Transformative technology is going to change the way we work, live and play.

Join leading industry visionaries, entrepreneurs and researchers in IoT, Artificial Intellegence and Mixed Reality. Understand how you and your business can prepare for our future reality.

THIS WILL BE THE LEAST BORING TECH CONFERENCE YOU COULD POSSIBLY ATTEND.

We will dive into immersive storytelling, smart cities, the future of mixed reality and give you a chance to play with the latest technology.

Future Realities is a leading event in the #Techweek17 programme.

Wellington speakers include:

- Neal Stephenson, Science fiction author, and Futurist (Magic Leap) in conversation with Greg Broadmore

- Dr. Mark Billinghurst, Professor of Human Computer Interaction

- Andrew Tokeley, Global Head of Product at 8i

- Tim Rastall, Head of Technology for Smart Cities at NEC

- Alina Siegfied, Content & Communications, Edmund Hillary Foundation

- Ben Knills, CEO Showhow

- Sasha Kljakovic CEO Xedical

- Isuru Fernando, IBM’s leader on Artificial Intelligence and Cognitive Computing in NZ

- Elinor Swery, Senior consultant at IBM

- Caitlin Burns, SW & Partners US

Hands on immersive experiences and demonstrations so you can play with the latest technology, games and meet the creators. If you attend one tech conference this year, this is the one.

Tickets include lunch, morning and afternoon tea. More speakers to be announced shortly.

Neal Stephenson is brought to you by the New Zealand Film Commission’s GPS 2026 Project

WE ARE NOW SOLD OUT. THERE ARE A FEW TICKETS LEFT FOR OUR WORKSHOP AND HACKATHON SO JUMP BACK TO OUR MAIN SITE FOR MORE DETAILS - www.futurerealities.nz

Wellington workshops:

VR STORYTELLING: BREAKING THE UNWRITTEN RULES

In the current era of VR development, storytelling is still very much in a nascent stage. As we surge ahead to produce compelling stories we explore new territory as well as draw upon familiar media. A number of unwritten rules are emerging about what we can and cannot do in 360 degree space. This workshop examines some of these rules—both thematic and technical—and provides a forum to think about how to break the rules. Raqi Syed and Miriam Ross will draw upon their recent experiences developing 360 content and the questions, problems, solutions and experiments that have emerged in the process. During the workshop, participants will take part in hands-on activities using the Samsung Gear 360 toolkit. While the workshop will focus on 360 degree filmmaking for VR headsets, many of the issues tackled can also be applied to interactive VR environments. Experience for yourself what works and doesn’t work.

MAXIMISING VISUAL REALISM WHILE MINIMISING DISCOMFORT

The workshop will be run in three parts:

1) Dr. Taehyun Rhee will Introduce several issues and solutions for cinematic lighting and composition in mixed reality, as well as, research to minimise potential discomfort in VR shown in HMDs.

2) Detailed solutions for the issues presented by Dr. Taehyun Rhee as follow:

• a) Lohit Petikam will present solutions for mixed reality lighting and composition in game engine (UE4) and user evaluation of VR headset.
• b) Andrew Chalmers will present a perceptual study of lighting and composition in general
• c) Kieran Carnegie will present solution for visual discomfort in VR headset and how to mitigate the symptoms.

3) Open discussion

The expected audiences will come from various field including developers and designers who are interested in cutting edge mixed reality techniques and its usages.