While the west coast is always looked to as a more probable place to see developments on the technology front, we are glad to report that the New York City Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC) and the Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment (MOME) have announced their collaborative plans for a public Virtual and Augmented Reality (VR/AR) lab with the objective of supporting AR/VR companies. They plan to become both cross-sector stakeholders and members of the academic community, allowing AR/VR developers to share their ideas. New York City could be the new center for the emerging AR/VR industry.
With more than six million USD of private investments, this proposition will support growth-stage companies, and can serve as a starting point to make waves in the AR/VR sector. It will integrate immersive technologies such as virtual reality, augmented reality, mixed reality, and 360° video. Of course, they will focus their efforts on more than just providing support for startups. They also plan to provide each person that has the desire to develop AR/VR technology the means to do it, making the process of building new tech less daunting. They will focus on making this process affordable, and allowing developers shared access to tools and technologies that otherwise would be out of their reach, all while creating training opportunities in AR/VR technology fields. Anyone else thinking that this might mean an AR/VR University?
Of course, this isn’t directly related to medicine. However, we believe that providing a foundation for developers, giving them the opportunities and resources to nurture their ideas, that we will see amazing projects arise from this effort. Just look at these ideas that have already been put in motion. We think that access to AR tech shouldn’t be limited to privileged settings like expensive hospitals and universities!
We know that there are a lot of people out there who have great ideas to bring to the table. We can’t wait for the flood gates to open and allow those projects to come to fruition. It’s an amazing time for Augmented Reality! Please tell us what you think about it in the comments section.
