Last Wednesday during Global Entrepreneurship Week, 150 people turned out for Innovate Sac, an event to explore the exhibits of regional innovators and also hear from civic leaders and technology thought-leaders about how we can leverage emerging technologies to transform Sacramento into an innovation hub.
Following the theme of emerging technologies, one local entrepreneur brought along a 360 degree virtual reality camera to record the event. Michael Purnell, founder of local startup Sievent (and member of Board of Directors of StartupSac) has been experimenting with the use of 360 degree VR cameras to provide an augmented experience at events. Sievent’s 360 platform provides attendees with extraordinary access and profound immersion to amazing festivals, sports and music events.
Below are a couple of videos of the event, one of Mayor Darrel Steinberg’s address and the other of keynote speaker Aaron Frank. You can view this with a VR headset (Oculus, Google Cardboard) by pressing the Headset button (bottom right).
Headset Button
If you don’t have a VR headset you can still watch the videos below and even move the view around. How cool is that!
Mayor Darrell Steinberg
Aaron Frank Keynote
The primary purpose of the Innovate Sac event was to launch the Sacramento Urban Technology Lab (SUTL). SUTL is a vision from the City of Sacramento’s Mayor’s Office for Innovation and Entrepreneurship of government, academia and industry collaborating to transform Sacramento into a living laboratory for entrepreneurs, advanced technology businesses, and academic institutions to test, develop, and scale their ideas, products, and services.
Speakers included Robert Nelsen, President of Sacramento State, Darrell Steinberg, Mayor of the City of Sacramento, keynote address by Aaron Frank from Singularity University, Austin Brown, the Executive Director for the UC Davis Policy Institute for Energy, Environment, and the Economy, and Louis Stewart, Chief Innovation Officer for the City of Sacramento.
