First virtual reality association founded in Berlin-Brandenburg

Going by the name of "Virtual Reality e.V. Berlin-Brandenburg", the first virtual reality association has been founded in Potsdam-Babelsberg. At the end of April several initiatives met at the film university to found the association. In early May it was then presented to the public at re:publica in Berlin, Europe's most exciting conference on internet and society. 

The aim of the "Virtual Reality e.V. Berlin-Brandenburg" is to pool know-how from the areas of virtual and augmented reality. And the German capital is known to be a hub for know-how exchange, especially when it comes to new technologies. Along with Studio Babelsberg, UFA LAB, Exozet, SMI, Metropolis VR, Filmuniversität Babelsberg and HPI (D-School), more than 15 renowned film and TV producers, technology companies and research institutes are members of the association. The executive board is made up of Stephan Schindler (Wonderlamp Industries), Henry Bauer (Exozet), Christian Villwock (SMI) and Sven Bliedung (SLICE Studios).

It is the goal of the association to pool the resources that exist in Berlin's network of companies and industrial partners, develop innovative products and business models in the area of VR/AR and to become a serious contender against competition from China and the US.

The number of companies and research projects in Berlin working in the area of new virtual technologies keeps growing continually. It is no wonder that analysts predict rapid growth for both virtual and augmented reality, indicating business volumes of more than 100 billion dollars by 2020.

Visitors at re:publica have already had a chance to get a first impression of the visionary goals of the association. The rest of us will have to be patient until the official <link http://www.virtualrealitybb.org/>homepage</link> goes live.