In this episode we talk with Thomas Flynn, a digital heritage specialist with deep experience in 3D digitisation, open access, and online publishing. Thomas has worked with UNESCO, Europeana, Oxford University, Creative Commons, and served as cultural heritage lead at Sketchfab, where he helped launch the British Museum's first open 3D collection. In this conversation, he explains how museums and cultural organisations think about 3D capture, what Gaussian splatting can and cannot do for heritage workflows, and why long term storage, metadata, and interoperability matter just as much as scanning quality. He breaks down real examples of 3D printing for visitor engagement, web based publishing options, VR use cases, and the growing challenge of managing massive data sets.

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

***

CONNECT WITH OUR GUEST

⁠💼 ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Linkedin⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

⁠🔗 ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Newsletter⁠⁠⁠

***

CONNECT WITH ME

🐤⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠X (Twitter)⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠

💼 ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Linkedin⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

🔗⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Link-in Bio⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

***

PAST EPISODES

🎙️ ⁠⁠⁠⁠Show Website⁠⁠⁠⁠

🟢 ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

🍎⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Apple Podcast

Mila is a PhD student in Switzerland and a researcher of social VR culture, known for a multi-year survey series on metaverse identity, harassment, and now virtual economies. In this episode, we unpack what people actually do in worlds like VRChat, and why platform design shapes everything from avatar choices to spending habits. Mila explains the shift toward semi-humanoid avatars, why many male users present as feminine, and how researchers handle sensitive questions across English and Japanese. We also dig into money flows, from avatar fashion and seasonal drops to tipping performers, paid events, and services like tarot readings, plus what it means when users spend thousands on headsets, PCs, and full-body tracking.

Subscribe to XR AI Spotlight weekly newsletter 👉 https://xraispotlight.substack.com/
***
CONNECT WITH OUR GUEST
⁠💼 ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Linkedin⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠
⁠🔗 ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Research

***
CONNECT WITH ME
🐤⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠X (Twitter)⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠
💼 ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Linkedin⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠
🔗⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Link-in Bio⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

***
PAST EPISODES
🎙️ ⁠⁠⁠⁠Show Website⁠⁠⁠⁠
🟢 ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠
🍎⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Apple Podcast

Cayden Pierce, CEO of Mentra, joins the show to discuss how his team is building an operating system for the next generation of personal computing through #smartglasses. Drawing on experience from MIT, building #AI agents, and earlier work with Steve Mann, he explains why all day wearability is the true barrier to mass adoption and how Mentra approaches power, latency, and ergonomics differently. Cayden breaks down the distinct roles of display glasses and camera glasses, why accessibility use cases like captions and support for blind users are leading adoption, and how enterprise workflows benefit from hands-free AI assistance. He also outlines how developers can build with Mentra OS using open web technologies, how emerging opportunities in consulting and enterprise deployment are forming, and what new hardware the company plans to release in 2026.

Subscribe to XR AI Spotlight weekly newsletter 👉 https://xraispotlight.substack.com/
***
CONNECT WITH OUR GUEST
⁠💼 ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Linkedin⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠
⁠🔗 ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Website⁠⁠⁠

***
CONNECT WITH ME
🐤⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠X (Twitter)⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠
💼 ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Linkedin⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠
🔗⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Link-in Bio⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

***
PAST EPISODES
🎙️ ⁠⁠⁠⁠Show Website⁠⁠⁠⁠
🟢 ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠
🍎⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Apple Podcast

Nuno Leiria, founder and CEO of Nilo and former performance lead for Unreal Engine 5 and Fortnite at Epic Games, breaks down how Nilo lets anyone build playable 3D worlds in the browser in minutes without complex #GameEngines. He explains the sketch to #3D pipeline, where #AI handles modelling, rigging, animation, and starter code, and why latency is the key design constraint. We dig into real-time co-creation, remixable templates, and “creative generation” that assembles complex scenes from primitives. Nuno also shares how aspiring builders from #Roblox or Minecraft can ramp up without learning traditional DCC tools and monetise their creations.
Subscribe to XR AI Spotlight weekly newsletter 👉 https://xraispotlight.substack.com/
***
CONNECT WITH OUR GUEST
⁠💼 ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Linkedin⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠
⁠🔗 ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Website⁠⁠⁠

***
CONNECT WITH ME
🐤⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠X (Twitter)⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠
💼 ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Linkedin⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠
🔗⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Link-in Bio⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

***
PAST EPISODES
🎙️ ⁠⁠⁠⁠Show Website⁠⁠⁠⁠
🟢 ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠
🍎⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Apple Podcast

Viren Tellis, co-founder and CEO of Uthana, joins the show to discuss how generative AI is reshaping motion creation for games, VFX, and interactive worlds. With over 15 years of experience leading product and operations teams at AppNexus and Hedado, Viren explains how Uthana’s technology can generate animation from text, video, or even in real time, giving creators instant, controllable motion without traditional mocap setups. He breaks down how developers use Uthana’s SDKs and APIs in Unreal, Unity, and web platforms, what defines high-quality motion, and how foundation models for human movement could power the next generation of AI-driven characters.

Subscribe to XR AI Spotlight weekly newsletter 👉 https://xraispotlight.substack.com/
***
CONNECT WITH OUR GUEST
⁠💼 ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Linkedin⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠
⁠🔗 ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Website⁠⁠⁠

***
CONNECT WITH ME
🐤⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠X (Twitter)⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠
💼 ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Linkedin⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠
🔗⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Link-in Bio⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

***
PAST EPISODES
🎙️ ⁠⁠⁠⁠Show Website⁠⁠⁠⁠
🟢 ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠
🍎⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Apple Podcast

Tejas Kulkarni, CEO of Common Sense Machines and PhD in Brain and Cognitive Sciences and AI from MIT, explains how CSM turns images and sketches into game-engine ready 3D assets. He breaks down why CSM ranked highly on the 3D Arena human evaluation, what “good” means in 3D generation, and how geometry, texture, topology, and parts segmentation affect real workflows. We discuss modular pipelines, UV mapping, controllability, and integration with Blender, Maya, Unity, and Unreal. Tejas contrasts mesh pipelines with splats and NeRFs, then argues that neural network driven game engines are coming, with artists guiding structure while networks fill detail. He also tackles ethics, brain hacking loops, and adoption advice for students and studios. Listeners get concrete guidance on quality metrics, parts based editing, and near term toolchain decisions.

Subscribe to XR AI Spotlight weekly newsletter 👉 https://xraispotlight.substack.com/
***
CONNECT WITH OUR GUEST
⁠💼 ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Linkedin⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠
⁠🔗 ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Website⁠⁠⁠

***
CONNECT WITH ME
🐤⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠X (Twitter)⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠
💼 ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Linkedin⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠
🔗⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Link-in Bio⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

***
PAST EPISODES
🎙️ ⁠⁠⁠⁠Show Website⁠⁠⁠⁠
🟢 ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠
🍎⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Apple Podcast

Nikola Todorovic, filmmaker, VFX supervisor, and co-founder of Wonder Dynamics (now Autodesk’s Flow Studio), shares how AI is reshaping 3D animation and post-production. In this episode, he explains how Flow Studio simplifies motion capture and compositing through video-based mocap, motion prediction, and automatic generation of passes like lighting and camera tracking. Nikola discusses the shift from black-box AI tools to transparent, editable workflows, the importance of synthetic data, and the tension between human creativity and automation. He also reflects on how AI can expand access for indie creators while elevating professional pipelines. Listeners will gain insight into the future of VFX, synthetic data training, and the evolving role of artists in AI-driven production.
Subscribe to XR AI Spotlight weekly newsletter 👉 https://xraispotlight.substack.com/
***
CONNECT WITH OUR GUEST
⁠💼 ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Linkedin⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠
⁠🔗 ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Website⁠⁠⁠

***
CONNECT WITH ME
🐤⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠X (Twitter)⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠
💼 ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Linkedin⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠
🔗⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Link-in Bio⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

***
PAST EPISODES
🎙️ ⁠⁠⁠⁠Show Website⁠⁠⁠⁠
🟢 ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠
🍎⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Apple Podcast

Will Eastcott, CEO of PlayCanvas and veteran of EA, Sony, and Activision with credits on GTA, Call of Duty, and Max Payne, explains how Gaussian splatting is moving from experiments to production. He breaks down SuperSplat, an open source editor for cropping, recoloring, and optimizing splats for the web, and details a streaming level of detail system that scales from phones to desktops. Will shares how the new SOG format, built on lossless WebP, can cut files by up to 95 % while preserving quality. You will learn practical capture options like lidar based rigs, when to use streaming, how to ship WebXR viewers, and where splats are gaining traction in ecommerce, real estate, and cultural heritage.

Subscribe to XR AI Spotlight weekly newsletter 👉 https://xraispotlight.substack.com/
***
CONNECT WITH OUR GUEST
⁠💼 ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Linkedin⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠
⁠🔗 ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Website⁠⁠⁠

***
CONNECT WITH ME
🐤⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠X (Twitter)⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠
💼 ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Linkedin⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠
🔗⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Link-in Bio⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

***
PAST EPISODES
🎙️ ⁠⁠⁠⁠Show Website⁠⁠⁠⁠
🟢 ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠
🍎⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Apple Podcast