XR Valley

PreviewLabs is growing - and herefore #hiring! Are you a business developer ready to shape the future of game tech? Read on 👇

Next Thursday, it is time for our next Tech Espresso ☕ a monthly moment to discuss a relevant tech topic related to XR today. This edition, we focus on how to bring metahumans - aka hyper-realistic digital characters - to life. 🎦 Taking a deepdive in a pilot case developed by Thomas More Research, Ruben Kimpen will share their journey in developing life-like digital characters based on real people, with the purpose of creating an in-game immersive and interactive concert. 💬 Additionally, Dries Van Craen will share about how AI can be integrated in controlling metahumans' behavior with tools such as Convai and Inworld. 🗓 November 14 🕓 4 -5 PM ✍ Register for free: https://lu.ma/ga6rgds3

Calling all Belgian XR players! It's showtime 🚨

What makes you tick in XR? 🤔 As we're building the XR Valley Moments calendar for 2025, we want your input! What is it that inspires you most, specifically if you are a developer or startup working on XR applications? Aka, what would you love to see in e.g. our Tech Espresso's? Let's hear what's on your tech wishlist! Vote and/or comment below👇

Join us for Tech Espresso #3 ☕ Advanced Rigging and Animation for Metahumans In this edition, we focus on the specialized field of the detailed and sophisticated techniques required to bring hyper-realistic digital characters to life. The goal is to create lifelike facial expressions, body movements, and subtle gestures that enhance immersion and realism, making digital humans appear as close to real as possible. This field is essential for industries like gaming, film, VR, and AR, where engaging, believable characters can dramatically improve user experience. 👉 Tech Espresso #3 📅 14 November 🕓 16h00 - 17h00 🎤 Speakers TBA! Register below 👇

Feeling spatial at AWE Vienna today & tomorrow 👓 Meeting with familiar and new faces in the industry, scouting speakers for our Tech Espressos and sharing insights about our unique local XR ecosystem. Are you there and want to connect with the Belgian XR community? DM us 👋

Brick by brick 🤝

📍 Next week, AWE is landing in Vienna on Oct 29 & 30! This is a great opportunity and event to explore the latest releases and insights by hardware and software companies on everything XR. XR Valley's managing director Cederik Haverbeke will be joining the panel 'XR Ecosystems Punching Above Their Weight' 🥊 , together with Madara Kalniņa-Kalnmale, Santeri Saarinen and Luis Bravo Martins. The unexpected impact in XR enablement delivered by smaller countries in the European Union is not only meaningful but very diverse. In this panel, they'll discuss industry's growth in Finland, Belgium, Portugal and the Baltics, the main policies behind these and the new opportunities arising for any organization in these spaces. 📆 October 29 🕔 17:00 - 17:55 🏛 Austria Center Vienna - Internationales Kongresszentrum Who is joining us there? 🇦🇹

Tomorrow we're taking a dive into the latest headset releases and how to navigate the challenges of XR product development. 🎤 As keynote speaker Fabian Nappenbach describes:   "We’re at a pivotal point in the evolution of extended reality - where ambition is often met by the hard walls of reality. Everyone wants the magic of XR, but as we’ll explore, getting there involves balancing vision with practical constraints. Let’s dive into where we are today, where we want to go, and the challenges we need to overcome." Join us tomorrow at 4:30PM 🤝 Link to register for free in the event 👇

Recently, Jelle Demanet got interviewed by Voka Health Community on the benefits of emerging technologies - specifically XR - in healthcare. He highlighted that the greatest added value of XR for healthcare is not just the immersive and spatial nature of the applications, but also the possibilities of spatial dynamics. 💬 "When you fully digitize a person's behavior in a virtual 3D environment, it can provide a lot of insights. For example, it allows for an objective assessment of someone's rehabilitation process because XR can measure very subtle progressions, far better than existing methods. If a patient can measure their progress so precisely, it can be incredibly motivating and encourage adherence to therapy." 💡 However, for this to be possible, we need adjustments of the European regulations. Read the full article (in Dutch) here 👇