Xpert.Digital: Simultaneous virtual reality experience for any number of users on LogiMAT

Published on: May 25, 2017 / Update from: October 27, 2021 - Author: Konrad Wolfenstein

Immerse yourself in virtual corporate worlds using a VR headset (Source: Malvina Media)

Xpert.Digital: Presentation of the professional virtual reality solution at LogiMAT

The use of virtual reality elements for professional purposes is becoming increasingly interesting for companies because the innovative technology allows products and environments to be digitally experienced in a completely new form. Until now, however, the virtual experience could usually only be enjoyed alone. New software now makes virtual trips possible for any number of users and even viewers at the same time.

The application was developed by Xpert.Digital and Munich-based Phaenom GmbH. With the so-called EMC Flight Controller, the company has developed a system in which the isolated virtual reality experiences of individual users become a shared experience for entire groups of users. The innovative new development enables virtual presentations for any number of viewers, regardless of location, and also makes them visible to viewers without a VR headset.

Control any number of VR glasses and monitors via tablet

The simulation is controlled by a tablet equipped with the software app, which becomes a flight controller – a kind of remote control. Any number of VR glasses can be controlled via the device and an animation of your choice can be started. Users are then sent on a virtual 360° journey through animated product worlds and other digital environments. By incorporating quasi-realistic elements and user interaction, an extremely vivid representation is created that gives the viewer the feeling of being in the middle of the event.

So that those interested without a VR headset can also enjoy the experience, the users' journeys are broadcast live on external large screens. The individual real-time animations can just as easily be shared on any number of computers, tablets, televisions or virtual reality glasses, regardless of location, and thus be experienced globally by other viewers. The technology will also allow individual experiences to be made visible to other viewers in 3D in the future, not only for virtual reality glasses, but also on AR systems such as Microsoft's HoloLens .

First use with virtual flight through logistics

Controlling the trip via flight controller (Source: Malvina Media)

The system was presented publicly for the first time at this year's LogiMAT at the exhibition stand of the logistics manufacturer Kardex Remstar. With the help of three VR glasses, visitors were able to simultaneously take a virtual 3D flight through the product world of the manufacturer of automated storage systems. After one of three possible animations from the areas of maintenance, machinery or retail was selected using the flight controller, the digital experience began for the users, in which they could individually design the flight using head movements and gestures and view the various storage systems in detail. At the same time, the three flights were broadcast live on a large video wall, which also allowed bystanders to share in the users' experiences.

Other possible uses of the application

In addition to being used for company, product and trade fair presentations, the system is ideal for the true-to-original and three-dimensional illustration of projects in the real estate sector or plant engineering.

But the potential areas of application for the technology are far from exhausted. A future possible application would be, for example, creating a connection to 3D printing, in which the software is used as a printing template. Real, three-dimensional images can be printed using the digital information from animated models. In this way, the virtual experience would also become a haptic experience with tangible results that you can take home with you.

In the future, the program, which is compatible across all formats, will be available for download as an app and will run on any iOS or Android tablet. The offer goes beyond the pure marketing of the app, as the VR specialist can create content for customers and convert it into the animated 3D simulation upon request.

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