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Rendez-vous QUAI DES RÉSEAUX 2022

Rendez-vous QUAI DES RÉSEAUX 2022

We'll be at Quai des Réseaux 22 to talk about our feedback from our project with the Agence Nationale pour la Recherche, in which we mixed archaeology, AI and Immersion through VR.

 

Would you like to exchange ideas, share experiences and develop your company's visibility and business?

The CCI Côtes d'Armor invites you to join us on Thursday November 24, 2022 from 6pm at Espace Argoat in Ploufragan (headquarters of Crédit Agricole des Côtes d'Armor) for the next edition of Quai des Réseaux.

This year, ahead of Quai des réseaux 22, an opening round-table conference on artificial intelligence! It's a hot topic that's already very much on the corporate agenda, but one that's not always easy to grasp. We'd like to give you a better understanding of what this notion reveals and the opportunities that AI can bring to your company.

Find out more here.

Innovation in the Grand-Ouest

Innovation in the Grand-Ouest

The Grand Ouest Innovation trade show returns for a third edition on Saturday, November 13, 2021, right on our doorstep:

at Carré Rosengart, port du Légué, Saint-Brieuc, from 10am to 6pm.

 

Come meet some of our our teamdiscuss projects and techniques, and try out our platform easystory360 and our VR cases easybox360

Our offices
How can you use your usual media in a 360° experience? What is disruptive innovation?

How can you use your usual media in a 360° experience? What is disruptive innovation?

The problem with technological innovationis that it is often discontinuous! 🤔

Oh yeah? really? 😂

Well, okay, when you put it like that, it's not exactly clear-cut. But more simply put, it does reflect a real underlying trend... Let's talk about it !

To break or not to break?

When we talk about innovation, or more preciselybreakthrough innovation as was the case, for example, when we moved from the cell phone in the 90s to the smartphone in 2007, we need to understand that the upheaval was profound and the change of frame of reference almost total, except for the fact that the two "tools" were both used for mobile telephony.

Disruptive innovation is a paradigm shift. Uses, formats, functions, modalities - everything is different.

In this case, it's hard to imagine that what emerges is based on anything other than pure novelty ! To take the example of the smartphone, with it came the concept of the mobile application, and with it a veritable revolution in the software industry (among others). In addition to this revolution in technical and business models, there was also the emergence of the notion of "use", with the functional taking over from the purely technical. Basically, it was at this point that technology began to become truly "usable". user-centric " ! (then than ever beforewe were living in a world where engineers explained to "functional users" what they could expect and how they should use the products put in their hands).
 
 

And if that's not breaking up, what is?

But it has to be said that innovation doesn't always take on this radical character, and sometimes it's more incremental. incremental that things happen. Surfing on the same technical concept or the same use, innovation will add functionality or transform an existing function, but without altering the medium's primary purpose. transform an existing function, but without altering the original purpose of the medium..

Take the example of theautomobile Although technological progress has been unbelievable in 100 years, the FORD T's concept is not fundamentally different from that of the TESLA MODEL S ! A passenger compartment that protects against the elements, four wheels, a steering wheel, a rear-wheel drive engine - all of this enabling me to transport myself, my passengers and our luggage from point A to point B.

However, the list of differences between these two "self-propelled" vehicles, as our Quebecois friends would say, is much longer than the list of similarities!

Well, this that's what incremental innovation is all about, enriching an existing functional and technical base with small additions, small technical or technological leaps.

At this point, and insofar as you've followed me this far 😁 you're probably right to wonder what this has to do with the question...

the question of immersive tools and content!

Your existing media, like you've never seen them before!

First, a quick clarification of what we mean by immersive tools: For us at easysuite360 (www.easysuite360.tools) and as Philippe has been saying for a long time now:

"Immersive tools bring together all the new technical tools that make it possible to associate the power of experience with a message or value proposition, by reconnecting with sensoriality. By getting as close as possible to our senses: hearing and vision (as well as touch and, more experimentally, taste and smell), we implement cognitive processes relating to motivation, learning and memorization that conventional communications techniques don't allow".

So, when you put it like that, once again, it may sound a little technical, but remember one thing... When you're trying to get a message across, whatever it may be, if you involve your audience's senses and combine them, you'll increase the retention rate of the information communicated from 20% to 80% or even 85%!

In other words, efficiency multiplied by at least a factor of 4! Not bad, eh?

 

So, of course, when we talk about immersive tools, we instantly think of virtual reality and the headsets that go with it. And then, perhaps, you feel a sense of dread, because you're still a long way away from this type of tool, and can't see why or how to integrate it into your communication strategy or marketing tools! (Link HERE to our article on this subject)

But there's more to immersive tools than meets the eye!

 

Virtual reality, yes, but not only!

Confinements, health measures and traffic restrictions forced companies to adapt quickly and efficiently in just over a year, and today, new habits have been adopted, even going so far as to restructure collaboration methods within many companies (telecommuting/visio/webinars among other modalities). At the same time, remote communication tools have experienced unprecedented growth.

And along with communication tools in the strict sense of the term, tools for sharing content - and immersive content in particular - have also taken off.

And there's no need for virtual reality headsets: in many cases, a simple web page accessible from any terminal can be used to visualize an immersive experience!

Remote access to a production site that can no longer be visited, a tour of a showroom, or a visit to a remarkable customer site - these are just some of the experiences that had to be made possible to ensure that the relationship, particularly the sales relationship, could continue to exist effectively, when it had become impossible simply to go and meet customers or prospects.

Training, too, has largely begun to make this pivot, with the concept of "immersive learning" being introduced more and more widely, the next step after the now-ubiquitous "e-learning".

And here again, given that not everyone (yet 😊 ) has a virtual reality headset at hand, the publishers' imagination has worked wonders.

But here again, creating immersive tours or virtual showrooms is a matter for specialists and requires starting from scratch, you might ask!

Well, yes... But no!

Yes, because of course it's a good idea to start with a 360° filmed sequence to effectively reach the viewer.

No, because what really counts is the spatialization of information, i.e. the distribution of informative or demonstrative content in a "place" that you can manipulate as you wish (with the mouse) and within which you can "wander" freely, or follow a route mapped out for you.

In concrete terms, this means that, just as you walk through an exhibition, stopping at each new work to contemplate it as it hangs on the wall, you can experience immersion in a virtual showroom by creating a 3-dimensional space into which you "hang" 2D photos or descriptions. Visitors stroll through the space at their own pace, discovering content as it is presented.

And that changes everything, because you already have the descriptions and 2D photos of your products!

All you need to do is find a 360 environment that suits you, or that you create yourself or have someone else create for you (and there are online libraries of royalty-free 3D bubbles, such as hdrihaven.com), and thanks to online platforms such as easystory360 😉 all you have to do is "hang" your content and create the interactions you want to offer your future visitors. In addition to allowing visitors to explore the environment created, these tools also enable them to interact with it if they wish (trigger a video, zoom in on photos of your products or highlight specific features by associating text or audio with the visuals, ask them to take a quiz and then retrieve the answers given, find a hidden object, etc.).

Once you've created these initial experiences, and depending on the feedback you receive from your audience, you may decide to push the cursor a little further, if you feel that this new usage is relevant to you. Without having blindly spent a potentially substantial budget, and without being able to estimate the return a priori!

Among startups, among others (because in this world, you generally have a lot of ideas but very few resources), this approach is called "test and learn"... If you don't already do it, you should give it a try! 😉

And as I'm wont to say in my speeches, if you have any questions on these subjects or would like to go into more detail on any of them, don't hesitate to give us a call - Philippe, Roland and I would be delighted to talk to you!

Modeling the Underwater World

Modeling the Underwater World

Blue planet: the last digital frontier?

We are delighted to be taking part in the Baie des Sciences Festival 2021, as part of the Fête des Sciences.

SATURDAY OCTOBER 2 - 4:00 pm Médiathèque André Malraux, Saint-Brieuc

When virtual universes are used to promote discovering and raising awareness to protect the oceans.

This debate-conference provides a clear and straightforward introduction to Virtual Reality, Augmented Reality, Web 2.0, 3.0, Metavers and other tools that are now part of our daily lives.

Link to BAIE DES SCIENCES website

5 years of maintenance-free immersion!

5 years of maintenance-free immersion!

At the time of writing: exactly 5 years ago (July 2016), we were completing the development and installation for the Oceanographic Institute of Monaco and the Oceanographic Museum of Monaco. Immersive360the first brick in our easysuite360 platform!

35 networked virtual reality headsets (at the time Samsung Gear VR), controlled by a PC, delivered two films on demand to visitors, enabling them to discover the wonders of our fragile oceans. The Oceanographic Institute thus launched the world's first room of its kind (with real-time control of the headsets, and exclusive content), true to its reputation as a precursor, Albert 1st having made 3D films recounting his expeditions as early as 1895!

It was a real pleasure to be part of this new historic milestone (no less!): making 360° virtual reality available to the general public, for real immersive sensory experiences. And it's been running for 5 years without maintenance 😎.

And today, it's even better! Thanks to easystory360you can manage your content in complete autonomy, update your helmets in just 1 click, and even carry them in their suitcases, complete with pre-configured network and control panel.

Information and bookings for summer 2021:

https://musee.oceano.org/activites/immerseave-360/

Our offices

Photo Credit: Philippe C. Immersion Tools

Immerse yourself in prehistory with VR and AI

Immerse yourself in prehistory with VR and AI

To be able to walk through a cave inhabited over 500,000 years ago, visualize the remains of human occupation and then go out into the surrounding valley to observe the flora and fauna of that era: that's the dream of archaeologists at the Tautavel site in the Pyrénées-Orientales region of France.

Today, this dream is almost a reality with the Schopper project, supported by the French National Research Agency. Five French partners - three laboratories (CERP-HNHP, CEROS and LIX) and two companies (Craft.AI and Immersion Tools) - are working together to create innovative technological solutions for archaeological research.

One of the results of this project is a technology that generates landscapes of the Tautavel valley, frequented by prehistoric man during contrasting climatic periods (glacial and interglacial) between 600,000 and 90,000 years ago.

The results of an ANR (Agence Nationale de la Recherche) project using artificial intelligence and virtual reality to create prehistoric simulations for the Tautavel site. When private companies work hand in hand with public research labs. A real treat for me!

Bernard Quinio, Director of the Continuing Education Department at Université Paris Nanterre - Vrailexia (Erasmus+) project manager for Ceros / UPN)

Yes! Working on this project for 4 years has been an immense pleasure as R&D manager for the teams behind easysuite360 😉. Firstly, because of the discovery of new worlds and new professions, and also because we had an incredible playground to validate, through rigorous protocols, the fact that virtual reality, in immersion, is a real plus and leads to a rethinking of the relationship between the real and digital worlds. Imagine wandering through the Tautavel cave, amidst 450,000 archaeological objects, accessing their files on a 1:1 scale, filtering the elements of the database according to your own criteria, visually, in 2 clicks (and in immersion!), instead of reading the information in an Excel table derived from an SQL query.

Link to The Conversation article summarizing the project

Our offices

Photo Credit: Philippe C. Immersion Tools