Next week, 3,000+ of the best and brightest from the augmented and virtual reality worlds will collide for a three day long event that has been called “the CES of the future” by USA Today. This year UploadVR had partnered up with the Augmented World Expo to bring the conference its first ever virtual reality track. Bringing together some of the coolest things VR has to offer, some pretty awesome talks – and even a little news, AWE promises to be a can’t miss event for virtual reality enthusiasts.
Let’s take a look at five of the VR things we are most excited about heading into the conference.
1. AltspaceVR teases new eye-popping input functionality
Demonstrating Leap Motion and Kinect Integration with AltspaceVR
Speaking with Bruce Wooden (aka Cymatic Bruce), AltspaceVR’s community manager, we have learned that on Monday Altspace will be debuting “a new input device that will greatly increase social interaction” at the conference. Wooden would not elaborate much further on the input, but it will be something completely new to social VR. This new feature will likely lead to a lot of discussion in the social sphere – potentially making the next thing on this list even more exciting…
2. Four of the “Five Families” of Social VR Gather on Stage
Ok, so somewhat of a shameless plug – but I will be hosting a panel on the future of social VR on Wednesday June 10th at 1:30pm PST. The discussion, titled “the social and philosophical impact of immersive technology” will gather Phillip Rosedale (Creator of Second Life, Founder of High Fidelity), Eric Romo (CEO – AltspaceVR), Peter Gray (Director of Communications, Liden Labs) and Shawn Whiting (Co-Founder of Convrge). The discussion will dive deep on what the future of social VR will look like as well as what implications it will have on culture as a whole. With this much firepower on stage – it is sure to be an explosive discussion.
Read More: How virtual reality is going to humanize social media
3. The AR vs. VR Debate – Featuring Robert Scoble
Speaking of explosive discussions the AR vs VR debate that will close the conference promises to be nuclear. The debate will feature the loquacious Robert Scoble who will be paired with Tipatat Chennavasin and Amir Rubin on the VR side and Ori Inbar, Mark Billinghurst, and Chris Stapleton on the AR side. The debate will look at the state of both technologies and discuss how they will play a role in our futures. With the cast of characters on stage expect some pretty heated discussion.
4. eMagin’s new 2K HMD
eMagin’s new HMD caused quite a stir in the virtual reality community when it was first introduced with a marketing campaign that looked like it was coming straight out of VR’s 90s past. The headset, which Dan Cui says is still early, promises 2K resolution per eye and has a form factor unlike any other headset on the market. eMagin has been a leader in the OLED and microdisplay world since 1993. We will be getting a full hands on Monday – so be tuned for our review!
5. Fly like Superman, and make music along the way
Airflow is everything that out of home VR is about. Wearing xsens body suit, you are hanging in the air with a suspension system flying over a landscape – your whole body being tracked along the way. Bringing a level of immersion that isn’t practical for the everyday consumer – Airflow is one of those amazing experiences you only get to try at events like this. Through the experience you are not only controlling your flight in a way that feels more like actually being in there you are creating music along the way. You might not be experiencing things like Airflow any time soon at home, but you can at AWE!
Excited to attend but don’t have your tickets yet? No worries! We have the hookup. Use this link to get $250 off a 1-day pass for AWE. We hope to see you there!
