2019 in Review
Every month, I write a short email to our community members on Meetup.com. I tell them about the awesome people we get to speak at the WeAreVR community meetups. I wrote the below for our last Meetup of 2019 (WeAreVR e10, Thursday the 28th of November, 18:00 at the TMRW Digital Gallery). I thought it might be nice to share a handful of highlights with you all here on LinkedIn.
It's been an incredible year for South African eXtended Reality (virtual reality, augmented reality, mixed reality, and 360-video) companies. That's why this month's theme is XR (eXtended Reality) in 2020.
In case you missed it, here's a little sample of what's happened LOCALLY in the XR community in 2019...
- HabitatXR collaborated with Ellen DeGeneres to save the gorillas
- Eden Labs featured The Lost Botanist at the Annecy Animation Festival in France and launched the new VR Snacker at VR Days in Amsterdam
- African Technopreneurs oversaw the rollout of the Oculus Quest headset, The Vuzix Blade, new 360-degree cameras, and other hardware
- New Reality created VR car showrooms for some big brands and then launched the awesome Boet Fighter game on Steam
- Eden Immersive made a difference to children's lives when they introduced VR to the Reach For A Dream Foundation
- Free Lives' VR game, Gorn, rocketed to the top of the international VR gaming charts
- The Wits University's Tshimologong Maker Space hosted the awesome Fak'ugesi Digital Innovation Festival, showcasing the work of VR and AR pioneers from around the continent
- The TMRW Digital Gallery continues to host a wide array of digital exhibitions of local artists' work
- Local conservationists at the Wild Bird Trust teamed up with National Geographic to produce immersive 360 degree documentaries
- The WeAreVR.Jozi community hosted a number of educational workshops and seminars, created a digital VR curriculum, kicked-off a VR lab with the University of Johannesburg, and is now branching out across the continent (Watch out, Nairobi and Durban!)
- ...and as shown above, Mbangiso Mabaso from SI Realities won the award for Most Innovative Solution at the MTN Business App of the Year Awards for his Augmented Reality science classroom
- ...And a whole lot more that I couldn't fit in.
Remember, this is LOCAL NEWS about teams from Jozi, Cape Town, Durbs, and our neighbouring countries. At tonight's meetup, we'll reflect on what went well this year, and where we're going next year.
If you'll be joining us, please remember to RSVP here on Meetup or on Facebook.
If you know anyone else who might be interested, be sure to share the link! :)
We'll start the evening at TMRW DIGITAL GALLERY at 18:00.
Then at 19:00 we'll go into interactive-mode where we discuss ideas, people and projects. We'll get a chance to ask questions and try out some of the VR, AR and 360 video experiences!
(Remember: If you have your own VR, AR, or 360-degree video project, bring it along and get feedback from some of Africa's finest designers and developers!)
If you've never been to the TMRW Digital Gallery before, don't stress.
It's pretty easy to find on Wayze and Google Maps.
We look forward to seeing you there at 18:00, or else you can find us at www.wearevrafrica.com! :)
Remember, you can also find us geeking out on Facebook, Instagram and Meetup as well.
Virtual and Augmented Regards,
Deac. and the WeAreVR.Jozi team