Curious to explore how you can use virtual metaworlds for your business as a creative, technologist, startup or enterprise? In answer to that question, the first edition of Immerse UK’s Virtual Showcase launched in the Immerse UK MetaWorld on the ENGAGE VR platform on 11 May, in collaboration with Educators in VR, virtual events and training experts.
Immerse UK first introduced the ENGAGE collaborative spaces VR platform to our community, hosting The Future of Work in VR series in April and May of 2020 on the platform, in response to the sudden increased need for remote collaboration tools due to Coronavirus. ENGAGE is a spatial network/ Metaverse platform where clients can build their own unique virtual MetaWorld which can be used for virtual events, showcases, training, product demos and immersive meetings.
We are excited to explore the possibilities of the Immerse UK MetaWorld as a new hub for featuring virtual showcases of Premium Members’ work to the wider community, networking and hosting event collaborations. The ability to showcase in an immersive VR format is the perfect medium and next evolution to our suite of member benefits for those creating and developing innovative projects across XR technologies.
Attendees are able to join the ENGAGE event from a variety of devices from headsets to tablets and mobile phones, while a headset would provide the most immersive experience. Upon landing in the Immerse UK MetaWorld expo space, first time users are greeted with instructions for navigating around the space and getting familiarised with the platform while saying hello to the hosts and other attendees as part of the welcome.
The event kicked off with an introduction about Immerse UK and Educators in VR and how the two organisations similarly engage both of their communities via events, collaboration, knowledge sharing and discussion of evolving hot topics such as the metaverse itself. While the expo space would be a familiar setting to many, the attendees were in for a treat as we took them through a variety of experiences from portals to other worlds exploring the various showcasing capabilities of the ENGAGE platform.
In the blink of an eye, the group landed on a moon hub which was an experience created for Immerse UK to highlight the potential of immersive VR formats as a more sustainable events alternative to explore for the COP 26 summit.
The audience checked out the earth view before convening in the discovery hub amidst greenery, video reels and discussion about the possibilities of VR as part of sustainability toolkits from 3D visualisation, immersive experiential engagements to bringing people together from around the world with a lighter carbon footprint.
Next we transported back to the expo hall for the member showcase feature with Matt Morgan of The Original Content Company (TOCC) highlighting the world’s first VR Anatomical Learning platform across a standalone 5G network. In partnership with Vodafone, TOCC collaborated with Gamoola, Xpllore and THE GRID FACTORY to create, develop and implement the immersive VR 3D educational simulation.
Following Matt’s showcase, attendees joined in the interactive Q&A session to chat about getting involved in the Immerse UK community and discovering how the network can help support their XR journey. Whether as a first introduction to collaborative XR spaces or as a showcase feature, such as TOCC who specialise in ‘virtual production for the metaverse’, this new event series aims to open up the possibilities of the ENGAGE platform for our community’s wide ranging audience. If you’d like to be featured as a Premium Member showcase at the upcoming events, please reach out to your team at immerseuk@ktn-uk.org.
Last but not least, everyone enjoyed the opportunity to chat 1:1 or in small groups before we parted ways and looked forward to continuing those conversations and new connections beyond our hour together in the Immerse UK MetaWorld.