Name: New horizons for education and vocation development
Start: 2021-06-29T19:00:00Z
End: 2021-06-29T19:01:00.000Z
Location: BrightTALK

Connecting the XR community: Virtual Reality, Augmented Reality, Spatial Computing, AI

Dear All… Save the date! 

Presented by:
Mariam Brian with guests Evo heyning and Celeste Lear

As Co-Chair of the Global Aerospace committee with the VRARA (Mariam B) — pleased to announce our upcoming event — looking forward for what promises to be a profound dialogue!

XR professional Celeste Lear will give a personal glimpse into the incredible legacy of the Lear family in aviation and Aerospace and look ahead to the future of spatial interaction and ecological systems design with creative technologist Evo Heyning.

***

Join us on August 13th to explore the present and future of immersive technology touching on industry trends, transformative possibilities and human imagination for shaping the next frontier of flight & space exploration.

Global Aerospace Presents - From Learjet to Lightfields: A Spatial Odyssey

Dear All… Save the date!

Presented by:
Mariam Brian with guests Evo Heyning and Celeste Lear

As Co-Chair of the Global Aerospace committee with the VRARA (Mariam B) — pleased to announce our upcoming event — looking forward for what promises to be a profound dialogue!

XR professional Celeste Lear will give a personal glimpse into the incredible legacy of the Lear family in aviation and Aerospace and look ahead to the future of spatial interaction and ecological systems design with creative technologist Evo Heyning.

***

Join us on August 13th to explore the present and future of immersive technology touching on industry trends, transformative possibilities and human imagination for shaping the next frontier of flight & space exploration.

Register Here:
https://www.brighttalk.com/webcast/14711/649876?utm_source=VRARA&utm_medium=brighttalk&utm_campaign=649876

TEST RUN - Global Aerospace Presents - From Learjet to Lightfields: A Spatial Odyssey

Learn how enterprise teams could accelerate HMI design and validation using View R, an XR validation tool developed by South Korean startup Byond R, now optimized for Apple Vision Pro. In this session, William Sohn walks through practical automotive use cases, immersive UX workflows, and explains how View R bridges the gap between creative design, precise development, and confident decision-making using XR.

Industrial Use Case 1: Automotive HMI Validation

Show how HMI is used to simulate and test in-vehicle UI experiences with simple tools in XR

Stakeholder collaboration in cockpit mockups using AVP

Industrial Use Case 2: Virtual Early Validation of UX & HMI Concepts

Enable design and engineering teams to validate interface logic, layout, and user flow early in the process

Reduce costly prototyping cycles by catching issues before physical implementation

Support multi-stakeholder review in shared immersive cockpit environments

Powered by a built-in middleware layer, View R automates the conversion of 3D formats like FBX, USD, and STEP—enabling teams to rapidly import and validate 3D files.

Core Layer:

Apple Vision Pro-based prototyping

How View R runs as a portable tool for UI/UX teams and design stakeholders

Speakers:



William Sohn: U.S. Director of, Byond R. William leads Byond R’s U.S. expansion, connecting immersive XR technology to practical enterprise adoption. While not a developer himself, William A firm believer in the transformative potential of virtual and augmented spaces, William’s focus is on empowering businesses to seamlessly integrate XR into their workflows—bridging vision, usability, and impact.

From Concept to Cockpit: Real-Time XR Validation with Apple Vision Pro

This will be an interesting session providing great insight from a commercially successful company migrating a product from the consumer and enterprise space into Defense. Many companies start the opposite, transitioning from grant or SBIR federal funding out into the commercial sector

About Jan Goetgeluk
Jan Goetgeluk is the founder and CEO of Virtuix and the inventor of the Omni, the world’s first omni-directional treadmill that lets users walk and run in 360 degrees inside videogames and other virtualreality worlds. To date, Virtuix has shipped over $20 million worth of products, primarily to commercial entertainment customers including Dave & Buster’s, and they’ve built a fast-growing community of over 400,000 registered players. In 2025, Virtuix unveiled Omni Mission Trainer (OMT), a mixed-reality training system that lets 12+ soldiers move around freely and without boundaries inside a virtual training environment while seeing and using their actual weapons and equipment. Virtuix has raised more than $40MM from private and institutional investors, including Mark Cuban, twelve venture capital funds, and two strategic investors.
Prior to founding Virtuix, Jan was an Investment Banking Associate with JP Morgan in Houston and New York. He holds a Bachelor of Science and a Master of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Ghent in Belgium, and an MBA from Rice University in Houston, Texas.

Bucking the trend - from Commercial Gaming Success to Defense

In a rapidly evolving digital world, how can we preserve and pass down cultural heritage—not just for future generations but also for ourselves? AR/VR offers a powerful way to bridge the past and the future, transforming how we experience, interact with, and safeguard traditional culture. Through immersive interactive experiences, cultural heritage becomes more accessible, engaging, and dynamic—no longer confined to museums or textbooks but a living, evolving part of our daily lives.

Bridging Time and Space: How AR/VR Revives and Reimagines Cultural Heritage

The most valuable asset of any large organization are the teams of talented people who possess expert-level knowledge, wisdom, insights and skills across a diverse range of disciplines. Using a new AI technology modeled on the biological principle of Swarm Intelligence, we can connect these large teams together into superintelligence systems that can deliberate on complex problems and quickly converge on optimized solutions. We call this Collective Superintelligence.

Louis Rosenberg, PhD is an early pioneer of virtual and augmented reality and a longtime AI researcher. His work began in 1991 in VR labs at NASA, Stanford, and the US Air Force. He then founded the early VR company Immersion Corp in 1993, the early AR company Outland Research in 2004, and founded Unanimous AI in 2014

Collective Superintelligence: Using AI to turn Large Human Teams into a Personified Collective Expert

Introducing the VRARA Master Class Online: "Innovate for Impact: Building Sustainable Businesses with Immersive Technologies" - a cutting-edge program designed to equip forward-thinking leaders with the knowledge and tools to create lasting businesses through the power of virtual and augmented reality.

Benefits
- Gain insights into leveraging immersive technologies for long-term business success
- Learn to develop effective meditation and wellness solutions using VR/AR
- Explore how virtual reality can enhance human potential and well-being
- Understand the application of immersive tech in creating impactful, revenue-generating products
- Acquire skills in building resilient business models in a rapidly evolving tech landscape

Why Choose This Master Class?
This program is essential for business leaders and innovators seeking to:
- Create businesses with lasting impact using immersive technologies
- Implement strategies that balance profitability with positive societal impact
- Contribute to human well-being while building a sustainable revenue model
- Develop an innovative mindset within their organization
- Gain practical knowledge from industry experts on navigating the unpredictable immersive tech market

Time: 17:00- 18:00 Stockholm

Introducing the VRARA Master Class Online

Discover how to get started with #immersive technologies in the #education sector, featuring groundbreaking advancements like the Meta for Education initiative. Join host Yogini Joglekar for an engaging panel discussion with VR-in-education experts at the forefront of immersive tech. They’ll share how they leverage #XR to enhance #STEM, business, and #SEL programs. Don’t miss this opportunity to explore the future of education.

Ready or Not, Here It Comes: How VR is Transforming Education

Exciting News: Webinar on Conversational AI and Immersive Tech! 

We’re diving into the future of Conversational AI and VR/AR!

Join us for a special webinar where we explore how chatbots are transforming the immersive experience, enhancing user interactions, and opening new possibilities across industries.

Guest Speaker:
I’m thrilled to have Alex Romero from SentientInfo, a leader in AI solutions, sharing his expertise on integrating chatbots into VR/AR environments. His innovative work is helping shape the future of immersive technologies!

What to Expect:
Innovative Integration: Discover how chatbots enhance VR/AR experiences.
Real-World Applications: Case studies showing the powerful impact of this technology.

Future Trends: Insights into the evolving landscape of conversational AI and immersive tech.

Interactive Q&A: Engage with industry leaders and ask your burning questions.

Don’t miss out on this opportunity to learn, connect, and be part of the future of tech! Let’s explore how we can drive innovation together.

Conversational AI Meets Immersive Tech: Unlocking the Synergy Between Chat Event by VR/ AR Association Sweden

Join the VRARA Mexico Chapter for their latest webinar, featuring Rodrigo Blanco of ARVORE Immersive Experiences and Andrei Speridiao of MIT Senseable City Lab. Register today!

Crafting Immersive Experiences from Concept to Reality

Virtual Event with Q&A from Dr. Miguel Arias

VR and AR Opportunities in Mexico's Industrial Sector: A Landscape Overview

Join the VRARA Houston chapter as they host John Cunningham, COO of VRARA to discuss the intersection of real people interacting in virtual worlds.

In addition to being COO of VRARA, John Cunningham is also President of Virtualware USA operations. Prior to joining Virtualware, Cunningham founded and led Unity's Government and Aerospace business. He has a long stint in leadership roles, including at Aruba Networks, Motorola, H.P., and Verizon. His career includes executive leadership roles at Carnegie Global Learning and Carnegie Mellon University, and served in the U.S. Space Force Association (SFA) as the Director of Special Programs.

Bridging Physical & Virtual Worlds with John Cunningham

EXPLORING THE POTENTIAL OF REAL ESTATE DIGITAL TWINS AND VR
HOW  DIGITAL TWINS AND VR    WITH  THE POWER OF WEB 3.0 IS REVOLUTIONIZING THE REAL ESTATE INDUSTRY

Join  VRARA Real Estate, Architecture and Construction Committee Co-chair John Dean Markunas and Digital Twin and VR industry experts, Matthieu Melki and Dr. Miguel Arias as they discuss the  use of these new technologies which are  enhancing and augmenting real world assets and how they will  have a positive and sustainable impact on the world.

EXPLORING THE POTENTIAL OF REAL ESTATE DIGITAL TWINS AND VR

Join us for a captivating exploration of the next frontier in immersive technology: haptic exoskeletons for the hand. This webinar, jointly presented by the St. Louis and Chicago Chapters of the VR/AR Association, highlights the ground-breaking innovations of Magos, and the broader applications of their technology to potential end users. 


Why Attend?


Exclusive Insights: Hear directly from the CEO of Magos, our lead panelist, who will unravel the intricate workings of their state-of-the-art haptic device.

Broad Applicability: Discover the transformative potential of haptic exoskeleton technology across diverse industries such as Healthcare, Engineering, Education, Telerobotics, and Gaming.

Pioneering Innovation: Engage in discussions about how Magos's haptic technology is shaping the future of spatial computing, bridging the gap between the digital and physical realms.


Who Should Attend?

Professionals, enthusiasts, researchers, and decision-makers keen on understanding the cross-industry applications of haptic technology should not miss this opportunity. Whether you're in healthcare looking to understand the future of telemedicine, an educator keen on leveraging AR/VR for teaching, an engineer aiming for precision in simulations, a gamer, or a telerobotics professional, this webinar has something enlightening for you.


The VR/AR Difference

Jointly presented by the St. Louis and Chicago chapters of VRARA, this webinar upholds our commitment to fostering collaboration, accelerating growth, and promoting the services of pioneering companies in immersive technology. As champions of research, education, and industry best practices, attendees will gain a comprehensive and holistic understanding of the topics driving the immersive technology industry.

Touching the Intangible: The Future Haptic Exoskeletons In Immersive Technology

Our speakers will be discussing taking cool technology demos and how to mature those into deliverable, long term production within the Air Force and Navy. Hear from key technologists and leaders as they discuss their experience and recommendations for making successful XR products.

Speakers:
John Meyers, Executive Director, NAWCTSD: https://www.linkedin.com/in/john-meyers-72617017a/

Michael Meyer, Innovator, USAF: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-meyer-3a4442156/

Gary Haus, Senior Solutions Engineer with Unity. https://www.linkedin.com/in/garyhaus/

XR Products: Going from cool demo to production use within Aerospace

The success of an immersive experience is ultimately driven by audience response. And it’s not just how many people engaged, but who they are, what they did while in the space, and what the outcome of their experience is. To drive resonance – and, ultimately, ROI –  for the project, you must be an active steward of the audience experience in close collaboration with those who best know the audience needs, wants and behaviors, and who will be responsible for supporting communications.

In our June 21 meeting, you will hear from communications industry veteran, Trish Nicolas, executive vice president for SPI Group. She will share learnings from recent VR and metaverse projects, as well as from her 35 years of experience leading communications strategy and storytelling initiatives.

Hosts: Casey Jensen &  Hermes Frangoudis

Speakers: Trish Nicolas
A skilled communications veteran of 35 years, Trish Nicolas leads communications strategy as executive vice president at SPI Group (a Ruder Finn Company). As an executive leadership team member, she provides senior counsel for clients and teams, tapping her expertise in communications strategy, brand reputation, issues management, story shaping, creative problem solving and audience engagement. Over the course of her career, Trish has provided counsel to more than 200 companies and organizations. Trish was inducted into the global “Ogilvy 50” for “exceptionally strong skills and exemplary contributions,” and her team won the Ogilvy “President’s Vision and Values” award. Her creative work writing a kids’ rap that was produced as a video and TV commercial about COVID safety in 2020 won a national Healthcare Digital Marketing award and a Healthcare Advertising award. She’s also proud of her team’s recent audience-centric storytelling initiatives tapping metaverse and VR technologies and platforms.

Resonance & ROI: Top tips from a communications pro for your XR project success

The VR/AR Association announced the Generative AI Committee and Doug Hohulin as the Generative AI Committee  Chair.

Please join us for this introductory Webinar where we overview the Goals of the VRARA Generative AI Committee and the synergies between AI and XR to transform business and society.  

Doug Hohulin - VRARA Chapter President - Kansas City, Generative AI Committee Chair, Automotive Committee Chair
Michael Morrissey - Founder & CEO of Nextlabs.digital, a cloud-based platform for collaborative learning & training-up on Generative AI toolsets & workflows to unlock the next generation of your business by “adding AI”.  Will discuss Unlocking the “conditioned mind” with AI Image Generation to spatialize ideas & experiences in VR.
Bill Bishop CEO, BIG idea Coach, keynote speaker, entrepreneur, futurist and author of 11 books including How To Sell A Lobster, The New Factory Thinker and Dancing With Robots. Bill Bishop | LinkedIn
Dr. Harvey Castro MD Author of Bing Copilot and Other LLM: Revolutionizing Healthcare With AI


The VRARA Generative AI Committee will focus on the following goals:
• Fostering collaboration between professionals, companies, and educational institutions in Generative AI and XR.
• Developing and disseminating guidelines and best practices for implementing Generative AI in the XR context.
• Identifying and promoting business opportunities in the Generative AI and XR sectors.
• Providing a platform for sharing industry case studies and success stories related to Generative AI applications.
• Encouraging research and innovation in Generative AI and XR technologies.

VRARA Generative AI and XR Committee Introduction

Featured Guest: Marion Surgical



Join us for a lunch and learn, as Ben Sainsbury, CEO of Marion Surgical shares how his firm is using VR to impact the field of surgical training. Marion Surgical is a Canadian start up with headquarters in Niagara Falls, Canada and with offices in Buffalo and Manchester, UK. Their marquee product is a VR surgical rehearsal simulator, called the K181 VR surgery platform. The VR platform uses patented haptics to simulate the feeling of operating on real human tissue. Its customers include Boston Scientific, Cook and Coloplast—blue chip medical device companies that use the simulator for advanced training.

Health Vertical Showcase {Toronto Chapter}

Learn about latest use cases and best practices. A researcher, a PhD candidate, a Professor, a Vocational training expert: four different perspectives for this roundtable about education. The core of the conversation will orbit around new horizons of education and training. We'll discuss the impact of new technologies, including current experiences, expectations and opinions about AR and VR. The session will be moderated by Gabriele Sorrento, president of VRARA Silicon Valley Chapter.

New horizons for education and vocation development

Education

vocation

Get powerful emerging technology insights from influential experts. Connect with thought leaders and colleagues to get the most up-to-date knowledge on technologies like 3D printing, pervasive robotics, natural interfaces, connected everything and cognitive systems.

Emerging Technologies

The research and development community on BrightTALK brings together leading professionals in healthcare, technology and manufacturing to present on current topics in their fields. From big data in healthcare to online forensics training and medical research practices, the community is an exceptional resource for those looking to expand their knowledge. Be part of the conversation by joining the community and participating in interactive live webinars.

New horizons for education and vocation development

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VRARA