The world of augmented reality and virtual reality has become a complex one and it continues to grow and win over professionals and fans. The creators and consumers of AR and VR experiences need to meet and learn from each other, and share their expectations and the breakthroughs they’ve achieved. This is why, all year round, in every corner of the globe, there is a series of augmented and virtual reality events and conventions. Some of them (CES, SXSW, MWC, VRLA) have already taken place in the US and Europe, but there are still many events and conventions to attend until the end of the year.
What Drives Attendees to Augmented and Virtual Reality Events?
For most of the participants, the number one attraction of AR and VR events is to test new gadgets and be the first to know about upcoming games, movies and apps. However, a lot of AR/VR fans are also interested in meeting the people working in the background: developers, designers, engineers, etc.
This time, we have selected only the augmented and virtual reality events taking place in North America (USA and Canada).
Augmented World Expo
When: May 30– June 1
Where: Santa Clara, CA
AWE 2018 is one of the largest events dedicated to augmented and virtual reality in the world. The Auggie Awards for the best AR/VR apps, games and experiences are presented during this event. The key attractions for this year are:
- 6 stages for presentations and keynote speeches
- Over 1,000 AR/VR demos
- The chance to buy products at special launch prices
- 300 featured speakers, among them Vinay Narayan, Vice President of Product and Operations at HTC VIVE, Joanna Popper, Global Head of Virtual Reality at HP, and Tony Parisi, Global Head of AR/VR at Unity Technologies.
E3 2018
When: June 12 – June 14
Where: Los Angeles, CA
E3 is an augmented and virtual reality event focused on video games and gadgets. Many upcoming headsets, controllers and accessories are unveiled and officially launched during this conference, together with new video game titles. For this year, the top product launches to look forward to are:
- Spearhead VRX Gaming Headphones
- AKRacing Masters Series Max Gaming Chair
- Cyber shoes for walking and running in virtual reality
Some game titles already announced for launch are:
- The Sinking City by Bigben Interactive
- Mavericks: Proving Grounds by Improbable
- Heavy Fire: Red Shadow by Mastiff
SIGGRAPH
When: August 12 – August 16
Where: Vancouver, Canada
SIGGRAPH
is the place where fans can discover the latest content and gadgets concerning CG, animation, augmented, mixed and virtual reality, digital art and emerging technologies. It is the perfect virtual reality event if you want to combine a trip away from home to discover the beautiful city of Vancouver and get a hand-on experience of cool gadgets and games.
SIGGRAPH also includes a job fair, so if you are keen on starting a career in AR/VR, this is the right opportunity for you. This interactive map of the venue allows you to explore all the confirmed exhibitors (so far, there are over 130).
AVAR 2018
When: August 20 – August 22
Where: Redmond, WA
The AES International Conference on Audio for Virtual and Augmented Reality (AVAR) is one of the most professional augmented and virtual reality events worldwide. Its key points of interest are keynote speeches, panel discussions, tutorials, demos, and workshops.
So far, the following keynote speeches have been confirmed:
- Capture, representation, and rendering of 3D audio for virtual and augmented reality, by Dr. Ivan Tashev of Microsoft Research Labs
- Unleashing Wearable 3D Audio, by Dr. Jean-Marc Jot, Distinguished Fellow at Magic Leap
- Sound Propagation for Virtual and Augmented Reality, by Dr. Ravish Mehra, Lead Research Scientist at Oculus Research
VRS 2018
When: October 16 – October 17
Where: San Francisco, CA
The Virtual Reality Strategy (VRS) is the top executive event hosted by the VR/AR Association. It brings together top brands and specialists and showcases some of the most exciting upcoming gadgets and technologies. This is one of the industry leading augmented and virtual reality events, featuring companies such as HTC, VRgineers, Qualcomm, IBM, Unity, SpringboardVR and Microsoft.
