Laval Virtual
| Laval Virtual | |
|---|---|
| File:Logo Laval Virtual.png | |
| Status | Active |
| Genre | Virtual reality & Augmented reality |
| Location(s) | Laval, Mayenne, Mayenne, France |
| Country |  France |
| Inaugurated | June 3, 1999 |
| Most recent | March 20, 2019 |
| Attendance | 18,000 |
| Organized by | Laval Virtual Association |
| Website | laval-virtual |
Laval Virtual is an exhibition created in 1999 about innovation and new technologies[1] specialized in virtual reality and augmented reality.
Every year, it is organized by the association Laval Virtual and takes place in Laval, Mayenne in the French region Mayenne between March and April. The event is known as the International VR/AR exhibition and conference program.
History
Created in 1999 at the initiative of the former Minister of Research and mayor of Laval, François d’Aubert, the concept of Laval Virtual (imagined by Bernard Taravel, Professor at the University of Angers and co-founder of the Futuroscope, Guy Le Bras, Managing Director at GART and Simon Richir, Professor at Arts et Métiers ParisTech) is to bring together on the same place a large number of VR/AR players[2], from research and teaching to companies and the general public.
The implementation of Laval Virtual was handed to Jean-François Fontaine who was its General Manager from 1999 until its tenth anniversary in 2008. He is replaced by Matthieu Lépine from 2009 to 2012 and then by Laurent Chrétien, the current director.
At its first edition in June 1999, Laval Virtual welcomed just under 10,000 professional and general public visitors, with strong participation from Japanese universities[3], and 30 exhibitors.
Throughout the editions, the trade show not only presents virtual reality but also augmented reality[4], 3D interaction, robotics, artificial intelligence, volumetric video, biometrics, motion capture, speech recognition, brain-computer interface (BCI) and other technologies[5].
Starting in 2013, the exhibition increases its surface area every year. It logically follows the progression of virtual reality and augmented reality which is experiencing strong growth. The market of virtual reality is opening up widely because prices are becoming much more affordable than before, with headsets around $600-700. In 2012, the first Oculus headset is out, a developer version which has a big success. Facebook acquires the company in 2014 for $2 billion[6]. The following year represents the democratization of virtual reality with the arrival of large groups on the market such as Google, Microsoft and Samsung. From there, many devices are released for professionals and the general public, like HTC Vive, Microsoft HoloLens and PlayStation VR in 2016[7]. The birth and development of CAVE (Cave automatic virtual environment) is also a sign of the rise of the VR/AR market. In 2014, 14 CAVE experiences were present at Laval Virtual exhibition.
The evolution of the trade show continues: in 2017 Laval Virtual opened its door to 240 exhibitors and 17,000 visitors on 7,000 sqm of space. For the 20th edition in 2018, the exhibition attracts 18,000 visitors and 323 exhibitors. This time the trade fair covers 9,000 m² and once again welcomes around 18,000 visitors, with a growing proportion of the general public, as well as 300 exhibitors and 150 speakers.
The deployment of the Laval Virtual association continues with the emergence of a new place in Laval: the Laval Virtual Center, open in October 2017[8]. This new center welcomes three structures: Clarte, a VR/AR resource center, the Arts & Metiers Institute that offers a course about virtual reality, and the Laval Virtual association. Laval Virtual organizes an exhibition every year and also offers VR/AR intelligence and counselling services for companies.
The exhibition
A Laval Virtual edition lasts five days: the first three days are dedicated to professionals, the last two days are for the general public. The trade show is built around three main elements: exhibitors, conferences and competitions. The exhibitors’ area is divided into five halls where companies present their VR/AR solutions. The professional visitors have the possibility to attend conferences divided into three cycles: VRtical which covers sectoral themes, TransVRsal which focuses on cross-cutting issues, and ConVRgence which discusses the links between research and industry. The topics covered are quite diversified: construction, health, retail, defense, smart industry, training[9].
Moreover, ReVolution pavilions enable VR/AR emerging players to exhibit their solutions during the trade show. These entrepreneurs are put in competition and divided in 4 categories[10]:
- #Startups: for startups
- #Experiences: for production studios
- #Research: for projects from university and private research
- #Students: for students
Lastly, Laval Virtual also organizes the Laval Virtual Awards which reward the best VR/AR projects of the year. There are 6 main categories[10]:
- VR/AR for a cause
- VR/AR for Learning and Training
- VR/AR for Productivity
- VR/AR for Marketing and Sales
- VR/AR for Safety and Improvement of Work Environment
- VR/AR for Data Visualization & Decision-Making
Prizes in these general categories and from the ReVolution competitions are awarded during a ceremony that takes place at the Theatre of Laval on the Thursday. The winners of the #Students categories are announced during the Laval Virtual Party on the Wednesday.
Laval Virtual Asia
In 2017 Laval Virtual is exported abroad and an exhibition is created in Qingdao in China: the Laval Virtual Asia[11] · [12]. The initiative was born from an agreement between the Laval Virtual association and the government of the Laoshan district of which Qingdao is a part. With this initiative, the Chinese city wants to become a major player in the sector of immersive technologies by investing $550 million into the market.
The first edition took place from 9 to 11 November 2017 and gathered 90 exhibitors and 4,000 professional visitors. The second edition from 27 to 29 September 2018 confirms the success of Laval Virtual's export to Asia, attracting 123 exhibitors from 27 different countries[13].
The Asian version of Laval Virtual is deployed on a 10,000 sqm space. The two first days are dedicated to professionals and offer thematic conferences, and the last day is opened to the general public. The third edition took place from 27 to 29 June 2019[14] and organized conferences about education, smart industry, entertainment, 5G and content creation.
Recto VRso Festival
For its 20th edition in 2018, Laval Virtual highlighted a new field: art. On this occasion, the International Festival of Art and Virtual Reality Recto VRso was created by the artist and researcher Judith Guez. For the first edition, the topic chosen was “Real material / virtual material”. During this first edition 5,000 visited the festival. In 2019 the topic of the second edition was “Real illusion / virtual illusion”. 38 artworks created by 67 artists were present.
There are two parts in the festival: the Art&VR Gallery, an exhibition of 15 pieces of art selected by an international jury after an open call. One of these artworks receives a prize during the Laval Virtual Awards ceremony. In 2018, the exhibition took place on the esplanade of the Laval Castle and gathered 14 artworks and 20 artists: Julio and Juan Le Parc, Catherine Ikam, Louis Fléri, Thomas Muller, Chia-Chi Chiang, Raphaël Isdant, SAINT MACHINE, Pia MYvoLD, Gwendaline Bachini, Chu-Yin Chen, Swann Martinez, Jean-Paul Favand, Elhem Younes, Patrick Appere, Claire Sistach, Julien Lomet, Nicolas Bazoge, Marin Esnault, Denez Thomas, Alice Bossuat, Vincent Meyrueis, Nefeli Georgakopoulo[15]..
In 2019 the Art&VR Gallery was moved to the Musées des Sciences (Science Museum) of Laval. It presented 15 works from international artists: David Guez, Bastien Didier, Marie Vilain, Léon Denise, Elie Michel, Samuel Lepoil, Julien Lomet, Marie-Laure Cazin, Akira Nakayasu, Charles Ayats, Jean-Paul Favand, Sandra Paugam, Charles Ayats, Louis Cortes, Célia Betourne, Cédric Plessiet, Collectif Continuum, Sophie Daste, Eric Hao Nguy, Margherita Bergamo, Daniel Gonzalez, Mélodie Mousset, Jürgen Ropp[16]
The second part of the festival is an artistic itinerary through the city of Laval. Several exhibitions take place in touristic places of the city such as the Theatre, the Bains-Douches, the Perrine Garden and the Bateau Lavoir. This part highlights emerging and hybrid digital art projects and thus leaves room for artistic exploration.
See also
- Consumer Electronics Show (Las Vegas, USA)
- Viva Technology (Paris, France)
- SIGGRAPH (USA, Asia)
References
- ↑ "Laval Virtual: rencontres internationales de la Réalité Virtuel". www.creanum.fr. Archived from the original on 2014-01-16. Retrieved 2019-06-26.
- ↑ "Top 5 spécial Laval Virtual : le meilleur de la réalité virtuelle". Journal du Geek (in français). 2013-03-27. Retrieved 2019-06-26.
- ↑ "Laval Virtual : les interfaces du futur s'exposent". Futura (in français). Retrieved 2019-06-26.
- ↑ "La réalité augmentée aujourd'hui et demain, partout et pour tous (1/2) | Blog – Plaine Images". Retrieved 2019-06-26.
- ↑ « Laval célèbre: l'interaction du réel et du virtuel » sur le site usine.digitale. fr
- ↑ "L'évolution de la réalité virtuelle [Infographie]". Octotek Studios (in français). 2017-07-11. Archived from the original on 2019-06-20. Retrieved 2019-06-26.
- ↑ Perrier, Nicolas (2016-09-01). "L'évolution de la réalité virtuelle et augmentée en une infographie". UniVR Studio (in français). Retrieved 2019-06-26.
- ↑ "Laval virtual center : le choix du site dévoilé". ouest-france (in français).
- ↑ "Communiqué de presse - cycle des conférences 2019" (PDF). laval-virtual.com (in français). February 2019. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2019-10-15. Retrieved 2021-04-25..
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 "Sonovision - Laval Virtual dévoile ses Awards 2019". www.sonovision.com. Retrieved 2019-06-26.
- ↑ "Laval Virtual 2017 : le temple de la réalité virtuelle française expose ses ambitions mondiales". usine-digitale.fr.
- ↑ "Laval Virtual 2017. Le salon s'exporte à Qingdao en Chine".
- ↑ "Laval Virtual Asia : une 2e édition qui confirme le fort engouement de la Chine pour la réalité virtuelle – Ludomag.com" (in français). Retrieved 2019-06-26.
- ↑ "#LavalVirtualAsia 2019 : SAVE THE DATE !". 2019-05-23. Retrieved 2019-06-26.
- ↑ Matière Réelle / Matière Virtuelle (2018) [exhibition catalogue] (Recto VRso Exhibition: Château-Neuf of Laval, April 3-8, 2018), 97 p.
- ↑ Illusion réelle / Illusion virtuelle (2019) [exhibition catalogue] (Recto VRso Exhibiton: Science Museum of Laval, March 20-24, 2019, 98 p.
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