Tag Archives: VR

Augmented Reality (AR) has been around for a long time but is now gathering momentum as smartphone processing power and internet connectivity speeds have increased whilst consumption costs have declined. Major mobile handset manufacturers support Apps with AR functionality and future experiences will be embedded in handsets and available ‘out of the box’. In addition to Apple and their ARKit, …

Imagine smart homes or self-driving cars that communicate with each other. Or the day when doctors and teachers use virtual and augmented reality at hospitals and schools. Imagine trains, drones and cars forming transport systems that are safe, efficient and environment-friendly. Just imagine? Oh, you no longer have to. This all will be reality when 5G becomes our next standard …

Last weeks Arctic 15 three day event succeeded in offering a glimpse into the bright future of the Nordics as hundreds of investors, startups and corporates converged once again in the familiar old industrial complex of Kaapelitehdas the ‘Cable Factory’ in western Helsinki. Arctic 15 has grown steadily since its first event in 2011 and has a strong impact on …

Virtual reality (VR) might be booming around the world, but as the market begins to mature and competing companies gain some attention from the masses, certain countries are starting to move ahead. By Daniel Smyth As ever, Europe and North America find themselves locked in a battle for supremacy and in the last few months it seems as though the …

Reykjavik-based Aldin Dynamics was born in early 2013, just in time to join the Icelandic Institute for Intelligent Machines startup accelerator program.  Since then, they have been working deep in virtual reality (VR). “We build our content from the ground up for VR, and it’s meant to be experienced that way.  There are just so many different, unique mechanics that …

Helsinki in the beginning of June was quite literally the hot-bed of start-up and investment activity in the Nordics. The beautiful 25°C weather complemented the hot new innovative solutions on display. Several events created the perfect melting-pot with which to showcase Finnish and Nordic talent to a wider audience of international visitors. Several key events took place during the week …

Ultrahack 2016, which launched at the beginning of June, invites participants to compete for more than 1 million euro investments plus other significant prizes. The investments will be awarded by Nestholma in cooperation with Ultrahack, surpassing previous investments in hackathons in Finland. The best teams have also an opportunity to meet FiBAN (Finnish Business Angels Network) investors after the finals. …

With virtual reality the next frontier for digital innovation, a growing number of Finnish companies are offering a pioneering look at things to come. Science fiction has always offered far-fetched future imaginings of various shapes and sizes. Sometimes, however, this crystal ball gazing also comes true. A self-driving car? Google now has the answer. Video conferencing? Thanks Skype. How about …

The South by Southwest Festival (SXSW) is more like a festival than a traditional expo. It figures, as it has its roots as a film and music festival. SXSW consists of three main parts: Interactive, Music and Film.  My company, Vincit Oy, came for the Interactive part, as part of one of the Finnish companies coming along with the Nordic …

VR technology has reached unprecedented momentum.  According to CB insights, AR and VR startups raised $658 million in equity financing last year, and Florida based Magic Leap set a new bar for funding when it raised a $794 million round led by Alibaba in February 2016. The Nordics have a slew of startups in this niche including Breakroom, Moggles, and …

While exclusivity has always been a part of the allure at Stockholm’s elite Fashion Week, this year one designer gave unprecedented access to her collection— through virtual reality. Swedish fashion designer Ida Klamborn, in cooperation with the communications company Tele2 have started a project dubbed the Democratic Front Row. Klamborn and others say that young people are the source of inspiration designers, so …

This past weekend Brussels hosted the first ever Hackathon dedicated to Virtual Reality (VR) in Europe, where close to 100 participants took over the co-working space Co.station to hack the next generation of VR technologies. The event was hosted by a collaboration of MIC.Brussels and impulse.brussels, who supports the development of companies using VR.  20% of the participants came from …

The VR Hackathon in Brussels kicked off last night, bringing with it the promise of a new world of VR in 2016 and a healthy dose of viking tech-savvy – 20% of the participants came from the surprising VR stronghold of Denmark. Perhaps a sign of things to come,  a surprising number of pitches came from outside the VR stronghold …

The VR Hackathon is coming to Europe from San Francisco this weekend.  With a slew of product releases and project sales of 14 million units, it is not without reason that 2016 is being called  “The Year of VR”. The VR Hackathon in Brussels, hosted by the Danish Sound Innovation Network and EUVR.org from January 15-17th,  marks the start of …

Icelandic startup Breakroom provides its users with a private virtual reality workspace for wherever and whenever they may need it. A simple request: Imagine your current work surroundings. Next, imagine yourself working in a café tucked away on a peaceful and quaint street somewhere in beautiful Vienna, Austria or perhaps imagine yourself reading through work documents somewhere on a beach …