AWE Recap: From insurance to curing fear of spiders, AR & VR is changing lives
The AWE recap is back. We look back at the biggest news in augmented and virtual reality to keep you in the loop. Augmented Reality Zurich Insurance is using augmented reality to train over 10,000 of its managers in over 170 countries. The tech will be used within its in-class training sessions to provide managers with more in-depth information during their training. AR startup Spaceview won $240,000 at Angel Oregon for its AR app that lets salespeople and interior designers place virtual objects in a photo of a room. The 3-year old company beat out two other contenders in this annual competition in Portland. Virtual Reality HTC & Valve opened applications for Vive VR developer kits this week. Those accepted will be given a kit for free to get started on developing for the virtual reality system. Valve is encouraging all developers, big or small, to apply. Those interested need to fill out a form including a description of the project they would work on with the device. Virtual reality goes well beyond gaming and tech site, VentureBeat, recently published a great overview of VR apps that show how HMDs are being used outside of entertainment. The list covers anything from health and fitness solutions that can cure your fear of spiders to the ability to drive “virtually” anywhere. Swedish neuroscientists are using virtual reality to trick people in thinking that their body is invisible as a social study to see how people might be able to handle stressful situations better. The VR-based experiment asked participants to wear a HMD and then look down at their body at which time they were either shown nothing or a mannequin. In both cases, an object was brushed up against their body. In the cases where the user saw nothing (i.e. the body was invisible) the brain reacted as such. Augmented World Expo (AWE) is the world’s largest conference for professionals focused on making the world more interactive – featuring technologies such as Augmented Reality, Virtual Reality, Wearable Computing, Smart Glasses, Gesture and Sensors devices, and The Internet of Things. Now in our sixth year, AWE 2015 is our biggest event yet with over 3,000 tech professionals, 200 demos, 100+ AWE-inspiring talks and over 150 participating companies. Tickets are on sale now....
