NYC Media Lab Conference

On September 27th I attend the NYC Media Lab Conference at the New School. The NYC Media Lab gave a  glimpse of projects and talent in digital media from universities in NYC and beyond. The conference focused on thought-provoking discussions from industry professionals and  showcased 100 innovative demos.

As an attendee found this conference to not only be entertaining but very informative.  The focus this year was on virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR). Before this conference I didn’t give much thought to VR and AR.  But, after attending this conference it is clear that they will impact the future and longevity of many brands.

Though the discussions were insightful, I really enjoyed the prototyping showcases. The showcases were filled with students from universities in New York and across the country to display their work that addressed data science, VR and AR. Christian Gurinalda, Verizon Open Innovation Director led the first session, Prototyping Showcase: Data Science. Gurinalda believes that data is key for success. He spoke about the opportunity to turn data into something great for companies. As he ended his greetings, he introduced five teams who presented their ideas and porotypes.

The five teams were: Metadata Prototyping with Open-Source NLP Tools from Columbia University in sponsorship with Audible, Eyestyle from Columbia University, Charter Accessibility Project from NYU Tandon School of Engineering, Geopipe from NYU and Brown University and Remo Haptics from Pratt Institute.  All of the presentations were thoroughly executed but the one that stood out to me the most was Geopipe presented by Christopher Mitchell and Thomas Dickerson. The duo explained that Geopipe builds immersive virtual copies of the real world built by algorithms which can be instantly downloadable for simulations, games, architecture, and beyond.

I felt that this product and concept was the most versatile and could appeal to many brands from a wide array of industries. For example, real estate, education, military, travel and advertising to name a few. 

Prototyping Showcase: Virtual & Augmented Reality was the final prototyping session. Adaora Udoji, an investor and producer led this session. Six teams:  You Are Here from CUNY Graduate School of Journalism, vasAR from Columbia University, Viacom Music+ VR Fellowship Project Are Aligned from Parsons School of Design, StreetSmarts VR from Columbia Business School & NYU Tandom School of Engineering, Calling Thunder from School of Visual Arts and lastly Bloomberg AR for Enterprise. 
StreetSmarts VR presentation by George Lamb, Alice Fromwalt, Denver Coulson, Oliver Noteware was one of my favorites. The StreetSmarts VR team mission is to bring realistic virtual reality simulation training and workforce analytics to state and local police departments.  StreetSmarts VR sessions uses Photorealistic Virtual Reality to train police officers to experience highly realistic policing scenarios.
As seen in some of the other presentations, StreetSmarts VR is using VR to positively impact real life issues. Currently, office judgement has created situations that have negatively affected the relationship between police officers and the communities in which they are policing. I found their research and presentation really highlighted the importance of this product.

Once the first half of the conference concluded guests were invited to VR/AR Pavilion to walk around the Demo Expo. The Expo displayed 50+ virtual, augmented and mixed reality experiences.  Below is a picture of me with a Night to Night representative. Night to Night is an app that allows party goers to view local nightlife locations before leaving their home.

The NYC Media Lab Conference was an opportunity to discuss VR and AR. The discussions focused on how they will impact the future of brands and individuals. Before this conference I wasn’t aware of the possibilities of VR and AR. I would mainly think about them in the context of video games or entertainment. But now, I can see the endless possibilities. VR and AR is going to have a major impact on the future and I am excited to see what’s to come.

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