Crash Course: What’s Coming in Virtual and Augmented Reality

Join Silicon Flatirons for a Crash Course about virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR). Following the program, there will be a networking reception sponsored by Silicon Legal Strategy.

VR / AR applications are here. Video games, enterprise applications, and even movies (Ready Player One, anyone?) each reflect growing awareness about how digital “reality” is, increasingly, part of day-to-day reality. Yet the most economically important and socially impactful applications of VR / AR have yet to arrive.

This Crash Course will dive into two issues underlying VR / AR: perception and narrative. Vikas Reddy, Co-founder of Occipital, will discuss “perception engines” for VR / AR.  Vikas will detail 3D scanning and tracking and, in particular, explain how better perception tools enable new types of VR / AR applications. Following that, Eric Klassen, Executive Producer and Innovation Project Engineer at CableLabs, will examine narrative in VR / AR. VR / AR media consumption is less passive than traditional media forms. As a user becomes more actively involved with VR / AR, and degrees of freedom expand, more is required to suspend user disbelief. Eric will examine research about how narrative will work with VR / AR media forms.

Finally, the Crash Course will include invited commenters as well as select demos of area companies with VR / AR products. Confirmed commenters include Brian Baker, Chief Executive Officer, First User Group, Lori Emerson, Associate Professor, University of Colorado, Max Harper, Co-founder, Simmetri, Inc., and Michael Tadros, Product Manager, Trimble Inc. VR demos include Pascal Wagner, Chief Executive Officer, Walkthrough.