The Extended Reality (XR) Association has announced its top official will attend the fifth annual Virtual Reality Day event on Saturday.
The industry-wide organisation in the United States, representing some the world’s top global XR firms, said Elizabeth Hyman, Chief Executive of the XRA, will join the event for a series of talks on the positive impact of virtual and augmented reality (VR/AR) technologies.
She is set to address the “Securing the Limitless Future of the XR Industry” panel discussion at 10:30 EST along with a massive roster of speakers representing the growing ecosystem of firms, organisations, and institutions in the XR community, which include Robert Fine, Reality Day Founder and Executive Director of International Virtual Reality and Healthcare Association (IVRHA).
The CEO said in a statement she was “excited” to back the event and “celebrate XR”, adding,
“XR technology is already changing the way people live, work and learn — there are limitless possibilities to improve people’s lives through its use”
Fine, the IVRHA’s founder, said he was “thrilled” to have the XRA represented at the event, adding that as the “leading voice in the XR Industry,” the organisation would bring “a valuable perspective” to discussions.
XRA Event Milestones
The news comes after Joan O’Hara, Vice President of Public Policy, and Laura Chadwick, Vice President of Industry Relations, joined panel talks at the Augmented World Expo (AWE) in early November, which hosted over 5,000 visitors and 300 speakers across the XR industry.
Both senior XRA figures spoke on the Metaverse with Ellysse Dick, Policy Analyst in Tech and Cyber Policy for the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation and Kavya Pearlman, Founder and Chief Executive of the XR Safety Initiative (XRSI).
The group explored how the industry could safeguard the Metaverse in the interest of users, where O’Hara stated as quoted by ARPost that including company stakeholders was key, adding,
“There will always be unintended consequences, but I think we’ve had a bit of a preview of the sorts of things that we’ve got to keep an eye on. Because we’re talking about this now at the very beginning, I think we’re at a good place to address these concerns”
Chadwick, who led a further panel discussion on the direction of the XR industry, explored the progress of startups and investors with Alexandros Vigkos, Policy and Research Consultant for Ecorys, Jason Schneiderman, Corporate Startup Partner for Perkins Coie, and Chelsea May, Project Manager at The Martec Group.
Further milestones for the organisation come after it successfully launched its Limitless Future Conference, which explored the role of XR in building current and future workforces.
The XRA released a survey conducted by the Martec Group revealing a trove of findings on key XR industry trends in human resources, which comes amid a major crisis in employment across the US.
For more information, kindly visit the Reality Day website or follow the XRA for updates.
