Immersive Insights: IBM’s AR Data Visualization Tool at SXSW
What we experienced showcasing our AR demo at SXSW.
The IBM is making space at SXSW from March 10–14 showcased dozens of projects in AI, robotics, VR, AR, and other emerging technology fields. My team and I had the fortunate opportunity to demo our AR project, Immersive Insights.
Immersive Insights aims to be a tool that provides data scientists with insights to large-scale data through a spatial visualization experience. While the demo is still in an early stage, we have real-time data streaming to the headset and displayed in 3D, fully manipulable and scalable. It is also our way to begin exploring, creating and refining the next generation of enterprise applications for data analysis.
The first part of the video was a teaser we had on loop to draw in crowds. And oh, the crowds we got! Although a majority of our participants were just there for a chance to try a high-end mixed reality headset, it was a positive step forward in bringing interest to the AR/MR space. People were able to see the possibilities of the space and imagine a future with virtual elements superimposed into their world.
It was very interesting to see how people without any experience using an AR/MR device react to the demo. We found in many cases there is a learning curve, specially with gestures. But it was very promising to see people learning and feeling more comfortable with every second they spend on the device using the application.
We had a fair number of participants who could see the potential of data visualizations breaking outside of the bounds of a 2D monitor, using our platform to visualize all kinds of information and providing the opportunity to analyze data in a more efficient way by using both real and virtual tools at the same time. With Immersive Insights we are also improving collaboration and information sharing between, that will lead to a more efficient and quicker decision making.
During the event we got a very special guest, IBM’s CEO Ginni Rometty. She spoke with us about her experiences with mentorship, women in tech, and we also got the opportunity to chat about emerging technologies and our Augmented Reality demo.
Immersive Insights begins to open the conversation of whether we can start to consume data in a 3D, immersive way. It also shows the world that IBM is continuing to innovate as we put our resources into technology of the future. AR/MR applications are coming and we are going to be ready to make the jump.
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