Where we are today and what's coming for 2014

Guest Speaker: Neil Schneider

Neil Schneider (MTBS3D (http://www.mtbs3d.com/), University of Ontario Institute of Technology (http://www.uoit.ca)) will be flying in from Toronto to speak to our group about the current state of stereoscopic 3D, the challenges that we face as a community, and some of the newer VR technologies coming out of academia and the private sector. Neil is the founder of MTBS3D (Meant to be Seen), the largest virtual reality and 3D stereoscopy community in world. Additionally, he is the Manager of Immersive Technology Services for the Faculty of Business and IT at the University of Ontario Institute of Technology. He is an expert in the field with experience in both the consumer and academic VR space.

Tele-Presentations

Also, we will host 2 tele-presentations from across the country. These talks are two-way, so you can ask questions and the speakers can see you. Our space has kindly provided a large projection screen and microphones.

1. Jan Goetgeluk (Virtuix (http://www.virtuix.com/)). From Houston, Jan will be discussing how the Omni (the virtual reality treadmill) came to be, and where the company is headed. The Omni recently completed an extremely successful Kickstarter campaign (http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1944625487/omni-move-naturally-in-your-favorite-game) ($150k goal / $1m received).

2. Jamie Kelly, Dave Ruddell, and Mark Haverstock (VRCade (http://www.vrcade.com/)). From Seattle, the team will be discussing:

Out-of-Home VR vs In-Home VR The VRcade business challenges, model, and opportunities Technical benchmarks Followed by Q&A Technology Demos

1. zSpace. zSpace will be demonstrating their immersive 3D platform, the zSpace System (http://zspace.com/). It combines an HD stereoscopic display, lightweight eyewear, full-motion parallax sensors that track the viewing angle of the user, and a 3D stylus.

2. Tactical Haptics. Will Provancher will be onsite demonstrating the Reactive Grip haptic device (http://tacticalhaptics.com/) which provides the sensation of touch to interactive gaming.

3. Condition One. Chris Wheeler will be demonstrating how Condition One (http://www.conditionone.com/solution/) is integrating 360 degree stereoscopic video feeds into the Oculus Rift.

4. Oculus Rift stations will be set up around the space. Please bring yours!

Schedule

Doors at 7:00, talks start at 7:30, then we'll open the room up to demos. Pizza, soda, and water will be provided. Beers will be sold for $3 (cash only).