The two-day conference’s full slate of keynote speakers also include live performances.
The world’s largest VR & AR conference is back again May 4-5 at the Los Angeles Convention Center. There’s quite no conference like VRLA. Part industry event and part immersive tech festival, VRLA is a place where seasoned veterans can catch up on their latest updates while newcomers experience VR for the first time.
Perfectly located at the intersection of tech and entertainment, there’s no better place like LA, which has rapidly become the center of the VR content industry.
On Thursday, VRLA revealed their full line-up of keynote speakers.
Saturday keynote speakers include:
- Walt Disney Imagineering SVP Jon Snoddy
- A world premiere from Skydance, with Chris Hewish, EVP Games & Interactive and Pablo Leon-Luna, VR Developer
- Special announcements from Intel, with Kumar Kaushik, GM, Virtual Reality/Augmented Reality
- YouTube star Vsauce3 (aka Jake Roper)
- A special announcement from Ricoh
- VR/AR expert and futurist Charlie Fink
VRLA also revealed that Saturday’s keynote will feature a live performance by Light Balance, the captivating dance group from “America’s Got Talent.” Equipped with custom-designed suits that integrate a complex light system with unique wireless controllers, Light Balance blends expert synchronization of music, neon lighting and choreography with breathtaking performances.
Digital Deception’s Doug McKenzie and Ryan Oakes will be performing during VRLA’s Friday keynote.
Friday keynote speakers include:
- Cliff Plumer, CEO, The VOID
- Rikard Steiber, President Viveport and SVP of Virtual Reality, HTC Vive
- Gary Radburn, Director, Virtual and Augmented Reality, Dell
- Hugo Swart, Senior Director of XR Product Management, Qualcomm
- Katie Kelly, Head of Engagement, AltspaceVR / Microsoft
In addition to Friday’s keynotes, for those of you who purchase the Pro Pass you’ll benefit from access to the full expo, shorter demo lines and an exclusive lineup of professional and developer programming.
The centerpiece of this year’s show floor will be Mezo. Created in collaboration with LACMA, the 20-foot tall futuristic temple will be equipped with synchronized LED panels, lasers and spatial music. The interactive art installation will evoke an alternate future where ancient Mesoamerican societies have become technologically advanced, taking attendees on a visually and sonically stunning journey through destruction, creation and rebirth.
The Mezo interactive art installation that will be the centerpiece of the show floor at VRLA 2018.
Other experiences to look forward to include Red Frog Digital’s Zombie Holomaze, which will offer a terrifying AR experience for attendees to explore while wearing a Microsoft HoloLens. Mega Particle will debut its cross-platform Virtual Poker Table, with live play culminating in a tournament with award-winning poker champion Phil Hellmuth. For zen and psychedelic experiences, attendees won’t want to miss the Visual Reality Zone, featuring mind-bending immersive digital art installations. Additional expo highlights include Xtrematic’s extreme sports simulator, bHaptics’ full-body haptic suit, Bioflight’s VR medical training simulations and Phasespace’s large-scale motion capture system.
For industry professionals, students and attendees, there are also a variety of cutting-edge educational sessions designed to teach Unity development for platforms like Google Daydream, Samsung Gear VR, HTC Vive, Oculus Rift, Windows Mixed Reality, ARKit, ARCore and Microsoft HoloLens. Attendees can sign up for Circuit Stream’s workshops when they register for VRLA. The “Girls Make VR” workshop is also returning to this year’s expo, offering teenage girls 13-18 the opportunity to learn and create with the latest technology behind today’s most popular VR experiences.
Passes are available now and start at just $30. First time attendees can register in VR via the official VRLA Registration 2018 app or visit VRLA.