Rendermedia supports Airbus through virtual reality
Rendermedia was commissioned by Airbus to create a series of VR programmes to showcase their aerospace products at the Farnborough Airshow (11 – 17 July).
On the Airbus stand last week, visitors were able to strap on the VR headset and enter a highly realistic, interactive environment and experience what it would be like to soar 90,000 feet above the surface of the Earth, sit in the cockpit of a plane thundering a few hundred feet above the Brecon Beacon, land an A350, take part in a helicopter rescue mission in a disaster zone or journey across the barren landscape of Mars.
“Everyone is familiar with the concept of virtual reality,” said Mark Miles, MD of Rendermedia, “as it is now becoming a staple of the games and entertainment industries. But we have broken new ground in applying the technology to a ‘business to business’ environment in order to overcome the very real challenge of how you demonstrate large products to potential customers.
“In one place at one time, we can take people right into the heart of the very large and complex equipment that Airbus manufactures, complete with sound effects, and immerse themselves in the experience.
“Rendermedia has been leading story-driven content for clients and brands to communicate products, processes and services for the past decade, creating immersive, experiential content with pixel clarity. We can now bring businesses to life in context and through story telling where the prospective client takes part in the story.”
Their clients include multinational industrial and consumer brands including Honeywell, Adobe, Castrol, HP, Siemens, Nokia, Unilever and the BBC. This contract, they say, is an important progression for them, and it will open up VR technology to a huge raft of potential new users.
Mark Miles said: “There are few more competitive business environments than the aerospace sector – while the rewards for those who win the contracts are immense.
“An event like Farnbough will have a lot of businesses vying to stand out and make an impression from film and 3D graphics, but what we are demonstrating is a stage beyond that – the rich graphics and interactivity leaving the user feeling they have actually been there.
“Our virtual reality programmes allow the user to actually immerse themselves in an alternative world which then responds to their movements and instructions. VR allows you to place the user in the centre of an omni-directional story that allows you to experience how and where a product is used in absolute context.
“It really enables users to feel impressions that are far longer lasting than seeing a film on a TV screen. There are estimates that the global VR sector will be worth around £30 billion a year by 2020, and we are determined to win a slice of that business.”
