As the world grows crazier by the day, Augmented Reality provides some much-needed comic relief.

AR is the “Rising Star” medium of our age, claims Liat Sade-Sternberg, CEO of fuse.it. And it’s hard to argue with that while watching a demo of a guy dancing gangnam style along with disturbingly agile avatars of Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump. We definitely live in strange times.

Augmented reality is the “Rising Star” medium of our age
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You can argue about whether or not that’s a good thing, but in this age of fake news and memes, the fact that this content doesn’t look too polished takes a back seat to whether you can do something fun and creative with it – and share it with one tap.

You can insert yourself into memes and news clips with media personalities
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And that’s just the sort of use case that Sade-Sternberg is selling. Fuse.it is an AR app that lets you sync up multiple audio sources with video at the same time as interacting with a range of 3D animated characters including Barack Obama, Donald Trump, and Hillary Clinton.

We will we see more apps that mix creative animated environments with the real world
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You can insert yourself into memes and news clips, having “conversations” with media personalities, singing and dancing with your favourite (or least favourite) politician, and basically blend, colour, manipulate and mash up any video source to create viral clips ready to share.

Interact with a range of 3D animated characters including Barack Obama and Donald Trump
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Using the app (which has just been released on iOS) is a matter of selecting a character or video you want to interact with, choose a camera position and begin recording. With a tap you can bring those characters to life, and record yourself interacting with them in your own surroundings, sharing the end results with friends. Fuse.it promises to keep adding the app’s content database to reflect the latest trending pop culture and news stories.

“It allows people to become content creators, with users easily able to make viral videos from fake news clips to memes,” says Sade-Sternberg. “We were looking for a new way to easily integrate people into videos and turn their media consumption from passive to active by letting them embed themselves into their favorite pop culture moments such as news, memes, movies, tv, music videos and more to let them be part of the story.”

She explains the original inspiration for the app came from trying to close the gap between official media and user generated content, providing a one-click solution to let users create blended content instantly. They decided to focus on video because it is as Sade-Sternberg puts, it, “king of content.”

“Online videos will account for more than 80% of all consumer internet traffic by 2020. Every day Over 8 billion videos or 100 millions hours of videos are watched on Facebook, 10 billion videos on SnapChat and 500 million hours of videos are watched on Youtube.”

The Israeli start-up – which was founded in Tel-Aviv but is currently headquartered in LA – also claims to have secured partnerships with several large music labels, but say they cannot yet disclose which.

Users are easily able to make viral videos from fake news clips to memes
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As mentioned above, the quality of the demos is far from polished, but it is enough to have fun with, and to hint at what will become possible in the near future as the technology continues to gain momentum and become more pervasive. And this is certainly what Sade-Sternberg is betting on:

“As we see Augmented Reality become more mainstream, so too will we see more apps that mix creative animated worlds with the real world. AR is already accessible to every person in the world. Google, Apple and Amazon all are investing big time in the technology so I think we’re going to see lots of improvement in this field in the upcoming months. We are in an exciting time, when we will define the behavior of how people will use AR apps.”

Originally published on VRScout

This App Creates Crazy AR Videos with One Tap via @alicebonasio https://t.co/ZjjfLvHTf9 pic.twitter.com/cec6cY4wbm

— VRScout (@VRScout) December 11, 2017

If you would like to find out how to leverage VR/AR/MR in your project or enterprise, Tech Trends offers Virtual Reality Consultancy support

Alice Bonasio is a VR Consultant and Tech Trends’ Editor in Chief. She also regularly writes for Fast Company, Ars Technica, Quartz, Wired and others. Connect with her on LinkedIn and follow @alicebonasio on Twitter.

The post Making Up Fake News with AR appeared first on Tech Trends.

An Oregon start-up has launched a new 3D collaboration platform for the HoloLens – and it’s free.

Object Theory calls itself “the world’s first HoloLens company,” and although all such claims have to be taken with a pinch of salt, they’re probably not far off. Back in 2015, just weeks after the HoloLens was first unveiled to the world, Michael Hoffman left Microsoft – where he was responsible for creating many of the HoloLens showcase experiences such as the Trimble demo – to start the company with co-founder Raven Zachary, who had previously founded iPhoneDevCamp, the largest non-Apple iOS development conference.

Object Theory was one of the first companies to become a Microsoft HoloLens Dev Partner
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They became one of the first teams to join Microsoft’s Mixed Reality Partner Program. Ever since, the Portland-based startup has been working from their Oregon base with a range of enterprise customers in industries such as Architecture, Engineering, Construction, Automotive and Energy & Utilities.

Object Theory has worked with customers in the Architecture, Automotive and Energy sectors
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Prism features avatar-based holographic telepresence
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Now Object Theory has just released a new collaborative computing application for the HoloLens called Prism, which takes many of the functionalities they’ve been developing for those clients over the past couple of years, and offers them to users in a free Windows Store application.

“We’ve been working on our Mixed Reality Collaboration Service for two years, and after deploying it successfully for several client projects, we felt it was the right time to release a free application on the Windows Store that demonstrates to HoloLens users the power of collaborative computing,” says Hoffman

Prism currently includes two demo experiences users can try out: Designing a modern house and planning a mountain hike on Mount Hood, Oregon’s highest peak. These are very cool, but this is about more than individual demos, it’s hinting at a much broader trend that companies like Object Theory are hoping to capitalize on. At its core, its founders say that Prism represents the vision of collaborative computing that HoloLens creator Alex Kipman has long advocated.

The platform allows users to examine and discuss 3D objects and environments simultaneously
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The combination features takes the Prism proposition far beyond your usual videoconferencing
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Prism features avatar-based holographic telepresence that allows participants to examine and discuss truly three-dimensional objects and environments through shared experiences. The application allows up to four participants per session to collaborate in real time from remote locations, enabled by life-size 3D avatars and spatial audio chat. In other words, it lets users interact realistically with people, objects and environments, both real and digital. That includes being able to display 3D models at tabletop and true-scale sizes, as well as making annotations in 3D space.

The combination of all those features really does take the proposition far beyond your usual videoconferencing offering. You’re not talking about sharing a screen, but about being able to walk around three-dimensional objects and examine in detail while your colleagues do the same, and you know you’re all looking at the same thing.

Such applications brings us closer to Alex Kipman's vision of Mixed Reality collaborative computing
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An architectural design team, for example, can switch between looking at a holographic model of a building sitting atop a desk to actually standing inside one of the rooms, and compare their experiences in real-time with one another, regardless of where individual team members happen to be in the world. A medical team could do the same when deciding the Operating Theatre layout before a complex surgery, and even have a practice run with a holographic patient. The possibilities are endlessly exciting, and if well-executed, the concept has potential to be a massive game changer for all industries. Which is why the HoloLens has had such enthusiastic take-up in building corporate partnerships.

If well-executed, the concept has potential to be a massive game changer for all industries
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The technology is currently being used in custom application projects for enterprise customers
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The technology is currently being used in custom application development projects by enterprise customers, and Object Theory offers several license options for its Mixed Reality Collaboration Service that include building custom applications. The company also offers a commercial version of Prism that allows organizations to import their own 3D models and collaborate in private sessions.

“We believe that Mixed Reality will empower the next generation of collaborative computing beyond what today’s video conferencing and screen sharing solutions are able to provide,” says Zachary. “Our public release of this application is just the beginning of showcasing next-generation collaboration scenarios, something we expect to be a major focus for Microsoft HoloLens and Windows Mixed Reality applications in the years to come.”

This article was originally published on VRScout

This HoloLens App Wants To Kickstart Collaborative Mixed Reality via @alicebonasio https://t.co/xIX3AgXjKr pic.twitter.com/lMpgGQSqqx

— VRScout (@VRScout) December 4, 2017

If you would like to find out how to leverage collaborative VR/AR/MR in your own project or enterprise, Tech Trends offers Virtual Reality Consultancy support

Alice Bonasio is a VR Consultant and Tech Trends’ Editor in Chief. She also regularly writes for Fast Company, Ars Technica, Quartz, Wired and others. Connect with her on LinkedIn and follow @alicebonasio on Twitter.

The post Collaborating in Mixed Reality is Big Business appeared first on Tech Trends.

It’s getting easier to make VR content, but showing it off is still a daunting task. WeLens is the start-up looking to change all that 

The VR industry is growing rapidly, with PwC estimating that 68 million VR headsets will be in use in the U.S. by 2021 with an expected revenue of $4.6 billion. That massive hardware growth needs to be matched by quality content, however, as well as the ability to share it in a streamlined way. And this is what San Francisco start-up  WeLens is setting out to do.

The VR hardware boom needs good quality, shareable content
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68 million VR headsets will be in use in the U.S. by 2021
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WeLens has worked for years on delivering VR solutions for high profile events such as the Sundance film festival. Working at the coalface of delivering smooth audience experiences, and having managed and facilitated hundreds of VR activations around the world, they saw a growing demand for a simpler way to bring that “communal theatre” vibe to personal screens by syncing multiple devices with the same content. The idea that emerged was that there was a real need to make it easier for Marketers, Filmmakers and Educators to screen their own VR content.

“Right now, VR is very difficult to use in real-world settings outside of your living room, especially when you’re using multiple VR headsets,” said James Levy, WeLens’s founder and CEO. “Devices need to be manually setup one at a time, there’s no way to control and track devices, and the result is chaos, stress, and elevated tech support costs.”

With LensPass anyone can orchestrate their own VR screening without the need for tech support
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LensPass is their recently launched software that is looking to fill that gap, by letting anyone setup their own VR screening, eliminating the need for technical staff at events. You can prepare and play VR content to multiple devices, it tracks engagement analytics with real-time device performance alerts, and offers the extra bonus on not relying heavily on WiFi to work, essential for environments such as festivals and conferences – which often suffer from chronic tech fails at the most inopportune moments. It’s available as a subscription service that allows users to assign screenings to any number of mobile VR devices from a simple customizable online dashboard.

“LensPass is designed to create opportunities for anyone to easily incorporate VR into different settings without the need for deep domain expertise,” explains Levy. “There is already a range of VR devices offering a variety of capabilities and benefits, from portable mobile VR systems to room-scale VR that can make use of an expanding number of peripherals and sensors. Especially now that hands-free augmented reality is looming on the horizon, at WeLens we expect to see VR expanding into an entire spectrum of immersive computing experiences, ranging from watching Netflix on a large virtual screen, to viewing a 3D scene play out on a table top using AR, to viewing a 360-degree video, to fully virtual experiences with positional tracking.”

VR headsets are individual by nature, but that doesn't preclude making the experiences social
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But what all these devices have in common is that they are fundamentally designed for individual use, much more so than smartphones, tablets, or even wearables like smart watches. However, Levy doesn’t think this precludes making immersive experiences more social:

“Our goal is to help make VR and other immersive computing more of a communal process,”he says. “As a first step toward achieving that, we’re focused with LensPass on the needs of organizations that are sharing and screening VR experiences for groups. That’s a critical part of the emerging media landscape where lenses will start to gradually replace other screens”

“In the last couple years, we saw a lot of experimentation in VR from brands, marketers, non-profits and other organisations. In many instances, they’ve just been figuring out their production and post-production workflows. For those creating live-action video VR experiences, there’s been a lot of learning about how to capture video in 360, how to tell stories in that medium, and many technical learnings about how to perform well within current constraints.”

Accordingly, the early users of LensPass have included top marketing agencies, media brands, VR production houses, and major theme parks across the country.

“We’ve seen our customers discovering that immersive content is a truly powerful storytelling tool, and not just a novelty,” said Levy. “We believe that improving the communal aspects of mobile VR and other personal display technology is a critical part of the emerging media landscape.”

As well as the increased interest in the Augmented/Mixed reality end of the VR spectrum, Levy points the fact that where companies were previously only dabbling with VR have started incorporating it into their long-term strategy and investing much more heavily in the technology.

“A lot of organizations and brands are coming back to us and saying that they have much more ambitious projects, and in some cases aren’t doing one-off screenings but are incorporating VR into their retail strategy, or they’re doing a traveling campaign of marketing activations or screenings that put the VR front and centre.  VR is starting to become more than just a novelty, and that’s because it’s really the best possible form of experiential marketing there is. After all, this immersive content is literally delivering an experience directly to your brain in a way that is completely unprecedented.”

Tech Trends’  Virtual Reality Consultancy services offers support for companies looking to get a foothold in the growing Mixed Reality spectrum and enhance their brand strategy with these exciting new technologies. 

Alice Bonasio is a VR and Digital Transformation Consultant and Tech Trends’ Editor in Chief. She also regularly writes for Fast Company, Ars Technica, Quartz, Wired and others. Connect with her on LinkedInand follow @alicebonasio on Twitter.

The post Enabling DIY VR Screenings appeared first on Tech Trends.

Lemonade is the Insurtech start-up using Artificial Intelligence and Behavioural Psychology to turn insurance into a force for good

If ever there was a bitter lemon, it has to be insurance
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It’s not hard to figure out where the inspiration for this company’s name has come from. If ever there was a bitter lemon, it has to be insurance, which most of us see as a necessary evil. But with Lemonade buying insurance is done through an app in no time and with no paperwork, yet the company is also a fully licenced insurance carrier reinsured by Lloyd’s of London. According to their mission statement, by striking that balance between old and new, replacing brokers and bureaucracy with bots and machine learning, it aims for “zero paperwork and instant everything.”

Lemonade wants to take insurance from necessary evil to social good
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But it’s the lack of greediness in Lemonade’s the business model that seems most disruptive, as it so emphatically breaks away with the way that legacy insurers traditionally operate. Lemonade takes only a flat fee, and give back unclaimed money to causes that its policyholders care about through their ‘Giveback” program -developed by Chief Behavioral Officer Professor Dan Ariely.

This goes far beyond marketing fluff, and is actually baked into the very core of their business model according to Lemonade’s CEO and Co-founder Daniel Schreiber. “We’re using technology to gather people with a shared cause and realigning incentives to bring the best in us all,” he says.

This strategy has not only earned the company B Corps status – similar to Fair Trade or Organic certification, which makes sure the company meets rigorous standards of social and environmental performance, accountability, and transparency – but looks to be bearing fruit in commercial terms as well. The company has just released surveys showing that it now ranks as the top choice among first-time buyers of renters insurance in New York State, with an impressive 27.6% share of that booming market. 110 million Americans rent their home, including 75% of under 35-year-olds, making this segment one of the largest and fastest growing in the industry.

The Google Surveys indicate that Lemonade – which was only launched in September last year – has overtaken big names such as Allstate, GEICO, Farmers, Liberty Mutual, Progressive, and other legacy insurers.

The first of two Google surveys compared Lemonade’s market share in renters insurance to that of other leading insurers, and pegged Lemonade’s overall market share at 4.2% (E: +2.1% / -1.4%). To put that into context, the national average market share amongst the top 10 homeowners insurance companies is 6.3%, and they’ve been in business, on average, for 104 years.

The second survey corroborated the 4% overall market share, and proceeded to break it down by when respondents first bought insurance. About 88% bought their first policy before Lemonade launched , and among them, Lemonade’s share was correspondingly low (0.9%). However, among the 12% who entered the market this year, Lemonade commands a 27.6% share (E:+12.6/-9.8)

“Attaining 4% market share in a few months, in such a competitive category, is without precedent,” said Peter Diamandis, founder and executive chairman of the XPRIZE Foundation, and cofounder of Singularity University.

Diamandis believes this is nothing short of a wake-up-call for the entire industry, as the numbers actually don’t do justice to how disruptive Lemonade has been in the short time since it has entered that space:

“As remarkable as this achievement is, however, it actually understates the Lemonade phenomenon. The vast majority of the ‘market’ bought their policy before Lemonade existed, so the more telling number is the share amongst consumers who entered the market since Lemonade did.”

This is backed up by the fact that in the two months since Google ran these surveys, the Lemonade customer base has more than doubled, and growth is expected to continue at a similar pace going forward according to Schreiber.

“But even if we just maintained the status quo — within a few years our overall market share would automatically come to match our ‘brand new’ market share. That’s what ‘brand new’ market share means; and that’s why it’s probably the single most telling metric of all,” he says.

Alice Bonasio is a VR and Digital Transformation Consultant and Tech Trends’ Editor in Chief. She also regularly writes for Fast Company, Ars Technica, Quartz, Wired and others. Connect with her on LinkedIn and follow @alicebonasio on Twitter.

The post Refreshingly Different Home Insurance for the Digital Age appeared first on Tech Trends.

Pi-top is a start-up making affordable, cool-looking computers for schools, which kids can build themselves while learning coding, electronics, and a whole lot more.

In my latest article for IDG Connect I explore how creative hacking and the Maker Movement have gained momentum in recent years as more people recognise there’s a skills crisis that has to be urgently tackled if we’re to not only cope, but thrive, in the digital economy.

The concept of Creative Hacking is something that a lot of technology startups have been exploring
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The concept of Creative Hacking is something that a lot of technology startups have been exploring in order to address the increasingly pressing issue of the widening digital skills gap. This essentially refers to the problem that not enough children are learning the skills they need at school to function in—and contribute to—the digital economy.

Pi-top is a start-up making affordable, cool-looking computers for schools
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This was, in fact, one of the hot topics of debate at the recent Global Education and Skills Forum in Dubai, where an initiative was launched to standardize that concept of “Digital Intelligence Quotient” and introduce it into the broader international curriculum.

There are moves to introduce a Digital Intelligence Quotient into the school curriculum
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One startup’s DIY laptop could have us all be makers, by @alicebonasio from @CIOonline https://t.co/VpbnFmOvOi

— Technology Experts (@IDGCN) May 3, 2017

This is part of a broader trend that recognises the importance of life-long learning and building of flexible skill sets, something that is embodied in the idea that technology is meant to be explored and played with, and that playing and learning are not just for children, but rather life-long activities. The Maker Movement and the proliferation of Makerspaces are prominent example of how this works in practice, as is the growing popularity of hackable hardware specifically geared towards education, such as the pi-top computers, which I recently had the opportunity to test firsthand.

This is part of a broader trend recognising the importance of life-long learning
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Pi-top is an EdTech startup that launched in October 2014 and sold over 11,000 units of its DIY laptops, working with more than 500 schools so far. They raised over $400,000 through crowdfunding and $4.3 million on a series A Round and were finalists for two BETT awards. 

Pi-top’s ambition is to provide schools with affordable coding hardware that is also flexible. The main issue with IT spend in education is that the hardware quickly becomes outdated, but this modular approach ensures that the devices remain easy to upgrade. They are also working to support this with a cloud ecosystem of resources where teachers can share and download lesson plans with one another building a collaborative, evolving coding curriculum.

The pi-top is, as the name suggests, a laptop powered by the Raspberry Pi. It runs on its own operating system—pi-topOS—which allows all the functions one might expect from an off-the-shelf laptop—such as web browsing, emailing, editing text documents and gaming, which makes it accessible at its $200 price point. But apart from the end product itself, its biggest selling point is the education-enabling potential it offers students. Through the process of building the device, children learn the about the basic architecture of the computer, then go on to customize its modular structure with add-ons to make it suit individual needs. It also makes upgrading a lot more affordable, as a new microprocessor can be installed for $30, much cheaper than buying a new device, especially considering how schools have to constantly upgrade multiple units.

Code clubs are using the devices to create computing lessons on its custom-made coding platform CEEDuniverse. It teaches those skills through gamification, encouraging children to “mine” for resources to progress throughout the game, solving visual programming puzzles to unlock the next levels. This teaches all the basic coding concepts in languages such as Python and Scratch in an engaging way, such as creatively composing music, for example. The coder interface also allows all Raspberry Pi resources and worksheets created by educators to be shared around the world.

So, how did I, a non-technical person, get on with building my very own laptop? I was able to not only do it, but enjoy the process:

Building

This was fantastic fun and the instructions were very clear, suitable for someone who has never build a computer before. I quickly got familiar with all the various circuit boards and cables and how they were supposed to come together. The screen is great quality and the keyboard is adequate, but the mouse pad is a little bit difficult to use, so it benefits from an external mouse, particularly when scrolling. The case is hard-wearing and a lovely bright shade of green that would appeal to children I’d imagine, although I really liked it too. The slide-out top section is amazingly effective, safely covering the internal components when you need and giving easy access to them for whenever you need to do some extra tinkering. The battery life is also very good, up to 12 hours depending on how many programs you have running, which beats my much more expensive MacBook by a long way. The only oddity there was the lack of a battery monitor on the dashboard.

Software

The pi-topOS comes installed on a micro SD card and booted up first time, connected to my W-Fi without issue and I was off and running. It comes preinstalled with essetials such as a chrome browser, basic office apps and of course a good selection of engaging learning tools. All these can be accessed on the attractive and familiar feeling desktop or through the pi-topDASHBOARD which is a neat smart phone style interface and a good starting point to begin exploring the pi-top’s capabilities. The only limitation is that it is very much meant to be used in a classroom context. It is perfectly possible to get a lot of learning and fun from it by yourself, but to get the full benefit of the learning tools, you do need the guidance of a teacher. The educational software is very diverse and offers everything from learning through gaming and game design to organized step-by-step coding tools where you can learn, test, debug and validate code.

Extras

The speaker is truly plug-and-play and allows the laptop to play media, while the pi-topPROTO is a great little breakout board, essential for physical computing lessons where you add and program lights, switches and circuits because the Raspberry Pi’s native GPIO header pins are used to run the pi-top. The PROTO duplicates these pins plus adds a load more possibilities for creative learning with well labelled connections for soldering on components and includes standard 5V, and 3.3V plus 18V power connections.

If we are to educate the next generation to understand technology and leverage digital skills creatively, then this is exactly the sort of tool that needs to be in every classroom. The good news is that startups like pi-top are making this not only possible, but much more affordable and rather fun. It sort of made me wish I were back at school, as I would have really enjoyed learning about computers if I had been allowed to play with them.

Article originally published on CIO Online

Alice Bonasio is a VR Consultant and Tech Trends’ Editor in Chief. She also regularly writes for Fast Company, Ars Technica, Quartz, Wired and others. Connect with her on LinkedIn and follow @alicebonasio and @techtrends_tech on Twitter.

The post Bringing the Maker Movement into EdTech appeared first on Tech Trends.

Information + Communication + Demonstration = better relationships + orgasms

That’s the ethos which permeates every complex layer of OMGYes’ slick and well-researched site. It defines itself as a “sexual pleasure research website” aimed not only at women, but at couples and men as well.

“Approximately half of our users are female and half are male,” says co-founder Lydia Daniller.

OMGYes does a fantastic job at demystifying women's pleasure and making exploring it fun for men and women
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“It’s for anyone curious about learning more ways to make a great thing even better. Couples who are constantly exploring ways to make sex more pleasurable are five times more likely to be happier in their relationship and 12 times more likely to be sexually satisfied. Women use the site to explore more ways to touch themselves and guide their partners, while men and partners are adding new, research-based tools to their toolbox.”

You can read the full article on The Future of Sex

OMGYes Wants to Break the Taboo Around Women’s Pleasure by @alicebonasio #women #sexuality https://t.co/VwlmdNqcQQ

— FutureofSex (@FutureofSex) February 14, 2017

The post OMGYes is the Gutsy Tech Start-up Getting Hands-On with Women’s Pleasure appeared first on Tech Trends.

If there was any doubt left that the VR Tech ecosystem is maturing nicely, look no further than the number of accelerators, incubators, co-working spaces and university courses that have cropped up like mushrooms over the past couple of years

The number of dedicated #VR accelerators cropping up shows how the ecosystem maturing
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Among these new VR-focused accelerators entering the race to harness the emerging enthusiasm and talent for building virtual worlds are Vive X (HTC Vive’s own program), Samsung NEXT, our own Upload Collective, and the SXSW Accelerator, but even the illustrious MIT has now thrown its hat into the ring.

MIT's accelerator offers $20,000 and mentoring to start-ups exploring technologies like VR
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You can find out more about their Play Labs initiative – which is offering mentorship and $20,000 to launch ideas around “Playful Technologies” such as AR/VR/MR – in this UploadVR article

MIT is partnering up with Bayview Labs and early stage VC firm the Seraph Group to launch a new accelerator dedicated to “Playful Technologies” such as VR and AR. The program starts in the summer and will offer mentorship, facilities and funding to selected start-ups looking to enter that space.

Applications are now open for this first Play Labs cohort, but only if you’re a MIT-affiliated start-up – meaning that at least one founder has to be an MIT alumni, student, or faculty member. Other than that, the criteria stipulated is pretty broad, with consideration being given to companies at any stage (pre-founding, pre-seed, seed, etc.) which come under the scope of what they define as “Playful Technologies”.

They will be considering start-ups looking to develop relevant technologies in areas such as Artificial Intelligence, Machine Vision and 3d Modeling
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So although the focus of the program is certainly on Virtual and Augmented Reality and their related applications, they will also be considering start-ups looking to develop relevant technologies in areas such as Artificial Intelligence, Machine Vision and 3d Modeling, with potential applications across Gaming, Healthcare, Education, Manufacturing, Data Visualization, eSports and many others.

“MIT students thrive on innovation and creative exploration, and through Play Labs we will help them move their most imaginative ideas into the realm of the possible,” says Scot Osterweil, Managing Director for Ludus, the MIT Center for Games, Learning, and Playful Media.

Once applications close on Feb. 20th, a number of start-ups will be selected (somewhere between 5 and 10, although the exact number is “not set in stone” according to their website) to embark on an intensive 3-month stint based at MIT’s campus in Cambridge, MA. Each will receive an initial $20,000 in funding in return for 6 percent common equity, followed by a potential further $80,000 for qualifying graduates.

MIT students thrive on innovation and creative exploration, and through Play Labs we will help them move their most imaginative ideas into the realm of the possible
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The program will be led by Rizwan Virk, executive director at Bayview Labs. He will mentor the start-ups alongside other faculty and staff from the MIT Game Lab, which is hosting the program together with Ludus – the MIT Center for Games, Learning, and Playful Media which coordinates all the various research groups in the institution exploring games and play. It will also have input from the VR@MIT group, a student organization on campus dedicated to fostering VR/AR entrepreneurship at the institution.

Virk, who is an entrepreneur and angel investor, says he wishes this type of program had been available when he himself graduated from MIT and was looking to embark on his first start-up.

“That’s why I designed the program in this way, with support from both MIT staff and industry entrepreneurs and mentors,” he explains. “MIT has been the starting point for many successful start-ups over the years, and although recently a lot of focus on playful and gaming technologies  – particularly VR/AR – has been on the West Coast, I believe that the ecosystem around MIT in Boston has great talent and start-up ideas in these areas.”

This is just the latest in a series of VR-focused accelerators and incubators that have been cropping up over the past year or so. These include Vive X (HTC Vive’s own program), Samsung NEXT, our own Upload Collective, and the SXSW Accelerator, which this year has a dedicated category for Augmented and Virtual Reality pitches. And considering the ever-growing interest that VR and related technologies is attracting, it’s probably safe to assume we’ll be seeing more of these in 2017.

This is just the latest in a series of VR-focused accelerators and incubators that have been cropping up over the past year or so
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MIT launches a VR accelerator for students and alumni. via @alicebonasio @MIT #VR #AR https://t.co/szYYmpwc1Q pic.twitter.com/Oc3AAlxvmM

— Upload (@UploadVR) January 25, 2017

To find out how to leverage VR/AR/MR in your enterprise, Tech Trends offers bespoke Virtual Reality Consultancy support

Alice Bonasio is a VR Consultant and Tech Trends’ Editor in Chief. She also regularly writes for Fast Company, Ars Technica, Quartz, Wired and others. Connect with her on LinkedIn and follow @alicebonasio and @techtrends_tech on Twitter.

The post MIT Launches Accelerator for Virtual Reality Start-ups appeared first on Tech Trends.