I recorded this episode on the afternoon of Election day in the US...

During the storms of change and chance I take shelter in making VR, buying vinyl and listening to The Cure. 

So I’m in the midst of making a creepy crawly experience based on Lullaby from The Cure’s Disintegration album to match my post-halloween haunted garden. 

However, on today’s episode I wanted to briefly reflect on what I learned - and earned - from returning the Apple Vision Pro back in February. 

We highlight a couple of Apple Vision Pro takes on the latest development challenges. 

On the next episode I’ll dive into building a quick demo with Meta’s newest VR headset, the Quest 3s, the stand-alone, mobile mixed reality headset with color pass-through starting at just $299. 

The new Cure album, Songs of a Lost World is all cued up for listening later, so let's get started!

You can support Zero to Start by subscribing on your favorite podcast platform, give us a rating, and share this episode with your community.

Follow our podcast page on LinkedIn!

Thanks for listening, happy installing!

CONNECT WITH SICILIANA:
LinkedIn
sicilianatrevino.com

DESIGN TOOLS: 

• FIGMA
• BEZI
• SHAPES XR 

FEATURED LINKS:
Songs of a Lost World - The Cure

Meta Quest 3S - Meta

Tim Cook Admits Truth About Vision Pro Following Lackluster Sales - MacRumours

Vision Pro, W#F is happening? - Tom Krikorian

Apple Vision Pro Development - @tina__nigro

Elevtr.com

VIDEO: The Secret Money Saving Rule I Learned in Japan - Vincent Chan
 
VIDEO: You'll Save More Money As Soon As You Watch This - Vincent Chan

PODCAST: Retail Therapy: My Inner Child Said No to a $4,500 Apple Vision Pro

PODCAST:#1489: "Gorilla Tag" Design Philosophy & Embodied Gameplay Deep Dive with Kerestell Smith - Kent Bye, Voices of VR podcast

Since 2018 Virtuleap has been at the cutting edge of combining neuroscience and virtual reality to help increase attention levels, and address cognitive illnesses, disorders, and learning challenges. 

On this episode, Amir Bozorgzadeh, Cofounder and CEO of Virtuleap is back to tell us all about the release of Cogniclear VR, an immersive cognitive screening test that uses gamified scenarios to assess a wide range of crucial cognitive abilities and collect extensive cognitive and behavioral data to enable early intervention, for better health outcomes. 

We dive into the ongoing challenges of:

• designing accessible apps for cognitive testing
• sustained attention decline and mental health with the rise of "TikToK Brain"
• the double-edge sword of leading a start up at the intersection of emerging tech and healthcare 

And how Virtuleap has survived industry changes like “a reed in the wind.”

You can support Zero to Start by subscribing on your favorite podcast platform, give us a rating, and share this episode with your community. Follow our podcast page on LinkedIn!

Thanks for listening, happy installing! 

FEATURED LINKS:

Virtuleap.com

VIDEO: Cogniclear VR Trailer

Impact of EnhanceVR on working memory and inhibitory control of young adults with intellectual development disabilities.

BLAST FROM THE PAST:

Improving Brain Health with Enhance VR - Zero to Start podcast episode

Birdly simulator

CONNECT WITH AMIR
LinkedIn

CONNECT WITH SICILIANA
LinkedIn
sicilianatrevino.com 

Former NASA AI scientist turned VR creative director and producer, Nathalie Mathe, has been pushing the boundaries of VR since the early days of the Oculus DK1 and DK2. 

From creating visual effects on blockbuster films like Total Recall, Fast & Furious6, Skyfall, and The Dark Knight Rises to directing and supervising cutting-edge VR projects for Google, Facebook, JauntVR and Condition One, Nathalie is a powerhouse of innovation and artistry.

She’s also the founder of NativeVR, an independent VR studio in California, and has taught VR & Immersive Media at UC Berkeley, Drexel University, and University of the Arts. 

She currently teaches at Northeastern University’s College of Art, Media, and Design, in The Game Science and Design MS program at Mills College.

On today’s episode, Nathalie shares how her Hollywood work propelled her to the forefront of pioneering techniques in photogrammetry and 360 video to create groundbreaking entertainment and social impact stories—including U-Turn, her award-winning interactive VR comedy that raises awareness of the gender gap in tech.

She takes us through the importance of transparency, ethics and scientific approaches to studying immersive tech and AI, and how following her intuition about the future has shaped her successful career. 

Plus Natalie offers her advice for aspiring creators looking to break into the rapidly evolving industry. 

You can support Zero to Start by subscribing on your favorite podcast platform, give us a rating, and share this episode with your community. Follow our podcast page on LinkedIn!

Thanks for listening, happy installing!  

FEATURED LINK:
Master of Science in Game Science and Design, Northeastern University, Oakland

BLAST FROM THE PAST:
VIDEO: Uturn Trailer
VIDEO: Jaunt VR app trailer
VIDEO: Oculus Developer Kit 2 trailer

MORE RESOURCES:
Unity
Unreal Engine
Godot Game Engine
Foundary / Nuke VFX Software - Compositing, Editorial and Review
Touch Designer   by Derivative

CONNECT WITH NATHALIE:
LinkedIn

CONNECT WITH SICILIANA:
LinkedIn
sicilianatrevino.com 

GameDriver enables video game developers, testers, and producers to automate playtesting; improving time to market, test coverage, and overall quality and revenue.

The company brings over 30 years of test automation expertise to the massive gaming industry, as well as Enterprise - where next-gen user experiences are built using gaming technologies including AR and VR, to deliver consistent, repeatable testing to the app development process.

XRDriver is an Auggie nominated developer tool that addresses sector-specific needs with Advanced XR testing. 

Joining me on the podcast to tell us more about GameDriver's powerful results and how developers can increase productivity on their XR games and enterprise apps is Shane Evans, Co-founder at GameDriver, Product Strategy and Go-to-Market.

Shane is a pioneering Product Management leader who has led mature, market-leading products and introduced new products, and solutions to fit changing market and business needs for HP, HSBC and more. 

His ability to fuse a passion for games with cutting-edge innovation and enterprise solutions gives him a unique and invaluable perspective on the industry. 

You can find him at GDC, AWE and and other global conferences. 

Visit GameDriver.io to get your free trial of GameDriver and download their exclusive resource to discover the strengths and gaps in your testing process.

Thanks for listening! You can support the podcast by subscribing on your favorite podcast platform, give us a rating and connect with us on our LinkedIn page.

Special thanks to Noah Langer

FEATURED LINKS:

• Getting Started with Video Game Test Automation using GameDriver
• XR Driver
• GameDriver on GitHub

GAME ENGINES / MORE RESOURCES:

• Unity
• Unity: DOTS
• Unreal Engine
• Unreal Engine: MASS
• Godot Game Engine
• How to get a job as a video games tester  - GamesIndustry.biz
• The crucial role of software quality assurance in gameplay development - Software testing magazine 

CONNECT WITH SHANE:

• LinkedIn

CONNECT WITH SICILIANA: 

• LinkedIn 
• sicilianatrevino.com 

In just a few short years, mobile gaming has exploded, now accounting for almost half of all gaming, with the market worth an astounding $90 billion dollars.

According to Statista, by 2026 the mobile AR market is predicted to reach $36 billion dollars in revenue. 

As mobile AR gaming evolves beyond Pokemon Go, one company is going all-in to redefine the space with a first-of-its- kind multiplayer augmented reality fighting game. 

Joining me on the latest Zero to Start is AR/VR pioneer Sarah Stumbo Huth, Gameplay Engineer at Jadu AR. Sarah takes us through the twists and turns of bringing this groundbreaking multiplayer augmented reality game to mobile and her personal journey in the industry. 

From her early VR days in 2014 to becoming a tech evangelist at Unity, and a software engineer at MSG Sphere, Peloton, and now as Gameplay Engineer at Jadu AR, Sarah has been at the forefront of AR/VR innovation. 

She also fills us in on Season One, Jadu’s first single-player campaign launching May 21st.

Download Jadu from the App Store or Google Play to experience your very own battle arena on the go and see why this exciting new game is setting the standard for AR gaming on mobile.

To support the podcast subscribe on your favorite podcast platform! 

Thanks for listening! Until next time, happy installing. 

FEATURED LINKS:

• JADU.AR
• Jadu on the App Store
• Jadu on Google Play
• Jadu Fight Club on Discord

MORE RESOURCES:

• Download Unity 
• Unity for Humanity 
• Agile Manifesto
• Beta made simple with Apple's TestFlight 
• 200 Mobile Games Statistics - Udonis
• Mobile AR market revenue worldwide from 2021 - 2026 - Statista

Special thanks to Troy Allen Norcross

CONNECT WITH SARAH:

•  LinkedIn 

CONNECT WITH SICILIANA: 

• LinkedIn 
• sicilianatrevino.com 

Apple Vision Pro doesn't have anything I really need, just everything I want. They're the coolest goggles on the planet. 

While hot takes about the price, the returns, the meaning of this moment continue to light up our news feed, I’m still integrating the 3 days I spent with The Vision Pro. 

Using Apple's spatial computer for the first time consumed me with intense, satisfying, emotional connections between software place and time. 

So after all my excitement why did I return it? The answer might surprise you. 

February 12th was Zero to Start's 4 year anniversary. Thanks to all our listeners in over 44 countries! 

FEATURED LINKS:

• Apple Vision Pro
• Here's How Much it Costs Apple to Make a Vision Pro Headset - MacRumors
• VIDEO: How to become the BEST at Gorilla Tag - jmancurly

FLASH BACK:

• SPOTLIGHT SERIES sponsored by Meta
• Episode 25  Presence Experiential Design and the Ultimate Potential of Virtual Reality with Kent Bye 
• Episode 23  Sam Altman, OpenAI and the quest for ethical AGI with Avi Bar-Zeev, Founder and President Reality Prime, XR Guild
• Episode 22  Metaverse Safety Week Dec.10th-15th 2023 with Kavya Pearlman, Founder and CEO, XRSI
• VIDEO: New User Experience - Setting Up the Oculus Sensor - Meta

CONNECT WITH SICILIANA 

• sicilianatrevino.com 
• LinkedIn 

It's Apple Vision Pro Day! 

• Will it be as paradigm shifting as the first iPhone? 
• If Apple is hedging its bet on spatial computing, did oculus/Meta do the hard excavation work to prove there is an innovative market for XR?
• Does an early adopter really need another headset in their vast collection of goggles, glasses and gadgets?

These are some of the questions Ash Baccus-Clark, Director, Keynote Speaker & Creative Strategy Consultant at ABC Worldwide asks as she contemplates whether or not to spend over $3,500 to get Apple’s first spatial computer. 

Ash is a molecular and cellular biologist, brand marketing professional and multidisciplinary artist who uses new media and storytelling to explore themes of deep learning, cognition, memory, trauma, and systems of belief within the framework of intersectionality. 

She was formerly the Director of Research & Marketing at Hyphen-Labs, an international team of engineers, scientists, architects, and artists who created ‘NeuroSpeculative AfroFeminism’, an award-winning virtual reality project that was screened at Sundance, the American Film Institute, and Tribeca Film Festival, and more. 

Join us as we dive into why it's time to start creating for spatial computing and XR. 

Thanks for listening, happy Vision Pro Day!

CONNECT WITH ASH:

• LinkedIn
• This neuroscientist uses art to fight hate - Vice

AVP REVIEWS: 

• I spent 24 hours wearing Apple's Vision Pro Headset - Wall Street Journal
• Apple Vision Pro review: magic, until it’s not - The Verge
• Why Tim Cook is going all in on the Apple Vision Pro - Vanity Fair

FEATURED LINKS:

• Apple Vision Pro
• Apple Announces More than 600 new apps built for the Vision Pro - Apple News
• The Inside Story of Oculus Rift and how Virtual Reality became Reality - Wired, 2014
• Why Virtual Reality is about to change the world - Time, 2015
• VIDEO: Andrew Ng, Opportunities in AI 

CONNECT WITH SICILIANA 

• sicilianatrevino.com 
• LinkedIn 

The Apple Vision Pro presale on Friday Jan.19th was a resounding success, erasing any doubt about Apple’s ability to capture the public’s imagination - and their wallets, with its first spatial computer. 

The Vision Pro marks a new day in the XR industry, or rather, a new tune that has the potential to transcend the friction and failures of the last decade. 

Despite some early device limitations and the steep price tag, speculation is rampant about the Vision Pro selling out its preorder stock in just under 20 minutes, with early revenue estimates reaching $630 million dollars. 

Today’s show is part two of our Apple Vision Pro series reflecting on the presale experience, sales results, the features we’re most excited about, and how you can begin exploring the magic of Vision Pro without a headset. 

Thanks for listening and happy Installing!

"Apple Vision Pro pre-orders begin today! We’re so excited for you to experience spatial computing for the first time! " - Tim Cook 

APPLE DEVELOPER + VISIONOS LINKS: 

• VIDEO Apple Vision Pro guided tour
• Learn about visionOS
• Human Interface Guidelines
• VIDEO Explore immersive sound design
• Q/A Spatial Design for visionOS
• Xcode Resources, tools, documentation, tutorials
• Apple Developer Membership and programs
• Realizing their vision: how DJay designed for VisionOS 

ARTICLES/BLOGS: 

• Apple sells up to 180,000 Apple Vision Pro, says Kuo - Apple Insider
• Making Apple Vision Pro video will mesmerize you - Cult of Mac
• VR market shrinking as even as Meta pours billions of dollars a quarter on the Metaverse - CNBC
• Oculus Rift and Oculus Quest sell-through shipments worldwide in 2016 and 2019 - Statista
• Five Years of VR: A Look at the Greatest Moments from Oculus Rift to Quest 2    - Meta Quest Blog
• The Virtual Genius of Oculus Rift - Time
• Magic Leap reportedly only sold 6,000 AR headsets in six months - Engadget
• Creativity and Imagination - Ronny Abovitz, Magic Leap Blog

YOUTUBE TUTORIAL

• VisionOs simulator tutorial - Near Future Marketing

"The new era of spatial computing has arrived."  Our first episode of 2024 brings you a readout of last week's proclamation from Apple CEO, Tim Cook on the news of the highly anticipated Apple Vision Pro launch, which is just hours away from pre-sale, on Friday January 19th at 5am pacific. Vision Pro will be available in the U.S. on February 2nd.

Are you walking up at 5AM tomorrow to pre-order? We are! (hopefully...)

What does the Vision Pro mean for early adopters, creators and consumers? If you're wondering why you need a $3,500 wearable computer, this episode is for you. And if you're already convinced, let's celebrate and welcome spatial computing to the AI, AR, VR, XR, Metaverse family.   

We'll have more reflections on the pre-order and dig deeper into developer documentation later this weekend.   We can't wait!

Until then, happy spatial computing

FEATURED LINKS:

• Apple Vision Pro - Official Site
• Apple Vision Pro available in the U.S. February 2 - Apple Newsroom
• New Apple Vision Pro Hands-on Reports Drop Ahead of Friday Pre-order - Road To VR
• Sorry but Apple Vision Pro isn't for you - Tech Crunch
• With $590 million in more funding Magic Leap looks to the Future - Venture Beat
• War of the Worlds for Bose AR - Game trailer

PODCASTS:

• Zero to Start #25  Kent Bye on spatial design and the ultimate potential of XR
• Voices of VR  #1320:  Plans for VisionDevCamp, an Apple Vision Pro Hackathon after Q1 2024 Launch

CONNECT WITH SICILIANA 

• sicilianatrevino.com 
• LinkedIn 

This holiday we’re celebrating our 25th episode of Zero to Start with a very special guest, Kent Bye, host of the Voices of VR podcast.

Since May 2014, Kent has published over 1,300 Voices of VR podcast interviews featuring the pioneering artists, storytellers, and technologists driving the resurgence of virtual & augmented reality.

Kent is an oral historian, experiential journalist, & philosopher, helping to define the patterns of immersive storytelling, experiential design, ethical frameworks, & the ultimate potential of XR. 

He travels the world to deliver in-depth coverage of the best from XR festivals, conferences and gatherings you can't find anywhere else.

Check out the link to Kent’s Patreon where you can support his groundbreaking work and gain access to the podcast's private Discord channel and more.  I've been a patron supporter of Voices of VR since 2021.

How will you think about presence in 2024?

Thanks for listening! Until next time, Peace on Earth! Goodwill to all.

CONNECT WITH KENT:

• Voices of VR Podcast
• Voices of VR on Patreon
• Kent on LinkedIn 

FEATURED LINKS:

• VIDEO: A Primer on Presence, Immersive Storytelling, & Experiential Design - Kent Bye's Storycon Keynote
•  VIDEO: Sensemaking Frameworks for the Metaverse & XR Ethics
• Voices of VR  #1320:  Plans for VisionDevCamp, an Apple Vision Pro Hackathon after Q1 2024 Launch

MORE SOURCES:

• Place illusion and plausibility can lead to realistic behaviour in immersive virtual environments - Mel Slater
• Reality+  David Chalmers
• VIDEO: Top 20 Oculus Rift VR Experiences of 2013 - Cymatic Bruce
• VIDEO: Descartes Meditation I - Of the things which may be brought into Doubt - Philosophy Vibe 

CONNECT WITH SICILIANA 

• sicilianatrevino.com 
• LinkedIn 

WHAT WE'RE PLAYING IN VR

• Gorilla Tag - holiday update! 
• Asgard's Wrath 2
• Black Pink a VR Encore - Meta Horizon Worlds (Dec. 26th)
• Wallace & Gromit in the Grand Getaway
• Liminal - Relax. Unwind. Engage. Explore.

Are you game for a full-body haptic suit? HaptX Inc. takes us one step closer with the imminent launch of their G1 Glove. 

HaptX invents and builds wearable technology that simulates touch with unprecedented realism, enabling haptic interaction in virtual reality and robotics.  

Joining me to explore the magic of the HaptX G1 glove and the future of human-computer interaction is Linda Jacobson, the Director of Marketing at HaptX.

An industry pioneer, Linda helped seed VR technology as the world’s first VR evangelist driving early research efforts of VR in healthcare. She is a Co-founding editor of Wired Magazine and author of "CyberArts: Exploring Art + Technology" and "Garage Virtual Reality". She has helped hundreds of clients and has introduced thousands of seniors to virtual reality, social media, digital health and wellness.

Learn about HaptX Gloves G1 system, including the HaptX SDK:

• HaptX.com
• AWE Nite: Getting Started with Haptics a webinar recorded on Nov. 16, 2023: Designed by developers for developers, we delve into the basics of adding realistic haptics to your virtual scenarios and VR training programs. VR developers from HaptX, Lowe’s Innovation Labs, Y-12 National Security Complex, and University of Central Florida will show you how to get up and running with haptics integration in VR using Unreal Engine.

Linda's Links from the wayback machine:

• Star Trek’s holodeck in its first major appearance, 1987: Star Trek: The Next Generation, “The Big Goodbye” (Season 1, Episode 11)
• ABC Primetime Live, 1991, presenting VR and Virtuality location-based entertainment arcade game
• TV show “The Computer Chronicles” episode, “Virtual Reality,” 1992 (with Linda Jacobson)
• “Six Degrees of Freedom: Designers & Engineers Put Virtual Reality to Work,” 1996: documentary written and directed by Linda Jacobson for Silicon Graphics, Inc.

CONNECT WITH LINDA

• LinkedIn

CONNECT WITH SICILIANA 

• sicilianatrevino.com 
• LinkedIn 

WHAT WE'RE PLAYING IN VR

• Gorilla Tag - holiday update! 
• Asgard's Wrath 2
• LEGO® Bricktales 
• Liminal - Relax. Unwind. Engage. Explore.
• PowerWash Simulator VR

In the few days since OpenAI's board of directors removed its co-founder and CEO Sam Altman, the future of the company and what it means for the race to AGI Artificial General Intelligence is anyone’s guess. 

Joining me to put this fast moving saga into perspective is Avi Bar-Zeev founder and president of Reality Prime an independent consulting service providing world-class expertise in AR & VR design and engineering, since 1997.

Avi Bar-Zeev has been at the forefront of Spatial Computing for over 30 years. He co-invented the Hololens AR headset in 2010, and led the Experience Prototyping team for Apple's Vision Pro and more from 2016 to 2019. 

Most recently, he is a founder and President of The XR Guild, a new non-profit membership organization that seeks to support and educate professionals in XR on ethics and most positive outcomes for humanity.

However this techno drama plays out, we are approaching a threshold of computing power that was once the domain of science-fiction and fantasy. The builders are already living there. 

How do you think AI will impact human rights, the way we live, work or how we define what makes us unique? Let us know on the Zero to Start LinkedIn page. 

CONNECT WITH AVI

• XR Guild
• LinkedIn 
• Mission Responsible - Designing a Future We Choose to Accept - Dec 10th

CONNECT WITH SICILIANA 

• sicilianatrevino.com 
• LinkedIn 

OPENAI MAYHEM 

• Sam Altman to return as CEO of OpenAI - Tech Crunch
• Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella on the OpenAI Debacle - On with Kara Swisher
• Emergency Podcast: Altman Fired at OpenAI - Big Technology Podcast
• OpenAI Staff Threaten to Quit Unless Board Resigns - Wired
• OpenAI's Sutskever says he regrets board's firing of Altman - Axios
• OpenAi's Non-profit Board at the heart of Sam Altman's Ouster - Sharon Goldman
• OpenAI Dev Day Sam Altman Opening Keynote - YouTube
• OpenAI charter
• OpenAI Co-Founder & Chief Scientist Ilya Sutskever - No Priors Podcast
• Ilya Sutskever: Deep Learning - Lex Fridman Podcast

MORE RESOURCES

• Metaverse Safety Week Dec 10th-15th 
• Zero to Start episode with Kavya Pearlman, Founder XRSI 

On December 10th  XRSI will kick–off their 4th annual Metaverse Safety Week - XRSI’s flagship conference, an annual occasion to meet industry leaders and discuss the challenges of safety, privacy and artificial intelligence in spatial computing. 

Kavya Pearlman, Founder and CEO of XRSI, X Reality Safety Intelligence,  a leading non-profit organization globally recognized for advocating safety, privacy, security, and inclusion in the domain of emerging technology joins me on the podcast to share why this year's Metaverse Safety Week is an essential industry event. 

Kavya is an award-winning cyber security expert who brings together world leaders, organizations, researchers, community advocates and policymakers to address the industry’s most challenging threats. 

Dive into what you need to know about safety in the Metaverse on this episode of Zero to Start!

Check out show links below and let us know your feedback on our LinkedIn page.    

• METAVERSE SAFETY WEEK DEC 10th - 15th 2023 
• xrsi.org
• The XRSI Privacy and Safety Framework
• The Child Safety Initiative
• Safety Tips for Parents - Top Recommendations from XRSI

GOVERNMENT POLICY

• Blueprint for an AI Bill of Rights
• EU AI Act: first regulation on artificial intelligence 

RESOURCES and READING

• Medical XR Privacy and Safety Framework - XRSI
• Stanford Research Shows VR Users Can Be Identified Using Only 5 Minutes of Motion Data - Road to VR
• Scammers Use AI to Mimic Voices of Loved Ones in Distress - CBS
• The Power of Digital Policy: A practical guide to minimizing risk and maximizing opportunity for your organization - Kristina Podnar
• Cyber War - Richard A. Clarke 

CONNECT WITH KAVYA 

• LinkedIn
• X
• Kavya Pearlman on 60 minutes 

CONNECT WITH SICILIANA 

• sicilianatrevino.com 
• LinkedIn 

Subscribe to Zero to Start on your favorite podcast platform, give us a rating and share this episode with your community. Thanks for listening and happy installing!

Prepare to be amazed and inspired by special guest Michaela Ternasky Holland, Emmy Award-Winning XR Director, Creative Strategist and Impact Producer leading equity and social change in XR and the Metaverse.  

A pioneer in VR journalism and experience design, Michaela shares the evolution of her unique industry journey and how her latest immersive film, Reimagined Vol. II: Mahal, is redefining traditional narratives and Tagalog / Filipino mythology to create authentic, innovative, heart-felt stories that captivate audiences around the world.

We also talk shop about the new Quest3, Apple entering the market and what every beginner should know about immersive storytelling. Don't miss it!

Check out show links below and let us know your feedback on our new LinkedIn page.   

CONNECT WITH MICHAELA

• VIDEO - Reimagined Volume II: Mahal  Official Trailer
• Michaela's Website
• LinkedIn
• IMDB
• Face to Face website
• VIDEO - On the Morning You Wake ICAN Nuclear Ban Forum Panel 

CONNECT WITH SICILIANA 

• sicilianatrevino.com 
• LinkedIn 

RESOURCES

• Quill VR painting app on the Meta Quest Store
• Asian American Journalists Association

Dive into what you need to get started on your immersive storytelling adventure. Subscribe to Zero to Start on your favorite podcast platform, give us a rating and share this episode with your community. Thanks for listening and happy installing!

XR Pioneer Robin Moulder, Founder and CEO of 3lb Games and 3lb XR joins the podcast to share details about their latest releases including VR Workout and Grokit, a hand tracking multiplayer mixed reality game aimed at rapid fire interactions focused on fun while giving newer headset players more confidence - perfect for introducing your friends and family to the magic of mixed reality on a Quest 3 at your holiday gatherings.

GroKit Core is their B2B resource that will help companies accelerate their spatial computing project development.
 
Robin also reports on highlights from her recent visit to Europe's thriving immersive conferences, her reflections on Apple Vision Pro, how she started her career in technology and what every beginner should know about getting started in spatial computing. 

Check out resource links below and let us know your feedback on our new LinkedIn page.   

Spooky installing!

DOWNLOAD

• Grokit Multiplayer Mixed Reality Game  - AppLab
• SpaceDragon - AppLab
• VR Workout - Meta Store

CONNECT WITH ROBIN 

• 3lb Games
• 3lbXR
• Robin on LinkedIn
• XR Women

CONNECT WITH SICILIANA 

• sicilianatrevino.com 
• on LinkedIn 
• The Shoes of OC5
• The Shoes of OC6

WHAT ELSE WE'RE PLAYING THIS HALLOWEEN!

• Spooky worlds and adventures in Social VR - Andy Fidel 
• Tim Burton's Nightmare Before Christmas - Supernatural 
• Universal Monsters Arena 
• Rise of the Ghost Lord  - Ghostbusters
• Widow's Walkabout - Walkabout Mini Golf 
• Movie Nights - Haunted Horizon 
• Spookality #spookality  - VRChat

The early days of hand tracking with Leap Motion:

• SFVR #12 David Holz, Leap Motion Orion demo - YouTube 

CONFERENCES

• Stereopsia
• AWE Vienna 

We hope you're inspired to explore mixed reality and start your spatial computing adventure. Subscribe to Zero to Start on your favorite podcast platform,

"What if I could make an app that could change an entire play area into a horror game?"
That's what David Montecalvo, Founder and President of VirtualGo LLC asked himself when he saw the black and white pass-through on the Meta Quest 2, inspiring him to create Hauntify, one of Quest 2's earliest mixed reality games that combined the headset's new experimental pass through with a ghostly room-scale experience - available now for Quest 3 on Sidequest and App Lab. 

On this spookacular episode of Zero to Start special guest David Montecalvo unlocks the secrets to playing Hauntify, his vision for developing mixed reality apps and what he's learned along the way of making games like Escape Lava Mine (Rift), FPS Enhanced Reality (Quest 2, 3), Mixed Reality Animal Escape and more.

This Halloween turn your house party into a horror game with Hauntify. Check out our list below for more games to get you into the spirit and let us know which monster VR games you're playing on our new LinkedIn page.   

Spooky installing!

DOWNLOAD HAUNTIFY

• AppLab
• SideQuest
• Itchi.io
• Hauntify Trailer on YouTube
• Set Up Tutorial on YouTube

CONNECT WITH VIRTUAL GO LLC

• Website 
• David Montecalvo on LinkedIn
• 5 floors of Mixed Reality playspace - VIDEO 
• FPS Enhanced Reality on AppLab
• Lava Escape Mine Trailer on YouTube

WHAT ELSE WE'RE PLAYING THIS HALLOWEEN!

• Supernatural - Tim Burton's Nightmare Before Christmas
• Universal Monsters Arena 
• Ghostbusters - Rise of the Ghost Lord (Oct 26th)
• Walkabout Mini Golf - Widow's Walkabout
• Haunted Horizon - Movie Nights
• VRChat - Spookality #spookality

CONNECT WITH SICILIANA

• sicilianatrevino.com 
• on LinkedIn 

We hope you're inspired to explore how you can apply mixed reality to your creative vision and have fun this Halloween. Subscribe to Zero to Start on your favorite podcast platform, and share this episode with your ghosts and ghouls.  Thanks for listening and for your support! 

Web AR and social impact is a powerful combination that fuels dynamic connection, community building, awareness and action - at scale. 

On this episode of Zero to Start,  Sarah Porter, Director of Innovative Philanthropy at Hope for Haiti joins me to share the nonprofit's mission, how they started their immersive journey and how you can join 8th Wall's Hope for Haiti challenge happening now - the deadline to enter is November 6th at 11:59 pm Pacific. 

You can jump right to the Challenge details at 13 minutes into the podcast. See the links below for everything you need to participate.

Happy installing!

8th WALL CHALLENGE LINKS: 

• 8th Wall Challenge 
• 8th Wall blog post
• Resource deck

CONNECT WITH HOPE FOR HAITI:

• Hope for Haiti website
• Hope for Haiti socials: IG and X
• Celebrating Hope event in NYC on Oct 27th
• Hope for Haiti VR app on Sidequest
• VR app trailer
• Sarah Porter on LinkedIn

3D JAVASCRIPT FRAMEWORKS 

• A-Frame
• three.js
• PlayCanvas
• Babylon.js

CONNECT WITH SICILIANA

• sicilianatrevino.com 
• on LinkedIn 

We hope you're inspired to explore WebAR and 8th Wall's Hope for Haiti Challenge. Subscribe to Zero to Start on your favorite podcast platform, and share this episode with your community. Thanks for listening and for your support! 

Discover how Cognitive3D’s SDK for Unreal and Unity empowers immersive creators to unlock player behavior and build better 3D experiences with Calder Archinuk, Developer Evangelist at Cognitive3D. 

Designing for Player agency in virtual environments is one of many challenges in VR development, yet player agency is also what makes VR an essential medium for capturing and studying player behavior.

• How can developers quickly and easily leverage spatial analytics to build better immersive experiences? 
• What should every immersive developer know about leveraging spatial analytics in their projects? 
• How can developers safely collect spatial data and protect privacy? 

Dive into these questions and more on our latest episode.  Happy installing!

CONNECT WITH COGNITIVE3D:

• Create a free account on Cognitive3D.com
• Download the SDK
• Follow on Github
• Join the Cognitive3D community on Discord
• Follow on X
• Calder Archinuk on LinkedIn

RESOURCES:

• Cognitve3D Glossary of Metrics - Cognitive3D
• Virtual Reality in Behavioral Neuroscience: New Insights and Methods - edited by Christopher Maymon, Gina Grimshaw, Ying Choo Wu 
• Eye-Tracking Methodology and Applications in Consumer Research - Hayk Khachatryan and Alicia L. Rihn, University of Florida 
• X Reality Safety Intelligence (XRSI) 

CONNECT WITH SICILIANA

• sicilianatrevino.com
• on LinkedIn 

Subscribe to Zero to Start on your favorite podcast platform, and share this episode with the immersive creators in your life. Thanks for listening and for your support! 

Dive into the power of Neuroscience and VR to improve brain health with Amir Bozorgzadeh, the cofounder and CEO of Virtuleap. 

Brain health as you age affects each and every one of us. Caring for your cognitive well-being is essential for living an independent and fulfilling life.  Virtuleap combines neuroscience and virtual reality to help increase attention levels, and address cognitive illnesses, disorders, and learning challenges. 

Virtuleap’s' Enhance VR app is a fun and immersive workout for your brain. Featuring games like Magic Deck, Memory Wall and more  that help keep your mind sharp and healthy at any age. See link below to download Enhance VR free. 

We also explore how VR's power of embodiment is driving clinical research in treating conditions like ADHD and Long Covid, data safety and ethics, consciousness and the unique challenges researchers at the intersection of new tech and healthcare must overcome - with lighter weight headsets, accessible onboarding and more. 

Support the podcast - subscribe, like and share this episode with your community.  Thanks!

DOWNLOAD ENHANCE VR FREE:  

• AppLab
• SideQuest VR
•  Enhance VR games and more available in Alcove VR  

CONNECT WITH US!

• Virtuleap.com
• Amir Bozorgzadeh on LinkedIn  
• Siciliana on LinkedIn 

SBIR GRANTS:

• Small Innovation Business Research (SBIR) 
• Non-Dilutive Startup Fundraising SBIR Grants for Innovation - YouTube 
• TurboSBIR - Grant application support software

DIGITAL BIOMARKERS + REPORTS: 

• Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality Medical Devices - FDA
• Alzheimer's Disease Diagnostics and Therapeutics Global Market Report 2033  - Increasing use of Biomarkers for Diagnosis Drives Growth
•  Digital Biomarkers Market accounted for US$ 3.1 billion in 2022 -Prophesy Market Insights
• The Connected Self: The Era of Digital Biomarkers in Neurology - CFI.co

DEMOGRAPHICS:

• The 2030 problem: Caring for Aging Baby Boomers

Stepping into the Spotlight is Sadah Espii Proctor, XR & Experiential Designer Composer & Spatial Sound Designer 

On our 8th and final spotlight episode, recorded on January 2021, Espii shares her philosophy on creating  narrative VR experiences for theater, music and art - and how the pandemic is ushering in new ways to experience live performance. 

Among Espii's many accomplishments in immersive film, art and sound, she is the director of 2019's Girl Icon. Globally, over 130 million girls do not go to school. Step into the life of one girl from India who is inspired by Malala Yousafzai to change her course. Produced in partnership with Oculus VR for Good Creators Lab, Malala Fund and Milaan Foundation.

We also discuss the development of her immersive work, Testigo (Witness), created at Garage Stories and The Bayou Project. 

Thanks for listening and happy installing!

• Share, like and subscribe to Zero to Start on your favorite podcast platform.
• Connect with Espii on LinkedIn
• Follow Siciliana on LinkedIn

================================
FEATURED LINKS

• Oculus Start Developer program 
• Garage Stories
• Unity
• Unreal Engine

================================
Thanks to our partners at Meta for sponsoring our Spotlight Series and supporting women working in Virtual Reality. 

#sponsoredpost