Virtual reality, augmented reality and internet of things definitely commands the headlines these days. But, “neurogaming” has also had its share of hype over the years. Involving other highly hyped concepts such as wearables, VR, AR and IoT, neurogaming is not benefited or beset by a flood of conferences and events.
So, the Experiential Technology and NeuroGaming Conference & Expo is fortunate to stand out as relatively unique in its space. Previous attendees might note the change of the event’s name; as it has enlarged its reach to encompass more concepts, the “Neurogaming Conference” moniker has been dropped to reflect the broader reach of concepts beyond neurogaming alone.
Zack Lynch, conference chair, author and neurotech visionary, adds his thoughts from the official press release:
“We are bringing together the innovators driving the future of experiential technology who are using VR and AR infused neuroscience to impact everything from health to entertainment. This year we’ll explore how XTech is impacting multiple $100 billion industries, creating entirely new markets such as digital therapeutics, neurowellness, accelerated learning and experiential entertainment.”
Organized in conjunction with JAZZ Venture Partners, the 2016 edition of the hackathon, conference and expo “bundle” should benefit from its uniqueness. Now in its fourth iteration, the annual conference and expo focused on the convergence of emerging digital platforms informed by advances in neuroscience. The event zeroes in on the impact of new experiential technologies on health, wellness, learning, training, sports and entertainment — which, of course, includes gaming.
The two-day main conference, to be held May 17-18, 2016, will bring together more than 50 CEOs, executives and industry experts to share ideas, network and showcase products. Among the products to be demoed include PlayStation VR, Emotiv and other products. A highlighted sample from the press release includes the following speakers and ideas:
This year’s line-up of expert talks and panels will explore a range of topics, such as Digital Reality (AR, VR, MR) Platform for the Masses, XTech for Peak Athletic Performance, Experiential Entertainment: Full Immersion, Emotional Analytics: Coding and Decoding Experiences, Digital Therapeutics: Healing the Mind, and Think 2.0: Cognitive NeuroGaming. Full lists of speakers and panels are posted on the website, but highlights will include:
Tim Ferriss, Bestselling Author of the 4 Hour Workweek on high performance living and unlocking human potential
Richard Marks, Director, PlayStation Magic Lab — Sony Interactive Entertainment on how new experiential technologies are shaping the future of entertainment
Rosalind Picard, Director, Affective Computing Research Group — MIT on the potential of neural plasticity and its application to learning and well being
Andy Walshe, Head of Human Performance, RedBull Stratos on XTech applications for peak athletic performance
David Eagleman, PhD, Bestselling Author, Host of PBS series BRAIN; Director Laboratory for Perception and Action, Baylor on the potential of neural plasticity on human performance
Tom Insel, Director of Clinical Neuroscience, Verily and former Director of NIMH on leveraging digital technologies and game mechanics to heal the mind
Amy Kruse, VP & CTO, Cubic Global Defense on XTech for accelerated learning and competitive advantage
Poster sessions will be shown on May 17th, to highlight ideas from the academic field. Immediately ahead of the conference, though, a hackathon aiming to turn ideas into action amongst makers, developers, and more kicks off on May 14-15th, hosted at Pivotal Labs.
In the event (see what I did there?) you want just the gist of the news, the Experiential Technology and NeuroGaming Conference and Expo is co-hosted by the human performance technology fund JAZZ Venture Partners and the NIO; the event will take place on May 17-18 at City View at Metreon, located at 135 Fourth St., San Francisco. The XTech & NeuroGaming Hackathon is scheduled for the weekend prior to the main conference on May 14-15 in San Francisco. For more information, and to register, visit www.XTechExpo.com.
