XR for Business
by Alan Smithson from MetaVRse
Meet the leaders who are changing the face of virtual and augmented reality
Episodes
-
XR for Business - 2021 in Review
Alan is back in the podcasting saddle — alongside his partner in life and business Julie Smithson, plus colleague and marketing expert Alex Colgan — to take a look back at the last year of happenings in the XR metaverse. 2021 was quite a strange year, but there were several promising updates in…
more -
From the Classroom Lab to the Factory Floor in XR, with Labster’s Michael Jensen
Labster CEO Michael Jensen was on XR for Learning not-too-long ago, talking about how XR can teach kids science in the classroom. Now he explains to Alan how that same technology is making professional training safer and more cost-effective. Alan: Hey, everyone. Alan Smithson here. Today we're...
-
Turning a Game Engine into a Training Experience, with PIXO VR’s Sean Hurwitz
Today’s guest Sean Hurwitz started his journey to the XR field in the realm of game development. But as the years went on, more and more he saw the value of putting game engines to work training professionals instead of hunting zombies. He talks about how PIXO VR achieves this. Alan: Hey…
more -
XR for Business News: COVID-19
Most of the world is stuck indoors as the Coronavirus situation looms. Alan has a few words of encouragement for our listeners, and talks briefly about the power XR has to help keep us productive while we flatten the curve. For more information, check out our past episodes on virtual meeting...
-
Building an XR Vocabulary for Businesses, with XR Bootcamp’s Ferhan Ozkan
Code is a big part of what makes XR work, of course. But for most businesses, knowing the DNA of the technology will be less important than knowing how to best use it. XR Bootcamp co-founder Ferhan Ozkan is enabling businesses interested in XR to enable themselves. Alan: Welcome to the XR for...
-
Enhancing the Hospitality Experience in XR, with UgoVirtual’s Michael C. Cohen
Today’s guest — UgoVirtual’s Michael Cohen — describes the hospitality industry like a snowflake – add a little heat and, well, you can imagine. Hotels and cruises rely on proven practices to keep guests happy. Luckily, XR doesn’t have to disrupt those practices; they can build on top of them....
-
IAAPA Update from Location-Based VR Expert, Bob Cooney
Today’s guest, location-based VR expert Bob Cooney, has been in the XR space since the early 1990s. He drops by the show to give Alan an update on all the newest tech advances he saw at the International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions Expo, and explains how today is the most...
-
Creating a Dialogue Between Innovators and Educators, with VirtualiTeach’s Steve Bambury
Using VR in the classroom is a no-brainer. It’s immersive tech, and can teach kids in new, innovative ways. But if the people developing the technology don’t understand how kids’ brains learn, it’s not going to take, no matter how innovative. VirtualiTeach’s Steve Bambury drops by to explain how...
-
Finding the Tangible Value of XR in Business, with Nestlé’s Richard Hess
You may not immediately think of XR technologies when you think of Nestlé, who are more likely to conjure the idea of milk chocolate and bottled water. But their immersive technology lead Richard Hess drops by to explain how even a food company like Nestlé can benefit from embracing emerging…
more -
Making a Pair of Ray-Bans Act Like a HoloLens x50 with Edge Computing, with Verizon’s TJ Vitolo
Verizon’s XR development lead, TJ Vitolo, dreams of a day where he can download an entire TV series in an instant, or visualize info about the entire world with AR glasses, even living in a connectivity dead zone by the beach. In his position, he’s able to work to make that dream a forthcoming...
-
The Future of Retail is Virtual, with Macy’s Mohamed Rajani
Macy’s has been in the news a lot this week, and many are worried about what the latest round of store closures mean for the long-running retailer, and the future of in-person shopping in general. But Macy’s resident XR guru Mohamed Rajani came by our podcast a little while back to suggest that…
more -
Talking AI and Future of Work in XR — In a Truck — with Timoni West and Cole Crawford
This week’s episode goes all the way back to last year’s Curiosity Camp, when Alan shared a ride with Unity Lab’s Timoni West and Vapor IO CEO Cole Crawford, recording a podcast along the way. The three discuss the challenges that will arise as AI begins to replace human workers. Alan: In a very...
-
XR Technologies in Service of the Human Experience, with Voices of VR Podcast’s Kent Bye – Part 2
We pick up where we left off, with Part 2 of Alan’s interview with Kent Bye, host of the Voices of VR Podcast. In this half, the two VR podcast hosts discuss the ethics of XR, building a strong economic ecosystem for emerging technologies, the AR Cloud, and more. Alan: Coming up next on the XR…
more -
XR Podcast Hosts Unite, with Voices of VR Podcast’s Kent Bye – Part 1
One of Alan’s biggest inspirations to start XR for Business was the prolific catalogue of Kent Bye, who has released 884 recordings for his VR-centric podcast, Voices of VR. Alan has Kent on the show for a chat that was too big for one episode! Check out Part 2 later this week. Alan: Hey…
more -
Practicing Soft Skills by Firing Barry in VR, with Talespin’s Kyle Jackson
The VR experience Firing Barry by Talespin is getting a lot of press lately, and on the surface, it may look like a slightly uncanny valley way to train someone how to give an old fella the can. But Talespin CEO Kyle Jackson tells Alan it’s more than that; it’s a tool to help humans flex their…
more -
Creating Virtual Scenarios to Train Soft Skills in XR, with Friends With Holograms’ Cortney Harding
Upskilling things like floor management or assembly time, that’s easy in XR. But soft skills, like understanding and empathy? A bit more challenging — but importantly, not impossible. Cortney Harding talks with Alan about how emerging tech, like VR and 360 video, can help us all be a little…
more -
Attending Digital Concerts in XR with The Boolean’s Anne McKinnon
The average concert is a tour de force for one’s sense of sound (and, if the bass is decent, one’s sense of their bones vibrating). But Anne McKinnon from The Boolean isn’t interested in “average” concerts. She wants to use XR to make concerts a sensation for all the senses. Alan: Welcome to the…
more -
The IKEA of AR: Making Content Effortlessly, with EON Reality’s Dan Lejerskar
It’s been said on this show before; XR doesn’t have a technology problem, it has an adoption problem. In Dan Lejerskar’s experience, everyone from universities to governments see the value of XR — they just lack the content to make it a worthwhile, everyday tool. He and Alan explore how EON…
more -
Letting Workers Qualify Themselves in AR, with AR Expert’s Dr. Björn Schwerdtfeger
Getting future workers excited for the jobs they might have tomorrow can be challenging, especially when many young workers tend to enjoy challenging themselves with new tasks. Dr. Björn Schwerdtfeger says that AR training can allow those workers to qualify themselves for all sorts of tasks, and...
-
Live from VRX, with XR Ignite’s Alan Smithson
Regular listeners will know that podcast host Alan Smithson is no stranger to the conference circuit, and is often asked to present or speak at the big XR expos. In a special episode of XR for Business, you’ll get to hear Alan in his element, as we present his opening remarks at this year’s VRX...
-
Digging Up Digital Cadavers in XR, with Sector 5 Digital’s Jeff Meisner
Today’s guest — Sector 5 Digital‘s Jeff Meisner — hopes to put grave robbers out of business, among other things. He pops in to talk to Alan about all the experiential learning experiences his company has developed, from digital cadavers to study anatomy, to the VR design process of Bell...
-
Living in a Post-Scarcity World of Technology, with You Are Here Labs’ John Buzzell
We live in a three-dimensional world, and according to today’s guest — You Are Here Labs president John Buzzell — our computers are finally starting to catch up with that. John shoots the proverbial breeze with Alan on how spatial computing is going to fundamentally change our relationship with...
-
The Sound of XR, with Bose’s Michael Ludden
Your various realities — virtual, augmented, X, etc — are often talked about in the realm of vision, since we humans lean on vision as our major sense. But the folks at Bose, like today’s guest Michael Ludden, know that there’s room for sound in XR too. Alan: Welcome to the XR for Business…
more -
Using XR to Change Everything (Without Changing Anything) with Lance-AR’s Lance Anderson
Today’s guest, Lance Anderson of Lance-AR, got tired of seeing so many XR providers only help clients achieve their stated ROI goals, then leaving them to their own devices to scale. Lance helps those companies today, by understanding the need to marry emerging tech with legacy systems, so...
-
Using XR to Ensure a Safe Work Environment, with Bit Space Development’s Daniel Blair
Access to the Internet can be spotty in Northern Canada. But heavy industry happens up there all the same, and Bit Space Development’s Daniel Blair wants to bring those workers the same access to XR-driven training and remote expert assistance as anywhere else enjoys. He chats with Alan about how...
-
Adding a New Dimension to Music in XR, with Goldenvoice’s Sam Schoonover
Alan puts it best in this episode of XR for Business: Sam Schoonover’s job with Goldenvoice is to create “wow” moments at music festivals like Coachella. Sam talks about the groundwork they’ve laid at Coachella for immersive reality so far, and where he plans to take it going forward. Alan…
more -
Exploring the Vast Worlds of Immersive Entertainment, with The Stinger Report’s Kevin Williams
Most kids who grew up spending too much time at the video arcade wound up with fewer quarters and a few earfuls from their parents. That’s not the case for Kevin Williams, who turned his arcade addiction into a career as an out-of-home entertainment guru. He drops in to talk about how XR is…
more -
Staking Claim to a Digital Plot in AR, with SuperWorld’s Hrish Lotlikar
Imagine owning the digital real estate surrounding the Taj Mahal. Well, to be real with you, you can’t have all of it – today’s guest, SuperWorld co-founder Hrish Lotlikar, already has a piece. But he’s made it easy for anyone who wants it to buy the rest, and other plots of digital real estate...
-
XR for Business at the Ritossa Family Office Summit
In between your regularly-scheduled XR for Businesses episodes, Alan has a brief update and recap of his recent trip to the Ritossa Family Office Summit in Dubai Hey there, it’s Alan Smithson with the XR for Business Podcast. And today’s episode is a very special recap of a conference that I just...
-
On the XR Beat, with VentureBeat’s Dean Takahashi
When you’ve been a journalist on the XR technology beat for 20 years, like VentureBeat’s lead writer Dean Takahashi has, you develop a hunch or two about the direction the industry might go. Alan picks Dean’s brain for a few such scoops. Alan: Thank you for joining the XR for Business Podcast…
more -
The State of the XR Marketplace, with XR Intelligence’s Kathryn Bloxham
As this episode goes live, Alan’s away giving a talk at the XR Intelligence conference in San Francisco. A little while back, he sat down with Event Director Kathryn Bloxham, to get a sense of who will be there, what there is to see, and where the XR market is as 2019 comes to a close. Alan: Hey...
-
Digital Real Estate in AR, with Darabase’s Dominic Collins
Longtime listeners will remember one of Alan’s favorite AR anecdotes; the Burger King ad that digitally vandalizes a competitor’s ad space. But has anyone stopped to think, does that digital space belong to anyone? Or to someone who might not care for digital ads existing there? Yes, someone has…
more -
Using XR to Enhance the Hardhat, with Trimble’s Jordan Lawver
It might seem like a small, even simple fix, to attach an AR device to a hardhat, but according to Trimble’s Mixed Reality expert, Jordan Lawver, such a simple fix exponentially expands the capabilities of folks working in heavy industry. He drops by to explain to Alan how that is, and how AR can...
-
Printing a Model of Light with XR, featuring Bentley’s Greg Demchak
Used to be the best way to plan a three-dimensional construction project was on a two-dimensional blueprint, or perhaps a wooden model. We live in an era where entire digital twins — models made of light — can be used, but not everyone is. Bentley Systems’ Greg Demchak drops by to explain why…
more -
Shorter Than a Goldfish – Capturing Mankind’s Ever-Shrinking Attention Span with XR, featuring Oncor Reality’s David Sime
If a picture’s worth a thousand words, then a video is worth millions! That’s David Sime’s philosophy, anyway; he’s marrying online video marketing to XR technology, to reach people’s gaze — in a world with increasingly more competition for their attention — with Oncor Reality. Alan: Welcome to…
more -
VR Creates the Trainer That Never Retires, with Immerse’s James Watson & Justin Parry
Imagine being able to learn, hands-on, exactly how to operate a deep-sea submarine — without needing the submarine! That’s the kind of training opportunities VR training platforms like Immerse are able to offer with the technology at their disposal. James Watson and Justin Parry drop in to talk...
-
VR for HR: Learning How to Tell Stories in XR, with BODYSWAPS’ Christophe Mallet
“You cannot learn empathy on powerpoint!” Wise words from today’s guest, Somewhere Else CEO Christophe Mallet, who comes by the show to discuss how soft skills training — basically, training for human behavior — is now a wide-open industry, thanks to XR technology. Alan: My name is Alan Smithson,...
-
Sparking Productivity with Hands-Free AR, with Kognitiv Spark’s Yan Simard
Hands-free AR devices like those made by Kognitiv Spark are changing the way we work by helping us all work smarter, not harder. CEO Yan Simard drops in to remind enterprises shy to get started enhancing the workplace with XR technologies will — should they wait too long — be left in the dust....
-
Bringing the AR of the Military to the Eyes of Consumers, with ThirdEye Gen’s Nick Cherukuri
A lot of XR technologies started from projects in the military sector, including AR. Today’s guest Nick Cherukuri is working to bring what he’s learned from years working in tech for the defense department, and is bringing it all to enterprise — and eventually, consumers — with his line of AR...
-
Imagine XR Tomorrow; Build for XR Today, with PTC’s Mike Campbell
PTC LiveWorx is one of the biggest gatherings of up-and-coming XR tech in the industry. With all sorts of amazing future tech demos, PTC’s Executive VP of AR Products Mike Campbell understands how businesses might want to implement the most far-out features of XR technology right away. But he…
more -
Investing in XR with GFR Fund’s Teppei Tsutsui
Any good XR startup needs someone to invest in their world-changing idea before they can start changing the world. The GFR Fund is one such investor group, and this one in particular has cultivated an impressive portfolio of XR up-and-comers. Managing partner Teppei Tsutsui drops by to share some...
-
Building the Foundation of XR with 5G, with Nokia’s Sandro Tavares
We’ve had a lot of people from a lot of different industries on XR for Business, and many of them have espoused how much things are going to change when the world finally has a global 5G network to work on. Well, in today’s episode, we have one of the folks responsible for laying the groundwork…
more -
Web-Based Augmented Reality for E-Commerce, with Seek’s Jon Cheney
Getting started in AR marketing and virtual try-ons can be tricky for enterprise, especially if — like Walmart or Amazon — you’ve got hundreds of thousands of products to model and host. Or, it could be easy, with the help of services like Seek, which hosts 3D content like YouTube hosts videos.…
more -
Honey, I Shrunk the XR, with MEL Science’s Kai Liang
Chemistry is a tough subject. You could memorize the periodic table left and right, but it can still be hard to actually picture what’s going on at the microscopic level when atoms collide. Director of Business Development for MEL Science, Kai Liang, says that’s the beauty of their VR chemistry...
-
XR’s School for Innovators, with Circuit Stream’s Lou Pushelberg
If you want to master something, teach it.” That’s the old adage, and at Circuit Stream, the thinking is teaching XR helps you develop better solutions, too. Founder and CEO Lou Pushelberg created Circuit Stream courses to give companies the power to educate and empower themselves, and just make...
-
Gearing Up for VR Days, with festival director Benjamin de Wit
Regular listeners know that folks like Alan and his guests attend a number of XR-related conventions, events, and symposia. Well, one — VR Days in Amsterdam — is right around the corner! Festival director Benjamin de Wit drops in to talk a little bit about what there will be to see — and what...
-
Building a Better 360 Camera from Consumer to Pro, with Insta360’s Michael Shabun
Ask someone with enough experience with 360 filmmaking (like Alan), and they’ll tell you — it’s not always been a user-friendly undertaking. From exporting to editing, making great 360 content could definitely be a chore. Insta360 Marketing Director Michael Shabun visits the podcast to explain…
more -
Reimagining Cinema with Radiant Images’ Michael Mansouri
In the late 19th century, Eadweard Muybridge – to win a bet – took several pictures of a horse in motion, and in the process, basically invented film. It was a brand new way to experience media, and it changed the world. Radiant Images hopes to do the same with an investment in 360 video...
-
XR via Sexy Sunglasses, with Vuzix’ Paul Travers
Paul Travers has been in the XR business long enough to remember the early headsets, which were not exactly elegant in design – he describes one of his early models as a football helmet. But today, Vuzix has managed to shrink a ton of XR potential into sleek, sexy sunglasses that would look good…
more -
Averting Nuclear Disaster with AR, with Packet39’s Shachar “Vice” Weis
Nuclear energy is no joke, and to train to work in the field can be risky and costly… unless you’re training in a virtual environment. That’s the kind of technology Shachar “Vice” Weis, co-founder of VRAL, has been developing for the last several years. Alan and Vice discuss the pros and…well…
more
About this show
Meet the leaders who are changing the face of virtual and augmented reality
Hosted by
Alan Smithson from MetaVRse
Categories