Hiverlab, a trusted VR/AR company in Singapore, is driving digital transformation with emerging technologies to redefine human interactions for an innovative and inclusive world.

Hiverlab’s platform and solutions cover a range of latest technologies, like data analytics, Virtual, Augmented and Mixed Reality (AR / VR / MR), cloud computing, etc., to empower organizations around the world to build their future digital infrastructure in education, communication, and operations. The pioneering infocomm media technology innovation and content production company offers highly advanced and refined virtual reality solutions for its clients.

Currently focusing on immersive technology and media (VR, AR, MR), the company’s creative content, application, and proprietary system/platform named Storyhive is widely used for corporate communication, marketing campaigns, public events, virtual tourism, training, and education. With a multi-disciplinary team behind many ground-breaking projects, the company managed to establish long-term strategic partnerships with industry players such as Samsung, Huawei, or Autodesk, to name a few.

With a strong background in both content and technology, its VR and AR studio in Singapore strives to advance storytelling and communication experiences with innovative media technology, to enhance human cognitive capabilities. The company’s solutions blend creativity, technical brilliance, imagination, and precision to deliver remarkable benefits: 360º Storytelling delivers your stories in 360º videos online or through mobile apps, your audience can get involved in a holistic experience by crafting an interactive immersive application for your specific target group, and you can share your own VR content with your audience through Storyhive, Hiverlab's multi-user VR AR communication platform.

Educational institutions, for instance, are currently facing the great challenge of enabling information, communication, and meetings despite contact restrictions and social distancing rules. Virtual reality solutions offer a modern digital alternative to inform, teach, meet, and communicate as contactless as possible. Digital offers such as virtual 360° tours and other applications of VR are therefore becoming increasingly important. In other words, virtual reality plays an essential role in the creation of innovative, digital offers in the future, as they go far beyond the possibilities of conventional Internet presences. To no surprise, there is currently a great demand for 360° tours in educational institutions, since "open house" and similar information events cannot take place at the moment.

However, immersive technology offers marketers an unlimited array of benefits, be it the acceleration of the purchasing process, improved buyer awareness or an exciting and immersive experience in their marketing campaigns.

Panduit, for instance, launched a couple of VR experiences on Hiverlab’s Storyhive platform to showcase their products for their regional VR marketing campaign across 6 countries in Southeast Asia (Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam, Thailand, Philippines) during Cisco Connect 2019. The company made use of the latest functions on Storyhive, which allows them to put product links in the project description section, so that interested clients of Panduit could proceed to the product sites directly from Storyhive app and purchase the products.

And in collaboration with Burning Bush Films, Hiverlab has been involved in producing two energetic projects for Toyota: (1) Hiverlab joined two professional downhill mountain bikers on their Toyota Hilux during their exciting ride to Mt. Pinatubo in the Philippines (Toyota Hilux VR Experience) where they travelled across the depopulated zone with extremely tough terrains; (2) Toyota Gazoo VR Experience allows users to join some celebrity drivers and witness the thrilling Toyota Vios Cup 2017 competition from different and exclusive angles. This experience was even equipped with spatial sound to give a fully immersive and edge-of-your-seat.

I personally like VR campaigns like the one from Vital Farms that allows consumers to take a 360° look at the specific farm their eggs came from, as part of the company’s Traceability program; or the brilliant idea of the retailer JC Penny launching a mobile ad campaign that allows brides to virtually try on engagement rings when they click on an ad.

In general, such virtual try-ons got a lot of attention in the past few years with established brands, like Nike and Gucci, showing us how immersive functionality helps shoppers more accurately visualize items and that of course strengthens purchase confidence. On top of that, photo-saving capabilities encourage sharing with friends/family and by linking the AR feature to mobile ads, the department store chain can target potential brides and get in touch with this high-value audience easily.

By Daniela La Marca