Forbes: What To Expect From the VR/AR Global Summit
By Charlie Fink
Tom Emrich holds the crowd in thrall at VR/AR Global Summit 2018
The fourth annual VR/AR Global Summit will take place on November 1-2, 2019 in Vancouver, BC. The conference and expo will welcome 1000+ Executives, 120+ Speakers and 50+ Exhibitors from leading companies like Lenovo, Niantic, Microsoft, and Viacom. With over 230 companies active in VR/AR, Vancouver is the 2nd largest immersive ecosystem in the world. Organizers say this year’s Global Summit will have a strong focus on enterprise and immersive interaction design.
Vancouver is the 2nd largest VR/AR ecosystem in the world, with over 230 VR/AR companies, many built off of a longstanding legacy in the film, video game & tech industries. Major publishers like Electronic Arts (EA), Microsoft, Capcom and Nintendo have large studios here. The Vancouver ecosystem is made up of approximately 1,000 businesses which generate over 40,000 jobs.
“The VR/AR industry no longer affects just a handful of like-minded people in the gaming world." said Nathan Pettyjohn, Commercial AR/VR Lead at Lenovo, and Founder and President of the VR/AR Association (VRARA). "We have seen it used by the military, in industry, and entertainment. It’s influencing pop culture, and being applied to shows like Viacom’s AR show for Missy Elliott.”
In addition to VRARA Chapters, and Members from all over the globe, some of the world’s largest companies are now implementing XR solutions. We’ll hear from many of them, including MasterCard, Verizon, Boeing, Raytheon, Siemens, Viacom, Walmart and Lockheed Martin.
This year, the lineup is purposefully split almost equally between men and women. Undeterred by stats that state only 16% of women have tried VR as opposed to 30% of men, the VRARA is trying to keep this industry not only inclusive but a leader in celebrating and furthering the progress of women in tech. To mark this commitment, Co-Chairs, conference organizer Anne-Marie Enns and Sophia Moshada, head of the VRARA’s DC Chapter and Director at Brightline Interactive, will launch the VRARA Women’s Committee at this year's summit.
Keynotes include: Travis May, Director of Learning Technology & Development at Mastercard, who will be speaking about the future of workplace training; Heidi Buck, US Navy, founder and director of the Battlespace Exploitation of Mixed Reality Lab at SPAWAR Systems Center, Pacific. Her previous commentary has touched on the usage of VR/AR to train oversees troops for challenging environments and cultural sensitivity; and Ross Finman, head of AR for mobile games Niantic (Pokemon Go). A full list of speakers from companies like Microsoft, HTC, and Magic Leap can be found here.
One of the highlights of the Global Summit is its "speed dating."