Virtual reality is on the rise in almost every industry. All types of businesses are wanting to utilize the power of virtual reality, and 2016 is the year to do that. Have you ever wanted to visit another planet? Now you virtually can. Football teams are using this technology to their advantage for safety and practice. Collaborators can walk through a building that doesn’t physically exist yet. Vacationers can now check out their next travel destination, leaving them eager to visit in real life. Visual storytellers are also taking advantage of what virtual reality has to offer.
Exploring a Holographic Mars
Friday, March 18
3:30 p.m. – 4:30 p.m.
Hilton Austin Downtown
Salon A / 500 E 4th St
Have you ever wanted to walk on another planet? Well now you can, to an extent. NASA may not have physically put a human on mars yet, but they have partnered with Microsoft to build the most accurate 3D reconstruction of Mars. This mixed-reality system allows scientists to explore Mars as if they were standing next to the Curiosity Rover. In this panel, Jeff Norris, Mission Operations Innovation Lead for NASA, and Victor Luo, SR Technical Lead for NASA, will share their story of how it was built, the technologies that enable it, and the future of mixed and virtual reality space exploration.
Virtual Football is the New Reality
Friday, March 11
3:30 p.m. – 4:30 p.m.
Four Seasons
Ballroom CD / 98 San Jacinto Blvd
Virtual reality has been used for general education, visual storytelling, travel and much more. But recently, virtual reality has become a huge trend in sports. In football, virtual reality has allowed players to practice complex schemes that they would otherwise only experience on game days. Bret Bielema, Arkansas Head Football Coach; George Schroeder, College Football Writer for USA Today; and Derek Belch, Co-Founder of Strivr will present this panel to demonstrate how virtual reality is being used to improve elite football players.
Virtual Tourism: VR, 360 and the Travel Industry
Wednesday, March 16
5:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m.
Hilton Austin Downtown
Salon A / 500 E 4th St
Virtual reality doesn’t have to be all about gaming. As this technology continues to develop, it is expected that the travel industry will jump on board to use virtual reality’s capabilities for their own benefit. With 360˚ video on the rise, travelers now have the opportunity to sample their next destination virtually, leaving them eager to visit in real life. Leading VR company Rapid VR has partnered with one of the largest airlines, Qantas, Samsung and Hamilton Island to transport viewers to the Great Barrier Reef. This panel will explore how your brand or travel destination can use VR and 360˚ video to create virtual tourism experiences.
The Future is Now: City Planning Using Social VR
Thursday, March 17
2:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.
Hilton Austin Downtown
Salon A / 500 E 4th St
It is easy for information to be absorbed visually. Anyone can look at a blue print for a building and envision the future of a building. But what if social VR could help groups of people understand something that doesn’t exist yet? The City of Minneapolis saw the potential in using VR in its planning review process with the University of Minnesota Virtual Reality Design Lab social VR. Instead of 2D renderings, decision-makers are using VR headsets and walking through a proposed development instead. This panel will discuss the potential for VR-powered civic engagement.
Using Virtual Reality in Storytelling
Sunday, March 13
11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
3Ten
310 W Willie Nelson Blvd
Print, video and digital are no longer the only media available for storytelling. Virtual reality as an immersive medium for telling engaging stories is on the rise. Any good storyteller will draw their audience into the story by using details and imagery to captivate the viewer. But with virtual reality storytelling, the technology will virtually place the audience right into the story. The University of Texas at Austin is at the forefront of development in virtual reality. The experts on this panel will discuss their new VR initiatives, the strategies, challenges and implications of creating fiction and non-fiction content using immersive media.