The Augment Reality for Enterprise Alliance (AREA) has appointed a senior fellow of Collins Aerospace as its president.
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Ryan Wheeler, Senior Fellow of Advanced Visualisations with Applied Research and Technology at Collins Aerospace will now be responsible for bringing ‘visionary leadership’, ‘strategic direction’, and ‘operational oversight’ to increase enterprise uptake of AR solutions.
According to a press release by the non-profit and global forum for AR innovation, AREA, Wheeler will act as AREA’s central driving force behind partnerships, strategy, and the successful implementation of programmes and initiatives.
Mark Sage, AREA Executive Director, commented on the appointment of Wheeler as its new president, while also paying thanks to its outgoing president:
“We’re excited to announce Ryan Wheeler as President of the AREA.
“With his technical background in AR/XR technologies and proven track record of working with AR/XR communities, we are certain he will steer the organisation’s efforts to make it easier for enterprises to adopt interoperable AR-enabled systems that fully deliver on their promises.
“I would also like to thank Paul Davies, Technical Fellow at Boeing, who has served as President for many years, and he will continue to actively be involved in the AREA.”
AREA’s President Wheeler
Wheeler is in charge of the RTX XR Working Groups at Collins Aerospace, assists with leadership of the RTX XR Community of Practice, and co-chairs the RTX Immersive and Interactive Visualisations Technology Interest Group.
He also has experience leading teams that have created various visual analytics and VR-enabled apps.
Previously, Wheeler has worked for more than 17 years at Rockwell Collins, a leading manufacturer of aircraft passenger cabin interior solutions, culminating in his role of principal material and process engineer.
Wheeler was moved to share his appreciation for the new position on LinkedIn:
“I’m excited and moved to be entrusted with this appointment for The AREA.
“The AR for Enterprise Alliance is led by Enterprise (where I include our Government members), Enterprise partners, and Enterprise-focused research institutions for accelerated successful Enterprise AR outcomes.
“In our ten short years, The AREA and our Committees have funded over a dozen research projects and created many tools and resources that organisations have used to research, deploy and scale AR and related policies.”
Wheeler goes on to explain that he has witnessed first-hand how AREA can be, particularly when it comes to learning from innovations within the AR community, while also being able to help others with your own insights.
He describes AREA as a “wonderful balance of size and intimacy” with plenty of experts at hand, while still being able to get the individual attention as and when you need it.
Wheeler believes that this setup is also enjoyed by over 200 RTX employees who take part in AREA, leverage its resources, and help to lead AREA Committees.
Elsewhere in the world of AR, Future Market Insights released a report that continued the recent trend among XR market reports, highlighting the sharp growth of AR smart glasses in the next ten years.
