Could Wellington have the world’s first augmented reality island?
It’s kind of fitting that when we showed up to see Wellington’s newest cutting-edge virtual and augmented reality hub, it pretty much had nothing inside it. Wow. I knew the technology was good, but I didn’t know it was that good. To be fair, ProjectR has only just moved in, and there is already a stylish SMEG fridge, a cluster of computers adorned with Pop Vinyl figures, and a ‘girl boss’ mug that fittingly belongs to centre executive Jessica Manins.
Jessica is currently in charge of fitting out the enormous, sunny space on Taranaki Street to connect over 24 different VR, AR and MR Wellington businesses into one disruptive digital rat king to rule them all.
Wellington is a city that forces you to be creative, I think. And resilient as well, we’ve got the earthquakes and we’ve got the crazy wind. There are lots of easy things about living in the city because it’s so compact – but that also tests you. Being on the other side of the world, far from where the largest business hubs are, means you have to work a little bit harder. You have to think hard from day one and you have to be that little bit more creative.
Another job you have – for now – is organising Leading Ladies, why was there a need to carve out that kind of support space for Wellington women?
The first woman I messaged was Toni Moyse [CEO at 8i]. We got together, formed a bit of a plan, and from there co-created Leading Ladies. ... We meet monthly, and we’ve been going strong for 18 months or so now.
You’ve worked in LA, London, Edinburgh – all these giant cities in the world – so what makes you want to stay here?
I’m still trying to work out how to try and encourage talent to stay here and to work with the New Zealand companies that are trying to build themselves up – it all adds to the value and what we’re trying to create in New Zealand. Wellington is probably one of the most creative places, it’s fun, has great coffee, has good food. It’s a no brainer in terms of the city to live in.
See the full story here: https://thespinoff.co.nz/society/wreda/19-06-2017/could-wellington-have-the-worlds-first-augmented-reality-island/