The Best Soda Social Yet?

Trust in Soda Social January 2016

As the excitement wears off, the hangovers prevail and you finally stop searching for the end of THAT Porn Hub virtual reality video… I’d like to do my best to try and recapture the entirety of Trust in Soda’s fantastic SODA Social 2016 and try to pay justice to the outstanding speakers involved. Firstly, if I could… I would like to congratulate and thank the team at Trust in Soda for their time and effort in organising not just this meet up but every meet-up before. By 6:15pm both entrances of the ACE Hotel, in Shoreditch, were blocked by queues of around 300+ people, all there to attend one of SODA’s marvellous Social Meet-ups.

Indeed, a soda SOCIAL is exactly what is was 

AND WHAT A GREAT IDEA THEY ARE! 

SODA Socials act as a fantastic middle-ground for a range of people with similar fields of interest. Allowing them to network, discover, learn and have a fabulous time. Whether you were a tech designer, a developer, a digital recruiter or simply a writer in the corner. Once the speakers began everyone found a seat, found a drink and found themselves mesmerised by the technological advancement of virtual reality and immersive experiences, that were presented to us. And although the projects and products were utterly amazing… The speakers themselves really did captivate the room entirely.

 It was fantastic to hear from Sergio Irigoyen @ Neutral Digital, Aino Hanttu @ Futurice and Dr. Mitra Memarzia @ Seeper.

 All different aspects of virtual reality yet mutually striving to ENHANCE human experience and CREATE memories that bring people together. As Aino Hanttu stated ‘We should use tech to create something better, to invite us to see life and the world around us a little differently!’

Sergio @ Neutral Digital focused on how we could integrate virtual reality in order to turn a standard service into an immersive experience. We were shown video examples of futuristic plans for personal inflight entertainment systems, personal travel guide’s and personal shopper’s. All available at the touch of the headsets button. As Sergio mentioned from the start ‘Explaining virtual reality is very difficult. You simply need to experience it’, we were therefore delighted that Neutral Digital brought along their headsets. It was fantastic to see it and the interface in action and was a real treat to see how we could possibly be experiencing services such as flights, tour guides, shopping and gaming in the future!

Aino @ Futurice really did restore my humanitarian faith in the world of tech. By humanitarian, I mean the importance of interaction between one another or the idea that we need to interact and communicate with one another to benefit society. And it seems Aino believes that although technology does get used for superficial and ultimately isolating purposes, it can and should be used to inspire action and engage one another. As she mentions ‘the important things in life are not virtual. They are those that make us feel human and connected to one another’. She furthered by presenting the endless ways in which VR could be beneficial and inspiring. Such as the medical industry - exemplified by James Blaha’s Vivid Vision project, real estate, commercial projects, the military and education.

To think that sometime in the future children could be able to experience teaching rather than just being taught at, is outstanding, it makes the boundaries within education non –existent and the possibilities endless… It was inspiring that Aino believed that technology is aware of its power and how it now focusses on way in which it can bring value to society!

Dr. Mitra @ Seeper used her time to showcase the amazing work herself and her team had created by developing the existing immersive technology. Such as installations, coding, optical illusions, mapping and animation. Dr. Mitra was extremely dedicated in conveying the notion that immersive tech should be used to engage, inspire and create a more human experience. Now we can all visit the Shrek Experience, which exemplifies using tech to create a place in which a more immersive interaction with each-other is enabled.
In fact, EVERY project Dr. Mitra presented were immersive experiences, that assisted in creating memorable moments and real interactions with one another. The introduction of  Straws was extremely exciting. Although after the Q & A we were told prices for this new screen would be around 300-400k, the idea that Seeper are creating pixels which become physical and responsive is phenomenal. All the projects and products were outstanding and for me, they showed a landmark advancement in the world of technology.
Where art and creativity meets science and technology to truly improve each human experience we endeavour.  

 Each speaker dispelled any thought that technology is creating boundaries between one another or that VR or any tech invented and developed is for superficial reasons. 

They all provided examples of immersive technology that engages action and proved that by blurring the distinction between physical and digital, we in turn are able to experience life differently yet together.

By the end of the night I was privileged to have heard each speaker. 

I was privileged to have had the time to speak with them individually.
I was privileged to engage in stimulating conversation with some of the brightest and most enthusiastic techies in London.

Previous Soda Social’s have included;

• Mobile Technolody & CGI Visualisation
• UX Trends
• Thinking Product
• Products that Impact Society

 Future Social Social events are scheduled to take place once every couple of months, they increase in size at every event.

 If you are interested in speaking or attending at the event please contact us at [email protected] or call 0203 762 2010

Written by Beth Cherry and Ashley Lawrence