| Hands-on demonstrations of augmented- and virtual-reality equipment will be a highlight of SPIE Digital Optical Technologies at the conference debut in June; above, the foyer of the Internationales Congress Center München, the center of the event. (Photo © Messe München) |
The largest show in all of photonics, Laser World of Photonics (June 26 to 29, 2017; Munich, Germany), is an event that sprawls across the Messe München complex and takes days to see only a part of. Although all of photonics is thoroughly represented there, there is an emphasis on lasers. In fact, it is, as the trade show's website states, "The trade fair for laser-based manufacturing."
Find your virtual reality
However, if as a Laser World of Photonics attendee you ever feel like stepping away from the big machines and into another world, simply head to the SPIE Digital Optical Technologies conference (June 25 to 29, 2017; Internationales Congress Center, a few minutes walk from Laser World of Photonics). There you will find hands-on demonstrations of the world's most advanced augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) headsets; the latest devices from Microsoft, Oculus, HTC, Sony, Google, and Samsung will be available in what organizer Bernard Kress of Microsoft says is the first such demonstration session available to the public.
"Being able to fully experience and compare the world's most advanced AR and VR headsets in a single location is remarkable," Kress says. "These systems will soon revolutionize the way people communicate, teach, learn and explore, shop, play and are entertained, and be more productive in their personal and professional lives."
Kress, along with Wolfgang Osten of Universität Stuttgart and Paul Urbach of Technische Universiteit Delft, chairs SPIE Digital Optical Technologies.
Debuting this year, the conference is focused on components, systems design, and applications of emerging digital optical technologies with applications across social, academic, medical, and industrial fields. Demonstrations will be held 26 through 28 June, in conjunction with the conference.
Users will be able to evaluate four systems in parallel with their choice of one of four devices:
--Microsoft Hololens mixed-reality headset
--Oculus CV1 virtual-reality headset and hand controllers
--HTC Vive virtual-reality headset and hand controllers
--Sony Playstation VR virtual-reality headset and hand controllers
Registration for the demonstration session is required via email to innovation(at)spie.org. Registration is available at no cost to registered attendees of SPIE Digital Optical Technologies and SPIE Optical Metrology, as well as other events that are also part of the World of Photonics Congress.
Federico Capasso to talk about metasurface optics
Plenary sessions will feature talks by Federico Capasso of Harvard University on metasurface diffractive optics, and Jörg Wachtrup of Universität Stuttgart on the quest for the ultimate quantum machine.
Source: SPIE