Giorgio Ballestin is a Technical Product Manager and XR specialist at MARIN, the Netherlands’ maritime research institute, where he owns the XR development roadmap and helps shape long-term simulation and digital twin capabilities. In this episode, we unpack how MARIN’s ship handling simulators evolved from large CAVE and motion-platform bridge systems into hybrid setups that add VR for deck-level and off-bridge operations. Giorgio explains why VR adoption is slower than it looks on paper, including cybersickness, interaction design, and the lack of industry standards. You will learn how MARIN combines in-house hydrodynamics models with Unreal Engine visualization, where high fidelity matters and where it does not, and how multi-user scenarios are orchestrated by instructors and researchers. We also cover security constraints, local-first stacks, and why physical props and tracking often beat camera-based mixed reality.
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A single Cascadeur post on X triggered an uproar on social media. From excitement to hatred, the community of professionals and creatives voiced their feelings, asked legitimate questions and tried to understand how AI is reshaping the work of animators. To answer these questions, I talked with Alexander Grishanin, CTO of Cascadeur, who explains how Cascadeur defines AI versus machine learning, what is the state of the art when it comes to “procedural motion”, the ethical implications around training data and the impact AI is having on professional animation workflows.
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Asim Ahmed, multi-award-winning game developer and head of product marketing at Niantic Spatial, joins the show to break down how geospatial AI is reshaping both digital experiences and real world infrastructure. As one of the early marketing leaders behind Pokémon GO and a key force behind the Peridot franchise across mobile, mixed reality and AR glasses, Asim explains how Niantic Spatial is building a large geospatial model that gives machines a true understanding of the physical world. Listeners will learn how reconstruction, localization and semantic understanding work together, why spatial intelligence matters for robotics, inspection, logistics and entertainment, and how new partnerships with Snap, Meta, Apple and Meow Wolf are shaping the next generation of immersive products. He also shares how embodied AI companions like Project Jade may change how we navigate cities, workplaces and daily life.

Subscribe to XR AI Spotlight weekly newsletter 👉 https://xraispotlight.substack.com/

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