8:00 am - 9:30 am

Registration, Breakfast, Exhibits

8:00 am - 9:30 am

Registration and Breakfast

9:30 am - 10:45 am

Welcome to Future Computing

Neil Schneider
Executive Director, TIFCA

Frank Soqui
General Manager and Vice-President of Games Division, Intel
Chair, Computing Technologists Group

Daryl Sartain
Director of VR, Advanced Micro Devices
Chair, Immersive Technology Alliance

9:30 am - 10:00 am

Richard Huddy, Head of Gaming Ecosystem
Samsung Research Institute

The Ecosystem Benefits of Bringing Fortnite to Android

Fortnite is arguably one of the most successful free to play multiplayer games that runs on multiple platforms and devices. Bringing Fortnite to Android was no small task as it's not only a creative game of play, it also has a high bar for performance and image quality. Huddy will talk about some of the Samsung and industry backed ecosystem developments that makes Fortnite possible and how these developments are benefiting mobile game and content creators on a wide scale.

10:00 am - 10:20 am

Healthcare Track

David Parker, CEO
Wishplay

The Results of Making Immersive Wishes Come True

Wishplay is a non-profit that grants virtual wishes and is bringing together the healthcare industry and the VR community to create a much needed compassion network. Mr. Parker will share multiple patient use cases that drove the inspiration and evolution of the Wishplay Portal and what this could ultimately mean for the healthcare and patient care industries. Samples of these stories include a stroke patient overcoming a bout of severe depression and a former ski instructor with Parkinson’s being able ski again after 20 years.

10:20 am - 10:40 am

Healthcare Track

Ted Judge, VP of Marketing
Polar Screens

Healthcare's Window on the World

Medical imaging has made significant advances since the time of x-rays. We now have systems that gather enormous amounts of data and create sophisticated 3D models. However, in most cases we continue to utilize 2D display technologies. This shortfall limits the information available to doctors to make decisions. VR and AR headsets are a significant step towards overcoming this limitation but introduce their own constraints. Less common are "Window on World" displays that easily fit into existing workflows and environments yet still enable 3D models to be viewed as lifelike virtual objects. This talk looks at the benefits of true 3D visualization of medical imaging for surgical planning and compares the leading display technologies.

10:40 am - 11:00 am

Healthcare Track

Ricardo Wagner, Microsoft Canada

Making Future Computing Accessible by ALL

Mr. Wagner will talk about Microsoft Canada’s Diversity & Inclusion initiatives for people with disabilities. Covering both internal and external efforts, he will address both the hardware and software components needed to enable everyone in computing and future computing lifestyles and day to day activities. Some of the Microsoft products featured in Mr. Wagners’ work include the Windows 10 operating system, Microsoft Office, XBOX, and more.

10:45 am - 11:00 am

State of Future Computing Track

State of Compute Dr. Jon Peddie, Jon Peddie Research

11:00 am - 11:15 am

State of Future Computing Track

Bob Raikes, Display Daily

How close can we match the Human Visual System?

The last 15 years have seen flat panel displays, especially LCD, drive out almost all the competition. The sheer scale of the flat panel industry makes competition brutally tough. But the sheer scale also makes it attractive for those that think they can disrupt it. One way is to develop new immersive technologies, but that presents many technical challenges. How far can the industry go to meet the desires of those that want even more immersion? How far can we go towards integration with the human visual system?

11:00 am - 11:20 am

Healthcare Track

Pascal Langlois, CEO
Collective Intent

Rebuilding Communication with Proxy Digital Avatars

Digital Humans that interact with cutomers using human expressions, reactions and gestures, are soon to hit screens across the world. The gestural and facial behaviors that give life to these digital creations must come from a Library of categorised human nonverbal behaviors. Proceedural and Markup animation processess, similar to those found in video game animation, could provide a proxy presence for people who have lost the power of speech, gesture and facial expression, as seen with ALS or Locked-in Syndrome. This talk looks at the potential offered by behavior libraries, and some of the the challenges that the creation of such a proxy avatar will have to overcome.

11:15 am - 11:30 am

State of Future Computing Track

Dr. David Rolston, CEO
Tirocorp

The Progress and Future of Artificial Intelligence

Alan Turing, famous for the techniques in decoding the Enigma machine in WWII, began the field of artificial intelligence with his paper Computing Machinery and Intelligence in 1950. As research continued for generations since, Hollywood and all forms of artists have taken the vision further with human-like androids, disembodied computer heroes and villains - even unplanned, accidental consciousness itself.

Dr. Rolston will talk about the progress of artificial intelligence in the present day, if it's really being used as artists have envisioned, and his own work on a personal assistant that is truly AI driven.

11:20 am - 11:40 am

Economic Development Track

Andrew Schmied, CEO
APS Consulting

Turning Innovation Into Viability

XR technology is a bastion of constant innovation working to perfect the immersive experiences we will all be taking for granted in the not too distant future. A critical part of making these technologies a reality is effectively turning research & development concepts into viable business realities that will be part of our everyday lives. Andrew will share a real case study of a true industry-changing technology that is being developed today, and how they are getting it from point A to B to C.

11:30 am - 12:00 pm

Dereck Orr, Division Chief
National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST)

NIST and the Future of First Responder Communications

Across the globe, there is a need for hardware and software applications to transform the way first responders serve their communities. Mr. Orr’s talk will chronicle PSCR’s use of virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) to advance heads up display technology for public safety applications, and illuminate the possibilities of future tech for public safety in the realms of user interface and user experience (UI/UX), location-based services, and analytics. Together, these technologies will transform the way our first responders execute their vital missions in service of the public. Attendees will walk away knowing about the unique ways their work could better the world - be it through public safety or another area. Discover new ideas for making an impact during this special keynote presentation.

11:40 am - 12:00 pm

Economic Development Track

Karim Aly, Growth Officer
Gililei

Innovation, the true multiplier of economic development

On the face of it, tech innovation in Canada is booming; startup ecosystems are thriving and Canada is a global research leader of deep tech such as artificial intelligence. But what do the economic indicators say? Is Canada really fulfilling its innovation potential? This talk will explore how industry and government can drive long-term economic impact by applying innovation across all dimensions.

12:00 pm - 1:30 pm

Networking Lunch, Exhibits

12:00 pm - 1:30 pm

Networking Lunch

1:30 pm - 1:50 pm

Entertainment Track

Kevin Williams, Chairman, DNA Association

The Play in Out-of-Home Entertainment

A big challenge with the out-of-home entertainment market is its constant competition with the growing abilities of what people can do in their home. Going beyond the limits of rollers coasters and thrill rides, Mr. Williams will talk about the latest technologies the out-of-home markets are using to excite visitors and ride goers in theme parks, amusement parks, and leisure experiences. Be it virtual reality, augmented reality, mixed reality, or things beyond - Mr. Williams will give a birds eye view of where things are headed and why.

1:30 pm - 1:50 pm

Business and Business Development Track

Artificial Intelligence for Business Leaders

Briana Brownell, CEO
Pure Strategy

Despite many potential benefits of artificial intelligence and machine learning, businesses are struggling to implement this technology within their organizations. Employees suffer from information overload, the right information doesn’t get to people who need it, and decisions are misaligned to corporate objectives. Meanwhile, companies who successfully implement AI tools quickly respond to market changes, minimize risks, and grow their customer base.

This talk will provide an overview of the top technological and organizational best practices to help you implement AI immediately. Drawing from case studies, we will outline actionable steps so your organization can hit a home run with AI, even if it’s your first project.

1:50 pm - 2:10 pm

Entertainment Track

Rama Krishna Aravind, Founder & Creative Director
Poco Loco Amusements

A Filmmaker's Journey Through the REAL "Ready Player One"

As an international filmmaker who has worked on worldwide blockbusters like “Baahubali -The Beginning” and “Baahubali – The Conclusion”, Mr. Aravind has found himself personally influenced and invested in the vision and concept of “Ready Player One”; most recently a Hollywood hit by Steven Spielberg.

Mr. Aravind will share his personal journey with his new India-based venture entitled Poco Loco Amusements. He will share his artistic vision, the realities of making such a vision possible, and what the viability is of pursuing an artistic business based on a story set in a book and on film.

1:50 pm - 2:10 pm

Business and Business Development Track

Completing the Vision With the Pursuit of Speed
David Gull, CEO, Outer Realm

Humanity continues to push the limits of what’s possible with construction and frontier technology that was science fiction just a few decades ago. Amazing architectures, space stations and space flight, self-driving cars, hyper speed ground transport and more are all within the realm of reality. The challenge that entrepreneurs and visionaries are faced with is the difficulty in effectively showcasing the vision to customers, investors, and potential stakeholders.

In this session, David Gull, CEO of Outer Realm, will address how VR and AR are helping people bridge this gap from imagination to reality through the lens of a real world case study, “The Pursuit of Speed”.

2:10 pm - 2:30 pm

Entertainment Track

Mike Domaguing, VP of Marketing
Survios

Building a Future One VR Punch at a Time

As VP of Marketing and Publishing for Survios, Mike Domaguing is faced with the mission of bringing amazing VR experiences to the masses through video games. Through blockbuster titles like “Raw Data” and “Creed: Rise to Glory,” Domaguing will talk about how they've driven viability and success to their studio and the market through home product releases, international arcades, and eSports. Finally, Domaguing will share tips and tricks that Survios has used to keep their studio on the beaten path as the immersive technology markets come to fruition.

2:10 pm - 2:30 pm

Business and Business Development Track

Ofer Shai, Director
Deloitte Canada

Over the past decade, Artificial Intelligence has made some huge headlines, both good and bad. Opinions vary from the very positive of how AI will help eliminate disease, poverty, and hunger, to the extreme negative of machines rising against humanity. In this talk, I’ll help clarify some misconceptions, discuss the hype vs the reality, and talk about how companies are leveraging AI to improve our lives. I will present real use cases and successes, and the future of AI in the business world.

2:30 pm - 2:45 pm

Entertainment Track

Alex Igelman, Executive Chairman and Founder
Millennial Esports Corp.

The Real Numbers behind Esports viewership & What They Mean For You

This session will examine the state of the esports scene from the perspective of streaming viewership. Utilizing cutting edge data, Igelman will present meaningful information that will provide the audience with a better understanding of where competitive gaming stands today in the global entertainment space.

2:30 pm - 3:00 pm

Business and Business Development Track

Ed Callway, Principal Member of Technical Staff
Advanced Micro Devices

Reshaping Our Future Through Graphics

When people think of graphics cards and graphics chips, they usually think of video games. However, the graphics industry is undergoing a paradigm shift and a self realization of what these technologies are truly capable of in business, entertainment, and consumer use. Mr. Callway will talk about the latest innovations and use cases found with graphics technologies and why they are important. Topics covered include real-time rendering in film, artificial intelligence, cloud computing, and yes - visually stunning video games. A constant theme is the need for parallel compute engines and software, not just faster clocks.

2:45 pm - 3:00 pm

Entertainment Track

Ajay Fry, Co-Host, HUD
GINX Esports Television

Amazing Stories From the eSports Sidelines

No more are sports limited to throwing a ball, slapping a puck, or tackling an opponent. Growing in popularity for decades and with the advent of social media and distribution platforms like Twitch, eSports have become a serious business in nearly all parts of the world.

As a regular co-host of GINX eSports Television Canada\'s HUD (Heads up Daily), Ajay will give a birds eye view of the market, talk about where he sees things headed and why, and share some amazing stories he\'s come to witness in covering the eSports world.

3:00 pm - 4:00 pm

Coffee Break, Networking Hour

3:00 pm - 3:20 pm

Manufacturing and Consumer Experience Design Track

Charlie Choo, Studio 216
XR, How Future Computing is Transforming Imagination Into Reality

Immersive technologies (XR) like augmented, virtual, and mixed reality are gaining enterprise adoption. Digital transformation allows for more sophisticated interactions between people, places and things. These interactions can be modeled and visualized in a “digital twin”- a replica of a physical object or infrastructure. This twin can be leveraged to unlock new opportunities, create new efficiencies and enhance the way we run our factories, design our buildings or train our employees. Mr. Fleming will share actual case studies where immersive technologies are replacing traditional workflows and delivering results.

3:20 pm - 3:40 pm

Manufacturing and Consumer Experience Design Track

Simulating Tomorrow’s Solutions Using Today’s VR

Dr. Jason Jerald, CEO
Nextgen Interactions

Next-generation technologies have the potential to significantly impact society. However, by definition futuristic technologies are still at an early experimental stage and not yet ready to be used or fully tested. To propel development of upcoming tools, NextGen Interactions is utilizing a hybrid approach of integrating physical and virtual components to more efficiently test early prototypes in the context in which the products will eventually be used.

The session will cover example simulations, technical analysis of the technologies needed for such implementations, and challenges in integrating multiple technologies together. The talk will serve as an inspiration for attendees’ own use cases where there are less constraints than for consumer VR.

4:00 pm - 4:20 pm

Education and Training Track

Avery Rueb, Co-Founder, Educational Sales Director
Affordance Studio

How Content Creation and Distribution For the Classroom is Changing

Affordance Studio makes classroom solutions with the goal of revolutionizing the way we learn. Currently, most schools worldwide do not have access to stable WiFi connections. This makes it impossible for those teachers to use effective digital solutions to develop 21st century skills and knowledge for their students. Dokoma is a solution to this problem. It's a learning management system (LMS) which can travel in a modified Rasperry Pi. In this talk, Avery Rueb, one of the Affordance's co-founders, will talk about the future of classroom content creation and delivery throughout the world.

4:00 pm - 5:00 pm

Networking Hour

4:20 pm - 4:40 pm

Education and Training Track

Joanne-Aśka Popińska, Co-Founder
Tom Hall, Co-Founder
Tribe of Pan

The Choice VR: Using Virtual Reality & Volumetric Video to explore emotionally charged subject matters.

Tribe of Pan Co-founders Joanne-Aśka Popińska and Tom Hall talk about their project, The Choice VR: an in-development Virtual Reality documentary about reproductive rights. Starting as a simple 360 video and eventually developing an in-house volumetric stereoscopic video technique, the project’s technical needs grew along the way as we discovered what is required to push past novelty and make an emotional impact on a viewer. They will cover why it’s important to have your audience’s experience goals in mind and to shape the technology around these requirements.

4:40 pm - 5:00 pm

Education and Training Track

Hilary McVicker
The Power of Shared Immersive Experiences

The description of The Elumenati’s immersive projection environments that resonates most in the current technology landscape is “group VR” – taking VR beyond the headsets. Inside domes, panoramas and other spherical displays, audiences explore virtual realities in a social, collaborative way. These shared experiences create teachable moments and memorable adventures for audiences in museums, planetaria and other informal education spaces. Immersive data visualization presents complex concepts in context, and interactivity creates a sense of agency so that learners own their experiences. In this talk, Hilary McVicker presents innovative projects created in partnership with museums and science centers over the company’s fifteen years in the business.

5:00 pm - 7:00 pm

Immersed professional sessions over, setup for next segment.

5:15 pm - 6:00 pm

Futurists Panel: What's Next and Why?

Moderated by
Josh O'Kane, Reporter, The Globe & Mail: Report on Business

Panelists
Frank Soqui, Vice-President, Intel
Daryl Sartain, Director, Advanced Micro Devices
Dereck Orr, Division Chief, National Institute of Standards & Technology
Sandra Clarke, Global Education Solutions Manager, Lenovo

6:00 pm - 10:00 pm

Networking Reception

7:00 pm - 8:00 pm

Lenovo's Canadian VR Classroom Launch Event
Marc Saltzman
Lucille De Haitre, Director, Public Sector Canada, Lenovo

7:00 pm - 10:00 pm

Immersed Students Night Out

Strictly for students. Presentations, mentoring, exhibits.

8:00 am - 9:30 am

Registration, Breakfast, Exhibits

8:00 am - 9:30 am

Registration and Breakfast

12:00 pm - 1:30 pm

Networking Lunch, Exhibits

12:00 pm - 1:30 pm

Networking Lunch

3:00 pm - 4:00 pm

Coffee Break, Networking Hour

4:00 pm - 5:00 pm

Networking Hour

9:30 am - 10:45 am

Welcome to Future Computing

Neil Schneider
Executive Director, TIFCA

Frank Soqui
General Manager and Vice-President of Games Division, Intel
Chair, Computing Technologists Group

Daryl Sartain
Director of VR, Advanced Micro Devices
Chair, Immersive Technology Alliance

10:45 am - 11:00 am

State of Future Computing Track

State of Compute Dr. Jon Peddie, Jon Peddie Research

11:00 am - 11:15 am

State of Future Computing Track

Bob Raikes, Display Daily

How close can we match the Human Visual System?

The last 15 years have seen flat panel displays, especially LCD, drive out almost all the competition. The sheer scale of the flat panel industry makes competition brutally tough. But the sheer scale also makes it attractive for those that think they can disrupt it. One way is to develop new immersive technologies, but that presents many technical challenges. How far can the industry go to meet the desires of those that want even more immersion? How far can we go towards integration with the human visual system?

11:15 am - 11:30 am

State of Future Computing Track

Dr. David Rolston, CEO
Tirocorp

The Progress and Future of Artificial Intelligence

Alan Turing, famous for the techniques in decoding the Enigma machine in WWII, began the field of artificial intelligence with his paper Computing Machinery and Intelligence in 1950. As research continued for generations since, Hollywood and all forms of artists have taken the vision further with human-like androids, disembodied computer heroes and villains - even unplanned, accidental consciousness itself.

Dr. Rolston will talk about the progress of artificial intelligence in the present day, if it's really being used as artists have envisioned, and his own work on a personal assistant that is truly AI driven.

9:30 am - 10:00 am

Richard Huddy, Head of Gaming Ecosystem
Samsung Research Institute

The Ecosystem Benefits of Bringing Fortnite to Android

Fortnite is arguably one of the most successful free to play multiplayer games that runs on multiple platforms and devices. Bringing Fortnite to Android was no small task as it's not only a creative game of play, it also has a high bar for performance and image quality. Huddy will talk about some of the Samsung and industry backed ecosystem developments that makes Fortnite possible and how these developments are benefiting mobile game and content creators on a wide scale.

11:30 am - 12:00 pm

Dereck Orr, Division Chief
National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST)

NIST and the Future of First Responder Communications

Across the globe, there is a need for hardware and software applications to transform the way first responders serve their communities. Mr. Orr’s talk will chronicle PSCR’s use of virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) to advance heads up display technology for public safety applications, and illuminate the possibilities of future tech for public safety in the realms of user interface and user experience (UI/UX), location-based services, and analytics. Together, these technologies will transform the way our first responders execute their vital missions in service of the public. Attendees will walk away knowing about the unique ways their work could better the world - be it through public safety or another area. Discover new ideas for making an impact during this special keynote presentation.

5:15 pm - 6:00 pm

Futurists Panel: What's Next and Why?

Moderated by
Josh O'Kane, Reporter, The Globe & Mail: Report on Business

Panelists
Frank Soqui, Vice-President, Intel
Daryl Sartain, Director, Advanced Micro Devices
Dereck Orr, Division Chief, National Institute of Standards & Technology
Sandra Clarke, Global Education Solutions Manager, Lenovo

7:00 pm - 8:00 pm

Lenovo's Canadian VR Classroom Launch Event
Marc Saltzman
Lucille De Haitre, Director, Public Sector Canada, Lenovo

1:30 pm - 1:50 pm

Entertainment Track

Kevin Williams, Chairman, DNA Association

The Play in Out-of-Home Entertainment

A big challenge with the out-of-home entertainment market is its constant competition with the growing abilities of what people can do in their home. Going beyond the limits of rollers coasters and thrill rides, Mr. Williams will talk about the latest technologies the out-of-home markets are using to excite visitors and ride goers in theme parks, amusement parks, and leisure experiences. Be it virtual reality, augmented reality, mixed reality, or things beyond - Mr. Williams will give a birds eye view of where things are headed and why.

1:50 pm - 2:10 pm

Entertainment Track

Rama Krishna Aravind, Founder & Creative Director
Poco Loco Amusements

A Filmmaker's Journey Through the REAL "Ready Player One"

As an international filmmaker who has worked on worldwide blockbusters like “Baahubali -The Beginning” and “Baahubali – The Conclusion”, Mr. Aravind has found himself personally influenced and invested in the vision and concept of “Ready Player One”; most recently a Hollywood hit by Steven Spielberg.

Mr. Aravind will share his personal journey with his new India-based venture entitled Poco Loco Amusements. He will share his artistic vision, the realities of making such a vision possible, and what the viability is of pursuing an artistic business based on a story set in a book and on film.

2:10 pm - 2:30 pm

Entertainment Track

Mike Domaguing, VP of Marketing
Survios

Building a Future One VR Punch at a Time

As VP of Marketing and Publishing for Survios, Mike Domaguing is faced with the mission of bringing amazing VR experiences to the masses through video games. Through blockbuster titles like “Raw Data” and “Creed: Rise to Glory,” Domaguing will talk about how they've driven viability and success to their studio and the market through home product releases, international arcades, and eSports. Finally, Domaguing will share tips and tricks that Survios has used to keep their studio on the beaten path as the immersive technology markets come to fruition.

2:30 pm - 2:45 pm

Entertainment Track

Alex Igelman, Executive Chairman and Founder
Millennial Esports Corp.

The Real Numbers behind Esports viewership & What They Mean For You

This session will examine the state of the esports scene from the perspective of streaming viewership. Utilizing cutting edge data, Igelman will present meaningful information that will provide the audience with a better understanding of where competitive gaming stands today in the global entertainment space.

2:45 pm - 3:00 pm

Entertainment Track

Ajay Fry, Co-Host, HUD
GINX Esports Television

Amazing Stories From the eSports Sidelines

No more are sports limited to throwing a ball, slapping a puck, or tackling an opponent. Growing in popularity for decades and with the advent of social media and distribution platforms like Twitch, eSports have become a serious business in nearly all parts of the world.

As a regular co-host of GINX eSports Television Canada\'s HUD (Heads up Daily), Ajay will give a birds eye view of the market, talk about where he sees things headed and why, and share some amazing stories he\'s come to witness in covering the eSports world.

4:00 pm - 4:20 pm

Education and Training Track

Avery Rueb, Co-Founder, Educational Sales Director
Affordance Studio

How Content Creation and Distribution For the Classroom is Changing

Affordance Studio makes classroom solutions with the goal of revolutionizing the way we learn. Currently, most schools worldwide do not have access to stable WiFi connections. This makes it impossible for those teachers to use effective digital solutions to develop 21st century skills and knowledge for their students. Dokoma is a solution to this problem. It's a learning management system (LMS) which can travel in a modified Rasperry Pi. In this talk, Avery Rueb, one of the Affordance's co-founders, will talk about the future of classroom content creation and delivery throughout the world.

4:20 pm - 4:40 pm

Education and Training Track

Joanne-Aśka Popińska, Co-Founder
Tom Hall, Co-Founder
Tribe of Pan

The Choice VR: Using Virtual Reality & Volumetric Video to explore emotionally charged subject matters.

Tribe of Pan Co-founders Joanne-Aśka Popińska and Tom Hall talk about their project, The Choice VR: an in-development Virtual Reality documentary about reproductive rights. Starting as a simple 360 video and eventually developing an in-house volumetric stereoscopic video technique, the project’s technical needs grew along the way as we discovered what is required to push past novelty and make an emotional impact on a viewer. They will cover why it’s important to have your audience’s experience goals in mind and to shape the technology around these requirements.

4:40 pm - 5:00 pm

Education and Training Track

Hilary McVicker
The Power of Shared Immersive Experiences

The description of The Elumenati’s immersive projection environments that resonates most in the current technology landscape is “group VR” – taking VR beyond the headsets. Inside domes, panoramas and other spherical displays, audiences explore virtual realities in a social, collaborative way. These shared experiences create teachable moments and memorable adventures for audiences in museums, planetaria and other informal education spaces. Immersive data visualization presents complex concepts in context, and interactivity creates a sense of agency so that learners own their experiences. In this talk, Hilary McVicker presents innovative projects created in partnership with museums and science centers over the company’s fifteen years in the business.

6:00 pm - 10:00 pm

Networking Reception

10:00 am - 10:20 am

Healthcare Track

David Parker, CEO
Wishplay

The Results of Making Immersive Wishes Come True

Wishplay is a non-profit that grants virtual wishes and is bringing together the healthcare industry and the VR community to create a much needed compassion network. Mr. Parker will share multiple patient use cases that drove the inspiration and evolution of the Wishplay Portal and what this could ultimately mean for the healthcare and patient care industries. Samples of these stories include a stroke patient overcoming a bout of severe depression and a former ski instructor with Parkinson’s being able ski again after 20 years.

10:20 am - 10:40 am

Healthcare Track

Ted Judge, VP of Marketing
Polar Screens

Healthcare's Window on the World

Medical imaging has made significant advances since the time of x-rays. We now have systems that gather enormous amounts of data and create sophisticated 3D models. However, in most cases we continue to utilize 2D display technologies. This shortfall limits the information available to doctors to make decisions. VR and AR headsets are a significant step towards overcoming this limitation but introduce their own constraints. Less common are "Window on World" displays that easily fit into existing workflows and environments yet still enable 3D models to be viewed as lifelike virtual objects. This talk looks at the benefits of true 3D visualization of medical imaging for surgical planning and compares the leading display technologies.

10:40 am - 11:00 am

Healthcare Track

Ricardo Wagner, Microsoft Canada

Making Future Computing Accessible by ALL

Mr. Wagner will talk about Microsoft Canada’s Diversity & Inclusion initiatives for people with disabilities. Covering both internal and external efforts, he will address both the hardware and software components needed to enable everyone in computing and future computing lifestyles and day to day activities. Some of the Microsoft products featured in Mr. Wagners’ work include the Windows 10 operating system, Microsoft Office, XBOX, and more.

11:00 am - 11:20 am

Healthcare Track

Pascal Langlois, CEO
Collective Intent

Rebuilding Communication with Proxy Digital Avatars

Digital Humans that interact with cutomers using human expressions, reactions and gestures, are soon to hit screens across the world. The gestural and facial behaviors that give life to these digital creations must come from a Library of categorised human nonverbal behaviors. Proceedural and Markup animation processess, similar to those found in video game animation, could provide a proxy presence for people who have lost the power of speech, gesture and facial expression, as seen with ALS or Locked-in Syndrome. This talk looks at the potential offered by behavior libraries, and some of the the challenges that the creation of such a proxy avatar will have to overcome.

11:20 am - 11:40 am

Economic Development Track

Andrew Schmied, CEO
APS Consulting

Turning Innovation Into Viability

XR technology is a bastion of constant innovation working to perfect the immersive experiences we will all be taking for granted in the not too distant future. A critical part of making these technologies a reality is effectively turning research & development concepts into viable business realities that will be part of our everyday lives. Andrew will share a real case study of a true industry-changing technology that is being developed today, and how they are getting it from point A to B to C.

11:40 am - 12:00 pm

Economic Development Track

Karim Aly, Growth Officer
Gililei

Innovation, the true multiplier of economic development

On the face of it, tech innovation in Canada is booming; startup ecosystems are thriving and Canada is a global research leader of deep tech such as artificial intelligence. But what do the economic indicators say? Is Canada really fulfilling its innovation potential? This talk will explore how industry and government can drive long-term economic impact by applying innovation across all dimensions.

1:30 pm - 1:50 pm

Business and Business Development Track

Artificial Intelligence for Business Leaders

Briana Brownell, CEO
Pure Strategy

Despite many potential benefits of artificial intelligence and machine learning, businesses are struggling to implement this technology within their organizations. Employees suffer from information overload, the right information doesn’t get to people who need it, and decisions are misaligned to corporate objectives. Meanwhile, companies who successfully implement AI tools quickly respond to market changes, minimize risks, and grow their customer base.

This talk will provide an overview of the top technological and organizational best practices to help you implement AI immediately. Drawing from case studies, we will outline actionable steps so your organization can hit a home run with AI, even if it’s your first project.

1:50 pm - 2:10 pm

Business and Business Development Track

Completing the Vision With the Pursuit of Speed
David Gull, CEO, Outer Realm

Humanity continues to push the limits of what’s possible with construction and frontier technology that was science fiction just a few decades ago. Amazing architectures, space stations and space flight, self-driving cars, hyper speed ground transport and more are all within the realm of reality. The challenge that entrepreneurs and visionaries are faced with is the difficulty in effectively showcasing the vision to customers, investors, and potential stakeholders.

In this session, David Gull, CEO of Outer Realm, will address how VR and AR are helping people bridge this gap from imagination to reality through the lens of a real world case study, “The Pursuit of Speed”.

2:10 pm - 2:30 pm

Business and Business Development Track

Ofer Shai, Director
Deloitte Canada

Over the past decade, Artificial Intelligence has made some huge headlines, both good and bad. Opinions vary from the very positive of how AI will help eliminate disease, poverty, and hunger, to the extreme negative of machines rising against humanity. In this talk, I’ll help clarify some misconceptions, discuss the hype vs the reality, and talk about how companies are leveraging AI to improve our lives. I will present real use cases and successes, and the future of AI in the business world.

2:30 pm - 3:00 pm

Business and Business Development Track

Ed Callway, Principal Member of Technical Staff
Advanced Micro Devices

Reshaping Our Future Through Graphics

When people think of graphics cards and graphics chips, they usually think of video games. However, the graphics industry is undergoing a paradigm shift and a self realization of what these technologies are truly capable of in business, entertainment, and consumer use. Mr. Callway will talk about the latest innovations and use cases found with graphics technologies and why they are important. Topics covered include real-time rendering in film, artificial intelligence, cloud computing, and yes - visually stunning video games. A constant theme is the need for parallel compute engines and software, not just faster clocks.

3:00 pm - 3:20 pm

Manufacturing and Consumer Experience Design Track

Charlie Choo, Studio 216
XR, How Future Computing is Transforming Imagination Into Reality

Immersive technologies (XR) like augmented, virtual, and mixed reality are gaining enterprise adoption. Digital transformation allows for more sophisticated interactions between people, places and things. These interactions can be modeled and visualized in a “digital twin”- a replica of a physical object or infrastructure. This twin can be leveraged to unlock new opportunities, create new efficiencies and enhance the way we run our factories, design our buildings or train our employees. Mr. Fleming will share actual case studies where immersive technologies are replacing traditional workflows and delivering results.

3:20 pm - 3:40 pm

Manufacturing and Consumer Experience Design Track

Simulating Tomorrow’s Solutions Using Today’s VR

Dr. Jason Jerald, CEO
Nextgen Interactions

Next-generation technologies have the potential to significantly impact society. However, by definition futuristic technologies are still at an early experimental stage and not yet ready to be used or fully tested. To propel development of upcoming tools, NextGen Interactions is utilizing a hybrid approach of integrating physical and virtual components to more efficiently test early prototypes in the context in which the products will eventually be used.

The session will cover example simulations, technical analysis of the technologies needed for such implementations, and challenges in integrating multiple technologies together. The talk will serve as an inspiration for attendees’ own use cases where there are less constraints than for consumer VR.

5:00 pm - 7:00 pm

Immersed professional sessions over, setup for next segment.

7:00 pm - 10:00 pm

Immersed Students Night Out

Strictly for students. Presentations, mentoring, exhibits.