Follow Innovate UK on the latest Global Expert Mission in Immersive Technologies to Canada

From 10 to 18 January 2024, Innovate UK in partnership with UK Science and Innovation travels to Canada to focus on potential markets for collaboration in immersive technologies.

Canada’s immersive technology landscape

Canada’s immersive technology industry has a near equal distribution of product and service companies. Product companies, which account for approximately 50% of the Canadian immersive technology segment, supply products such as video games and VR experiences for entertainment and sports purposes, and content development tools. Service companies, which build custom ICT solutions for their clients at a billable rate, account for 46% of Canadian immersive technology companies, while hybrid product-service companies account for the remaining 4%.

Increasingly, immersive technology companies operate in sectors outside the entertainment industry. In recent years, new use cases for Virtual Reality (VR), Augmented Reality (AR), and Mixed Reality (MR) have expanded their reach beyond entertainment.

In 2020, 81% of Canada’s immersive technology companies operate in industries such as national defence and first response; the medical and pharmaceutical industries; real estate; manufacturing and heavy machinery; and energy, mining, and other parts of the natural resources sector.

Exploring the cross-sector applications of immersive technologies

In this context, Innovate UK will deliver an in-person Global Expert Mission in January 2024, where a group of UK experts will meet private and public sector organisations in Canada to better understand the immersive technologies landscape and explore the potential for collaboration in the sector. The mission predominantly seeks to explore the cross-sector applications of immersive technologies in various sectors, including health, engineering, manufacturing, education and training. The areas of interest include: Virtual Reality, Augmented Reality, Mixed Reality and Extended Reality technologies and capabilities; haptics, sonics and advanced sensory interfaces; advanced visualisation and display technologies; and real-time and associated production technologies.

“The Global Expert Mission on immersive technology is a perfect opportunity for Innovate UK to assess the research and innovation ecosystem in Canada. The visit will help us to understand how we can support UK businesses to expand globally and partner with innovative organisations in Canada on cross-sector applications of immersive technologies in various sectors.”

Helen Fairclough, Innovation Lead, Global Expert Missions, Innovate UK KTN

The team are looking forward to expanding international collaborations and will report back next month. Follow us on Twitter: @IUK_Global and #ImmersiveTechGEM.

About Global Expert Missions

Global Expert Missions (GEM) are funded by Innovate UK and designed to build international collaborations with governments, societies, enterprises, institutions, and people from every corner of the globe. With global challenges requiring international perspectives, the programme aims to support the UK government’s ambition to be the international partner of choice and a global hub for innovation by 2035.