Blog Post by ELP Student Beste Aydin (Computer Engineering | Class of 2021) 

 Extended reality (XR) is an emerging field that encompasses virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), mixed reality (MR) and other immersive technologies. In recent years, this technology has been gaining traction and is an industry that I am personally passionate about. 

As co-president of the Alternate Reality Initiative student organization and as a research assistant at two university XR projects, I’ve had the chance to gain more insights about this field. With public interest for XR growing, the University of Michigan has also been increasing their support for students to explore XR technology. 

Due to my interests and the increasing availability of this technology for university students to innovate with, I set out to learn more about XR startups and entrepreneurs. For this, I met with Elena Piech who is the marketing manager at the Glimpse Group.

The Glimpse Group is a New York based company that comprises multiple VR and AR startups. They are working with entrepreneurs to foster collaboration and innovation within the XR community. 

I met Elena at the MIT Reality Hack in Boston. With her involvement within the XR community and work at the Glimpse Group, she shared her perspectives of this industry.

Below is a video of our meeting where we discussed XR startups, marketing of immersive products, the future of this technology and more.