Pioneers in XR (28 Jun)
Immersive Manchester Presents: Pioneers in XR
Pioneers in XR brings together researchers, producers, artists, and creatives in the field of immersive technology shaped by extended reality (XR), virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), mixed reality (MR) experiences. This follows on from the successful Immersive Manchester networking events, led by Dr Maria Stukoff and Keith Myers. These events aim to highlight innovative XR projects from everything from entertainment, and games to healthcare, engineering, and education.
Overview of the event
18:00 Dr. Maria Stukoff - The University of Salford. Welcome.
18:15 Keith Myers, AVimmerse - Creating Work for Future Audiences & Trends in XR
18: 30 Professor Andy Miah - Salford’s immersive technology innovation ambitions
18:40 Pioneers in XR - Guest speaker panel:
Lucy Hammond
Emma Nutall
Caroline White
19:45 HOST Immersive Spaces
20:00 Drinks and Networking
Speakers
We will be joined by guest speakers, who will talk about their projects using immersive technology and the metaverse. See bios at the bottom for more details.
Speaker 1 – Lucy is Projects Producer at Pilot Theatre and Creative Producer/Director of immersive projects. Her most recent projects include ’The Archive’, an interactive game exploring happiness and the VR experience ‘Monoliths’ (BFI London Film Festival 2022, Sheffield Docfest 2022, Melbourne International Film Festival 2022), celebrating the voices of northern women and the northern landscape. Lucy’s 2019 VR piece, ‘Traitor’ which combines virtual reality, film and a live actor premiered in competition at Tribeca Film Festival 2019.
Speaker 2 – Emma Nutall's: 'writing spans across screen, theatre, audio, installation and books, as well as XR, interactive, immersive and game. Trained in the craft of storytelling, she conceives characters grounded in history and personality, prose that balances brevity and clarity, authentic story worlds and crafted pacing.
Speaker 3 – Caroline White: is a consultant working in XR and future facing technologies, who supports a range of R&D projects from virtual production, VR and immersive for brands, businesses and researchers. She currently supports regional activity for Immerse UK, the UK’s leading membership organisation for immersive technologies. She also works as a fundraising manager for creative collective, DARKFIELD, who create immersive 360 degree audio experiences at the forefront of technology and theatre inside shipping containers across the world.
Professor Andy Miah, PhD (@andymiah), is Chair of Science Communication & Future Media, in the School of Science, Engineering and Environment at the University of Salford, Manchester. His research focuses on the promise and peril of new technologies and his career has spanned the areas science, technology, art, media, and culture. A passionate communicator, he believes that we need to unravel the future by examining the ethics and morality of our options. His interest in technology is born out of a desire to understand what happens to humanity in a world where digital and biotechnological innovations rapidly transform how we live. Author of 10 books and over 150 academic articles, he is also a frequent media commentator and has written for the Washington Post, Vogue, BBC, Wired, and many other outlets.
andymiah.net
Context
Last year Web 3.0 , Web3 and the Metaverse became trending buzz words. This year is the turn of AI. But what opportunities are still present in immersive technology for 2023 and beyond? Our panel of experts in XR will help us investigate the opportunities and challenges most pressing.
Demos
We will have immersive demonstrations available for people to try during the event. This will include technologies from augmented and virtual reality.
Community Event
Our goal is to connect enthusiasts, artists, business owners, and anyone with an interest in new technology. We want to make the event accessible to all people from varied backgrounds, into a place where ideas and learning can be shared.
Tickets
Tickets for the event are charged at £2.00 – this is non-refundable – All fees are donated to a local charity.
This event is a key component of the University of Salford's HEIF funded '3D Unity Centre of Excellence on campus' programme run in collaboration with Home of Skills and Technology (HOST) aiming to create recognised industry pathways for local talent and to establish the region as a global immersive hub. This programme enables us to provide comprehensive training to our staff to become certified professional Unity instructors. This professional certification also offers industry accreditation to our Salford students, equipping them with valuable future-fit immersive 3D skills for their future careers.