Lead or follow the leader?. This is the question.

Carlos J. Ochoa FernándezDeja un comentario

From the most remote origins of humanity, the need to know and discover things has been a struggle for subsistence and the development of life itself on the planet. With its evolution, scientific discoveries and technological evolution and innovation, it became a fundamental lever of human activity. But it has been from the last centuries and especially in this last decade, when this role has grown exponentially, almost in parallel with the same growth of the world population. The world’s population reached 7.7 billion in mid-2019, having added one billion people since 2007 and two billion since 1994 and with strong and accentuated tensions between rich and poor countries. In which the main viability engine up to now was development and growth, and which from now on must reconsider at a global level a new sustainability model that allows a fair redistribution of raw materials and finite wealth, to do so viable in the medium term.

Faced with this situation, the need for adaptation has always been an exceptional quality of the human being and therefore, the need to seek ways of evolution and sustainable growth necessarily goes through the impulse of research, development and innovation in search of a coherent and sustainable progress in convergent areas of knowledge and at a different time in different spaces. That is, in a global environment, although “knowledge” is accessible to everyone in almost real time, its application in different parts of the planet is affected by the variable time and this must be adapted to the reality of each space in each moment. With this, the potential benefits obtained in a certain place are not always replicable in the same way in other spaces / different territories.

To go beyond space and time in search of common patterns and homogeneous development denominators, or what is the same, geopolitical borders and time, MegaTrends are defined. Definition that comes from the world of research and that aims to redefine a framework of global trends in the evolution of society applied to all its agents (state, society and market). Or put another way, it is the knowledge and prediction of our possible future, where convergent sciences and technologies must deepen the path of sustainability.

After reviewing and reading in depth different works and documents of experts and reference organizations, everything seems to indicate that over the next few years, we are going to find an exaggerated and uncontrolled population growth, especially in countries of the so-called third world, a growth of the countries of the western world close to 2%, while in so-called emerging countries this will be higher than 7%. An aging population in developed countries with a clear inversion of the population pyramid, with all that this entails, is very considerable. If we add to this, that to guarantee this model of average growth of 5%, we have scarce natural resources to supply the planet and finite energy resources to guarantee growth and development, it is necessary to review the model urgently or this process is simply not feasible.

In any case, Megatrends have a different meaning for different agents, states, companies or individuals. The prediction or definition of potential future scenarios does not guarantee in any way that this is the true future to occur, since the development of society and its interrelationships is happening temporarily and the parameters are permanently affected by different situations that affect the total of the formula. That is, the evolution and development over time and the impact on society and its agents, is affecting day by day in the new future or immediate future that is presented to us and therefore the scenario that we draw from our knowledge in Today may not be anything like the one we will achieve tomorrow. But thanks to these models, we will have been able to adapt and theoretically, thanks to the knowledge and application of science and technological innovation, improve it.

In our particular case, we are going to consider “Megatrends” as a methodology for the future strategic and innovative development of society and, in particular, of companies. This methodology, combined with others, can help us to elaborate the development and innovation framework of our company. But this is not a guarantee of success or failure, since the way of applying these methodologies, for some visionaries, is based on the definition of scenarios in which multiple variables interact and therefore, they must be constantly reviewed and updated, to control and evaluate the interferences between all of them and see how it affects the evolution of our prediction model.

The methodology proposed here is a compendium resulting from the study of the analysis of the most prestigious consulting firms, organizations, universities and international magazines in the new technologies and innovation sector.

Imagining a global world in 2030, how we will live and develop our vital activity, we have grouped into five large blocks the Megatrends that will guide the world throughout this period and in particular, what will be their impact on society, on business and how they will affect current companies and how they must position themselves today to achieve success in the immediate future. Development opportunities in the markets, their size and main stakeholders.

Once these Megatrends have been defined, we identify possible ways of development and innovation, as well as possible actions to take into account in different scenarios. Each of these Mega Trends is broken down into trends, moving from an initial global perspective to a more local perspective and its potential geopolitical and temporal impact.

And finally, once all these possible trends have been analyzed, we identify potential actions to consider in each case, by the different agents involved in the process. Development of potential business opportunities, key and strategic businesses, as well as ways and keys for Innovation in them, identifying the value generated in a special way in the value chain of each business.

References: Fundación de la Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Fundación Telefónica, Fundación Acciona, European Commission, Onu, FAO, Unesco, Frost and Sullivan, e_Consultancy, TrendWatching, IDC, Gartner Group, Siemens, e_Consulting, Copenhagen Institute for Future Studies, Bertelsmann Future Challenges, MIT, IESE, Babson College Community, Harvard Business Review, LinkedIn Groups …

Carlos J. Ochoa Fernández ©

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Chronicles from the #RealVerse. The New Age of Technology.

Carlos J. Ochoa FernándezDeja un comentario

The world as we have created, it is a process of our thinking. It cannot be changed without changing our thinking. Albert Einstein.

In just 12 months, the world has been turned upside down. And all predictive models, analyzes and future scenarios have become obsolete without being able to identify a single true and predictable answer about the immediate future.

Phrases such as transformation, adaptation to change, permanently reinventing oneself, sustainable and safe models, have become a thing of the past. All these definitions require a new mentality, attitude and mental strength far superior to what we were used to living together to face the day to day and think about a future, to some extent, stable.

And for this, we must be able to quickly change our way of thinking, acting and conceiving the world as we have done until now, or we will not be able to survive these new, unpredictable and uncertain scenarios.

Living in a permanent state of alert requires great mental strength, but above all honesty, ethics, networking and handling of truthful information in real time. In order to be able to anticipate unwanted scenarios, with some success.

And unfortunately, all this is what we are missing right now, as a society and as individuals.

It is enough to go outside and take a walk through our cities, fields, hospitals, schools, offices and homes and see how in just a few months, everything has radically changed.

While it is true that technology has invaded every corner and space of our lives. Changing our habits and ways of doing things, of working, of communicating … this change must accelerate and find a new temporary space, where we can significantly improve our quality of life. From communications, to transport, through health and health, science, energy, food, in short, each and every one of the activities that human beings develop in their day-to-day life must be reimagined in some way. way, allowing us to benefit from the efficient use of technologies.

Despite what we think, the planet earth has been inhabited in its greatest historical period by dinosaurs. And in the timeline, the human being has barely lived a hundredth part of it. The stone age lasted 200,000 years, the agricultural age 10,000 years, the industrial age 200 years and barely 60 years the era of high technology.

And it has been in this short period of time that the greatest technological developments have taken place, accompanied by the greatest industrial development on the planet, accompanied by the greatest environmental impact in known history.

The main technological drivers are all exponential, the development of broadband, the greater storage and data processing capacity, the increase in clean power generation plants, development in the world of medicine and telemedicine, have democratized access and benefit of technologies by facilitating and simplifying access and management of them to citizens.

The interrelationships that occur between major trends “Megatrends”and “Innovation” is a fertile field for scientists and developers in which new business models and opportunities must be modeled for the new society of the Post-Covid Era.

But in this new scenario, society has new expectations and demands that it is willing to lead, to guarantee a model of sustainability and well-being sponsored by this technological revolution. Transparency, honesty, veracity, ethics, environmental impact, sociability, sustainability, are some of the values ​​that emerge from the new society.

The British Alan Turin, considered by some the father of artificial intelligence, laid the foundations of what we know today as the “Information Society”, back in the 1930s and 1940s. One of the founders of modern computing, he was capable of programming everything that could be specified by an algorithm. And on the other hand, the American Claude Elwood Shannon, elaborated the bases and the essence of the communication mechanism, defining the concept of “information”, as the foundation and ability to store and transfer data. Almost seventy years later, those basic foundations and incipient beginnings of information and communication technologies have become fundamental elements of our current society and future evolution and development.

We are facing a unique opportunity, albeit in a very complex scenario. Which leads us to take on new challenges with courage, seek creative and innovative solutions, focusing primarily on those aspects that provide the greatest value and in which the capacity for green and sustainable leadership makes a difference to us to continue betting on life in the blue Planet.

Carlos J. Ochoa Fernández ©

Virtual Humans at the Metaverse. Close to the Edge to the Twin Society

Carlos J. Ochoa FernándezDeja un comentario

«A human being is a part of the whole that we call the universe, a part limited in time and space.» Albert Einstein.

Last week I had the immense pleasure of presenting these previous reflections around MetaHumans, at DES | Digital Enterprise Show during the #VRAR Tech-Session, and it was really fantastic to see the eyes and perceptions of the attendants. I have got this feeling for the very first time in almost a year. Then I felt alive again.

The body we temporarily inhabit has been described by some philosophers, as a temporary home or an unbearable prison for others. A material restriction, which prevented us from giving way to our imagination to our most impossible delusions, dreams, and fantasies. Free ourselves from the body, inhabit other spaces and teleport ourselves from one world to another with a single click.

Surpassing the creativity of Leonardo Da Vinci, is no longer a matter of fantasy, nor is it the fruit of imagination. #METAVERSE is here to stay and it will change everything …

The great evolution and development of immersive virtual platforms, and their massive acceptance and implementation during the time of the pandemic, has been truly spectacular. Virtual worlds, where we can unfold, duplicate and interact with other beings, and free ourselves from our body and limitations, without physical restrictions and face finite spaces, where the space / time concept is only on our computer clock.

On the other hand, the battle of #robotics and #AI, trying to occupy a space that does not belong to them, have caused this reaction of the #Metahumans, taking a giant step, forgetting the material / real world, and evolving to parallel worlds, where robots, at the moment, do not have their defined space.

A really exciting time and open debate, where all the barriers of ethics collapse, starting a new race, perhaps the most exciting ever lived by us, as humans, in the last decades.

Are you ready for it? I am already «ON».

Have a nice and safety day.

Carlos J. Ochoa Fernández ©

#ImmersiveLearning Environments in Disruptive Advanced #Education #Ecosystems. Episode I.

“The world as we have created it is a process of our thinking. It cannot be changed without changing our thinking.” Albert Einstein.

Man is by nature a social animal. From birth, he absolutely needs others to develop physically and socially. Enhancing our intelligence in the face of our physical weakness. We are social creatures by nature and we need to learn how to be part of society, how to interact with groups of people, and how to work as a team. We are emotional, social, rational beings, with conscience and intentionality, will, freedom and personal identity, ethics…

Carlos J. Ochoa FernándezDeja un comentario

“The world as we have created it is a process of our thinking. It cannot be changed without changing our thinking.” Albert Einstein.

Man is by nature a social animal. From birth, he absolutely needs others to develop physically and socially. Enhancing our intelligence in the face of our physical weakness. We are social creatures by nature and we need to learn how to be part of society, how to interact with groups of people, and how to work as a team. We are emotional, social, rational beings, with conscience and intentionality, will, freedom and personal identity, ethics…

We live in times of complete uncertainty. The world, had never faced a similar situation as we have today. Where there are too many questions in the air, still waiting for the correct answer, if there are any.

During this last months, I have got the perception that we were trying to hide ourselves into an increasingly virtualized world, behind decomposed avatars, robots or new small particles into a new virtual scenario as part of this new reality. Losing the control of our free brain activity, dominated for external unknown forces, as part of a live experiment drive by some kind of superior intelligence. But with some common feelings…the lack of affection, recognition, and human touch.

In this new world, governments face heedlessly to the new academic year, terrified of a new outbreak that will leave the system naked again, yes, let’s contribute something earthly. Let’s say things by their name, since, after several months of uncertainty, the capacity to anticipate, prepare for this new scenario has been nil and we continue to learn from the mistakes of the recent past.

There are no longer shortcuts, online paths traveled by elements devoid of the minimum preparation to face these new challenges in today’s society.

Today I lost my avatar, and I believe that there is only one possible path, towards the digital transformation in Education, from a completely disruptive and non-evolutionary approach. Since there is no time for it and these generations will not allow it.

Do we want to be remembered as responsible? Or guilty?

Episode I

Why do we want, need Immersive Learning Environments? Is it a new fad? is it a trend in education? does it really add value? is there proven evidence? Not it is not new, but what do we want it for.

  • Create immersive spaces in the image and likeness of real existing classroom spaces, but that adapt to different subjects.? Where classes are taught with immersive Caves / HDMI devices, etc.
  • Create a universal space, accessible by the entire educational community, both inside and outside the classroom, where to share experiences, activities, projects … etc.
  • Develop a learning methodology, where virtual spaces are recreated, with scenes adapted to the contexts and where students actively participate as members of the group. Customizing to your image and likeness? Future open worlds? Contributing your vision of the new virtual classroom?
  • Turn the classroom into an inspiring experience, each and every day of the year.? Are we ready for it?
  • Convert the workshops into creative, interactive and inspiring spaces, where students learn from good practices and develop their skills beyond their limitations?
  • Create multiverse spaces, where futuristic experiences are created, anticipating solutions to the world of the future? From the lessons learned from the past and through the use of new technologies? What would have become of … if we had acted …?
  • Imagine spaces that are transformed and adapted depending on the needs, the context, the problem … simulating unforeseen situations and seeing how the students react.
  • Learn from the silence, the stones, the walls, the art of the works hidden in the walls of history and understand the reason for the evolution of things, the need and the use of inventions … in contexts adapted to time.,

to be continue…

Have a nice and safe day.

Carlos J. Ochoa Fernández ©

#ArtificialIntelligence, #HumanIntelligence and #COVID

Carlos J. Ochoa FernándezDeja un comentario

Another Brik on the Wall

I have a question. Does anyone have a reasonable answer about that? Today’s COVID data is terrifying: https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/

Hospitals are saturated, professionals are exhausted, the economy collapses, staff morale is on the ground, radical movements are accentuated and mobilize more and more people in unpredictable directions, world leaders are fooled by the pharmaceutical multinationals afterwards to invest millions of euros in the development of vaccines… and all this surrounded by a lack of leadership and incompetence never imagined.

This is not the script of a science fiction or futuristic movie. It is the summary of the real news of today. On the other hand, they tell us, comment, know, that technologies such as AI can help in some way. Artificial Intelligence is a Computer Science Branch that aims at developing intelligent machines that carry out a broad variety of tasks, typically involving human intelligence and expertise. These smart machines are based on experience and historical information, assessing their environment, and conducting appropriate activities.…

So, the question is, as in all this crazy process, we are not capable of applying AI technologies in a way that helps you solve these very serious problems and situations. To design a global health policy, a plan for the sustainability of the planet, a sustainable economic policy… etc. Or it is simply used for the partial benefit of economic interests that do not benefit society as a whole at all. Yes, it seems like an ignorant question,

I know… and I do confess that every day I feel myself more ignorant, because of so much chatter, unable to provide tangible solutions for the benefit of society. Every day we found more digital barriers, more social barriers, more cultural barriers…or it is just another Brik on the Wall?

Have a nice and safe day.

Carlos J. Ochoa Fernández ©

The History Behind the Picture

Carlos J. Ochoa FernándezDeja un comentario

At the end of the 60s, a small group of young people from Madrid, decided to start entrepreneurial careers in the energy sector. And they planned to go to Germany, the benchmark of heavy industry at that time. A trip to the unknown world for them. An unknown country, an unknown language, an unknown culture,… quite a challenge for that group of people, moved by their concerns, intuition and entrepreneurial inspiration.

Four friends, from very humble families, and with no other financial capacity than the result of their work and personal savings effort, in a small car with their suitcases full of dreams. On the way back, they set up one of the first black heat radiator companies in Spain. Later they created a new industrial facility…and so on. Finally, with a lot of work, effort, and sacrifice, they turned their dreams into reality.

One of those entrepreneurs was my father, from whom I inherited the effort, work, and dedication to developing ideas.

Sometimes, overwhelmed by the artificial speed to which we are subjected, we forget who we are, where we come from, and where we are going. Thanks to your effort and energy, today I can be proud to share this little story in your tribute, recognition, and gratitude to «a good man», my father.

Years later, I started my professional career at Siemens, remembering the first tracks from my father…

In a world where practically everything is trivialized, where irrelevance is rewarded, fake news is the order of the day, our identity is usurped by digital vultures disguised as virtual fairies, many young people pretend to become millionaires by influencing to millions of followers with the most outlandish stupidities, it takes a bit of good sense, to value the things that really have it and to jump a step or two to get out of this crushing mediocrity, to which some ignorantly enlightened visionaries try to lead us.

The picture illustrates the short story related to effort, work, sacrifice and vision of the future, since it is the only toy that I keep on my shelf, and it was his gift from that trip to Germany.

The machine needs to be powered every single day as if it were the last day you are going to go out on the winding and complex paths of life.

Have a nice and safe day.

Carlos J. Ochoa Fernández ©

Magical and Mystery Tour around Cultural Heritage. The Immersive Experience

The Magical and Mystery Tour of the City of Cuenca project aims to integrate Virtual Reality technologies and a methodological and scientific approach for the representation of cultures throughout history. This is the result of many years of work by a great team of professionals, which saw the light in web and multiprojection format in the City of Cuenca and after years of work and study, we have reconfigured and recreated in a new context, enriched and expanded with new interactive tools. This is just a first step towards a more comprehensive and up-to-date experience, which will see the light of day in 2021.

Carlos J. Ochoa FernándezDeja un comentario

Over the last few years, I have had the opportunity to participate in a large number of projects to enhance «Cultural Heritage» through the use of Virtual Reality technologies and, in a very special way, in the reconstruction of ancient spaces in past times, where the architectural recreation of them requires the perfect coordination of experts, archaeologists, artists, engineers, creatives … in short, a group of professionals with highly specialized profiles.

From the reconstruction of the cities of León in Roman or Visigoth times, Soria and Romanesque, Ronda and its natural environment around its Roman origins, Úbeda and Baeza Renaissance period or Cuenca, land of the three cultures, walking through its Islamic origins until the Christian era.

Although, one of the problems that we encountered years ago was the high cost of bringing these spectacular developments to the public in a simple and accessible way. Since, at that time, we spoke of more than 10 years ago, expensive installations were required, with equipment that needed permanent adjustments and maintenance care. What was left only for the access of some privileged or private exhibitions.

Nowadays, thanks to the evolution of immersive platforms, the accessibility of high-quality devices and autonomy, it is possible to make these projects reach the majority of the population in a very simple way, without the need to travel or simply access from home, but not only that.

The opportunity to integrate tools that allow contextualizing the experience and enriching it with augmented, georeferenced information and on a timeline, is something completely new and innovative. Transferring the visitor to a space in time, where they can experience in first person with these spaces, social and cultural contexts and better understand the what, why and for what of all that. The interrelation between space, time and geography are the key to understanding the culture and evolution of societies and the impact around them. Something that allows us to broaden the focus of what we knew up to now and that helps us to know and interpret the reason for things with greater value.

«Magical and Mystery Tour around the Cultural Heritage» , the immersive experience, has been the first step we have taken, to share these ideas and work and evaluate the result of the experiences and perceptions of visitors to a new immersive space and interactive. Where the times and the route are set by the user himself. Discover by experimenting and letting yourself be carried away by the senses.

The Magical and Mystery Tour of the City of Cuenca project aims to integrate Virtual Reality technologies and a methodological and scientific approach for the representation of cultures throughout history. This is the result of many years of work by a great team of professionals, which saw the light in web and multiprojection format in the City of Cuenca and after years of work and study, we have reconfigured and recreated in a new context, enriched and expanded with new interactive tools. This is just a first step towards a more comprehensive and up-to-date experience, which will see the light of day in 2021.

The final sample is a complete «Virtual Tour» through the culture, art, architecture, industry and society of the Muslim Civilization in Cuenca / KunKa during the period from the 10th to the 11th century, (Spain). A recent data has been revealed by the archaeologist Santiago David Domínguez, in which according to carbon 14 tests carried out on lime samples collected in the Muslim area of ​​the Cuenca castle wall and the Huécar park wall, they have revealed that the city was founded between the years 950 and 1032. Something that brings more light to the work carried out to date.

Live a virtual journey to those years, strolling through the narrow streets of this fortress, letting yourself be carried away by the imagination and the smells of a wild nature in a very special geographical context. In this virtual exhibition, you can see and feel in the first person, the evolution of the Islamic origins of the City by visiting the «Virtual Reconstruction of the Islamic City», being able to georeferenced and locate the exact location of the ancient city by means of a project developed with «Google Earth VR Pro». Likewise, we can observe the impact and influence of science, culture and social life of the Caliphate of Córdoba, through the work carried out through the study of the «Thousand inventions of the Muslims» and their development and dissemination in the Iberian Peninsula. Here we can observe and manipulate different elements and objects of the time recreated in 3 dimensions. And finally to be able to visit the actual physical space today, through «360º Videos Tour» around the recreated spaces. From the walls and ruins of the castle, streets and the gorges of Jucar and Huecar.

«Magical and Mystery Tour around the Cultural Heritage» of Cuenca, is a unique experience that was born with the vision of being a cultural and transmedia platform, as a multicultural support where cultural heritage, history, archeology, society and art in its many facets are accommodated.

In short, a space full of life open to imagination and the discovery of magical worlds, from Islamic to Christian times to the present day.

Crossroads of cultures that today can be explored thanks to immersive technologies from a spectacular perspective. More than ten years of work, which are now coming to light, thanks to immersive technologies, incorporating the virtual visit to the City of Kunka in Islamic times, to integration with current 360º videos, or flights through the city from Google Earth to recognize the vestiges of those ancestors who filled the city of Cuenca with magic.

I want to dedicate a special section to the musical contribution carried out by the extraordinary composer, musician and friend Chema Vilchez. We have treated the sound in a very special way, natural and recreating sensations that allow you to enjoy a total immersive experience, transferring the body and soul to a recent past full of nuances yet to be discovered.

The land of the three cultures brings magic and charm to this first phase of the project. Advanced immersive multimedia technologies in 3D are the powerful tool to create value around Cultural Heritage and a support for the promotion of sustainable and valuable Tourism.

Today, more than 3,000 visitors from around the world have registered their passage through the virtual exhibition, something that in a face-to-face way would have been completely unimaginable due to the pandemic and its impact on culture, museums and exhibitions .

And finally and not least, I want to thank the magnificent team of professionals who have collaborated throughout these years in this project, and Frame.VR and ONE Digital Consulting for their amazing contribution and technological support to the project.

Have a nice and safe day.

Carlos J. Ochoa Fernández ©

I fell Like I am Learning to Fly, again…

Carlos J. Ochoa FernándezDeja un comentario

Every morning I wake up imagining a new different day, imagining when this nightmare will end. When we will back again to look at each other’s faces, smiling without masks, feeling without fear … getting excited when walking through forest trails and nature paths, with friends and hugging around, holding hands and playing all these old songs…

So many things I can imagine but, I am really exhausted, I am tired of forcing my mind to find the way out and jump out of this new reality.

The one that we have arrived alone, where the harbors are empty and the souls are broken in oceans full of nightmares. Without being able to react to our own incompetence that sakes our faces every single day…

Without limits, we are capable of overflowing us due to our myopia and lack of solidarity with ourselves. I want to jump out of this new reality, always going down.

Dinosaurs were able to live on this planet for millions of years in the past, we are still bent on our self-destruction, what else?.

Meanwhile, I keep imagining the long mountain bike rides through the valleys, enjoying the long-awaited freedom of my soul, playing my old Gibson guitar under the moon, and the stars.

To all my «real» friends all around the world;+)

Take care and be safe.

Carlos J. Ochoa Fernández ©

The New «Immersive Learning Experience» Paradigm.

Carlos J. Ochoa FernándezDeja un comentario

Personal highlights from the “Immersive Learning Research Network 2020 Conference” #iLRN2020

Last June, I had the honor of participating in the Immersive Learning Research Network International Virtual Conference held in the VR collaboration platform VirBELA, and through live streams on iLRN’s Youtube channel.

During the 5 days Virtual Event, hundreds of speakers from all continents, conferences, panel discussions, networking meetings, poster sessions, showcases, live demos, and many other social events were organized by an amazing team of professionals and volunteers.

It is evident, that due to the #Covid and its impact worldwide, the spread of virtual events has been exponential, and with it, the opportunity to participate in global events around the world, without having to move from one place to another, suffer the terrible jet-lags and the consequent savings for the pocket. But if there is something that, especially for me, has special relevance, it is the opportunity to share experiences with experts from all over the world, which would otherwise be materially impossible. Having this wide spectrum of professionals in the same setting, event, campus, or networking activity is a unique opportunity that not everyone knows how to take advantage of and organize properly.

The organization of a global event like that is something really complex. But if this is virtual, and you have to coordinate equipment, rooms, people, and technology in real-time and at a distance … this is much more complex and is not available to everyone. This requires planning, resources, teamwork, and good technology partners. And all of this was brilliantly accomplished during Immersive Learning Research Network. So, my first words are of recognition, gratitude, and congratulations to the whole team.

Personally, it was a magnificent experience, and having the opportunity to meet great friends and colleagues was very refreshing and healthy for the mind. There is always that moment, in which you see someone, you approach to greet him … and you realize that you are an avatar, talking to another avatar … but it is you and it is him. That is really mind-blowing and fantastic at the same time. But I’m counting the days when I can really come up in person and give my friend a real hug … congratulations on that. Very good work.

Professionally and academically speaking, I found it very inspiring due to the number of conferences and presentations that I was able to attend and in which I was able to see first-hand, the real use cases of VR in academic institutions, its evolution and ongoing projects , as well as its vision and evolution for the coming years.

At this point, an article that I recently reread about «It will be 2016 the year of the definitive takeoff of VR / AR» comes to mind. And every year it seems that we keep asking ourselves the same question, without being really aware that this technology is implanted in those industries where it provides value, competitive advantages, and cost savings. But it is constantly evolving and there are multiple ways of using it and adapting to the environments of use. The truth is that there is still a long way to go and meetings like this allow us to confront experiences, opinions and evaluate the degree of progress and results of these experiences. But we will talk about this later.

My contribution was concentrated in two main activities: a presentation and the presentation of the «Magical and Mistry Tour around the Cultural Heritage» showcase.

The Magical and Mystery Tour around Cultural Heritage of Cuenca, it is a unique project experience that was born with the vision of being a cultural and transmedia platform, as multicultural support where cultural heritage, history, archeology, society, and music are accommodated. In short, a space full of life and spaces for imagination and the discovery of magical worlds, from the Islamic to Christian times to the present day. Crossroads of cultures that can be traveled today thanks to immersive technologies from a unique perspective.

More than ten years of work, from the beginnings of the first Islamic reconstructions to the integration with current 360º videos, or flights around the city from Google Earth to recognize the vestiges of those ancestors who filled the city of Cuenca with magic. Advanced 3d immersive multimedia technologies are a powerful tool to create value around the Cultural Heritage. The Magical and Mystery Tour around the City of Cuenca project is aimed to integrate Virtual Reality technologies and methodological and scientific approaches for the representation of cultures across history.

And last but not least, I want to express my most sincere gratitude to Anna Xygkou for the permanent support, and the amazing intro to my session, and the amazing team with Jonathon Richter, Heather Dodds, Donna McTaggart, Tiago Peres, Mark J. Lee, and all the friends and more I met there…Lorelle Vanfoseen, Karen Alexander, Lucia Binotti, Tim Jackson, Julie Andersen Smithson, Daniel Dyboski-Bryant, Amanda Fox, Rob Theriault, and Patrick O’Shea from Versatilist Podcast…;+)

Have a nice and safe day.

Carlos J. Ochoa Fernández ©

#VIRTUALREALITY platforms for #VR in #EDUCATION and #CORONAVIRUS.

Carlos J. Ochoa FernándezDeja un comentario

Today, due to the coronavirus pandemic, a large part of the world population is confined at their homes and millions of children around the world have closed schools. A situation that forces all education community, to search for efficient and possible alternatives, in order to keep up the pace of the educational year and keep the attention of students in their educational activity.

These days there are many alternatives offering quickly and running like miraculous solutions capable of solving even the unimaginable.

But the truth is that between 17/22 of February, thanks to the initiative of Educators In VR, a group of teachers, students and volunteers from all over the world, with the sponsorship, among others of the VR/AR Association and the #Education Committee. During these days, we were able to bring together more than 150 speakers, almost 100 volunteers and several thousand attendees to the largest Virtual World Event on Education ever imagined. A six days non-stop Summit, with speakers from all continents, in a marathon week in perfect coordination. An exceptional work and developed with great professionalism and enthusiasm by a group of authentic pioneers, among whom we can give thanks for meeting and having lived that fantastic experience in first person.

2020 Educators in VR International Summit brings together educators, learners, researchers, and experts in VR, AR, and XR to share their passion for integrating immersive technology in education.

We want to thank Daniel Dyboski-Bryant, alma-matter of the Summit and Lorelle VanFossen to make it happened: «More than 150 top speakers from all over the world during more than 100 sessions in 6 days». It was just an amazing experience as «Really Pioneers» and putting in common best practices, lessons learned and case studies in #VR / #AR in #Education.

During this event, the VR/AR Association #Education Committee in collaboration with MetaVRse and ONE Digital Consulting organized the #VRARA Panel.

Julie Andersen Smithson, and Carlos J. Ochoa Fernandez ,leaded the conversation with the contribution of Olivia Wenzel and Pat Owens. During the presentation, we talked about our mission and activities to promote and develop a professional VR in Education Global Ecosystem, working with top professionals and top companies all around the world.

The VR/AR Association is an international organization designed to foster collaboration between innovative companies and people in the VR and AR ecosystem that accelerates growth, fosters research and education, helps develop industry standards, connects member organizations and promotes the services of member companies. There are over 70 VRARA chapters, with more than 30 Industry experts Committees around the world that meet regularly in person and online.

Carlos J. Ochoa Fernandez is President of VR/AR Association, Madrid and Co_Chair of Education Committee.

Now you can see the complete session here, and get the immersive perception of what is Immersive Learning in #VRSpaces.

Have a nice day.

Carlos J. Ochoa Fernández ©