XR ASSOCIATION AND UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND TO HOST CONGRESSIONAL IMMERSIVE TECHNOLOGY TOUR

College Park, MD – The XR Association, the trade association representing the augmented, virtual, and mixed reality ecosystem, will be co-hosting a tour and technology demonstration for Members of Congress at the University of Maryland (UMD). UMD is a national leader in immersive technologies. Dr. Amitabh Varshey, Dean of the College of Computer, Mathematics, and Natural Sciences has used AR/VR to help train surgeons at the UMMS Shock Trauma Center and has explored using VR to help train officers at the Price George’s County Police Department to recognize implicit biases. Dr. Varshney has also done work leveraging the use of AR/VR technology to significantly improve the distance learning experience.

The tour will provide policymakers with an opportunity to learn about the latest advances in immersive technology and how these technologies are being used to solve real-world problems. Attendees will visit UMD’s immersive technology labs, which are home to a variety of XR hardware and software, including a new HoloCamera facility. The HoloCamera facility is a spatially-enveloping 300-camera array for volumetric capture.

Attendees will also participate in a VR demonstration that will showcase how immersive technology can be used to improve training and education. Lawmakers will have the opportunity to meet students studying AR/VR technologies who are pursuing career paths in the XR field. Dr. Varshney and XRA aim to educate policymakers on the current state-of-play of immersive technology and experience first-hand the cutting-edge research and innovation happening across United States universities.