Firefighter Training in VR, Preview Labs (& Livestream!)

Door open at 6:30pm, event begins at 7:00pm.

Boston VR is very excited to present a returning speaker, Bernard Francois! Bernard is a HIGHLY accomplished member of the XR community. He started his company Preview Labs in 2009 in Belgium and in 2016 opened his US office in Guilford, CT. They’ve prototyped over 200 projects for various clients including Walt Disney and Yale University with a strong emphasis on startups looking to accelerate their time to market. Bernard is also the chairman of FLEGA (Flemish Games Association https://www.flega.be/ ) and founder of GameDevCT (http://gamedevct.org/).

Bernard will be joined by Fred Caserta who is CEO of Pleiadian Systems (https://www.pleiadiansystems.com/) and FIRE RESCUE, LLC. His company focuses on VR training for first responders, public safety, and the energy sector. Some of you may also recognize Fred as he was the lead graphic designer and art director for Grand Theft Auto (GTA). Additionally, for over 20 years Fred has been at the forefront of marketing key hardware and software systems for Public Safety, Law Enforcement, and Homeland Security following 9/11. He also spent 5 years as Creative Director for Motorola’s Integrated Solutions Division.

In this talk, Bernard is going to detail on the process of developing a minimum viable product for the training of firefighters in VR.

In this project, developed for Pleiadian Systems, a team of firefighters can enter a burning house in VR, while an instructor guides them and provides a briefing and debriefing. In addition to the team collaboration aspect of the project, PreviewLabs also implemented a gas, fire, and smoke simulation system, combining physics and chemistry.

Fred Caserta, founder of of Pleiadian Systems, who is in full pitching mode, will detail on the business potential and how the project can make a difference in firefighter training.

Fred and Bernard will bring an absolute wealth of knowledge! If you’re interested in XR development, or taking an idea to market this will be gold mine!

This will also be our first event partnered with WPI IDeaS (https://ids.wpi.edu/) + MassDigi (https://www.massdigi.org) who have been generous enough to allow use of the WPI Seaport space.

Livestream link- https://bostonchildrens.zoom.us/j/92569598870?pwd=Q1VtUEVzMG9YZTRVcHhxWDhhNEx5UT09