🗣 XR Interview: Nicole Stewart-Rushworth, Digital Catapult

Welcome to the #VirtualLibrary. Here’s our latest ‘XR Interview’ — a collection of the best & brightest in virtual reality, uncovering their stories & documenting their insights into all things immersive.

Nicole Stewart-Rushworth is Digital Catapult’s Lab Manager & Immersive Technologist, overseeing the London Immersive Lab & doing cutting-edge research into XR technology. Combining her education in the creative arts with a keen interest in emergent technology, she’s a flexible, multi-talented powerhouse within the XR sector.

What was your first ever encounter with immersive technology? What was it like?

My first ever encounter with Immersive technology was in late 2016 when I had been at Digital Catapult for 2 months. When we were scoping out equipment our first Immersive Lab we went to test an Omnideck, probably one of the most terrifying ways to be introduced to VR — harnessed up and relearning how to walk on a 360 treadmill whilst attempting to walk down a virtual version of the road I’d just walked down, except populated by autonomous vehicles. It was a lot to take in for a first time VR experience.

Omnifinity Press Release Event — 2018

About 2 weeks later I tried Tilt Brush for the first time and Henry, and I remember falling in love with the medium there and then.

What made you decide to work in VR/AR?

When I first started working at Digital Catapult, I was hired as the AV Coordinator and I was told on my training day that they were thinking of building an Immersive Lab so maybe I should look up a bit about the technology as I would be involved with the setup.

After trying it out and being involved in a few events with Digital Catapult I really fell in love with all things Immersive, and the team I was working with were so passionate about the technology that it was hard not to get drawn in.

After a year of working tangentially to the Immersive Lab, I moved over permanently as Lab Technician.

You now work as an Immersive Technologist at Digital Catapult. Could you tell us a bit more about your role? What’s your average day like?

Up until April, I was the Immersive Lab Manager for Digital Catapult, this meant primarily looking after our London space but I also work alongside amazing teams based in our regional centres, in the North East and Tees Valley and Belfast, and their Immersive Labs. Day to day I would look after the bookings in the Immersive Lab, maintaining and setting up hardware.

Right before lockdown, we hired a technician to support the Immersive Lab which has allowed me to look more at the Technologist side of my role. This involves a lot of research around what is at the cutting edge of our industry as well as supporting our amazing programmes such as CreativeXR and Augmentor. Working on these programmes gives me the opportunity to figure out the best ways we can be supporting the SMEs (Small to Medium sized Enterprises) on each cohort, we’re really excited about some of the initiatives we’re looking at for each of the programmes.

I also work with my team to think up and run our Immersive Showcase series, they’re a really collaborative effort. Our audio showcase, Surroundscapes, in July 2019 was a real success with some fantastic speakers and showcasing SMEs. We’re busy trying to figure out how will continue our showcases post-COVID, having just postponed our Haptics event.

What about your work in the XR industry might surprise people?

Everyone assumes that as a Technologist or Lab Manager, I would have a background in computer science or games however Digital Catapult was my first job out of university where I studied English Literature and Theatre Studies. People think that you have to be super technical to work in the industry, I’m really interested in the crossover between creative arts and technology and what happens when you bring together people from multiple disciplines. And despite what my Mum says, I don’t just play in headsets all day.

What do you wish you could change about your industry?

I would like to see more women in technical roles and non-computer science/gaming courses utilising the power of Immersive and teaching how various disciplines work within the industry. As a creative, it would have been amazing to see what possibilities of my degree/interests in different industries — but I suppose this is more about the education system as a whole.

The Immersive industry generally needs to learn to listen to people from other industries, we’re still young and learning which is something I love so much about XR, it can be a platform for anyone and I don’t want it to become closed off and exclusive as it matures.

What’s been your proudest moment at Digital Catapult?

I think my proudest moment was when we closed the first-ever CreativeXR Showcase in 2018. It was the first time we had done such a big event as the Immersive team, we took over the entire office for the week to showcase the 20 prototypes from the programme. The atmosphere was amazing, really quite unforgettable.

On the more personal side, I think my proudest moment was getting the phone call to join the Immersive team properly. I had been helping out here and there and I remember getting the call and being so happy because it felt like I’d really found something I could be passionate about and now it was my job.

What do you think the future of VR looks like?

Up until about 8 weeks ago, I would have said the future would be LBE experiences, and it still might be. I’m not quite sure if it will be the new Zoom or Hangouts, whilst the feeling of presence is amazing and certainly helps with the feeling of isolation when you can’t see your friends and colleagues but until the social apps and experiences are made to be much more simple and straightforward to set up, get into, and use then I think we’re a way off from the true matrix in our living rooms.

It’s been amazing to see how Oculus Quests have been selling out, and I think the Quest marked a turning point in the industry of the ease and portability of being able to have an experience without a full PC rig set up. I had my 11-year-old sister drawing in Tilt Brush and dancing with the robot in the First Steps tutorial, all whilst standing in a caravan in the middle of a field in Yorkshire, and she was so excited by it. I think the Quest really unlocked the door for many potential VR users and a much bigger audience that wouldn’t give VR a second look as the public perception is still it’s all about being a “gamer” when really there’s something for everyone.

I’d really like to see customisable headsets as well! I like pink, and I would love a pink Quest.

What’s the best bit of advice you’ve ever been given in business?

Be completely honest with your manager, there’s no point trying to hide things — by being open about my ambitions since starting at Digital Catapult it has allowed me to progress more than I could ever have imagined.

What’s the worst?

Not really advice but when I first started working I was scared to ask for help and not understanding what was going on, it’s always okay to ask for help and asking questions is a good thing. I always have to remind myself that I don’t necessarily have to know everything and saying “I don’t know” is okay.

Any parting words of advice?

If anyone is thinking of getting stuck into Immersive then they should, the industry will only benefit from a vast range of people, backgrounds, and ideas.

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