pandemic (for example Zero Latency in Dublin reopened its doors); how the race for the metaverse is heating up; about our members’ experience with virtual conferences, either with video or immersive tech; the future of Cloud XR and, of course, immersive tech being used in the Olympics!
We also had great conversations with Ronan Kelly and Alex Gibson. Ronan is an Architect/Designer & Futurist, who answered plenty of questions about how XR is used for architecture, urban planning and visualisation. Alex is a University Lecturer & Manager, Immersive Tech Evangelist, Radio Show Presenter and Founder of the ARVR Innovate Conference; and he answered the community’s questions about using immersive technology as part of the omni-channel marketing mix. Thanks a lot to both!
Events 🎟
An interesting workshop happening soon:
Immersive Technologies Skillnet presents: The Case for Augmented Reality
Patrick Liddy, UtilityAR founder, will tell us about the potential of Augmented Reality and Smart Glasses for training. The workshop, which includes a review of the technology and current trends, provides a detailed deep-dive into how Augmented Reality and Smart Glasses can be used to provide a more immersive and effective experience. This workshop will take place on 13th September, so if you are interested, you can register here.
Immersive Technologies Skillnet is doing a great job with their workshops! Close to 50 participants have already joined this Unreal Engine Bootcamp which started on the 26th July and will continue until 20th August; and there are more in the making. We will keep you posted!
What’s going on in the Irish ecosystem? ☘
Not all the news is about the Olympics!
Lingaun Valley Tourism Launches an Augmented Reality Smartphone App
The Lingaun Valley launches its AR smartphone app to three high prestige heritage-tourism sites: Knockroe Passage Tomb, the Kilkerian High Cross monastic complex and the Killamery High Cross and heritage cemetery. The free app allows visitors to see the three sites as they were first developed up to thousands of years ago. Read more about this amazon work here.
Sentireal wins a new contract from The Agri-Food Bioscience Institute
Belfast-based company Sentireal have been awarded a new contract from The Agri-Food and Bioscience Institute (AFBI) to develop an online immersive application to identify optimum designs for calf houses. In the words of Sentireal chairman Aidan McGrath: "It will combine Augmented Reality and AI to illustrate how building design and means of ventilation can impact hygiene practices and improve calf health and performance." Great to see another example of Immersive Tech meets Agri Tech!
TSSG Technology Gateway secures funding for Digital Photogrammetry Unit
The TSSG Technology Gateway at Walton Institute has been chosen as one of the successful applicants of the €6m Capital Equipment Fund administered by Enterprise Ireland through the Technology Gateway and Technology Centre Programmes. This funding will be used for a Digital Photogrammetry Unit, an equipment that offers the capability to acquire detailed 3D models of large objects (including people) in a fraction of a second. Read more here.
Other stories 🔝
Here are some stories our community shared and discussed on the Eirmersive Forum:
Epic Games acquires Sketchfab, the biggest 3D model web repository
New York-based startup Sketchfab has been acquired by Epic Games, the company behind Fortnite and Unreal Engine. Sketchfab has been building a platform to upload, download, view, share, sell and buy 3D assets. Essentially, it is the leading repository for 3D files on the web. Read TechCrunch’s article here.
Mark Zuckerberg: “Facebook is becoming a metaverse company”
In an interview with tech-journalist Casey Newton, Mark Zuckerberg said that their overarching goal across all their initiatives is to help bring the metaverse to life. As June came to an end, Facebook CEO told his employees about this ambitious new project: building a maximalist, interconnected set of experiences straight out of sci-fi, a world known as the metaverse.
Snap acquires Vertebrae to make AR shopping a reality
Snap has bought Vertebrae, a company that lets brands create and manage 3D versions of their goods, with the idea of easily uploading visuals and other information about an item into Vertebrae and having a 3D version made for shoppers to access, and potentially buy directly, within Snapchat. This has been a great quarter for Snap, which is growing faster than ever, doubling down on their AR strategy.
PwC invests further in Virtual Reality
According to Jeremy Dalton, every member of PwC's Global Learning and Development team has now been assigned their own VR headset to support the firm's ambitions to further explore the power of VR in corporate training.
And that’s it! 🥳
If you liked this, please recommend it to your friends and colleagues. And if you have any news you want us to feature in the newsletter you can also send us an email to hello@eirmersive.com.
See you soon, and remember to join our community!