Four areas of services in cities will be prioritised at this Summit, allowing cities and companies to build partnerships, share experiences, build a common understanding of future trends and the growing demand for innovative business models.

LLGA | Cities Pilot the Future is a “call for solutions” put out by City officials from 22 cities all over the world to all urban and social innovators to present their innovations to solve city problems.

In this one-of-a-kind initiative 22 cities publicly published their most pressing urban and social challenges in areas such as social inclusion, health & well-being, economic development, urban management, mobility, lighting, energy and sustainable lifestyles.

Over a 3-month period, Citymart.com researchers identified 2,535 solutions that responded to those challenges. A total of 456 solutions entered a first round of evaluation with the help of 159 expert jurors chosen by the cities. VirtualTriage and VirtualRehab have been nominated as a winning solution, so David Moreno Business Development Director is attending to San Francisco to present these solutions on May, 15th.

The creation of “Virtualware Mexico Ltd” coincided with the business mission to Mexico, organized by the Provincial Council of Vizcaya and the Bilbao Chamber of Commerce, which came to an end on the 8 March and in which 94 other SMEs participated.
Virtualware announced at the beginning of 2013 that it would carry out an ambitious strategic plan over the next three years distinguished by the internationalization and development and distribution of its own product. So states Unai Extremo, CEO of the group, “Virtualware Mexico is a very important milestone for our group of businesses due to the opportunities that the Mexican market provides and as an opening into other Latin American countries”.

 
Rodolfo Sandoval, new Director General of Virtualware Mexico has also indicated that “Virtualware Mexico wishes to be an important player in the development of immersive technologies and in the application of these to sectors such as tourism, health or education and training”. On 6 March the leaders of the company attended the presentation of the Creative Industry Cluster of Roma/Condesa which gathers together all the Mexican companies which are developing their work around the creative sector, a cluster which has received support from the Mexican Secretary for the Economy.

 
Sergio Ramírez, Country Manager of the new subsidiary has emphasized that “Mexico figures as a great opportunity due to the positive characteristics of its geographical location, its large population and extensive variety of resources and particularly for its great interest in driving the modernization of health care, promoting tourism and advancing the use of technology to improve formal education and employee training”.

About Virtualware

Virtualware Group is a group of technology companies with nearly 10 years in the market, specialized in immersive and interactive technologies. The company, structured in three business units – Interactive, Health and Training, develops tailor-made solutions, manufactures interactive devices and has its own product for the health sector.

More than 35 professionals spread about their central offices in Bilbao, London and now Mexico City form part of this group which continues to maintain its investment in innovation, distinction and added value in all its projects and products as its identity badge.

The novelty of this product is that it uses the videogame console Kinect to capture the patient’s movements without any type of command, whilst encouraging them to continue the treatment through mini games with points and challenges adapted to their level of disability.

Although the project came about whilst concentrated on the rehabilitation of Multiple Sclerosis the company from Vizcaya realized that 70% of the exercises could be applied to other illnesses, especially the treatment of stroke. “Rehabilitation is key during the following two or three months for the patient to obtain a better level of autonomy and not have to rely on another person”, assures the Director of Operations and Health of Virtualware, Asier Pereda. More recently they included exercises for Parkinson’s and those aimed at the elderly.

The latest milestone for Virtualware has been to close a deal for the distribution of Virtualrehab with the company Ortorent, considered one of the most important companies in the Russian market for the distribution of rehabilitation equipment, which has the participation of the US multinational, DJO, dedicated to the provision of orthopaedic devices.

The Basque-Russian negotiation has taken several months but the operation/agreement was only signed three weeks ago. “For us Russia is a very interesting market” admitted Pereda. It is a country with 145.5 million inhabitants, of whom 250,000 suffer from Multiple Sclerosis, 530,000 from Parkinson’s and every year there are 310,000 new cases of stroke, according to the data handled by the company whose head office is in Basauri (Vizcaya).

The Basque product has already been localized into Russian and will soon be marketed, mainly in the area of private health care. Pereda believes that it is an “affordable product” since they are selling it at a price of 2.5 euros per month for each patient under treatment. “It is a form of renting software as a service, which enables flexibility with clients. If a clinic has 40 patients, they only pay for those 40. But if a hospital has 3,000 – well, for 3,000”, he gave as an example.

An outward view

The agreement to be in Russia is in the context of the internationalization measures that the Basque company, with around 30 employees, has been putting into place for a little over two years with some timely launches and business missions.

The company has carried out business in Chile and has strategic partners in Germany and Italy. It also hopes to place two VirtualRehab demonstration products in several hospitals of the British National Health Service (NHS), after reaching an agreement with the British Multiple Sclerosis Association.  “2013 is our year of international consolidation” Pereda has stated. They hope that by the end of the year “between 25% and 35% of Virtualware’s invoicing will come from markets beyond Spanish borders”. For Spanish SMEs who base 100% of our invoicing in the national market it is imperative to leave in order to survive, especially how things are going now”. “We have been able to look ahead” he states “but the SMEs who are only just starting the process of internationalization will find it difficult”.

In this sense, on Wednesday, 6 March, Virtualware will open its second external office in Mexico – the first is with a local partner in London – “which will become a link to Latin American markets”. However, the company from Vizcaya already has its eye on the United States. The aim is to create a start-up “only for VirtualRehab” near San Francisco “with a local partner who has strong presence in the health care sector” in order to tackle the North American market.
Another “appetising but very complex” market, as defined by Pereda, is the Middle East. “Two years ago we went to Bahrain and were on the point of setting up a joint venture with a local partner. In the end the operation didn’t go ahead because the problems and revolts in the Arab world began”. However, they continue to be focused on this market as they hope, through their English subsidiary, to attend a fair which will take place in Qatar in May.

The Virtualware Basques have three areas of business concentrated on interactivity, training and education in the professional and health sectors. However, the latter is where they see rapid growth “above all through the investment being made at national as well as international level”. “We believe it is a strategic area which is booming”, states Pereda.

Source: Vascopress

Turespaña

Spanish presence at the fair will be led by the Spanish Institute of Tourism’s stand which encompasses several autonomous communities, official bodies and various companies from the tourism sector.

The Turespaña pavilion, located in Hall 4.2: 101, 101a of Messe Berlin, covers an area of 1200m2 with a large exhibition area with different kiosks and activities to promote Spain. Virtualware has taken part in a tourism promotion project as an interactive attraction on the stand. Through a 55” state of the art multi-touch table, visitors are able to access diverse multimedia content and discover the country, with several people interacting at the same time.

Ibero-American Summit of Innovation in Leadership in Tourism

ITB Berlin will also be the launch pad for the first Ibero-American Summit of Innovation in Leadership in Tourism (CILIT) which will take place in Miami from 27 to 29 May.

The main meeting for leadership in innovation in tourism which brings together government leaders in tourism, presidents of Ibero-American tourism associations and mayors from all over the continent. The summit hopes to share innovative experiences in the public sector involvement in tourism and to formulate a projection of the future of the tourism sector in Ibero-American countries.

A meeting organized by the Florida Institute of Management, the Federation of Chambers of Tourism of Central America and the Caribbean, the Ibero-American Union of Local Council Members, Virtualware and the Spanish universities of Almería and Murcia.

Innoview 2.0 Release

Active Media together with Virtualware will be launching Innoview , the 2.0 version of augmented reality virtual viewer- The version 1.0 was recently installed at the Mall Arena in Barcelona. The viewer based on augmented reality technology, superimposes virtual images on real images, providing multimedia content, adding valuable extra information of the area.  The 12” touch screen incorporated enables user interactivity. In addition, the content editor software, allow user to embed 3D models, virtual bookmarks and links to social networks.

The Atouch Interactive Table will be also presented at the international fair.  This interactive table with a professional Full HD multitouch screen 55 “, includes a powerful multimedia PC, touch technology up to 64 touches and a very unique design.

Agenda

David Moreno, Head of Development, will present Virtualware, on Wednesday January 30, at 12:45 at in the auditorium of Fitur & Export Know-How.  Next day, he will participate in the activities AECIT (Spanish Association of Scientific Experts in Tourism) presenting “Augmented reality for the enhancing tourism resources”

The Festival’s four main events are a professional conference on serious games and gamification, a play zone with activities for the general public at Alhóndiga Bilbao, lectures on fun games and an award gala giving prizes to the best games of 2012.

The Serious Game and Gamification Conferencewill draw some of the most renowned experts in the sector, like Samir Abou-Samra, CTO of DigiPen Corporation USA; Rod Nelson, Senior Performance Engineer at Lotus F1 Team; Scott Schnaars, General Manager of EMEA at Badgeville, global leader in the gamification sector; or Sue Bohle, Executive Director of the Serious Game Association and founder of The Bohle Company.

Among those speakers is Javier Álvarez, Health Business Unit Manager of Virtualware  who will explain how  patients suffering from multiple sclerosis use VirtualRehab platform created by Virtualware to enhance their quality of life.

Award Gala

After the conference, there will be an Award Gala celebrating the best fun and serious games of 2012. It will be at the Campos Elíseos Theatre on 29 November. Artists, sports stars and celebrities will come to Bilbao and go down the red carpet to attend this major event. Bilbao’s week dedicated to video games will take up several venues in town: the Euskalduna Conference Centre and Concert Hall, the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao, the Campos Elíseos Theatre and Alhóndiga Bilbao.

The Fun & Serious Game Festival is sponsored by the Government of the Basque Country, Bilbao Town Hall and the Provincial Government of Bizkaia, with the cooperation of El Corte Inglés, HP, Intel and aDeSe, and strategically supported by the renowned Bilbao-based American game education centre DigiPen, Virtualware and ESL.

 The event constitutes one of the most important interactive and virtual technologies applied to archaeology in Europe.

Archeovirtual is the biggest European exhibition of virtual archaeology projects and virtual museums, organised within the Mediterranean Expo of Archaeological Tourism (BMTA) in Paestum, Italy.

From 2011 is co-organised by V-MUST.NET, under the direction of CNR ITABC.  A unique opportunity to travel: around the world, entering ancient sites and monument, listening to several stories coming from the past and from the future.

The best applications in 6 categories: computer animation, mobile applications, touch interaction, desktop VR, natural interaction and emerging technologies were presented during the event.

Between the projects selected from different countries such as Greece, Italy, Egypt and Ireland, Giza Reconstruction has been awarded in the category Touch Applications.

The two-day Winter Conference takes place in Prague and it is organized in association with RIMS, the umbrella organization for MS clinics and MS professionals.
 

Subjects include the use of social media in our work for and with Persons with MS and specialised mobile phone apps in rehabilitation issues. You will also receive a copy of the brand new Recommendations for MS Rehabilitation in Europe and have ample time for networking with MS patient advocates from all over Europe and MS professionals belonging to the RIMS network.

The conference is aimed at senior managers and communications professionals working with or for MS Societies and existing or potential RIMS members from European countries who want to learn and share experiences both on the patient and professional level.

Julio Álvarez, Healt Business Unit Manager, together with Pedro Carrascal CEO MS Society of Spain (FELEM), will participate  in  How to make it happen: successful use of social media and other IT Solutions- Panel presenting  “Kinect supported rehabilitation for PwMS” on 28^th November at 13:50.

About EMSP– European Multiple Sclerosis Platforma

Founded in 1989, EMSP is the umbrella organisation for 38 MS societies from 34 European countries. EMSP represents their interests at the European level and works to achieve its goals of high quality equitable treatment and support for persons with multiple sclerosis throughout Europe

It is an essential event in the museums and heritage calendar to share best practice and debate the future priorities of the sector.

Virtualware will be showcasing at stand 69 some of their recent museum and heritage projects, audio-visual systems and immersive solutions related to museums and visitor experiences

On Thursday 8 November at 11:30, Virtualware will be presenting real world case studies of interactive experiences, such as Virtual Gizah (Egypt), and San Fermin running of the bulls, and “Time Cave”, Atapuerca Foundation) the first space of its kind in Europe, which transports the visitor to the prehistoric past in a virtual journey to the depths of the site in the Atapuerca mountain range.

Apart from that, Virtualware will launch internationally the Atouch Interactive Table, an interactive solution that allows various persons to interact and collaborate in true multi-touch fashion on a professional 55” LED screen with brilliant graphics quality, with an elegant design.

The comprehensive solution being proposed is underpinned by the concept of sustainable and energy-efficient architectural space comprising the latest interactive school equipment, and digital interactive teaching content; it consists of:

• Active equipment for flexible, collaborative educational spaces.
• Universal access system.
• New interactive teaching systems (augmented reality systems for training, and serious games).
• Sustainable design of the smart educational building and of the interior and exterior space for interaction.
• Construction solutions for educational buildings that are energy self-sufficient and comfortable.
• Smart system for the monitoring, control and maintenance of energy self-sufficient, comfortable, educational buildings that incorporate emotional scenarios for learning.
• Environmental intelligence system that carries out the intelligent Management and co-ordination between the equipment, the infrastructure of the buildings/spaces (environments), and the teaching content.

The consortium is made up of the following companies: Burdinola, Akaba, Ojmar, Virtualware, Alecop, Giroa and LKS Ingeniera S.Coop., and has the support of HABIC —the Basque Habitat Cluster— and Contract —a Cluster which came about to improve the competitiveness and profitability of the companies in the sector that equipsbuildings—. Mondragon University and TECNALIA Research and Innovation are also participating.