Zima Red ep 145: David Mařák - AR & VR: The future of immersive technology
Primer: David Mařák has been in the immersive technology space for a very long time. He has also co-founded a number of companies in the space. In this episode of Zima Red, he dives deep into AR, VR, and their various use cases with Andrew Steinwold.
Background
Studied mathematics and cryptography
Jumped into mobile development, working in large companies
Came across AR and VR and started exploring them
Started his own AR/VR company with his business partner
Which Did He Discover First?
Discovered mobile VR first
Starting His Company
His business partner needed a technical guy and approached him
His partner has a business background working in Silicon Valley start-ups
Both of them started YORD
Without any external investment, they grew YORD from 2 people to 35 people in 4 years
After co-founding YORD, he started a project called MAINWARE that is focused on smart maintenance
Subsequently, he started MOYA because his clients were interested to get into the Metaverse
MAINWARE
It’s an entire ecosystem
It digitizes the maintenance process — The augmented reality device will inform the maintenance personnel what is wrong and how to fix the machines
It is focused on car assembly lines
Their partner is creating the machines
Their system is open — Anybody can create and save the knowledge within the system
50% of maintenance personnel in Europe will be retiring in the next 5 years
Hence, the need to create a system to make it as easy as possible to enter the field
MOYA
Their goal is to bring the metaverse to brands and help them
Perceives the Metaverse as a real-time real-life Metaverse with AR
They are partnering with big brands and celebrities to create augmented-reality merchandise
What Is His Focus?
Their goal is to push immersive technologies
They are doing customized projects for each client (e.g. life experiences, in-store activation, etc.)
YORD is their core/agency, MAINWARE is their specialized unit, and MOYA is into products
Definition Of XR
It’s a broad term
The X could mean Cross, for Cross-Reality
X could also be a placeholder for V (Virtual) and A (Augmented), etc.
His Business: Pre-2021, 2021, Now
It was stable throughout
Some businesses considered VR as expendable and dropped it while others saw the need for virtual worlds. This balanced out their business
Thinks that the Metaverse trend will become less popular in the next 1 year as these companies are running out of investor’s money
They have always focused on the Western market
From Smartphones To AR
AR will become the successor to the mobile phone
When smartphones came out, it was a revolution — It became a portable computer that gives people access to media, social media, games, etc.
Think that it will be a hard transition to lightweight AR glasses. It will not be as smooth as classical phones to smartphones
Apple has a special position in the market where they can adjust their customers’ behaviors, which could work for AR
Successful AR Glasses Launch Leading To More AR/VR Devs
Evolution will happen on all sides
There are web development companies around the world
In 2010, when these companies started to make their own mobile development departments when mobile apps became popular
Today, we have companies that are solely focused on XR development and web development companies that have started their own XR departments
The data layer is moving towards decentralization with the blockchain
Use Cases For AR
Sports
The largest problem is that people are not able to see the players
In large stadiums, AR can be used to recognize the movement of the players and display their stats in real-time
AR can be used to create new games for both physical games and eSports
There will be a new industry of phygital sports
There’s a company in the Netherlands that allows people to drive their go-karts, with video mapping over the hall. Players drive their car and react to what happens visually (e.g. other players shooting rockets, etc.)
Fashion
Fashion is one of the best fields to adopt AR
People with AR glasses and digital clothing will be able to swap them out depending on their preferences
Advertisement
Thinks that it will be most influenced by AI rather than AR
With AI, there is no substandard advertisement
In the future, AI advertisements will be more targeted and more subdued
Gorillaz released a song on Times Square and the Piccadilly Circus. When you view it through your phone, there is an actual concert that is overlaid over all the physical advertisements in that area
Think that there will be low-cost glasses that are given out for free that are full of advertisements
“I think that AR will help to make everything more subtle and everything more natural.”
- David Mařák
Education
The sector is progressing fast
There are books for children which are using AR to explain the concept to them
They are doing a lot of training
AR is not happening much in schools yet
Healthcare
AR has been used for surgery
There have to be no grounds for mistakes, making it super challenging
There needs to be haptic feedback as well
Remote surgeons — Need to have live visuals with low latency
His Favourite Use Case
Layering digital worlds over the real world (e.g. Harry Potter world, etc.)
Biggest Business Use Case
Gaming and entertainment
Is VR More Personal While AR More Corporate In Focus?
VR is a more focused mode of AR
“If I want to have a deep experience or focus on something like I want to talk with my friend in some room, we will go into VR. We want to let go of the real environment.”
- David Mařák
Biggest Use Cases In VR
Will be mainly for gaming
Think that VR will be connected with haptic feedback
Biggest Blocker For VR
The barrier of price is slowly going down
There is still slow adoption
Do VR Devices Need More Apps Besides Just Gaming?
Think that people would start to work in VR glasses
How Is AI Impacting His Biz/Immersive Technology?
AI is complementary to immersive technology
AI will democratize programming and access to the creation
He is in various gaming groups on Facebook and Discord
Often, someone would say they have a great idea for a game but lack the programming skills
AI tools will be able to democratize game development
On The Metaverse?
On The Term “Metaverse”
Calling it Metaspaces — An evolution of social networks
Is The Metaverse Just A Trend?
Most people just think that it is a trend
Those who are building the Metaverse perceive it differently. They perceive it as the next big thing
Bullish And Bearish On?
Bearish
The decentralization aspect of blockchains
Corporates behind blockchains talk about decentralization, but they control the centralized mechanisms
For example, Bored Apes say that they are decentralized. However, they are able to ban apes that were stolen by hackers, which is not decentralization
Bullish
AI
Has seen the difference between various versions of Midjourney within one year
Best Advice He Received
If you want something, go for it
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