In October, Igloo Vision, a major provider of immersive collaborative spaces, refurbished its demo centre in London to provide five novel immersive spaces for its Hoxton-based showroom.
The revamped centre kicked off its operations with an open house hosting professionals, the media, partner firms, and clients from across the audiovisual industry. Attendees learned and experienced the firm’s technologies and the growing number of use cases for simulations, collaboration, engagement, and visualisation.
What a FANTASTIC day yesterday opening our newly refurbed London demo centre
Missed out & want to see if for yourself? We’d love to host you. Or, if you’re not near our London office, why not book a virtual demo?
All you need to do is get in touch https://t.co/muYrrjFUTq pic.twitter.com/o8VKifqGdl
— Igloo Vision (@IglooVision) October 13, 2023
Formed in 2007, the company began building its geodesic domes for projection-mapped immersive spaces. For the British firm, creating their shared spaces has led to an increasingly more sophisticated portfolio of projects, ranging from presentation suites, retrofitted immersive rooms, and CAVE-type XR solutions.
Leveraging its Igloo Core Engine (ICE), the company has curated a host of content in its viewing spaces, including building information modelling (BIM), metaverse worlds, 360-degree video, game engine demos, and many others.
People can also view YouTube 360 videos, Google Street View, as well as the enterprise’s bespoke 360 web browser. The award-winning operating system is also layer-based, providing clients with fully bespoke configurations.
The Five Boroughs of Igloo Vision
According to Igloo Vision, its immersive spaces now include:
- Immersive visualisation room with floor projection: In a 5 x 5-metre space, Igloo Vision displayed 360 video, Insta360 live streams, Unity-based architectural models, Matterport-based photogrammetry models, and immersive presentations built on Slides. It also leverages technologies such as six Epson EB-PU1007W projectors and Igloo Vision’s Immersive Media Player (IMP III). Additionally, the room incorporates a Lenovo ThinkSmart Teams Room device, Crystal Vox Loqui 1 Speakers, a Sennheiser TeamConnect Ceiling mic, and a Sony digital camera.
- 360 Cylinder: This demo showcased a fully 360-degree room for hosting showreel content tailored for Igloo spaces over the past few years. Also, it revealed how users could incorporate Meta Quest virtual reality (VR) headsets into the immersive space via the company’s Connec2 XR collaborative platform. Igloo also installed six BenQ LK953ST projectors and IMPIII media player.
- XR Studio: Furthermore, Igloo has also incorporated its in-house XR Studio, complete with LED Studio panels and HTC VIVE’s next-gen tracking system. With it, the company hopes to democratise XR production for organisations that conduct regular broadcast content and in-house photo sessions with its affordable studio. It also features Igloo Vision’s True Perspective feature, allowing filmers to adjust content in real-time based on their head and camera positions. Additionally, Blockade Labs introduced its generative AI (GenAI) technologies into the immersive space. This offered guests on-the-fly customisation for immersive experiences using prompts, along with pictures and videos of their creations.
- Immersive Workspace: This is the more traditional meeting room configuration for Igloo, where people can leverage its ICE OS to convert rooms into four-walled immersive projections. This platform uses Microsoft Teams for calls, Microsoft Office apps like Powerpoint, Miro, Alleo, Power BI, and many others. The immersive space also includes a table, four LG Cinebeam HU8LG 4K projectors, a Neat Bart Teams room setup, and IMPII media player.
- VR CAVE: Igloo Vision’s Cave Automative Virtual Environment (CAVE) includes audiences with Digital Projection E-Vision 5100 projectors, providing audiences with 3D projections and OptiTrack motion tracking systems. Industry verticals such as architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC) can also leverage the platform’s digital model depth technologies and experiential content.
Kerry Head, Managing Director, Igloo Vision, said,
“The best way to understand what an Igloo can do is to see it for yourself. Our new demo centre showcases the versatility of our software and the range of systems will provide inspiration for clients and partners exploring the potential of shared immersive spaces”
Igloo Vision Upgrades, £2m Expansion
Speaking to Charlie Williams, Marketing Executive, Igloo Vision, XR Today learned more about the recent updates to the London demo centre. According to him, the upgrades consisted of two completely new offerings—the Immersive Visualisation Room with Floor Projection and XR Studio—along with its three previous ones.
Additionally, Igloo upgraded all of its solutions with its Core Engine operating system in January of this year, he explained. Upgrades included.
- New covers and doors with ICE branding on the 360 Cylinder experience
- New projectors to create its 3D capabilities, the Opti Track Tracking System, and new covers with ICE branding
- Addition ICE branding was added to the Immersive Workspace
- Igloo also integrated projection mapping on the floor of several experiences to include motion graphic ICE logo visualisations
When asked about the company’s plans to boost brand visibility, moving forward, Williams stated that Igllob had continued to promote its solutions via its social media and email campaigns, publish thought leadership content, and attend events like the Integrated Systems Europe (ISE), DevLearn, InfoComm, and Integrate, among others.
“We plan to host further open days to attract client partners, but our doors are also always open to anyone who would like to book a demo,” he concluded.
Watch Now ▶ Igloo Vision and the ‘Room with an (Immersive) View’
For our #XRTrends series, XR Today’s Demond Cureton hosts Jake Rowland, Group Head of Business and Sales, EMEA and US, @IglooVision https://t.co/JC5JJoqyXf #xr #ar #vr #metaverse
— XR Today (@Xrtoday) September 22, 2023
The news comes after Jake Rowland, Group Head of Business and Sales, Igloo Vision, recently spoke to XR Today about the company’s then-upcoming innovations. In the XR Today Trends and Updates series, Rowland explained how his company’s products and solutions boosted collaboration, showcased some of the world’s top brands, and directly engaged with audiences across verticals.
Additionally, the organisation raised around £2 million in capital in 2021. Investors such as Frontier Development Capital, Ingenius, and others shored up funding at the time to help the company build its immersive collaborative and showcasing solutions.
The Shropshire-based firm has also teamed up with major brands like Nike, PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), FedEx, and others to demo its solutions and boost engagement with audiences.
