Lucasfilm’s experimental division ILMxLAB, set up to explore the use of immersive technology in storytelling, are heading to NVIDIA’s GTC 2016 conference to share their experiences in bringing realistic virtual reality imagery to life for experiences

Hosted in San Jose, CA, from April 4-7, GTC 2016 is all about GPU computing. And this year, the company is making virtual reality a top topic of the event, with a dedicated VR track featuring 45 talks and sessions from speakers across the industry.

Register for GTC 2016

In one of those sessions, Lucasfilm’s Anthony Cortez from ILMxLAB – fresh from wowing attendees at GDC with their Star Wars: Trials on Tatooine VR experience – is due to share the divisions insight into how they’re leveraging the latest GPU technologies to bring “the highest level of photorealism” to virtual reality experiences. Multi-GPU rendering will be discussed along with leveraging ‘movie quality’ offline rendered 3D assets inside real-time rendered scenes.

See Also: Hands-on: Star Wars ‘Trials on Tatooine’ Let Me Wield the Iconic Lightsaber
See Also: Hands-on: Star Wars ‘Trials on Tatooine’ Let Me Wield the Iconic Lightsaber

ILMxLAB was spun out of Lucasfilm’s legendary special effects house Industrial Light and Magic in 2015 with the express purpose of creating high fidelity immersive experiences that draw upon the organisation’s extensive and beloved intellectual property.

At SXSW this year, the division brought along their Holo-Cinema CAVE technology, allowing attendees to step into the Star Wars and Jurassic Park universes. And more recently, ILMxLAB unveiled its HTC Vive powered experience Star Wars: Trials on Tatooine, which lets players wield the iconic Lightsaber in VR using SteamVR’s motion controllers.

The GTC 2016 conference takes place at the San Jose Convention centre in the heart of Silicon Valley, Califonia between April 4-7. You can find more information on the event here.

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Based in the UK, Paul has been immersed in interactive entertainment for the best part of 27 years and has followed advances in gaming with a passionate fervour. His obsession with graphical fidelity over the years has had him branded a ‘graphics whore’ (which he views as the highest compliment) more than once and he holds a particular candle for the dream of the ultimate immersive gaming experience. Having followed and been disappointed by the original VR explosion of the 90s, he then founded RiftVR.com to follow the new and exciting prospect of the rebirth of VR in products like the Oculus Rift. Paul joined forces with Ben to help build the new Road to VR in preparation for what he sees as VR’s coming of age over the next few years.
  • RavnosCC

    Will the Trials on Tatooine VR Experience be available to consumers when HTC Vive’s ship?

  • Pistol Pete

    Awesome!