VR/AR Global Summit in Vancouver to discuss the future of virtual and augmented reality

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      Regularly heralded as the future of tech, virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) are developing at breakneck speeds. Offering the chance to immerse users in interactive, three-dimensional worlds, or fill their vision with transformable holograms, the technologies are breaking new ground in industries as diverse as real estate, mining, and gaming.

      But while few can contest its transformational power, the field is at a crossroads. Not yet widely adopted by consumers or businesses, the sector needs to showcase the ways in which the technologies can retool hundreds of different industries to make them more sophisticated and user-friendly.

      The VR/AR Global Summit is aiming to do just that. 

      Bringing together world experts in the virtual and augmented reality space, the conference is set to consider the present and future of immersive tech. Featuring keynotes, workshops, creative hubs, demos, exhibits, and case studies, the two-day event invites individuals to join the best and brightest thought-leaders working in the industry.

      The summit is the first symposium of this scale to be organized by the VR/AR Association: a worldwide society that links companies working in virtual and augmented reality. It aims to unite developers so they can share best practices, and ally VR and AR businesses with brands looking to remodel their industries.

      “The VR/AR Global Summit continues the mission of the VR/AR Association of facilitating growth, knowledge, and connections across the globe, and across industry verticals for VR, AR, and mixed reality,” says Nathan Pettyjohn, founder and president of the VR/AR Association, in a press release. “The growing member base [of the Association] and thousands of registered companies have been asking for this type of interactive and innovative conference.”

      The event is set to build on the momentum of the CVR/Vu symposium held in Vancouver in 2017, which recorded more than 5000 attendees over three days, and showcased 65 speakers including representatives from NASA, Google, and Microsoft.

      The city has become a natural home for large-scale tech conferences. The location of one of the VR/AR Association’s most vibrant chapters, and recognized as one of the top 15 startup ecosystems in the world, Vancouver has produced a number of companies that are innovating in the virtual and augmented reality space. With its strong history in gaming, visual effects, and animation, the lower mainland has developed apps that range from architectural design to search-and-rescue “seeing” robots.

      “Vancouver is a global hub for immersive technologies, and boasts over 160 companies working directly in the VR/AR/MR space,” says Anne-Marie Enns, executive producer of the VR/AR Global Summit, in a press release. “It’s a dynamic part of Cascadia, which encompasses the Vancouver, Seattle, and Portland communities. I am very excited to work with such an amazing organization as the VR/AR Association to produce this event. This will be the largest and best show of its kind in Canada.”

      The VR/AR Global Summit will take place at Parq Vancouver on September 21 to 22.

      Follow Kate Wilson on Twitter @KateWilsonSays

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