Issue 7 2020

Mar20398 Escaping Reality Founded in 2016, Paracosma Inc is an augmented and virtual reality solutions provider serving clients across the globe. Following on from their success being named as the “Most Innovative Leader in Immersive Technology 2020” in the Corporate Excellence Awards 2020, we got in touch with Founder and CEO Ken Ehrhart to find out more. With 75 employees working in the US, Japan and Nepal, Paracosma offers depth and breadth of experience and capability across all areas of AR and VR. To start, Ken offers more insight into the firm’s specialties and its client base. “As leading innovators, we offer AR and VR application development and 3D content creation, including modelling for photography replacement and 360 video production. “Although we provide skills and solutions to both small and large enterprises, much of our focus is on larger clients exploring how AR & VR can improve their training and operational productivity. Whether it is VR training for the Oil & Gas industry or AR for manufacturing machine maintenance, we can provide new solutions to old problems. Given that AR & VR is evolving to be the leading solution for training and learning management, it is essential that we remain at the cutting edge of new developments in order to provide the best possible service to our clients.” Upon founding Paracosma four years ago, the firm wanted to make both augmented and virtual realities better than reality. Since then, much has changed with improving technology helping to deliver the most life-like experiences to their clients. Ken added “Our focus on photorealism and the improvement of our capability, demonstrates our commitment to delivering the most innovative AR & VR solutions. With the current coronavirus crisis, our promotions for free VR remote meetings and free consumer VR games are helping potential clients.” In contrast to some of their competitors, Paracosma through a large and diverse team is able to serve as a truly one-stop shop for AR & VR services. As Ken points out, the experience and knowledge their large team can bring to the table is invaluable. “Working on a global scale, we are able to focus across all AR and VR platforms, including emerging technologies. Moreover, with our Nepal-based development center, we can offer excellent quality at very affordable pricing.” Because Paracosma has been successful in establishing themselves in the AR & VR industry, the firm’s continued growth provides a great benefit as Ken explains further. “As a company, we have been able to grow faster than the broader AR/VR industry, so naturally we are well positioned. The biggest opportunity we are facing is that the vision of what AR and VR can be is still more advanced than reality, so as we continually innovate and grow our capabilities, we are doing so to realize what we and our clients eventually wish to achieve.” looking for premium artistic talent and technical capability rather than past experience. “On the engineering side, we work with the leading public and private engineering universities to hire their best students. Prior experience doesn’t matter as these individuals can grow and learn with the field.” Finally, Ken comments on the future of Paracosma and its plans for 2020 and beyond. “With the current coronavirus lockdown, most of the planet has moved to some form of remote working from home with bans on travel and in-person meetings. Naturally, this provides an enormous opportunity for the VR industry to lead the way with remote virtual meeting and collaboration technologies. As a result, we can provide a level of virtual presence and immersion with VR that can supplement video conferencing and achieve many of the benefits of in-person meetings. After launching remote VR meeting, collaboration and event tools, based on Microsoft’s AltspaceVR social VR platform, we are now rolling out with more clients. “In addition, we will continue to invest a lot of time, money and resources on R&D to understand where AR & VR will be in three to five to ten years to advance our industry by focusing on the latest innovations.” Contact Name: Ken Ehrhart Telephone Number: +1-833-Paracosma (833-727-2267) Address: 2 Clarence Place Suite 12, San Francisco, CA, USA Also: Tokyo & Kathmandu Web Address: www.paracosma.com “The current coronavirus lockdowns provide an enormous opportunity for the VR industry to lead the way with remote virtual meeting and collaboration technologies.” As a solutions provider, the quality of services provided to clients is entirely dependent on the skill, training and innovation of the firm’s employees. Ken added “Our ability to hire the best engineers and artists and provide them with the best tools and training, allows us to maintain our position as one of the leading AR & VR solutions providers globally.” Recruiting talent is rather easy due to the age of the AR & VR industry, as Ken points out the firm can find the right kind of personnel by