XR Week 2022

14.-16. September 2022

After two years with digital and hybrid event formats, the XR WEEK 2022 again offered the opportunity to experience interactive technologies in a really interactive and physical way: the Haus der Wirtschaft in Stuttgart offered a wide-ranging program for the professional use of virtual reality, augmented reality and mixed reality. A total of 57 exhibitors presented XR solutions, concepts and projects in the areas of industry, architecture, medicine, trade and crafts to more than 800 trade visitors. A wide range of technological innovations, user experiences and market developments were highlighted in over 100 contributions. Speakers included BMW, FESTO, the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft, Mercedes-Benz, Schneider Electric, SMS Group, ThyssenKrupp, Trumpf and Unity Technologies. The program was supplemented by organized visits to the XR laboratories at Mercedes-Benz, the Fraunhofer IAO and the high-performance computing center HLRS.

The diversity was made possible thanks to the coordination of several events by the Virtual Dimension Center (VDC): the EuroXR Conference 2022 of the European Association for eXtended Reality, the VR/AR workshop of the Gesellschaft für Informatik, the Virtual Prototyping & Simulation (VPS ) of the OWL ViProSim network and the XR EXPO exhibition and congress organized by the VDC itself took place at the same time and (apart from the VPS conference) at the same location in the Haus der Wirtschaft. VDC Managing Director Prof. Christoph Runde draws a positive balance and records the XR WEEK as a success: “We were able to welcome guests from 30 countries; industry was strongly represented. Our concept of combining an industrial fair - the XR EXPO - with start-up offers and research conferences on the same topic has worked out perfectly. I am convinced that we were able to open up new paths of innovation in this way and have generally promoted the technology transfer to eXtended Reality very well."

XR Expo 2021

17.-21. May 2021, hybrid event

For the organizer, the Virtual Dimension Center (VDC), the event week with its hybrid concept was a complete success: for five days, almost 300 participants exchanged ideas on the interactive XR Week platform. 46 exhibitors presented their XR solutions, concepts and projects in the areas of industry, architecture, medicine and trade. Speakers from well-known organizations such as Airbus, Barmer, bitkom, Ford, Fraunhofer, PTC, Deutsche Telekom and Trumpf reported on current technological developments and application experiences.

The weekly program was based on the division into eight themed half-days, so that every visitor can find an individual V/AR-specific topic related to collaboration, education and training, start-ups, design and product development, medicine, benchmarking, production and future trends program could put together.

XR Expo 2020

25.-26. July 2020, online event

The fourth XR Expo took place in 2020 - for the first time in a purely digital format. Industrial applications in the fields of virtual, augmented and mixed reality were presented at the online event.

The XR Expo has also proven itself in its first digital version: for two days, more than 400 participants exchanged ideas on the interactive XR Expo platform. 33 exhibitors present their XR solutions, concepts and projects in the areas of industry, architecture, medicine and trade. Speakers from well-known companies and organizations such as Audi, BSH Hausgeräte, Bayer, Deutsche Telekom, ESI Group, Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft, Rosenbauer, Unity3D, Volvo Cars and Varjo reported on current technological developments and application experiences in the XR area. In addition to a large number of German companies, exhibitors and speakers from Australia, Finland, France, Great Britain, Italy, Sweden, Switzerland and Turkey were also represented digitally.

The XR Expo Virtual has presented itself as a special tech event and experiment for the entire VR/AR community. “We planned the XR Expo as an experiment: an event that links to completely heterogeneous software platforms of the exhibitors and speakers, from classic webinars to 360° streaming to distributed, immersive VR environments. The best thing was: it still worked. We have set a benchmark here for trade fairs in the future,” Christoph Runde, Managing Director of the Virtual Dimension Center (VDC) Fellbach, is convinced. The evening event "Sunset Gathering", to which visitors have access using the VR collaboration software HCC, completed the program of the digital trade fair. "In order to live up to the name of the event, we created an extraordinary virtual space in which selected experts from various fields discussed the future of XR Events. The Sunset Gathering was a unique live experiment with entertainment factors, which allowed direct experience to flow into the discussion through the use of the VR medium," explains Robin Wenk, Managing Director of LIGHTSHAPE GmbH & Co. KG. The co-organizers Jana Guerster from the VDC and Anca Braedt-Lautmann from LIGHTSHAPE are also impressed by the response to the XR Expo Virtual: “What a start into the digital world in such a short planning time! With 434 participants, 33 exhibitors and numerous sponsors, we are overwhelmed by the positive response to our planned community experiment. It was fun organizing this and we are already in the starting blocks for planning XR Expo 2021!”

The XR Expo Virtual 2020 was supported by its main sponsor Audi AG and the sponsors BARMER, Deutsche Telekom, Feynsinn, Innoactive GmbH, ITS Infoturm Stuttgart, State Capital Stuttgart, MFG Medien- und Film GmbH Baden-Württemberg, SectorVR and the Stuttgart Region Economic Development Agency.

XR Expo 2019

3.-4. July 2019, Wagenhallen Stuttgart

On July 3rd and 4th, 2019, the third XR Expo took place in the Wagenhallen in Stuttgart. The tech event showed industrial applications of virtual, augmented and mixed reality (XR).

The successful concept of the XR Expo has now proven itself for a third time: The tech event, which was known last year under the name "VR Expo", was also very popular under the new name.

For two days, 650 participants explored XR solutions and projects for industry, architecture, medicine, trade and crafts. Sixty exhibitors take part in the XR Expo. The trade fair was accompanied by a congress: 22 lectures dealt with application experiences, market developments and technological innovations. The list of speakers includes speakers from Audi, B Braun, Capgemini, Crytek, Daimler, Deutsche Bahn, Deutsche Telekom, Fraunhofer, Microsoft, Nvidia, PTC and Unity3D, among others.

XR Expo 2018

5.-6. July 2018, ARENA2036, Stuttgart

On July 5th and 6th, 2018, the second XR Expo was organized together with the University of Stuttgart and ARENA2036. The trade exhibition for virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) took place in Arena 2036 and attracted great interest with around 1,500 visitors.

The organizers are satisfied with the second edition of VR Expo: For two days, 47 exhibitors presented professional VR and AR applications for engineering, marketing, service and training to 1,500 visitors. In addition to the exhibition in Arena 2036, there were the VR/AR laboratories of the High Performance Computing Center (HLRS), the Institute for Visualization and Interactive Systems (VISUS), the Center for Virtual Engineering (ZVE) of the Fraunhofer IAO and the Fraunhofer Institute for Production Technology and Automation (IPA) open for viewing. On the evening of July 5, visitors were also able to visit the MediaNight at the nearby Media University to view experimental projects by students from the Audiovisual Media, Computer Science and Media and Information Design courses, among others, and to make contact with potential young professionals.

Visitors had the opportunity to test a wide range of the latest innovations. The exhibitors' exhibits ranged from mobile smart glasses and head-mounted displays to large-format, high-resolution power walls and CAVE systems. During the event and at an evening get-together, visitors had the opportunity to get ideas for their company and to make new contacts. The event was rounded off by podiums and TechTalks, in which well-known companies such as Daimler AG, Microsoft, Robert Bosch GmbH or Porsche AG provided insights into their work and the potential of VR and AR technology. VDC Managing Director Dr. Christoph Runde is convinced that the VR Expo will establish itself as the leading VR trade fair in Germany in the next few years: “We have received positive feedback from both exhibitors and visitors. The VR Expo has managed to generate a platform that has not yet existed in this form for the VR industry: Professional users from a wide variety of industries were able to obtain very good information on the current status of industry-ready VR and AR solutions at the VR Expo. This offer was taken up by numerous trade visitors." Robin Wenk, Managing Director of LIGHTSHAPE, adds: "With this year's VR Expo, we have developed a basis for further increasing the quality of the event next year and thus making it the leading event for XR applications to become in the business field."

The main sponsor of the VR Expo was Daimler AG. The VR Expo received further support from Arena 2036 and the University of Stuttgart, AIT GmbH, Robert Bosch GmbH, the Federal Association of the Digital Economy, davit GmbH, Fraunhofer IAO, the media and film company of Baden-Württemberg, Microsoft and SAE Institute, the Bahnprojekt Stuttgart-Ulm eV, the Stuttgart Region Economic Development Agency and the City of Stuttgart.

XR Expo 2017

13.-14. October 2017, Gerber, Stuttgart

On 13-14 The first VR Expo took place in Stuttgart in October 2017: the exhibition, which revolved around virtual (VR) and augmented reality (AR), took place in the Gerber department store in downtown Stuttgart and delighted around 700 visitors - including trade visitors and buyers. The pictures from the two days of the exhibition give an impression of the successful premiere.

The organizers are satisfied with the start of their VR Expo: On Friday, October 13th and Saturday, October 14th, 700 visitors tested numerous virtual reality applications from the fields of automotive, architecture, construction, entertainment, marketing and sports. For some, it was a whole new feeling to move around in the virtual world and ride a bike there or configure a Porsche. For the others who came to the upper floor of the Gerber department store as trade visitors, what counted most was the contact with other companies in the VR sector and the exchange of ideas about new, future-oriented technologies.

"The two exhibition days of the VR Expo have shown us that there is strong interest in a trade fair for virtual reality in the Stuttgart area," says Dr. Christoph Runde, Managing Director of VDC Fellbach. “Stimulating discussions were held and new contacts were made. Some visitors have never had the opportunity to get an impression of virtual technologies and were able to do so at the VR Expo. Looking back - including one or the other feedback discussion - we can say that it was a successful premiere, with which both exhibitors and visitors were satisfied. This lays the foundation for VR Expo 2018.”

The VR Expo was supported by the Innovationsagentur (MFG), Daimler AG, Bahnprojekt Stuttgart-Ulm e.V. and the SAE Institute.