The film and production industry, like every other vertical, took a step back during the pandemic and reevaluated how things are done. One of the biggest trends (literally) since then has been having an innovative—and usually massive—video wall for virtual production.

Clear Lake, IA-based 35North Studios is one of the latest to make waves, turning to Planar and Brompton Technologies for virtual production projects. Using Planar CarbonLight CLI VX Series LED video walls with Brompton technology in its new 3,500-square-foot virtual production stage—which is powered by Unreal—35North is saving on production costs, all while streamlining the filmmaking process.

“When we are shooting a car scene, we can make reflections appear and move across a windshield or the car mirrors,” Justin Fairfax, director of 35North Studios, told Planar. “We can also replicate natural lighting.”

According to Fairfax, that ability to bring the outdoors in and create those elements saves both time and money. “It’s about improving methods, accomplishing more in less time and tightening these incredibly lengthy filmmaking processes,” he said.

Some of the key technologies being used are:

• A curved, 22x8-foot main LED video wall backdrop with a 1.9mm pixel pitch.
• A movable 16x10-foot LED ceiling with a 2.6mm pixel pitch.
• Two movable 10x10-foot LED side walls, each with a 2.6mm pixel pitch.
• A motion-capture tracking system from OptiTrack and ARRI cinema cameras.

Check it out for yourself in the video below.

In case you haven't noticed, immersive billboards and experiences are all the rage these days. They definitely catch one's eye, and when we find one that we like in our social media or web surfing, we like to share it with you.

The Hong Kong-based Dragon Technova is lighting up billboards, VR studios, and even holograms as the company tries to "simplify 360 Immersive Tech." The company, which started in 2018, has done seemingly a little of everything, creating VR studios with video walls or tiles, and even turning the side of a building into a Sunglasses Hut advertisement. 

The detail is quite stunning; as one approaches it looks exactly like the brick buildings found on the street with some added floral décor, only to "open up" to a male model on a journey through sunglass use cases. 

Take a look for yourself below. 

SCN's own Mark J. Pescatore was live from the NAB 2023 Show floor at the Epiphan video booth, talking the sites and sounds from Las Vegas. In this episode, he is joined by Advanced Systems Group president (and SCN Cloud Power columnist) Dave Van Hoy to talk about 100 years of NAB, the trend of virtual reality video walls, and the power of the cloud.

[3 Observations from the 2023 NAB Show Floor]

Watch it below.

Moving outside the traditional cave, Kent State University’s Design Innovation (DI) department created the Blank_Lab, a makerspace which functions as a ‘black box’ environment for investigating collaborative experiences that bridge the scope of immersive technologies, including augmented, virtual and extended reality tools.

“It’s a makerspace with a range of AR, VR and XR technologies,” said J.R. Campbell, executive director, Design Innovation Initiative for Kent State University. “Rather than creating a dedicated cave or a static projection environment, we created a larger one with a hung grid ceiling to allow for a hung curtain wall and support reconfiguring of supporting cameras, projectors and other components. We integrated screen mounts that support 360-degree projection and a 15-channel audio system to support the ability to experiment with 3D spatial audio.”

The space is designed to be re-configurable to support both the development and demonstration of projects utilizing these technologies. In all cases, the aspiration is to support group experiences of up to 15 people, regardless of whether users are engaging with AR/VR headsets and/or experimenting with projections to create ‘cave-like’ experiences. The Blank_Lab’s main space has a hung grid ceiling allowing for a hung curtain wall and to support reconfiguration of supporting cameras, projectors, etc. The curtain wall allows for wiring, speakers, and other supporting technologies to be strung behind the wall without visibility to visitors.

Warping and Blending

Scalable Display Technologies software was chosen for the Blank_Lab to automatically warp and blend multiple projectors across the 360-degree projection to create a seamless display. Founded in 2004, Scalable is the original inventor and patent holder of camera-based automatic warp and blend technology.

“Scalable Display Technologies answered a unique challenge for the Blank_Lab,” Campbell noted. “The other vendors we were considering had completely fixed packages with controlled projectors and software. We are not a single-use case scenario. We required a solution that would flexibly support our maker environment. We wanted the ability to change components as needed. We purchased ten prosumer-level projectors and we needed a software solution that would allow us to effectively create a seamless image around a 360-degree environment.”

Campbell added, “Scalable has allowed us to easily showcase anything in a browser window or desktop without worrying about specific software to drive the system. Our goal is to have a solution that’s easy to use, meanwhile eliminating any barriers to entry for students, faculty, or staff. We’ve confidently accomplished our goal with Scalable’s software.”

Scalable provides industry-leading applications with a simple-to-use, cost-effective solution for warping and blending high-resolution displays on screens with unlimited geometry and size capabilities. With Scalable’s software, there are no limits to the display size or resolution, and images can be created using software tools.

[Scalable Display Technologies Brings American History to Life in Philadelphia]

Cross Discipline

The Blank_Lab, which opened its doors in 2021, has hosted a collection of projects, including three unique variations from the College of Architecture and Environmental Design, the School of Art and the Department of Computer Science.

“Students from the College of Architecture and Environmental Design have utilized the Blank_Lab to design conceptual communities and environments,” said Campbell. “The design was rendered in video format to create a visual flyover of the communities and environments. Additionally, the School of Art has utilized the Blank_Lab to conceptualize sculptures from AI environments to physical sculptures.”

Campbell added, “The Department of Computer Science is working on a compelling project, too. They’re collaborating with researchers in Holland to develop a digital nature experience for elderly individuals in care environments. They’re researching the impact of these environments on individuals’ health and well-being. The individuals are uncomfortable with a headset-based experience, so we’ve used the Blank_Lab to create an immersive projector-based experience.”

The Blank_Lab has a definite wow factor. “Everyone has been excited about the outcome. It’s not easy to get an opportunity to experiment with this technology,” said Campbell. “Part of it is the excitement of seeing it, and being plug-and-play without any technical experience required. We’re elated with the final result.”

ST Engineering Antycip has partnered with Renault Group to design and integrate a powerful virtual reality suite for one of the world’s largest automotive manufacturers.

Building on the companies’ previous collaborations in the VR world, and after a competitive tender process, ST Engineering Antycip was selected by Renault to develop a collaborative, 4K, powerwall-based solution which could be installed at Renault’s facilities in South Korea, India and Brazil.

“Renault France contacted ST Engineering Antycip as they are a historical client of ours in the automotive industry,” explained Johan Besnainou, ST Engineering Antycip's regional director for France and Spain, recalling the genesis of the project. “We got involved in the request for a quotation and won the tender thanks to our VR expertise, experience of working to budgets and track record of delivering high-performance AV equipment, as well as our international network of strong local partners, including in South Korea, India and Brazil.”

[How Analog Way and VISCON GmbH Enable VR Automotive Design for Hyundai]

The trio of installations, in Busan (South Korea), Chennai (India) and São José dos Pinhais (Brazil), utilize three identical systems comprising one powerwall, one high-end 5x2.5-meter screen and one plinth-mounted Christie 4K10-HS laser projector. A PC cluster, monitor, desk, cabling, 5.1 audio system and wireless presentation hardware (Barco ClickShare) complete the solution, which was entirely sourced, designed and implemented by ST Engineering Antycip.

ST Engineering Antycip additionally sourced most of the AV equipment locally to help with the logistics and keeping within budget, with the company also providing training on the new system through its local partners in each country. “We used local suppliers to avoid delays—we didn’t want the products to get stuck at customs,” continued Besnainou. “We also found people to facilitate the installations locally, while offering our international expertise.”

The three powerwall systems, which run Renault’s own 4K-native software and content, will be used by the carmaker’s local teams for product design and review, and are also designed to collaborate with each other, as well as with Renault Group’s headquarters in Paris.

[AV Network's top stories, product news, and expert insights] 

The success of the project, across multiple countries and continents and involving several manufacturers, is testament to ST Engineering Antycip’s global reach and technological expertise, as well as its Gallic savoir-faire, according to Besnainou. “We are proud to have delivered this project alongside Renault France in three countries, working in partnership with local Renault teams to create prestigious spaces for automotive design using 4K resolution with VR capabilities,” he concluded.

There is a lot of hype around 3D, VR & AR, the Metaverse and how all of this will transpire into our daily lives. HYPERVSN is at the forefront of this technical innovation. The company is launching a new generation platform called HYPERVSN SmartV. 

The new HYPERVSN SmartV solutions feature significant advancements, including the ability to connect the HYPERVSN SmartV solutions via an on-board HDMI connection. This development allows HYPERVSN SmartV to connect with the wider ecosystem of products involved in the Pro-AV and digital signage markets.

The inclusion of the HDMI means that HYPERVSN SmartV can now be used to display both 2D and 3D content. Thanks to that, HYPERVSN SmartV can now be considered a genuine alternative to standard video wall or LED solutions.

A new larger, but lighter 3000 nit HYPERVSN SmartV high bright model is launching, alongside an ultra-fine pixel pitch (0.65mm) medium sized display. These new solutions will successfully complement HYPERVSN’s current range, whilst addressing a wider scope of customer needs.

The HYPERVSN SmartV Platform also opens the possibility of interactive holographic content, as the SmartV platform is built on Android, which enables customers to develop custom widgets for their brand—this means SmartV can be connected to camera, voice and tablet controls. Other external triggers, such as motion sensors or Internet data sources can be used to trigger the HYPERVSN SmartV display, providing the user with a completely interactive experience.

[ HYPERVSN – AN INTEGRATED 3D HOLOGRAPHIC SYSTEM ]

To support the new SmartV solutions, HYPERVSN are releasing a wide range of accessories. These include Perspex protection options, alongside a range of wall mounts and mobile stands. The HYPERVSN SmartV Wall now comes standard with a perfectly spaced frame, which allows for easy installation and maintenance.

Kiryl Chykeyuk, HYPERVSN Co-founder said “We’ve spent the last three years completely redesigning the previous generation of HYPERVSN technology. We have developed proprietary accessories to enable new, exciting interactive features and various installation options. HYPERVSN SmartV technology is available to order now via HYPERVSN and our Authorized Partners across the globe.”

Another key aspect of the HYPERVSN SmartV devices is their incredible power efficiency. HYPERVSN SmartV is a more sustainable, greener product when compared to most other LED-based displays. Less pixels are used to create the same high-resolution imaging, with the new HYPERVSN SmartV M devices having a power consumption rate below 50 watts on average. That’s half the consumption of most regular LED displays! HYPERVSN is committed to sustainability, making HYPERVSN SmartV solutions the displays of the future.

Twitch is more than a video game streaming service—it’s a vibrant community and global phenomenon. With more than 15 million active daily users, Twitch foregrounds a different kind of connectedness in gaming. It’s become a premier locus for video gamers, esports and music broadcasts, and “in real life” streams.

Rounding the corner of his two-year Twitch anniversary, Kevin Little, the company’s Collaboration Services manager, is ideally stationed to report on the fast-changing realities of the modern workplace. Little knows how the right technology can improve workflows, but tech is just one piece of the puzzle. For Twitch’s 1,600 employees it’s the vital culture of teamwork, equitable meetings, and frictionless collaboration that help everyone thrive.

Leveling Up

To claim COVID was an enterprise variable is a colossal understatement. For nearly two years, corporations large and small have navigated logistical changes in staffing, human resources, and supply chains. Many contend that the “office” will never look the same. Nor should it.

Accelerating an existing trend, but spurred by the pandemic, remote workers will represent “32 percent of all employees worldwide by the end of 2021,” according to Gartner.

The Twitch brain trust utilized time during the pandemic to level up its collaboration methodologies—for onsite, hybrid, and fully remote meetings. Through surveys and focus groups, Little pinpointed collaboration pain points and changing needs, and the strategies to address them.

“It was interesting to see,” Little reflected, “how quickly all the platforms tried to raise their bar—for remote workers, especially.”

Little also tracks the underlying tensions that can emerge for remote workers and ways the collaboration leaders can create bridges within existing infrastructures. 

One of the ways to make communications as seamless as possible is to create a bridge for various platforms and touch points.  

Twitch has long been a “Google shop,” said Little, and, because it is an Amazon subsidiary, “we live between Amazon Chime and Google Meet.”

Technology leaders like Kevin Little focused on designing and integrating ways of communicating between the codecs. “We’ve surveyed a lot of employees, both on the Amazon side, and on the Twitch side, and we’ve worked to bridge that gap,” he said. 

Planning for the Unknown

2020 saw Twitch stakeholders back at the drawing board: white boarding and workshopping “return to work” plans. But, as rapidly developing COVID-19 variant news keeps reminding the world, even surefire plans need to adjust.  

Little says the key to keeping the workforce agile and connected is listening to users. 

“We’ve read enough surveys about how Twitch wants to collaborate, and we plan in line with that [data],” he said. “Survey, survey, survey.”

As far as a Unified Collaboration and Communication (UCC) solution to pull disparate pieces together, Little said that Twitch chose Cisco to “bridge the gap between all the platforms—allowing internal meetings in the ways people want to meet, so Twitch can be inclusive and equitable at the same time.”

Invest in Community & Culture

With a headquarters in San Francisco, and employees around the world, Little helps “Twitch employees work the way they need to with Amazon employees.”  

With its deep knowledge of Twitch’s audience, “Our team always has a very good lens on what’s coming next,” Little enthused. “They’ve done a fantastic job of weathering the [COVID-19] storm. Personally, I’ve taken the initiative to work with our Workplace Team, as well, to understand future builds, to understand how we will move forward.” 

Mission matters more than ever, Little added. 

Twitch has “doubled down on the community and the mission of Twitch, which is our culture,” Little said. “There will always be a balance with remote work, where and when people want to work, but at Twitch, it’s important that everybody sees each other, plus or minus three or four days a week.”

Remote Management

To build systems “with very few failure points,” Little noted, “Twitch is becoming more vendor agnostic.”

Driving that functionality-first approach is the focus on remote management, remote access, and managed services. 

“All of this is done in real time now, so we can see and we can monitor, through a cloud service, or remote management,” he said.

Conferencing is Changing

Another notable trend at Twitch: Conference rooms are getting smaller and more multipurpose, trending away from the gilded, siloed executive suites of yore. 

“From what I’ve seen,” Little shared, “conference rooms are becoming more multipurpose. In some cases, it means smaller, where you can have one-, two-, and three-person meetings, but also have more remote people in the meeting, in real time.”

Today’s conference spaces must also be versatile enough to support bigger events—with the flexible tech backbone to instantly shift from a huddle into a training room or an all-hands meeting space.

No matter the size or scope of the room, “It is very important to build to our standard,” Little said. 

Tools Must Be Inclusive 

There’s no shortage of UCC and videoconferencing platforms, soft codecs, and hardware. But there was a perennial challenge in facilitating collaborations so remote workers didn’t feel “lost,” Little said. That’s where an investment in cameras and audio—endpoints that could track people moving around the conference room—was beneficial. 

There should be, ultimately, one platform. “Wherever you are, onsite or remote, you should feel included,” Little pressed. It’s critical to keeping people engaged and team morale high.

Little pointed to Twitch leadership as setting the tone for inclusion. “Lenke Taylor, our Chief People Officer at Twitch, is really dialed in and passionate about inclusivity and equitable meetings,” he said. “We want the technology to follow that vision.”

More AV/IT Team Articles

[ AV/IT Team: Building Blocks of an Immersive Experience ]

[ AV/IT Team: 5 Large-scale Displays for Immersive Visualization ]

[ AV/IT Team: Out of this World Visualization ]

[ AV/IT Team: The Digital Canvas of Fame ]

[ AV/IT Team: Purpose-built Displays ] 

Don’t Chase Technology

Technology is always in flux, but one core truth remains: Don’t chase the shiny new gadget. Kevin Little confides that he has “scrapped ideas” due to changing product lines. He believes tech managers should “stop chasing technology.”

He takes a broader view: “Manufacturers and vendors will give you a roadmap as fast as they can, but adoption and systems take time.’ 

The media is also quick to leap on the latest product or trend. “Don’t put the cart before the horse,” he said. “Do lots of focus groups. Do a lot of use-case studies. Find out what is or isn’t important to employees. Maybe there’s one group for which a new tool could be useful. Build your decisions for the company on how they want to meet.”

The takeaway: Technology decisions should always be centered around people. 

“Put people first,” is Little’s motto.

Next in Tech

Though Little envisions a time when Twitch might explore virtual reality (VR) as a “proof of concept in its lab,” he is in no rush. “I see us waiting a couple more years until adoption.” 

What he’s focusing on now is video. “Because we’re such a heavy video streaming company. It is interesting to see where cameras are going—a lot of them are using AR and they’re trying to compose in different ways.”

The evolution of video transport and camera technology will come with growing pains for users, “both remote and [onsite],” Little said. What he sees in the support channels illustrates this, including the latency of the home network. “A lot of the codecs are going into NDI and IP. I’m interested to see what this will look like over one big network, as we move away from more like video cabling. It’s all over Cat-6 now.”

If Twitch’s staggering growth is any measure, the game streaming company is poised to influence the network video game profoundly.

The University of Bern is a comprehensive university founded in 1834. The University offers more than 150 bachelor's, master's and doctoral degrees in varying fields across eight faculties, including human sciences. Situated within the Swiss capital of Bern, the University of Bern is home to over 19,000 students making it the third-largest university in Switzerland.

The Institute of Sport Science is part of the Faculty of Human Sciences at the University of Bern. At the Institute of Sport Science, sport is conceptualized as an interdisciplinary subject. The research interest focuses on social and behavioral aspects of sport and exercise in various fields of practice, including school sports, leisure and health sports, and competitive sports.

Developing the Sensorimotor Lab and CAVE

The Institute of Sport Science has been developing the Sensorimotor Lab, an infrastructure designed to provide unique insights into human perceptual and motor behavior in complex naturalistic environments. "Since 2015, we have been developing a virtual reality infrastructure specifically targeting the study of human motor behavior in sports and exercise," said Dr. Ralf Kredel, senior lecturer at the University of Bern's Institute of Sport Science. "The University of Bern has many students that are highly proficient in sports, which allows us to closely monitor and study elite motor behavior while playing sports or exercising in our Sensorimotor Lab."

Dr. Kredel added, "The Institute of Sport Science utilizes the Sensorimotor Lab to research human motor behavior from a basic scientific perspective and explain phenomena manifesting in applied sports. We have sports associations and athletes come to us with individual and unique questions, which we try to answer utilizing our team and technology resources. As researchers, we are interested in understanding the general mechanisms behind these specific problems. For example, a specific trampolining skill is fascinating because it is quite technical and difficult to learn. Understanding the movement's mechanics and solving the problems the athlete encounters when acquiring or perfecting this specific skill can lead to understanding generic aspects of motor learning."

[Warping and Blending High-resolution Displays for Experiential Environments]

The University of Bern's Sensorimotor Lab contains a CAVE (computer automatic virtual environment), including full-body motion tracking, integrated mobile eye-tracking, spatial sound rendering, and twelve high-resolution projectors to project an immersive visual environment the walls and floor of the large room. Initially introduced in 2015, the University of Bern's CAVE was driven by in-house-developed software for projection blending and warping and displaying content. "Afterwards, we integrated Scalable Display Technologies to blend the image between multiple projectors in the Sensorimotor Lab," explained Dr. Kredel. "Before Scalable, we used self-developed software to manually calibrate the projection. We engaged a programmer who developed an entire custom concept to drive the CAVE, which we used for three years. Still, we wanted to find a more efficient way of producing and managing the content."

Dr. Kredel added, "Scalable checked all of our boxes. We needed to have a system that streamlined the day-to-day service operations in the CAVE, as I'm currently the only person who is maintaining, developing and managing the content. So, I have very limited time for service operations and was looking for a highly automated solution. Scalable's unique feature set provided us with everything we needed. Their one-touch calibration is ideal for us because it significantly reduces the downtime for maintenance--and it's often simple enough for anyone on-site to do the recalibration on their own."

Creating a Reliable, Interactive Solution With Scalable Software

Scalable's software automatically warps and blends multiple projectors into one seamless display. It allows the University of Bern to create a reliable and interactive solution. "Scalable's software has enabled us to streamline the calibration process and allows us to more closely interact with the video technology in the Sensorimotor Lab," noted Dr. Kredel. "Our CAVE is unique because we encourage people to physically interact with it. We want them, for example, to play soccer and shoot real soccer balls against the display walls. The virtual reality system enables us to control and systematically modify the properties of the virtual environment and the behavior of the virtual players, which can never be achieved in such a controlled manner when doing studies on the real pitch. In a virtual tennis service situation, as another example, we can vary the impact position of the ball and its speed while modifying the positional noise when trying to receive and return it with a virtual racket, which is controlled by the participant's hand movement. We can systematically manipulate many aspects relevant to human motor control and learning that cannot be controlled in a real environment but help to shed light on underlying mechanisms of skillful motor behavior. 

[Scalable Display Technologies Revolutionizes Maritime Simulation]

The integration with Scalable was successful at all levels. The Sensorimotor Lab supports many new possibilities for research and the University of Bern's graduate students. "It enables our doctorate and master's students to create interactive content by themselves and modify its properties at runtime," explained Dr. Kredel. "It takes complex sports or daily activities and makes them more easily accessible to research. It opens the door to a completely new area of research for sport science."

Want to dig for cultural artifacts in Egypt? Teleport to the Rocky Mountains during ecology class? How about drawing in three dimensions? Virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) enable these astonishing feats with spatial computing applications via headsets, tracking software, immersive projection, and mobile apps.

AR and VR, often referenced together as extended reality (XR), have been in use for decades, with gaming leading the charge for consumer adoption. But pandemic-related flux is inspiring commercial stakeholders to reassess XR’s potential. Industries including manufacturing, healthcare, retail, and education are examining the ways immersive technologies can enrich user experiences.

State of the Virtual State

VR costs continue to decrease as processing power increases. Tethered and wireless HMDs (head-mounted displays) are becoming more compact and easier to use. From the HTC Vive Pro 2 to Oculus Quest 2, there are solutions for various budgets. VR is no longer cost-prohibitive.

The AR ecosystem is evolving, too. Apple’s ARKit and free AR mobile apps like Adobe Aero are inviting more people into the content creation space.

It’s a different calculus for adoption in commercial sectors, however. Return on investment and utilization throughout the product lifecycle are primary concerns.

VR Fuels Interdisciplinary Learning

While business has slowed during the coronavirus pandemic, corporations and schools are seizing the moment to evaluate their resources and see how—or even if—VR can assist. With rapid changes in how we work and learn, which investments will yield the most beneficial impacts?

A university can optimize a VR investment by making the resource accessible by more than one department, said Jeff Brum, director of marketing and sales operations at Mechdyne Corp. “VR can be a showcase for the whole school to attract and recruit top talent—both students and professors,” he said. “Imagine a hub facility [with VR] that has a higher utilization rate by multiple departments on campus.”

Just look at Villanova University in Pennsylvania. Villanova has been using a VR Cave Automatic Virtual Environment (CAVE) system for nearly 10 years, with great results. Villanova’s CAVE “supports a multidisciplinary facility within the library, and it’s accessible to every department,” said Brum. During a recent webinar, Brum and Villanova’s tech manager shared ways to make a VR visualization center “like the academic Switzerland” so all disciplines can benefit.

This collaborative approach dovetails with a broader embrace of interdisciplinarity and project-based learning within the academy. It’s a pedagogical trend that VR is uniquely positioned to support.

Remote learning and collaboration have also benefited from VR, AR, and MR (mixed reality). For instance, a middle-school teacher in California, Charles Coomber, used the VR videogame Half-Life: Alyx to meet with students during lockdown in 2020, turning a VR space into a virtual math classroom.

Flexible VR

There are various limitations to headset use, including the isolating effect of wearing a head-mounted display that hides the outside world, and the difficulty in sanitizing headsets between uses. Because these HMDs may limit opportunities for collaboration, some stakeholders are exploring larger-scale systems for group instruction in VR, such as CAVEs, a recursive acronym that stands for Cave Automatic Virtual Environment. Several companies offer CAVE visualization systems. Barco’s CAVE Display is a multisided immersive environment (fixed or transportable) that can be customized to meet various size requirements. For more flexible spaces, a 3D-supported wall is another possible approach. A large format, reconfigurable system can change from a VR CAVE into a wall or angled screen.

AR in Education

Ori Inbar is the co-founder of Super Ventures and the co-founder/CEO of AugmentedReality.org, a global non-for-profit organization dedicated to the advancement of AR. He is also the producer of AWE Expo, an event focused on the AR industry.

Inbar is passionate about AR as an educational tool. “We learn better by doing and simulating, especially projects that are impossible to complete in the classroom,” he said. “We retain information better in 3D and spatially.”

Research backs up these assertions. Studies by the Empathic Computing Lab contextualize the use of AR and VR technologies within various learning modalities. As one research paper concluded, “Augmented reality offers an enhanced learning environment that could potentially influence children’s experience and knowledge gain during the language learning process.” VR has also been proven to assist the treatment of anxiety, phobia, addiction, and pain management, according to the Empathic Computing Lab.

Hundreds of AR-enabled apps have been created to help students learn the fundamentals of science, from the origins of the universe to the extinction of the dinosaurs. Inbar highlighted some notable K-12 games and apps that leverage AR. MagicKids is a box-based learning tool that integrates augmented reality and artificial intelligence so children can “interact with and learn from the world they see every day,” according to MagicKids. Popular augmented books include Bookful by InceptionXR. Complete Anatomy and Visible Body are compelling AR anatomy educational resources. The creative possibilities are endless.

Modus VR: Bridging the Gap

VR flips the script for AV stakeholders in another crucial way: by helping dealers bring AV to life. Modus VR is a powerful sales tool that lets users customize any space in VR, with no modeling experience necessary. A client’s space can be re-created to scale in minutes.

Modus VR is both a solution and a “paradigm shift in AV,” according to Ken Brueck, co-founder of the company. The software as a service (SaaS) application bridges the gap between blueprints and final renders, allowing clients to experience an immersive digital representation of an AV redesign before the first cable is laid. Using Modus VR, dealers can create virtual spaces, walk clients through design options, step by step, and seamlessly export to CAD. Say farewell to traditional blueprints. There’s another bonus—with Modus VR, you can fully demo in 3D without goggles.

Q&A

Like any other project, an XR application must start with designers and integrators asking the right questions. As early as possible, inquire about the areas of work or research that are germane to clients.

Mechdyne’s Brum encourages deep listening. “Ask about their projects,” he said. “Where’s the data coming from? What is their source material? What are they trying to create or present? What’s the class size? How often will the space or system be used by the school for recruitment? Will it be used expansively, within a multidisciplinary space, or for a STEAM program? Do you need a hosting room out front? What computing is required? What would the bring-your-own-device [BYOD] model look like?”

Brum added that, when considering a VR space, related non-VR elements, such as a hosting room, are just as important to understand.

Lifecycle and Upgrades

“Villanova is in its eighth year with a CAVE, and they’ve been viable all the way along,” said Brum. He also pointed out the virtual reality labs at Rowan University have been generating insights for 13 years. Iowa State University has had various immersive VR solutions for more than two decades—“including their showcase 100-million pixel, six-sided CAVE.” 

One of Mechdyne’s clients has an auditorium that’s VR-equipped with a “gigantic 30-foot diagonal screen. It offers 3D functionality, so they can do 3D teaching with 3D modeling plus standard presentations.”

The key for longevity, Brum explained, is planning for flexible and usable applications that will attract multiple users. Plan for regular maintenance and upgrade paths. Where possible, perform upgrades, both hardware and software, over time to keep the system performing optimally and generating results. With proven results comes the opportunity to upgrade even more.

Some of the company’s government and academic clients started with an immersive desk, then gradually moved up to a fully immersive VR system. “A flexible configuration will allow the client to accommodate multiple disciplines,” Brum added.

Solutions

Barco, Christie Digital, Digital Projection, Epson, and Sony are a few pro AV vendors that offer VR and immersive 3D projection solutions. “We offer platforms, so virtually every system we do is customized in some way, shape, or form, because we are vendor neutral,” said Brum.

“We always look at the application first. We look at the use cases and the overall goals, then we select the components that will deliver on those needs.” When collaboration and user requirements expand beyond head-mounted displays (HMDs), specifying and combining the right computing, displays, and software is not straightforward.

[Future Vision: Volvo Tests New Car Designs by Driving With an XR Headset]

Inflection Point?

COVID is still disrupting work and life across the globe, but 2021 also represents a year when the VR elements—hardware, software, processing power—have become more accessible. Especially for HMDs, computing power is increasing, resolution is increasing, and there is more content available, thanks in part to advances with Unity and Unreal Engine for content creation.

This alignment is playing out for multinational corporations. Say you want to keep distributed teams connected across the globe. Using the multiplayer model, clients can simulate an industrial workroom to design vehicles, for example, or prototype, with collaboration across distances using headsets. If a company with a design studio in Michigan and factories in China, South America, and Germany wants to keep teams in alignment, it’s possible with VR.

“VR has been around for more than 20 years, but there is still so much potential for us,” concluded Brum. “With form factors changing and headsets getting better, there are so many new opportunities. That’s all happening while the next generation of users and creators are redefining what VR can be.”

Click here to read more stories from the June 2021 issue of SCN.

Colleges and universities have been making use of augmented and virtual reality technologies for a while now. As the pandemic has forced institutions to reach more students remotely, AR and VR have the potential to contribute to a more engaging distance learning experience. Recently, AV Technology spoke with several leaders in the field to gain a better understanding of what this tech can do for higher ed.

Augmenting Anatomy

The Health Education Campus at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland officially opened its doors during the summer of 2019. Built in partnership with the Cleveland Clinic, the facility gathers students from Case Western’s medical, nursing, and dental programs under one roof. It also houses a number of spaces that were specifically designed to deliver anatomy education via augmented reality. 

Related: Volvo Tests New Car Designs by Driving With an XR Headset

Developed by what Case Western has dubbed the Interactive Commons—a group of anatomy faculty and software engineers—the university’s HoloAnatomy software in combination with Microsoft HoloLens AR headsets provides first- and second-year medical students with 3D perspectives of the human body, without the need for wet labs and cadavers. Miro Humer, associate vice president of client experience at Case Western, explained that his team is responsible for supporting the HoloLens devices as well as the technology that runs them. 

Humer said that during HoloAnatomy’s planning and design, there were some logistics to consider: how long would students need to wear these devices (and would they become too heavy to wear after a certain amount of time)? Would the devices cause headaches? And what about battery life? If a session was to last 45 minutes, and classes were scheduled back to back, would there be time to recharge the devices? “It drives how many devices you have to have on hand,” he said. “Our battery life is typically about two hours, but with age, that recedes.” He added that there was also significant discussion around how to apply the HoloLens to student testing: “When we have testing sessions and we’re using the HoloLens for the test, do we have enough devices? How do we proctor those tests? Some tests last an hour and a half, so the devices have to be fully charged and the batteries have to be in good condition to manage that.” And, if a device fails during the test, it’s necessary to have a backup on hand.

As of press time, only part of Case Western’s student body was back on campus, while the rest continued with remote learning. Humer relayed that when the university went fully remote in the spring of 2020, HoloLens devices were shipped to HoloAnatomy students and classes were able to continue. “Everybody saw how well this can work in a distributed world, where students can be anywhere and keep going with their education,” he said. During remote classes, students examining the same holographic image can also see avatars of each other, providing a level of interaction that Humer said is well beyond Zoom. “We’re going to continue our anatomy programs remotely. That would have been impossible in the old world, and that would have had significant financial impact to the university if we weren’t able to continue those classes.” 

Humer acknowledged that different people have different expectations of what AR and VR can deliver, and in order for an initiative like this to be successful, genuine collaboration between faculty and tech staff is a must. “There has to be a very strong partnership between the technology organization and the academic organization within the university to develop an effective solution—more so than, say, if you’re just deploying computers in a room,” he said. “It’s very closely aligned with the academic goals and students’ goals as well, [in terms of] what they can achieve in class. The technology organization has to be closely involved in the development of it.”

Professors Without Borders

In June of last year, Almo Professional A/V partnered with ARHT Media Inc., a holographic solutions developer based in Toronto.

Brian Rhatigan, director of business development at Almo, recounted that his colleague Sam Taylor, executive vice president and COO, was one of the driving forces behind the partnership. “Sam recognized this as a pioneering technology that he felt we wanted to be a part of, and that it could be a mutually beneficial relationship for both companies,” he said. “We’ve been working cohesively to raise awareness of ARHT Media, which is not necessarily a brand-new company, but new to our customer base. We’re getting the word out about the possibilities of the things you can do that, really, are outside of what the traditional pro AV integrator typically thinks of from a presentation and communications perspective.”

At the core of ARHT Media’s technology is the ARHT Engine, software that enables high-quality, low-latency AV streaming with end-to-end encryption. HoloPresence is a 3D display that doesn’t require viewers to wear 3D glasses, and which allows remote lecturers to appear in front of audiences as live holograms. Released in November 2020, HoloPod is a more portable version of HoloPresence (which does require an hour and a half to deploy). Designed for lecture halls, corporate training centers, and large corporate boardrooms, HoloPod is a plug-and-play cabinet on wheels that can be fully secured when not in use. Virtual Global Stage (VGS), the ARHT Media’s online, low-latency presentation platform, rounds out the company’s current lineup. 

ARHT Media CEO Larry O’Reilly explained that in using these solutions, universities become truly borderless. “What it allows higher education institutions to do is bring in core curriculum instructors or guest lecturers from anywhere in the world and have them present live or pre-recorded, lifelike, life-size, and fully interactive,” he said.

Last September, global healthcare company Novartis enlisted ARHT Media for a sponsored online presentation at the European Respiratory Society (ERS). Addressing the topic “Asthma Trends and Digital Health Solves,” three peer academic faculty based in Australia, Greece, and Germany were able to appear together, life-size, on the same Virtual Global Stage and interact with each other.  

“They wanted their presentation to look better than a Zoom call, which is what everybody else was doing … and we brought them together so that they could do their presentations individually, but more importantly, then have a panel discussion,” O’Reilly said. “It looked like they were all together in the exact same room because there was no latency. It was way more engaging.” According to ARHT Media, the presentation received over 2,000 views, and the company has continued to work with Novartis on other events since.

More Than Just a Laptop

The platform developed by zSpace Inc., an interactive technology company headquartered in San Jose, CA, integrates AR/VR technology into a laptop. The system also includes lightweight eyeglasses (enabling users to see each other while interacting with the technology), as well as a stylus. The laptop displays are equipped with tracking; as users tilt their heads to look around objects, the software automatically updates so that the image is presented in the correct perspective in full high definition. Users hold the stylus like they would a pen, with built-in buttons for additional functionality.

zSpace also offers a learning content catalog developed both in-house and by third-party providers. 

Michael Carbenia, executive director of career technical education (CTE) at zSpace, actually started out as a customer. Having grown up in the AV industry, Carbenia eventually pursued a career in education; prior to joining zSpace, he was the director of CTE for St. Lucie Public Schools in St. Lucie County, FL.

“The idea of AR and VR is that it allows somebody to experience something that they’ve never experienced before, or perhaps they’re scared to [experience],” Carbenia said. “It’s never going to replace actually working on a car, or actually welding. That’s not the intent, and I think that’s a misconception that people often think about. This is really about accelerating learning and getting someone to have the option to be exposed to something.”

Last fall, Renton Technical College in Renton, WA supplied students in the school’s automotive technology program with zSpace laptops pre-loaded with course curriculum to accommodate remote learning. According to Warren Takata, automotive technology instructor at the school, the technology actually improved student engagement. 

“Usually when you transition to remote learning, you worry about students completing their work,” Takata said in an announcement. “With zSpace, a lot of them went beyond the regular lessons. It’s really engaging content, and they dove in even further than their assignments called for, learning on their own about motors and transmissions.”

Takata believes that in order to maintain this level of engagement, schools need to be open to incorporating new technologies into their teaching methods. “We’ve taught automotive technology in the same way for decades,” he said. “Students gravitate toward learning with high-tech tools like zSpace. Programs that don’t adopt new technologies are going to be left behind.” 

Carolyn Heinze is a freelance writer/editor.

Frost & Sullivan’s recent analysis, Future of User Interfaces Shaping New Consumer Experiences, finds that user interface (UI) technologies have moved beyond the concept of simply representing machines to their users to enabling sophisticated and personalized interaction. The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated their use in healthcare, manufacturing, education, retail, and banking to simplify interactivity and improve engagement. 

The global augmented/virtual reality (AR/VR) market is expected to reach $661.40 billion by 2025, at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 86.3 percent from 2019 to 2025, driven by contactless commerce. Beyond 2030, AR and VR will merge, allowing users access to the total reality-virtuality continuum. Meanwhile, the global biometrics market revenue is forecast to reach $54.97 billion in 2025, with next-generation identification, palm vein and behavioral biometrics experiencing significant demand.

Related: Future Vision: Volvo Tests New Car Designs by Driving With an XR Headset

“The need for adoption of new user interface (UI) technologies to alleviate challenges posed by the global pandemic is immediate but constrained by infrastructure issues such as a lack of 5G networks and capable devices,” said Murali Krishnan, visionary innovation group senior industry analyst at Frost & Sullivan. “For futuristic UIs to become ubiquitous, security and privacy will be critical. Organizations must prioritize cybersecurity, business continuity plans, and risk assessments. Further, the transition to the fifth generation of wireless technology will be critical to the success of UI devices. Its ability to connect 1 million devices for every square kilometer will make 5G the backbone for UI devices and overall connected ecosystems.”

Krishnan added: “UI technologies will be an important component in the shift from the office to a virtual workplace that is mobile and more flexible, while interactive interfaces have expanded the scope of businesses to engage with their customers and build deep relationships. Technological advances in mixed reality, holographic displays, computer vision, and wearables will create new application opportunities.”

New technologies will drive growth opportunities in the short term as the adoption rate for user interfaces rises and organizations realize the productivity gains created by UI technologies:

Biometric technologies: With vendors integrating biometric technologies with AI and machine learning, there is a strong market for high-end biometric interfaces in the public and commercial sectors. A combination of iris, vein, fingerprint, facial recognition, and voiceprint interfaces for verification will offer additional security without compromising the user experience.

Digital twins: An estimated four out of five IoT platforms will employ digital twins over the next five years, propelling the global digital twin market to expand at a strong CAGR of 47.0 percent between 2019 and 2025. Retail, automotive, healthcare, manufacturing, energy, and smart cities will benefit. Successful implementations will require high-speed communication networks and no service disruptions.

Brain-machine interface: Neural interfaces could have a significant impact on the restoration of vision and hearing, treatment of mental health disorders, and alleviating pain through electrical stimuli by focusing on the appropriate areas of the brain. In addition, the gaming community is pioneering new gaming control mechanisms based on brain signals utilizing electroencephalography (EEG) headsets.

AR/VR: By 2025, China is expected to lead the VR market, with investments pouring into patents, standards, and products. AR, VR, and robotics will merge to develop VR robots, which will have a huge impact on manufacturing, retail, security, healthcare, and defense. In particular, AR/VR market revenue for manufacturing, robotics, and the engineering supply chain is expected to reach $161.29 billion by 2025.

Future of User Interfaces Shaping New Consumer Experiences is the latest addition to Frost & Sullivan’s Visionary Innovation Group research and analyses available through the Frost & Sullivan Leadership Council, which helps organizations identify a continuous flow of growth opportunities to succeed in an unpredictable future.

The proof of concept is here: remote work works.

According to Gartner, 88 percent of global organizations made it mandatory or encouraged their employees to work from home during the COVID-19 pandemic. Some corporations welcomed teams back to reconfigured, socially distanced office spaces over the summer, while tech firms such as Facebook and Google are giving many employees the flexibility to work from home through 2021.

As more people return to offices part-time, full-time, or with hybrid arrangements, what tools and policies will prove to be essential? What lessons have we learned about UCC, AV, and visualization technologies and team morale during the pandemic? How can AV specialists add value on the corporate campus, even as videoconferencing platforms continue to be the default meeting method for geographically separated employees?

New Workflows

Microsoft Teams, Cisco Webex, Zoom, and soft codecs of their ilk had been deployed in the enterprise for many years before the pandemic, but the crisis hastened their proliferation. “There have been various players and peripherals” for some time, according to Akintayo Adewole, CTS, design engineer at Verrex.

The crucial difference in 2020: enterprise technology specialists have had to “stop prophesying and simply make it all work, make it secure, and focus on delivering a better experience,” Adewole said.

Paul Konikowski, CTS-D, agreed. Konikowski—who works for HB Communications, number 13 on SCN's 2020 Top 50 list, as a manager of AV contracting—is currently completing an online Master of Science degree program from the School of Cybersecurity and Privacy at the Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech). He has been tracking the rapid workplace migration to digital communications—and the speed and scope of the shift. He’s observed how the pandemic has spurred a “dramatic adoption of collaboration tools like Microsoft Teams and Zoom,” which is notable “because it has changed our entire workflow,” Konikowski said.

“Persistent Chat Culture”

Videoconferencing soft codecs give employees the continuity of face-to-face meetings. Cloud-based solutions let people collaborate in sync on projects of all sizes. And for chatting, employees are leveraging Slack and tools like it. The result is an agile “persistent chat culture,” Konikowski noted, that keeps teams engaged, either asynchronously or synchronously.

AV specialists can help companies center the persistent chat culture as more workers return to the corporate campus. “People using Zoom and Slack are no longer ‘early adopters,’” Konikowski said, suggesting that workers will want to “seamlessly carry home office methods, tools, and workflows back into their [physical] offices.”

Konikowski pointed to products like large-format displays that will let employees socially distance without missing important information on the screen. Additional displays might be needed to showcase each element of the remote, on-site, and hybrid work ecosystem. Dashboard stats, access to camera feeds, webinars, live tweets, and chat streams are just a few of today’s standard work features. AV specialists can add value in an enterprise project by creatively merging these disparate but important elements.

To that end, Konikowski expects to see more interest in “voice control and solutions like confidence monitors and teleprompters in front of cameras that show the far end participant so more direct eye contact can be made.” These kinds of technologies and designs will meet the needs of today’s workforce and keep pace with changing behavior. Unified communications and collaboration (UCC) tools can create a bridge into hybrid or flex environments.

Prioritizing Health and Safety

Another enterprise trend is the visualization of health and safety information inside the office, according to Konikowski. He cited new protocols pertaining to COVID testing as an example. These measures can make corporate wellness policies more transparent while helping employees feel safe and valued. Open air and natural lighting are also encouraged.

Immersive and Experiential

On the corporate campus, in the home office, or in satellite branches, “people crave being more engaged and collaborative in meetings. Immersive applications can help with that,” said Adewole. Corporations and integrators need to better understand the immersive space, which includes VR (virtual reality), AR (augmented reality), and MR (mixed reality).

Adewole connected advancements in VR technologies to dropping price points for wearables such as headsets, and the implementation of more robust communications infrastructure such as 5G and Starlink. VR has been increasingly popular for gaming during the pandemic and is consequently enabling other emerging applications. Consumers can procure high-quality wireless VR headsets for $300 or less. “People now have more affordable access to this technology. Participation and the development of more immersive business applications is soon to follow,” Adewole predicted.

While some sectors have been slow to invest in XR/MR, a few companies have hit the ground running. Adewole noted that architectural engineering and construction firms (AEC), for instance, can leverage emerging technologies and see immediate benefits. Pair AR or VR with prototyping for a distributed team around the world and “you would be able to take an architectural model and turn it into a more immersive experience for clients. You could walk around in three-dimensional space, mark it up, and annotate, all within a virtual yet photorealistic experience.”

Now apply this creative paradigm to corporate communications and broadcast. High-quality cameras, spatial audio, and immersive storytelling technologies could add value to live events, Adewole suggested. Imagine more experiential shareholder presentations, all-hands meetings, and corporate Facebook Live streams. “It’s time to start thinking bigger and more creatively about this space,” he added.

Advanced Intelligence Built into Devices

Jason Jacoby, CTS, associate with Shen Milsom & Wilke, sees a similar trend with AI on the corporate campus. Indicated by the wider availability of AI-enhanced solutions, and by recent acquisitions, vendors see the value in incorporating AI into AV components. “It’s so exciting to see the industry really trying to expand, going beyond just putting a microphone on a table,” Jacoby said.

He highlighted AI’s benefits, particularly with enterprise audio: “You can define the area in which a specific microphone is listening. AI microphones can track a person around the room. You can put a great soundbar on a wall and stand 15 feet back in that room and the audio is still completely intelligible. This is a great step forward to requiring less physical control touchpoints in rooms.”

Less Equipment in Rooms

“As employees start filtering back into offices, and after the next cycle of refreshes, expect to see less physical equipment in rooms,” according to Jacoby. “We’ve gotten to the point where it is possible in all but the largest of rooms to move just about everything beyond the network and into the cloud, including DSP. You can have very advanced programs on the network without the need for a physical device, and have a mini PC mounted behind the monitor or in a rack down the hall. The foundation of the space is now beyond the local devices, including network switches and routers, and at the software level.”

Purpose-Driven Workspaces

The key in 2021 will be “leading with the use case,” said Frank Padikkala, CTS-D, AV design engineer with Diversified. Focus on creative solutions and “purpose-build rooms guided by the use case,” he stated.

“The design engineer in me appreciates a purpose-built room,” he said. Previously, there may have been an appetite for—or at least a high tolerance for—a generic conference room. Now, Padikkala said, “We are all asking what we’re trying to do in each space—recording, streaming, or remote work, for instance—and then leading with that use case and those user needs.”

AVoIP

IT’s relevance in the pro AV industry is writ large, but the pandemic has laid bare the critical importance of security, data, connectivity, remote access, and network reliability. “It is essential that AV firms continue to level up with IT skills training, cybersecurity, and network expertise,” Padikkala said. “There is still a skills divide.”

[The Integration Guide to AVoIP]

Opex

Another long-term benefit to investing in AV over IP and cloud-based applications is the ability to tap into the opex (operating expense) budget versus capex (capital expense). During cash-strapped times—pandemic and beyond—an opex approach makes logistical sense, Padikkala suggested.

Bringing the Office to You

Padikkala is grateful that the shift to remote working “bridged a gap,” he said. The new world of work relies on technology, but Padikkala also sees it as a “cultural evolution.”

“We all must take a more holistic approach to the idea of work and workspaces.”

Jacoby took that sentiment a step further: “The next level is really about bringing the office to the employees, rather than the other way around.”

The Audio Engineering Society will hold the second International Conference on Audio for Virtual and Augmented Reality on August 20–22, 2018, at the DigiPen Institute of Technology, Redmond, WA. The conference and exhibition will bring together a community of influential research scientists, engineers, VR and AR developers, and content creators.

The conference’s esteemed keynote presenters—Jean-Marc Jot, distinguished fellow, Magic Leap; Ivan Tashev, partner architect, Microsoft Research Labs Redmond; and Ravish Mehra, lead research scientist, Facebook Reality Labs—are at the forefront of innovation for VR and AR.

“Audio and video are integral components of AR/VR devices,” Tashev said. “Spatial audio is an area still under development; we need better capture, representation, and rendering technologies. To make it mainstream, we have to catch up with authoring and editing tools as well.”

The three-day conference and expo will focus on the dissemination of top-level research in the field of spatial audio for virtual and augmented reality, with demonstrations and discussions focused on technical solutions and recommended practices. Leading researchers, practitioners, and industry luminaries will offer panel discussions, tutorials, and workshops on new and forthcoming technologies.

The conference promises to be as interactive and cross-disciplinary as the field of VR and AR itself, and will include an exhibition of relevant software and product demos. The conference will bring together talented researchers and developers who are creating the next generation of audio tools for immersive content, with presentation topics including:

• The state of AR/VR audio content development tools and workflows, including personalized versus generic HRTFs
• Realistic sound propagation for immersing the user in virtual environments
• Auditory distance discrimination in cinematic virtual reality
• Spatial audio capture, rendering, and synthesis over headphones and speakers
• Binaural, ambisonics, and wave field synthesis techniques
• 3D sound field navigation
• HRTF modeling and derivation from optical and/or acoustic measurements
• Reverb and room acoustics synthesis
• 3D audio mixing and content production
• Music and sound design for VR/AR
• Higher education and immersive media
• Sound for 360 VR
• XR [extended reality] audio in diverse industries
• Dialogue for VR/AR and MPEG-H

Toronto’s CN Tower, Canada’s National Tower, has released the new CN Tower Viewfinder app, which is designed and developed by Fuzz Productions in Brooklyn, NY. Created to enrich the experience of on-site visitors, the app represents the first and only attraction in Canada to offer a virtual reality observation experience at 1,136 feet.

The app celebrates the City of Toronto’s skyline from the perspective of the newly renovated observation level at CN Tower and features spectacular 360-degree day and night panoramic images. Guests with the app can identify various points of interest across the city and can now answer the question “What am I looking at?” from their own iPhone or Android mobile device.

“As a Canadian icon, we are always looking to expand our digital engagement with our guests from all corners of the world,” said Joanne Pawlicki, director, marketing and communications for CN Tower.

“Through leveraging emerging 3D and virtual reality technologies, the new Viewfinder app enhances guest experience and greater interaction with Toronto’s skyline,” said Kevin McManus, CN Tower‘s director of information technology. “It is also complementary to the CN Tower Experience app, launched in June 2016.”

As part of CN Tower’s unveiling of the newly renovated observation experience, the new Viewfinder app further launches it into a new echelon of digital tourism. Designed and developed by Fuzz Productions, the app calibrates a user’s location on the observation level using the phone’s internal sensors that behave like a gyroscope. This pinpointed calibration allows guests to scan the Toronto skyline and discover over 90 landmarks and points of interest, including architecture, entertainment, and geography. Reflecting the diversity of its guests, the app supports five languages: English, French, Spanish, Korean, and Mandarin. The app is available as a free download at the App Store and Google Play.

“Fuzz couldn’t be more excited to work with CN Tower on a 3D immersive experience in the new Viewfinder app,” said Nat Trienans, CEO and co-founder of Fuzz. “It both enhances the CN Tower visitor’s experience as a digital tour guide to the Toronto skyline, and allows everyone around the world to enjoy the incredible views from CN Tower right on their mobile.”

Future considerations include exploring the addition of Augmented Reality (AR) capabilities by harnessing the soon to be released iOS 12, which includes Apple’s new AR development toolkit. CN Tower plans to also add additional features such as detailed descriptors for each landmark and evaluate capabilities to share postings to social media sites.