Welcome Goldsmiths Masters students

We are thrilled to welcome three new interns to Arcade! All three are studying for a Masters in VR/AR at Goldsmiths, University of London and all bring a wealth of exciting talent.

L-R: Arcade interns Jagoda Wrobel, Markus Sauerbeck, Shahd Sherief

Jagoda Wrobel

Jagoda Wrobel, whose name apparently means blueberry or strawberry (depending whether you’re in Poland or the Czech Republic!), has a background in branding but wanted to get out of her creative comfort zone and explore how new immersive technologies can be used to engage with consumers on a new level. During her time at Goldsmiths she began to see how much VR and AR have to offer, and is hoping to expand her horizons and discover even more about these amazing technologies while she is with us.

Say hi at jagoda@arcade.ltd or connect on LinkedIn or Twitter.

Shahd Sherief

Shahd Sherief graduated in computer engineering, and was employed in a very technical R&D job, but told us she felt very creatively trapped. “I reached a point where I felt like my creativity and love for music, artistic expression was completely suppressed,” she said. “And that’s when studying V/AR in the middle of a global pandemic comes in! It has been a breath of fresh air to create pieces that still allow me to make use of my technical skill set, but to also express myself artistically. Working at Arcade, and being exposed to the extremely creatively exciting projects underway has so far been lovely. I hope for nothing more than to contribute to their development!”

Say hi at shahd@arcade.ltd or connect on LinkedIn.

Markus Sauerbeck

Last but by no means least, Markus Sauerbeck studied Design in Germany, focusing on Virtual Reality and UI/UX. During his studies he spent six months working and living in Singapore before coming to London to begin his Masters at Goldsmiths. He tells us he is ‘kind of obsessed’ with explored London on his bike and finding great spots to look out over the city!

Say hi at markus@arcade.ltd or connect on LinkedIn.

Jagoda and Shahd started their internship in mid-April whilst Markus joins us at the beginning of May, and all three will be with us throughout the summer. We cannot wait to see what they can do, and hope to be showing off their incredible work very soon.

Arcade x Magic Leap

We are VERY excited to have begun our partnership with Magic Leap, creators of some of the most advanced and exciting AR glasses on the planet. Whilst the majority of our work remains focused on mobile, on the basis that phones are by far the most widely available medium for experiencing AR, we now have Magic Leap devices in the office – we do still get work done, honest! – and are busy building our first experience. 

If you haven’t heard of them, they are the guys who made a huge splash – literally – in 2016 with an astonishing film of high school children seeing a virtual humpback whale leaping out of a gymnasium floor. The excitement that followed far outpaced the reality of the technology – but we’re pleased to say that it’s fast catching up. 

The basic principles of AR remain the same whether experienced via mobile device or wearable headset: digital content that can be experienced in three-dimensional, physical space. But what Magic Leap offers, in addition to freeing your hands from holding your phone or tablet, is a deeper understanding of the environment it is in. It uses incredibly advanced spatial technology to create a three dimensional map of its surroundings, including walls, floors, doorways, furniture, objects, even people (if they sit still enough!), and uses this model to interact with its digital experiences. 

So holes can open up in the walls, characters can climb onto desks (and fall off again) and, most impressively, digital objects can disappear behind real world objects – what we call ‘occlusion’. This might sound trivial, but believability is a critical challenge for immersive, and of course the AR helicopter I am piloting should disappear when it flies behind a wall. If it doesn’t, the spell is broken; Magic Leap keeps the AR illusion intact in ways mobile devices cannot.

Having spent the past few years creating impressive, high profile consumer experiences in partnership with some of the world’s leading creators, they are beginning to shift focus to include enterprise clients, bringing more corporate and industrial experiences to the platform. They anticipate a mix of different types of application and experiences emerging over the coming years, and we couldn’t be more excited to be involved.

Arcade becomes Founder Member of Immerse UK

Man Enjoying an Immersive Experience

Arcade is honoured and privileged to join some of the country’s most illustrious names in immersive technology as Founder Members of the new and evolved Immerse UK.

Over the past three years, Immerse UK has established itself as the UK’s leading membership organisation dedicated to supporting those developing, creating and embracing immersive technologies, with over 4000 active members.

Fiona Kilkelly, Head of Immerse UK said, “We are very excited about the next growth stage of Immerse UK.  Our support from Innovate UK over the last 3 years has been instrumental in helping us develop a good foothold in the industry and understand what the industry really needs to help it grow and develop on an international scale.   We have a strong network of Founder Members and a supportive network of partners who will help us deliver a membership network that is designed for the industry by the industry.”

Sol Rogers, Chair of Immerse UK commented, “The UK is steaming ahead in the area of immersive technology and we need organisations such as Immerse UK to help us cement our position as a world leader in this space. Immerse UK has shone a light on the exceptional talent that is developing in the UK and is helping it grow through identifying opportunities and connecting the industry as a whole. Immerse UK also has the ability to lobby government to support this high growth industry.”

As a Founder Member, Arcade sits alongside many of the most prestigious organisations in the immersive tech landscape: Alder Hey Children’s Hospital Innovation, AMRC, BAE Systems, CAMERA at University of Bath, Digital Catapult, Epic Games, Factory 42, Imagination, InnovationRCA, HVM Catapult, HTC Vive, Marshmallow Laser Feast, Microsoft, National Theatre, Pre-Loaded , PWC, REWIND, Royal Holloway, Royal Shakespeare Company, Sheridans, Sublime, Unity and University of York.

Along with our fellow Founder Members and the thousands of Immerse UK partners, we look forward to lending our voice and experience to helping lead the UK immersive tech industry forwards.

Arcade partners with HKU University of the Arts Utrecht

HKU Logo

Arcade is proud to announce our partnership with the famous HKU University of the Arts Utrecht, one of the largest art and culture-oriented institutions in Europe. We have ties to HKU through our recently formed Dutch office, and are delighted to formalise the relationship by taking on the role of industry partner for a team of Games & Interaction students.

Six of the seven HKU team members, L-R: Frans, Carl, Celine, Bukra, Marijke, Sten (Hicham not in shot)

We were invited to submit a real-world challenge for students working towards their Bachelor of Creative Techologies, who will spend around four months researching, designing and developing a solution, all supported by course tutors and regular check-ins with the Arcade team. 

Lotte Vergouwen, Course Leader, said, “For us it is important that students work in various contexts outside of school and learn to collaborate with different partners. We are excited to team up with Arcade and make the most of this international project.”

Jon Meggitt, Arcade CEO, added, “Everyone at Arcade is really proud of our strong track record of collaboration with academia, from University of Oxford to the Employability Points Scheme at the University of Kent, and now stretching out across the North Sea to Utrecht. We’re incredibly excited to see what the team comes up with, but most importantly: good luck and have fun!”

Arcade partners with Welsh National Opera

The Cunning Little Vixen Opera Poster

Following a competitive pitch and period of embargo while work has been feverishly flying ahead, we are delighted to announce Arcade’s first partnership with Welsh National Opera.

A Vixen’s Tale is inspired by one of the pieces WNO is staging this autumn, Leoš Janáček’s The Cunning Little Vixen. It will take the form of a human-scale sensory ‘tunnel book’, inviting visitors to step physically into the opera’s themes and settings where they can use augmented reality to experience a hidden world of enchanting narratives. Through playful interactions, immersive illustrations and an arresting soundscape set across five physical arches, visitors will walk with the titular Vixen and experience her story for themselves.

A Vixen’s Tale is the latest innovative digital project for WNO, following the success of recent work including Freedom 360, Rhondda Rebel, WNO Field and Magic Butterfly, cementing their status as digital pioneers.

“We are thrilled to be working with WNO, who continue to set the benchmark for innovation in arts and culture,” said Jon Meggitt, Arcade CEO, “A Vixen’s Tale is one of our most ambitious projects to date, and we can’t wait to see the effect it has on opera-goers old and new.”

David Massey, WNO Digital Producer said, “We’re hugely excited to be collaborating with Arcade on this exceptional project. Digital innovation is very much at the heart of many of our engagement projects. We hope A Vixen’s Tale will immerse and delight audiences of all ages, giving us the opportunity to explore new and exciting ways to tell stories infusing music, theatre and performance.”

The free experience is open to all and will run for four weeks at Wales Millennium Centre, opening on Saturday 5 October when WNO will also hold an Explore Opera Day. It will also be preceded by an augmented marketing campaign for those in the Cardiff area – details coming soon!

Camden Alive partners with Arcade

Camden Alive Promo

We are incredibly proud to announce that the London Borough of Camden has partnered with Arcade on their hugely exciting Camden Alive project.

Camden Alive is an arts and culture platform that celebrates the history and diversity of this famous London borough, bringing to life the stories of its residents with the help of a variety of artists and performers. Arcade has been tasked with creating the Camden People’s Museum, a digital space which will be home to a series of immersive installations that can be experienced in augmented reality at specific locations across the borough or remotely, by residents and visitors alike.

The Camden People’s Museum will challenge preconceptions of what a museum is – it will have no walls, no entry fees, and it will exist entirely in the world around residents and visitors.

Jon Meggitt, CEO and Co-Founder of Arcade, said: “We could not be more thrilled to partner with Camden Council on this pioneering arts and culture project. Arcade is all about building connections between people and places using augmented reality, so the opportunity to immerse residents and visitors alike in the rich stories and unique environments of this iconic borough is a vision that’s very close to our hearts.

“Working alongside the Camden Alive team, the commissioned artists and local residents, we are delighted to be playing our part in creating something truly remarkable that can be enjoyed by all for many years to come.”

We love a good archive… getting stuck in with artists Boris, Brown and Steffi at the Camden Archives

The full press release can be read here: http://news.camden.gov.uk/camden-alive-partners-up-with-artists-to-bring-resident-stories-to-life/


Arcade proud to be founding members of the Open AR Cloud

Open AR Cloud Logo

Following Ori Inbar’s announcement of the Open AR Cloud during AWE Europe 2018, Arcade was privileged to be part of the first working group later that day.

We are fully supportive of the group’s shared mission to drive the development of open and interoperable AR Cloud technology, data, and standards to connect the physical and digital worlds for the benefit of all. We believe AR cloud technology will profoundly change the way we see and interact with each other and our physical surroundings. We are dedicated to creating standards, guidelines, tools, and data required to build a better world. We know that, above all, we must protect and preserve our individual and collective freedoms, privacy, dignity, and opportunity … for one and all.

NPL & Arcade Win Explorers Award to Develop AR App

NPL Logo

The National Physical Laboratory and Arcade, working in collaboration, have won an NPL Explorer’s Award for their Digital Image Correlation Project.

The team is developing a prototype augmented reality app that enables users to leverage the power and functionality of NPL’s Digital Image Correlation algorithms to accurately track changes in their environment.

Digital Image Correlation is a non-contact technique that uses algorithms to compare two images; acting as an advanced ‘spot the difference’ tool, to automatically record changes. The technology is already being employed by industry to monitor infrastructure wear, predict maintenance needs and provide quality control but it shows promise in many other applications, such as healthcare monitoring and aiding insurance claims.

This project aims to demonstrate proof of concept for delivering the technology in a widely accessible app format, and will employ intelligent and user-centric design.