Last week the Manchester Metropolitan University held the 4th annual AR & VR Conference, hosted by the University’s Creative AR & VR Hub. The event was focused on foster the UK’s growing virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) industry, combining global technology venture capitalists as well as South Korean technology companies backed by the government organisation Gyeonggi Content Agency (GCA).
The GCA is actively working on VR/AR start-up promotion and industry ecosystem building, bringing over ten companies like location-based entertainment (LBE) solution provider SKonec Entertainment, alongside Redrover, Toorock, GonGungames, HelloVR, Qlab, LBS Teck and Mammo6. SKonec Entertainment is most well known for Mortal Blitz, alongside newly revealed titles Operation Black Wolf: Battle of The Desert, Dark Tale Heroes, and Mortal Blitz Legacy.
“This is an exciting time in the AR/VR sector, with organisations finding increasingly innovative ways to use technology and bring benefits to a range of business sectors,” said Dr Timothy Jung, Director of the Creative AR & VR Hub at Manchester Metropolitan in a statement. “The event is an opportunity to introduce UK businesses to global immersive technology organisations and investors to explore ways they can work together and develop business in the region.”
All these companies were brought along as part of GCA’s Nest Reality Partners (NRP) programme, a VR/AR startup accelerator. Additionally, as part of the conference five Korean companies including Superbeans, DiveCore, Charms, and DolphineEyes will visit the UK for a two-week period as part of a Global Collaboration Project supported by the agency.
The results of the collaboration between the UK and South Korean companies and Universities will be presented at the Global Developers Forum (GDF) 2018, setting an example for future partnerships.
UK-based companies who attended the event included BBC R&D, Microsoft HoloLens and Unreal Engine. Keynote speakers included Nigel Jones (Sector Specialist for Digital and Creative at the DIT, Nothern Powerhouse), Seung-Jong Kim (Chairman of the Board, Gyeonggi Content Agency), and Adrian Woolard (Director of BBC R&D).
As companies like SKonec Entertainment look to involve themselves further in the UK VR/AR industry, VRFocus will let you know.