XR Association

Happy New Year from the team at the XR Association. Stay tuned for all of the exciting announcements, projects and events we have in store for 2025. As we enter another year, our membership and mission remain strong. Together, we accomplished an immense amount of work toward the responsible adoption of XR! ✨🥳 New members, new XR legislation, and tens of productive discussions and events. Check out our 2024 milestones here: https://lnkd.in/gSesGW59

As we get close to wrapping up the year, the XR Association shares one last member update. We recently announced 6 new member companies to our growing roster of XR leaders who'll work with us on our mission to drive the industry forward. We look forward to working with our members in the new year! XRA’s newest member companies represent a distinguished group driving research and innovation in the XR industry, including MACE Virtual Labs, Dealplay, Owlchemy Labs, Persistent Technology, Inc., Chocolate Milk and Donuts, and ReframeXR. Read more about our announcement here: https://lnkd.in/gt3PM_U9

NEW: The XR Association has had a fantastic year, and we couldn't have achieved this without our amazing community of member companies and partners. XRA's 2024 Year in Review is now out, highlighting our team's accomplishments over the last year. Highlights include: - 10 new member companies - Release of XRA’s Charting the Future of Immersive Technology White Paper and Webinar Series - Three major pieces of research reflecting the industry's growth and challenges including in healthcare, manufacturing and standards development Together, we’ve paved the way for innovation, collaboration, and thoughtful adoption of XR technologies. Watch XRA's full recap of the year here: https://lnkd.in/gSesGW59

Help XRA get the word out on the "United States Leadership in Immersive Technology Act of 2024," and encourage your members of Congress to cosponsor this national strategy bill. This newly introduced piece of legislation is essential to maintaining our nation’s technological edge and delivering societal and economic benefits for all Americans. Learn more about the bicameral, bipartisan act: https://lnkd.in/g-xQE9mQ XRA's Action Center makes it easy to reach out to your representatives and Senators. Take a few minutes to send them an email now: https://lnkd.in/giqFh28P https://lnkd.in/g2UA_ZDt

Today,  Representatives Suzan DelBene (D-WA) and August Pfluger (R-TX), along with Senators Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) and Mark Warner (D-VA), introduced the “United States Leadership in Immersive Technology Act of 2024,” which would establish an immersive technology advisory panel promoting the development, deployment, use, and application of augmented, virtual and mixed reality in the U.S. The XR Association has worked closely with lawmakers to ensure immersive technologies are recognized as a significant technology for the future. XRA applauds the introduction of the "United States Leadership in Immersive Technology Act of 2024" and strongly encourages Congress to pass this bill. Read more: https://lnkd.in/g-xQE9mQ And, see the full bill text: https://lnkd.in/gtbFmcmb

On Nov. 20 the XR Association hosted its fifth and final “Charting the Future of Immersive Technology” webinar episode, “Interoperability in XR.” Experts Neil Trevett (NVIDIA), Dan Jasnow (ArentFox Schiff), and Anya Kanevsky (Linden Lab) discussed standards development as the metaverse brings together different technologies. Stephanie Montgomery, Senior Vice President of Research and Best Practices, moderated the discussion, sharing insights into the work XRA has done to create stakeholder engagement and open standards for developers. Read our recap here: https://lnkd.in/gYmEWrwh And, watch the full webinar at the link below! https://lnkd.in/g_FM52Ds

#NEW: Read XRA's, “Navigating the FDA Regulatory Landscape: A Primer for XR Medical Device Submission,” a new resource for members and other companies seeking medical device approval through the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) clearance process. “Achieving FDA medical device clearance for XR technology is a key component for its adoption in healthcare,” said Stephanie Montgomery, XRA’s Senior Vice President of Research and Development. “Our members are proud to release this report to assist those seeking to enter the market and ultimately benefit the entire healthcare industry and patients.” The report provides an introduction to the terminology and potential pathways to achieve FDA approvals and includes MediView‘s journey to become the first XR company to receive 510(k) clearance for their minimally invasive surgical solution XR90. Read here:  https://lnkd.in/gbEsnMVn

It's always great to see our member companies contributing to great things! Last week, member company Accenture published their newest whitepaper in collaboration with the World Economic Forum, "Shared Commitments in a Blended Reality: Advancing Governance in the Future Internet." The paper addresses topics such as governance for the future of the internet, and advocating for shared, tech-agnostic commitments to good governance.  “The internet is rapidly evolving; it is crucial for governance to do the same,” the authors argue. Be sure to check it out: https://lnkd.in/gjvS-tJ8

Last week, PIXO VR exhibited DevLearn_com, where large learning platforms, content development tools and other e-learning companies displayed their products and solutions. Read Sean Hurwitz's takeaways from the event, and how he's seen adoption take off. "The data has proven VR to be more engaging, life-like, less risky and less expensive, leading to less employee turnover, fewer accidents and higher profit margins," Hurwitz writes. It's great seeing our members do important work and research in XR.

A recent ASSEMBLY Magazine dives into the benefits manufacturing industries are seeing with XR technology including interactive training, remote workforce enablement, and improvement in equipment performance levels and quality levels. Eric Abbruzzese, research director at ABI Research discusses these benefits while shining light on the challenges of adopting XR technology. A new report from ABI found that more than two-thirds of manufacturers claim to have some level of XR activity, though cost and integration remain a barrier to adoption. ABI's research corroborates XRA's Survey of Manufacturers published earlier this year. Read more: https://lnkd.in/gQJtm_PN