The potential of augmented reality (AR) was the topic at “The Augmented Reality Experience” event presented by the NYC Disruptive Technologists on January 30, 2017. The particularly knowledgeable audience understood the difference between virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality, which superimposes a computer-generated image on a user’s view of the real world, creating a composite of digital information with the user’s environment in real-time.

The expert panel was moderated by Kevin Pianko, a Partner at BDO USA, LLP and a regular on Bloomberg Radio and NBC; the panelists included:

• Nick Landry, a mobility pioneer, former entrepreneur and Microsoft Technical Evangelist specializing in cross-platform mobile app development. He currently focuses on mixed and virtual reality and is the primary evalgelist for the Microsoft HoloLens in New York City.
• Lynn Rogoff is a game producer, director, writer and professor and (among other things) the Founder at AMERIKIDS USA, creator of the VR 3D Endanger! game series (link), allowing users to assist in ending the possible extinction of endangered species from extinction.
• CEO and co-founder of INKHUNTER, Oleksandra Rohachova has developed an application utilizing computer vision and augmented reality technology that allows users to “try on” tattoos in real-time.
• Lindsay Boyajian is the Chief Marketing Officer at Augment, the leading augmented reality enterprise solution. She is the author of Content Engine: The Growth Hacker’s Guide to Content Marketing and she was a 2016 finalist for Everstring’s Discovery Awards for Emerging Marketers in Tech.
• Alper Guler is a Business Analyst and Software Engineer at Pandora Reality where new technologies are being utilized to disrupt food, architecture, real estate and fashion markets.

A special thanks to the Disruptive Technologists group for arranging this event and their regular posts at DisruptiveTechnologists.com monthly panels. Based in New York City, they are “dedicated to finding out what makes disrupters tick – what they are thinking, how they do what they do and then inspire, promote, support, mentor and advise in order to further Disruption in NYC through tech.” If this panel interested you, you can visit the website to register for their monthly newsletter and if you are based in the New York City area, we encourage you to join the meetup group (here).