The Virtuplex has visited its clients in Croatia, Hungary, and Slovakia, bringing the singular experience of virtual reality to them, and Procter&Gamble now regularly uses this service.
How does the technology work? How has it developed over time and what are the company’s plans? We asked Virtuplex Project Manager Miroslav Procházka about this and more.
1) What is the Mobile Virtuplex?
This is a technology that enables us to bring the VR experience we offer at the Virtuplex to customers around the world. This is an option when the client can’t come to us, and it’s an excellent tool to present projects to third-party stakeholders. This means our customer doesn’t have to invite their client to our space, but instead we travel to them.
2) What new opportunities does this open?
Up to now, we had been limited by the client needing to come to one of our spaces. That’s no longer necessary. This new product we offer to clients will make planning and cooperation much easier. We are now ready to flexibly react to opportunities abroad. If we were to expand traditionally, we’d have to open spaces in other countries. Now we can simply travel to meet them.
3) Have any of your clients utilized the Mobile Virtuplex?
The first customer was Procter&Gamble last spring, and that cooperation continues to this day. Every year, we help them create a VR presentation of their range of products for their partners abroad. This year, we travelled to Croatia and Hungary in this endeavour. We also used the Mobile Viurtuplex at the Forbes Next Big Thing conference where the Virtuplex was a partner.
4) How has the technology developed and advanced over the last two years?
At the beginning, we used a different technology to transmit the visuals, to so-called Backpack PC, which were backpacks where the VR user carried a small computer. Now, users only wear a comfortable headset with a high-capacity battery. Instead of the original 20 minutes, users can now spend an hour and a half in the VR environment. This means they can fully immerse themselves into the experience without being disturbed. The quality of the environment and technologies offered by the Virtuplex have also improved. The VR environment now has better image quality and includes interactive elements such as graphs or portals you can walk through. We’ve also added audio and other stimuli that increase the feeling of immersion. This has greatly improved the overall customer experience.
5) How difficult is it to transport the experience? How much equipment is
needed?
Every trip becomes easier and easier. We’re constantly improving details and how to transport the equipment, which means we can set up the Mobile Virtuplex in three hours. We’ve got a checklist to make sure everything works. We transport computers, headsets, and our own network equipment we use to stream the experience. We need Wifi 6E connectivity, which is the latest wireless connection protocol, and many households and offices aren’t equipped with it yet. What happens is we use an empty space, and we don’t have to worry about the stability of connectivity. All we need from the client is a mains outlet and space for the presentation.
6) How does the installation of the Mobile Virtuplex work?
Besides the equipment, we also include about 15 roll-ups with various patterns and small carpets. Everything is placed into the space to ensure the headsets don’t drift, which is when image acts erratically. For example, white walls can be a problem, which we eliminate with the roll-ups. Although this works rather well, they can be a bit difficult to install. We’re thus trying to reduce the number to a minimum while maintaining image quality.
7) What have been the reactions to this solution?
In general, the reactions have been very positive. It’s still something new. Although many have experienced virtual reality in some form, they don’t have experience with moving around in a VR environment. That’s always a surprise and they can feel a bit nauseous sometimes, but that is rare. Most of the time people are very enthusiastic. Customers always love the ability to interact with multiple users at once. They enter the environment in a group, giving the client the opportunity to present the project and describe it during the tour.
Virtuplex s.r.o.
[email protected]
Do Čertous 3036/19
193 00 Praha 20
Virtuplex SK s.r.o.
[email protected]
Devínska Nová Ves 7464
841 07 Bratislava
