“The point here is not to have a lot of people just talking about (VR),” comments VRAR Chicago Founder Matthew Wren, of the upcoming Chicago XR Summit.

“…We want them to come into the space, put the headsets on and actually try this.”

VRAR Chicago’s XR Summit, happening on June 4th at Illinois Institute of Technology and virtually, in Frame VR, will be unique in several ways.

Breaking new ground, hands-on

Unlike many other technology-related events, admission to Chicago XR Summit is free to attend. (However, attendees MUST have tickets; here’s the link to sign up.) The focus: the applications of virtual reality in various industries–including education, design and workforce development.

In addition, no speakers will be featured. Attendees get to explore exhibitors’ innovations in immersive technology through hands-on demonstrations.

Also, Matthew says, exhibitors will not be charged for exhibiting their products and services! While they’ll pay a deposit to reserve the space, that deposit will be returned after their appearance at the Chicago XR Summit.

And last–but absolutely not least–Matthew and his team are exploring a new way for virtual attendees to experience the Chicago XR Summit!

“We are experimenting with technology that, frankly, I haven’t seen anyone do before,” Matthew says.

The overall goal: to educate and involve Chicago industries–and individuals–in the uses of immersive technology in day-to-day life in the workplace, education and creative disciplines.

A mission of exploration

VRAR Chicago, which Matthew founded in 2017, supports individuals and organizations in implementing virtual and immersive technologies into their products and services. For the past eight years, they’ve hosted their free hybrid monthly event series, The Next Evolution, where attendees explore the ways new immersive technologies can become valuable tools in their industries and future employment opportunities.

In other words, they’re showing people the ways immersive technologies’ capabilities extend far beyond the “gaming” applications with which many people associate them.

And Chicago XR Summit supports this goal by introducing attendees to some of the uses of immersive technology which they may never have imagined.

Matthew shared the story of creating VRAR Chicago, talked about some of the exhibitors during last year’s Chicago XR Summit, and offered some guidelines for successful virtual events.

And, be sure to reserve your tickets for Chicago XR Summit. Matthew warns that this is going to sell out!

On this issue of Over Coffee® we cover:

• How Matthew was first introduced to virtual reality and augmented reality;

• How he came to create VRAR Chicago;

• How The Next Evolution events led to the creation of Chicago XR Summit;

• What’s going to be happening at the Chicago XR Summit;

• Some of the exhibitors who participated in last year’s event;

• How the virtual-attendee element might work, as a new innovation this year;

• How new users might get started creating virtual spaces;

• Some of the recent innovations in immersive technologies which Matthew finds most exciting;

• A look behind the scenes, at the preparations for June 4th;

• How to help support these all-volunteer events;

• “do’s” and “don’t’s” of creating successful virtual events;

• How Matt and his team plan for “backups”, in case anything goes wrong technically;

• The partnerships with which they’re working;

• What he considers most fun, in his work on Chicago XR Summit;

• Where he’d most like to grow VRAR Chicago, in the future