Hacking Brains and Businesses With Virtual Reality (with LIVE EXPERIMENTS!)

by Thong Nguyen and Zach Wendt | at MinneBar 12

Many people still associate virtual reality with first-person shooters, 360 videos of being on a roller coaster, phones you put on your face, people accidentally walking into walls, or just another version of 3D TV. While all of these are possible uses, we (and the VR industry) see them as only a small part of a much bigger picture.

This session will be taking a deeper look at how VR (and MR/AR) is actually a much more robust way to access our brains through software. We're pretty convinced that this will have profound effects on how people work in the future - but will also be sharing some examples of where it has already had impact today.

Rather than talk at you, we're structuring this session as a series of live demos (with a HTC Vive) & discussions.

Things we'll be touching on:

  • Quick overview of VR and the industry
  • If a picture is worth a thousand words, then VR must be worth a gadjillion
  • Hacking human perception
  • Digital therapy
  • Time permitting: VR vs AR vs MR
All levels

Thong Nguyen

Founder and CEO of Roomera, Inc, and a CTO-in-Residence at RĂªve Consulting.

Enjoys inventing things that make life better. Fascinated by how people (and groups of people) work. Appreciates polyglots. Can occasionally be found on Twitter @instapreneur

Zach Wendt

Zach Wendt started graphics programming on an Apple ][+ with a cassette drive. Projects are much more fun now, thanks to more than 6 colors, consumer priced VR, and all the tracking hardware and depth cameras.

For the past 3 years, Zach has organized MN VR and HCI meet ups that bring 50-60 devs and enthusiasts together every month.

Zach really wants your local Virtual Reality project to succeed. Contact @zach_wendt or show up at MN VR and HCI for free advice, to find collaborators, or just to geek out.