3D visualization isn’t kids’ play anymore but telling you that isn’t enough; I’ve got to show you.

That’s why Tom, Dan and I created our travelling Terris roadshow, compact enough to fit into a U-Haul trailer but expansive enough to provide our audiences with a true 3D immersive experience, whether on a big wall-mounted screen or small laptop.

I’ve been fascinated by the power of 3D visualization since my first View-Master 3D stereoscopic image viewer back in the early 1970’s, and I’ve watched its evolution within the film and gaming sectors move through various stages, from clunky to smooth, from anaglyph (red/cyan) glasses to active glasses and now glasses-free displays.

However, if your point of reference is that last “[insert name here] in 3D” movie you saw, complete with the plastic 3D glasses and cheesy Hollywood “coming right towards you” visual effects, it can be hard to understand how a technology that to-date has mainly entertained, can now also help solve real-world problems.

I know our 3D visualization can help decision-makers make critical decisions, but I’ve learned potential customers and investors don’t want me to tell them that; they want to see it for themselves.

Enter our 3D Technology Experience. During a recent two-day trip to Halifax, we saw the power of getting our cutting-edge technology in front of people. 

All our conversations started the same: after some small talk, our guests would dive in, peppering us with the standard questions investors and potential new customers ask start-up founders. Questions about commercialization, usability, market reach and our path to revenue.

But, the second we switched on our tech, the conversation changed. Whatever perception of 3D visualization each person brought into the room was gone, replaced with the new reality of what 3D visualization actually is and where it is going.

Now we were talking about possibilities.

That’s when they started talking to us about their challenges and opportunities, and because we were talking one-to-one in a hotel conference suite rather than on a crowded and noisy trade show floor, we had time to take a deep dive and really explore how our combination of 3D visualization and AI-driven analytics can facilitate faster and more informed decision-making for any place on earth.

Rather than a 10-minute conversation, we had hour-long conversations; instead of exchanging business cards, we invested in building relationships.

That’s where the true value lies.  

It’s why Tom, Dan and I are getting ready to return to Halifax for the grand opening of The PIER marine innovation centre on November 24/25.

We’ve been invited by Andrew Black, executive director of The PIER, a sector-focused living lab created by the Halifax Port Authority to develop next-gen solutions for maritime transportation and logistics.  We have recently become an ecosystem partner with The PIER, and are looking forward to diving in to explore how we can help. I know we can and now we’re ready to show it because seeing isn’t just believing; it’s the all-access backstage pass.