{"id":155666,"date":"2020-11-18T06:00:00","date_gmt":"2020-11-18T11:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ict-pulse.com\/?p=155666"},"modified":"2020-11-18T05:36:58","modified_gmt":"2020-11-18T10:36:58","slug":"ictp-132-virtual-and-augmented-reality-in-key-opportunities-for-the-caribbean-with-4th-dymension","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ict-pulse.com\/2020\/11\/ictp-132-virtual-and-augmented-reality-in-key-opportunities-for-the-caribbean-with-4th-dymension\/","title":{"rendered":"ICTP 132:  VIRTUAL AND AUGMENTED REALITY, AND KEY OPPORTUNITIES FOR THE CARIBBEAN, WITH 4TH DYMENSION"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><em>It is widely held that virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) have the potential to transform how we interact with, and view, the things around us, whilst also opening us up to a broad range of new and different experiences. However, it could be argued that we, in the Caribbean, have not yet begun to leverage those opportunities. Software development firm, 4th Dymension, has created a VR experience of Plymouth, Montserrat, before the volcanic eruption that forced the abandonment of the city. We learn more about that project, and discuss the ways in which the Caribbean region could leverage VR and AR, as well as whether a VR or AR-based venture can be financially viable.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p> &nbsp; <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"100%\" height=\"166\" scrolling=\"no\" frameborder=\"no\" allow=\"autoplay\" src=\"https:\/\/w.soundcloud.com\/player\/?url=https%3A\/\/api.soundcloud.com\/tracks\/931360468&#038;color=%23ff5500&#038;auto_play=false&#038;hide_related=false&#038;show_comments=true&#038;show_user=true&#038;show_reposts=false&#038;show_teaser=true\"><\/iframe><div style=\"font-size: 10px; color: #cccccc;line-break: anywhere;word-break: normal;overflow: hidden;white-space: nowrap;text-overflow: ellipsis; font-family: Interstate,Lucida Grande,Lucida Sans Unicode,Lucida Sans,Garuda,Verdana,Tahoma,sans-serif;font-weight: 100;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/soundcloud.com\/user-673719274\" title=\"ICT Pulse Podcast\" target=\"_blank\" style=\"color: #cccccc; text-decoration: none;\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">ICT Pulse Podcast<\/a> \u00b7 <a href=\"https:\/\/soundcloud.com\/user-673719274\/ictp-132-virtual-and-augmented\" title=\"ICTP 132:  Virtual and augmented reality, and key opportunities for the Caribbean, with 4th Dymension\" target=\"_blank\" style=\"color: #cccccc; text-decoration: none;\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">ICTP 132:  Virtual and augmented reality, and key opportunities for the Caribbean, with 4th Dymension<\/a><\/div><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>This episode is also available in&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/itunes.apple.com\/us\/podcast\/ict-pulse-podcast\/id1373550291\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Apple iTunes<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/playmusic.app.goo.gl\/?ibi=com.google.PlayMusic&amp;isi=691797987&amp;ius=googleplaymusic&amp;apn=com.google.android.music&amp;link=https:\/\/play.google.com\/music\/m\/Icau5acn2xiyl5yjuh7orl2mt54?t%3DICT_Pulse_Podcast%26pcampaignid%3DMKT-na-all-co-pr-mu-pod-16\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Google Play Music<\/a> and on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.stitcher.com\/podcast\/ict-pulse-podcast?refid=stpr\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Stitcher<\/a>!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For majority of us, we might not yet have had a true virtual reality (VR) experience. Many of the latest games are incorporating VR, or even augmented reality (AR), and is popular way through which people are engaging with these still new technologies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Having said this, AR, and more so VR-based projects, are expensive to develop and for consumers to have an optimal experience. Considerable processing power is needed to develop and run the application, and at the other end, users need a suitable VR headset, which are still a bit pricey \u2013 with a good headset typically costing a few hundred United States (US) Dollars.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Currently, and although VR and AR may still seem to be novelties, industry experts are excited by their potential, as they offer us, as humans, new ways to interact and engage. One of the opportunities that might be of particular interest to the Caribbean region, is the use of VR and AR in the tourism and hospitality industries: in light of the difficulties those areas have been experiencing over the past several months, due to COVID19, and are likely to experience into the foreseeable future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>However, how my VR and AR be leveraged by the tourism industry? And what might be other opportunities, here in the Caribbean, that could benefit AR and VR? These questions will be answered during the course of this episode.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p> &nbsp; <\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Introducing our guests<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>In our Know your Neighbour episode on Montserrat, which was released in February this year, you may recall mention was made of the Soufri\u00e8re Hills volcano eruptions in the mid-1990s, which destroyed the country\u2019s capital, Plymouth, and precipitated the mass emigration of more than half of the population. However, about two years ago, a Montserrat-based company, 4th Dymension used VR to recreate Plymouth. The initiative was dubbed the Plymouth Recreation Project.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.4thdymension.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">4th Dymension<\/a><\/strong> is a software development firm that specializes in 3D modelling and the creation of virtual reality and augmented reality experiences. We were able to speak with four of the five members of the team.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter size-large is-resized\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"155668\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/ict-pulse.com\/2020\/11\/ictp-132-virtual-and-augmented-reality-in-key-opportunities-for-the-caribbean-with-4th-dymension\/4th-dymension-4th-dymension\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ict-pulse.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/4th-Dymension-4th-Dymension.png?fit=1920%2C852&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"1920,852\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"4th Dymension (4th Dymension)\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"&lt;p&gt;4th Dymension&lt;br \/&gt;\nFrom l-r:  Jhovan Daniel, Jerely Browne; Carlon Brathwaite;  Dexter Small&lt;\/p&gt;\n\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ict-pulse.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/4th-Dymension-4th-Dymension.png?fit=300%2C133&amp;ssl=1\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ict-pulse.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/4th-Dymension-4th-Dymension.png?fit=1024%2C454&amp;ssl=1\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/fgd.dfv.mybluehost.me\/.website_c81a1e61\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/4th-Dymension-4th-Dymension-1024x454.png?resize=854%2C378&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-155668\" width=\"854\" height=\"378\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ict-pulse.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/4th-Dymension-4th-Dymension.png?resize=1024%2C454&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ict-pulse.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/4th-Dymension-4th-Dymension.png?resize=300%2C133&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ict-pulse.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/4th-Dymension-4th-Dymension.png?resize=768%2C341&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ict-pulse.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/4th-Dymension-4th-Dymension.png?resize=1536%2C682&amp;ssl=1 1536w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ict-pulse.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/4th-Dymension-4th-Dymension.png?resize=1080%2C479&amp;ssl=1 1080w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ict-pulse.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/4th-Dymension-4th-Dymension.png?w=1920&amp;ssl=1 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 854px) 100vw, 854px\" \/><figcaption>4th Dymension  \u2013\u2013 (From l-r:  Jhovan Daniel;  Jerely Browne;  Carlon Brathwaite;  Dexter Small)<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/jhovan-daniel-a66961ba\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Jhovan Daniel<\/a><\/strong>, the Founder of 4th Dymension, who also serves as the company\u2019s Chief Executive Officer. He is also a 3D Modeler, Web Developer and Programmer. Currently, Jhovan is in the united Kingdom (UK), pursuing his Masters in Advanced Computer Science.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Within 4th Dimension, <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/jerely-browne-103340177\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Jerely Browne<\/a><\/strong>\u2019s focus is videography, environmental design\/art and 3D modelling. He has his own Cinematography company, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cinephou.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Cinephou<\/a>, but currently, he is also in the UK studying a production related course.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Carlon Braithwaite<\/strong> is a Computer Aided Design (CAD) Technician, 3D Modeller and the Building Technician\/Draftsman of the team. Currently, he is working in Anguilla.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Dexter Small<\/strong> is the Lead Programmer and Designer, who also is a Web Developer and Graphic Artist. Currently, he is pursuing his Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Science at the University of the West Indies, Mona Campus (Jamaica).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p> &nbsp; <\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Insights into our conversation<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Although we had a pretty extensive discussion on what might be some of the AR and VR opportunities in the Caribbean region, we began our conversation with the Plymouth Recreation Project: how it began; what were some of the challenges the team experienced; how was the final product received; and what might be next for the Project.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>However, thereafter, we jumped right into discussing, among other things, how the region\u2019s tourism industry could leverage VR and A. We also identified other areas where might opportunities lie, and perhaps more importantly, we discussed the potential sustainability of VR and AR-based ventures. Key questions that were posed during the course of our conversation included the following:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\" type=\"1\"><li>What is 4<sup>th<\/sup> Dymension? When was it established, and what is the scope of the services it offers?<\/li><li>What was the impetus for the Plymouth Recreation Project?<\/li><li>How long did the project take, from the initial conceptualization to the being able to organize a public demo?<\/li><li>What were some of the challenges in building Plymouth virtually?<\/li><li>What was the scale of the final rendering, and how accurate would you say it was to Plymouth back in the day?<\/li><li>What is the status of the Plymouth Recreation Project, and are there any future plans for it?<\/li><li>What would you say is the difference between virtual reality and augmented reality?<\/li><li>When one thinks about VR or AR, it is usually with respect to gaming, but there has been some talk about applications in the tourism. What are your thoughts?<\/li><li>In what other areas in the Caribbean do you think VR or AR should be leveraged?<\/li><li>Developing a VR or AR experience is a lot of work. Can they be sustainable as a business?<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n<p> &nbsp; <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We would love to hear from you!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Do leave us a comment either here beneath this article, or on our <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/ICTPulse\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><strong>Facebook<\/strong><\/a> or <a href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/ict-pulse-consulting-limited\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><strong>LinkedIn<\/strong><\/a> pages, or via Twitter, <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/ICTPulse\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><strong>@ICTPulse<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p> &nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Select links<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Below are links to some of the organisations and resources that either were mentioned during the episode, or otherwise, might be useful:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.4thdymension.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">4th Dymension<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/jerely-browne-103340177\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Jerely Browne<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/jhovan-daniel-a66961ba\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Jhovan Daniel<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/MontserratCarnival\/photos\/a.683109478389514\/3424714380895663\/?type=3&amp;theater\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Plymouth Recreation Project<\/a><\/li><li>ICT Pulse Podcast episode, <em><a href=\"https:\/\/bit.ly\/2AMxjTl\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">ICTP 106: Exploring Montserrat and its telecoms and tech space, with Minister Samuel Joseph<\/a><\/em><\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.unrealengine.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Unreal Engine<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/beatsaber.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Beat Saber<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.oculus.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Oculus headsets<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/vr.google.com\/cardboard\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Google Cardboard<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.pokemongo.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Pokeman GO<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.meetinvr.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">MeetinVR<\/a><\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p> &nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p> &nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Image credits:  Gerd Altmann (<a href=\"http:\/\/pixabay.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Pixabay<\/a><\/em>);  <em>4th Dymension<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Music credit:  Ray Holman<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p> &nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>It is widely held that virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) have the potential to transform how we interact with, and view, the things around us, whilst also opening [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":155670,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"off","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[355],"tags":[467,71,205,204,466],"class_list":["post-155666","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-podcast","tag-augmented-reality-ar","tag-businesses","tag-entrepreneurship-2","tag-innovation-2","tag-virtual-reality-vr","et-has-post-format-content","et_post_format-et-post-format-standard"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ict-pulse.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/Virtual-Reality-Oculus-Technology-Augmented-VR-AR-Gerd-Altmann-Pixabay.jpg?fit=1024%2C590&ssl=1","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p2iE1G-EuK","jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ict-pulse.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/155666","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ict-pulse.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ict-pulse.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ict-pulse.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ict-pulse.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=155666"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/ict-pulse.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/155666\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":155690,"href":"https:\/\/ict-pulse.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/155666\/revisions\/155690"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ict-pulse.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/155670"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ict-pulse.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=155666"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ict-pulse.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=155666"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ict-pulse.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=155666"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}