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Digital Catapult brings on board VR and AR expert to drive UK digitisation

Innovation network Digital Catapult has announced the appointment of a new Immersive Fellow aimed at driving the adoption and commercialisation of virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR).

Professor Mel Slater will bolster the group’s expertise in immersive technologies, promoting the adoption of AR and VR across different sectors and drawing on some of his research as a professor at a range of higher education institutions, including the University of Barcelona and the Catalan Institute of Research and Advanced Studies.

Having carried out academic research on the topic of VR since 1991, Slater also has experience in the application of immersive tech in medical and social rehabilitation as Co-Founder of Virtual Bodyworks.

Commenting on the new appointment, Dr Jeremy Silver, Chief Executive Officer at Digital Catapult said: “We are delighted to welcome Mel Slater to Digital Catapult. He is a hugely respected expert who has worked on cutting-edge research in the field of virtual reality and immersive technologies.

“Our role, with Mel’s support, is to continue to provide technical and business expertise to demonstrate novel immersive ideas. Access to industry leading expertise is the first step in our commitment to do just that.”

The Euston-headquartered network, which has sites across the country, brings together experts, entrepreneurs, academics and the public sector to promote digitisation and push the UK’s expertise in emerging sectors, including VR and AR.

Slater commented that immersive technologies were now reaching a ‘tipping-point’ where computing power and accessibility are driving down the barriers to entry, opening up a new world of opportunities.

He said: “There are so many exciting opportunities we can realise with immersive technologies that go well beyond gaming, particularly in areas such as health and wellbeing. Virtual reality has a huge power to positively impact how we think, learn, even how we behave and see others.

“Demonstrating this and supporting organisations working in these applied fields will be vital if we want the use of immersive technologies to be taken seriously beyond gaming.”

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