Apple Vision Pro & XR Fundings

Even before the official European launch, I was able to try out the Apple Vision Pro yesterday in Bonn: The resolution and refresh rate are fantastic, the field of view is narrow and the content falls short of my expectations. All the better that fellow director Antonia Uhl (Director »Auster«) and I were able to get to know part of the German XR industry at the Spatial Realities Meetup at the DLR Projektträger. Thomas Riedel moderated the event and, with his journalistic background, was able to skillfully navigate through the jungle of institutions, authorities and funding opportunities.
Till Nikolaus Hardy was present from the Film- und Medienstiftung NRW and showed what funding opportunities are available for XR projects in NRW. The foundation has a very modern online portal at the start - stamps like those required for EU funding are not needed. Dr. Armin Jungbluth gave an insight into his work at the BMDV. And Robert Frankel gave an insight into the company history of Hologate GmbH. It was exciting that the topic of funding, which is fed by taxes, was also discussed controversially in response to questions from the audience. In response to the question of how much money the Film- und Medienstiftung NRW raises through projects, Till Nikolaus Hardy stated that not every project is designed for economic success and, for example, pursues political education, which is only made possible by funding. Robert Frankhänel, COO of Hologate GmbH, which had, for example, raised almost 600 thousand euros from the BMVI for 'Sigvried', argued that funding enabled his company to take entrepreneurial risks and that it had also created many jobs in the region.
Afterwards, Antonia Uhl and I had the opportunity to talk to Alexander Plaum, Innovation Manger @ Deutsche Welle about the DW Innovation Lab and funding opportunities. It was interesting to see what my ex-employer is currently experimenting with. I was able to present the project “If you are going to hell, go slowly” by »Silent Disco« to Christopher von Bronsart and will be working on making it fit for the Apple Vision Pro in the coming weeks.
After a great evening, I returned to Cologne with Thomas, Stephan and Nick.