Virtual and Augmented Reality are one of those technologies that we’ve been hearing about for a long long time. Is it finally breaking through? It’s forecast to be worth $150bn in 2020. As product folk, what do we need to know about this?
We had 3 amazing speakers who gave us a glimpse not only into this technology & business but also how much activity there is within Melbourne!
Getting cozy as we’re at full capacity tonight!
First up,Itai Etzman talked about product management at a VR startup. Itai has recently left Zero Latency – a multiplayer, free roaming, VR game.
While we digital product folks think about the experience and UI, this takes it to a whole new level. Consider you’ll need a roadmap which covers software, hardware, the game, A few things that stood out for me:
- You MUST test everything – it’s only only making sure the technical side is working but also the story, the gameplay and audio still works
- Itai recommended reading aviation human factors research to understand how the body & inner ear especially deals with rotation.
- You need to plan and test for emotion also! Fear & empathy are the strongest but nostalgia, excitement & joy are winners too.
Next up, Trent Clews-de Castilla from Phoria (formerly SCANN3D).
Trent elaborated on some of the things Itai spoke about – especially audio. With VR, touch, sight and sound are important though Trent thinks sound is the most important – you can even navigate with sound.
He talked about the possibilities of the technology including:
- Subpacs that allow the hearing impaired to hear (Trent showed a video of kids which I’m not finding but here’s a similar one)
- 3D tours of homes for sale
- Immersive experiences
VR for the masses thanks to Trent from Phoria #prodanon pic.twitter.com/XJjh9Dayy7
— Lisa Overton (@notrevol) November 24, 2016
Liam McGuire from Opaque Multimedia talked about some of their projects (including a game which lets your train to be an astronaut and go to space!) and the industry overall.
If you’re just getting started in the space, Liam reminded us to have a problem that can be solved with VR/AR – not getting enamored with the technology & trying to figure out a way to force it to solve the problem.
The large centres of work are in California due to the movie industry with hardware focused in Asia so we’re about 14 hours away from either. Regardless of this geography, Melbourne has very favorable climate with lots of tech talent in this space. The location is a challenge along with the changing landscape of competition and technology
One fascinating project they worked on is the Virtual Dementia Experience. Partnering with Alzheimer Australia Victoria, they developed a VR training simulator that allows people to experience what life is like living with dementia. The training is used to drive empathy with carers plus make it a much more memorable experience than traditional paper training.
One of our amazing ProdAnon members not only suggested the idea but helped pull it all together so Liz & I would like to thank Claire Sawyers for the awesome work!
We were also able to play with a Hololens – as Daniel says… it’s a bit cooler when you’re wearing it rather than watching someone wear it! 🙂
My first go with @HoloLens at today's #prodanon meetup. Looks much cooler from my POV. pic.twitter.com/4RGr3V7UXS
— Daniel Kinal (@dktpm) November 24, 2016
Thank you to our sponsor for the evening – Blue Chilli!
We’re taking a break until February 2017 but in the meantime you can sign up to our newsletter or join the slack channel (links above in the navigation). Have a fantastic break!