Our Immersive Team will offer Virtual, Augmented and Mixed Reality

Following on from the success of the Virtual 1620 Mayflower & Barbican project, we have appointed Professor Bob Stone, Emeritus Professor in XR and Human Factors at the University of Birmingham, to lead the Bluestone360 Immersive team.

Bluestone360 Immersive will exist alongside the existing branding, creative and consumer experience team. This addition of Augmented, Virtual and Mixed Reality will ensure that our clients have access to the latest immersive technologies. This will provide exciting brand engagement opportunities for our clients, whether that be virtual destinations, immersive learning or well-being care experiences.

Over the years there have been many false and unrealistic promises as to what the technology can deliver. Working with one of the world’s foremost experts with over 34 years in the field will ensure Bluestone360’s clients are in good hands. Professor Bob Stone has worked in many areas, including aerospace, healthcare and education, working with companies such as BAE Systems, British Nuclear Fuels, and the European and Russian Space Agencies.

Virtual Wembury MotoMedView. This Virtual Restorative Environment Therapy (VRET) project aims to exploit simulated restorative environments to deliver similar benefits to those individuals who are unable to access and experience real natural environments.
James Eagan Layne.

Woman using a VR headset to access the Virtual 1620 Mayflower & Barbican project. This lady was one of the attendees at the Tamar/Tavy Civil Servants Retirement Fellowship meeting, held at the Burrator Inn in Dousland in 2017. She is using an HTC Vive VR headset and Xbox gaming controller to explore an early version of the Virtual Mayflower.
Virtual 1620 Mayflower & Barbican Project. Mayflower with the pilgrims aboard departing from the Barbican, which is seen in the background.

Some other examples of the work includes:

  • A 3D Matterport scan of the Mayflower Memorial on Plymouth’s Barbican, commemorating the departure of the Pilgrims in 1620 can be seen here.
  • A 3D Matterport scan of Plymouth Barbican’s Southside Street and the historic Jacka Bakery can be seen here.
  • A 3D Matterport scan of the Cattewater Harbour Commissioners’ Boardroom (Barbican, Plymouth) – the office frontage can be seen in the separate Mayflower Memorial scan can be viewed here.
  • A Matterport 3D Scan of the Battery B Upper Tunnels on Drake’s Island – showing the remains of old military ordnance lifts to surface guns, main magazine lift points and miscellaneous storage chambers can be seen here.
  • Drone survey and model of Drakes island can be viewed here.
  • Aircraft museum – A 3D walk through can be seen here.

Professor Bob Stone said: “We’re really looking forward to developing an unbeatable virtual, augmented and mixed reality capability with Bluestone360, based on a decade of research and development projects undertaken in the area, from submarine training at Devonport, to healthcare and heritage projects exploiting the rich coastline and moorland region of the South-West. It’s taken some time to find a local company we feel comfortable working with, but the synergies that exist between our two organisations offer exciting opportunities for the future”.

Interaction with a brand across various touchpoints is how people build trust in a brand. Creating new experiences feeds on our innate human curiosity to explore. Brands that can offer something new are more likely to be seen, heard and remembered by those that matter the most to them.

Bluestone360’s Managing Director, Steve Kyffin, says “This is an exciting opportunity with one of the leading experts in the field. We can use the latest developments to help our clients innovate, engage and help their customers and consumers in so many ways, working with new talent under the expert eye of Professor Bob Stone who has been recently recognised for the groundbreaking work that he does.”

Read more about the Virtual 1620 Mayflower & Barbican Project, and see how history was brought back to life.

You can also read more about our Immersive Team here.