Press Release – June 2017 – Cologne, Germany – From 05th – 06th of July, the DIGILITY conference and expo will focus on topics such as augmented and virtual reality, mixed reality, wearable computing, 360° imaging, 3D developments and artificial intelligence. After last year’s successful premiere event with 1,000 international attendees from 32 countries and 70+ speakers, Koelnmesse now even more forces investments into new developments and rapidly growing digital markets. For the very first time, together with its main sponsor Audi and partners like HTC, Vectorform and Salt n’Pepper, DIGILITY – will organise a 32-hour-hackathon, and thereby establish a third program pillar in addition to the conference and the exposition.
Jody Medich (Singularity University), Prof. Mel Slater (eventLAB / Virtual Body Works), Bianca Jürgens (Mercedes-Benz), Yobie Benjamin (Avegant), Jay Donovan (TechCrunch), Rosa Riera (Siemens), Hervé Fontaine (HTC) and Dominic Eskofier (NVIDIA) – all internationally renowned thought leaders – will present their visions, practical applications for AR/VR/MR, and provide insights into immersive technologies and innovations.
Jody Medich was previously Principal Experience Designer on the HoloLens Project at Microsoft and Principal UX at LEAP Motion and will show that cognitive ergonomics can significantly reduce the mental burden of Human Machine Interface. Prof. Mel Slater will provide ideas how virtual reality can enhance human life. His research has advanced the understanding of how VR can change perceptions about our human being. Furthermore, Yobie Benjamin, Technology Pioneer at the World Economic Forum and co-founder of Avegant, will show which underlying technology is driving our experience of wearable technologies. Rosa Riera will share insights into the launch of Siemens’ new employer brand, which was released by a series of VR documentaries.
The rapidly growing AR/VR industry increases a need for stable hardware and software solutions, business models, market shares and investment funding. Therefore, DIGILITY 2017 offers an open platform which focuses on opportunities in developments for brands, enterprises, mid-size companies and chances for startups and investors. Highlights will be the presentation of, Mercedes-Benz’ VR engineering research and implementations; innovations ranging from Innoactive’s Holocloud – a VR collaboration tool for enterprises – to Media Markt Saturn’s retail solutions, which will already present an outlook to the future: robots will guide us, Augmented and Virtual Reality will merge on- and offline worlds to new experiences; and artificial intelligence (AI) will help us to find what we are really looking for.
At the DIGILITY exposition, various companies, startups ad scientific institutions will showcase hands-on experiences, their latest products and services.
DIGILITY HACKATHON
The first DIGILITY hackathon will be the knowledge generator of the event, starts on 05th of July and will last 32 hours non-stop. Developers, ‘hackers’ and all interested talents are invited to work together on the advantages of physical collaboration – manipulating and prototyping shared objects in three dimensions, shared spatial cognition, natural interfaces, the use of hands and gestures to communicate and collaborate, and communication advantages of seeing body language and facial expressions.
“Audi believes this is an important moment to explore the current state of virtual collaboration, interaction and UX / UI design in these technologies, and is proudly sponsoring the DIGILITY Hackathon 2017. Audi is supporting this challenge to prototype new ideas quickly, bring new talent together, and help the European xR scene develop,” state Jan Pflüger and Jens Angerer, Center of Competence AR&VR / ProductionLab @ Audi.
To attend the hackathon, prior registration is necessary on DIGILITY’s website.
More information In workshops attendees will learn about new developing tools, hardware solutions and design thinking methods. Topics range from „Creating Cinematic VR Content“, „How to identify a meaningful VR product for your business“ to „Interactive 360° VR Experiences in minutes“.
The list of speakers, the topics and the program will be updated continuously.
Tickets and other details are now available from the DIGILITY website: www.digility.de.
Images and keynotes from last year’s event are available here. The video review from DIGILITY 2016 is available here.
Follow DIGILITY on facebook: www.facebook.com/digility.cologne Twitter: http://twitter.com/digilityCGN
Press contact:
Anett Gläsel-Maslov
DIGILITY Communications
Phone: +49 176-15480-606
Email: anett.glaesel-maslov@digility.de
Sean Earley is the Executive Editor of AR/VR Magazine & co-founder of RobotSpaceship Podcast Network. He is the Director of New Biz Development and Publishing at KEMWEB, a musician, producer & consultant. He loves guitars, VR and coffee.
