Participants at the XR Creator Hackathon. Photo: Special Arrangement
Born with a clubfoot, S. Bala Subramaniyam, 27, a postgraduate from Chennai, was no stranger to mobility challenges and societal biases. Despite holding two Extended Reality (XR) patents, he struggled to find opportunities in the industry. However, the XR Creator Hackathon, organised under the Information and Broadcasting Ministry’s “WAVES” initiative, has provided him with a platform to showcase his ideas.
Wavelaps founder Ashutosh Kumar, who is the nodal officer of the hackathon, told The Hindu: “Mr. Subramaniyam said the XR industry had been difficult to make an entry as most companies prioritised candidates with conventional tech degrees, making it challenging for innovators like him to find a place. However, the XR Creator Hackathon provided him with an opportunity to present his ideas. Mr. Subramaniyam said many individuals, due to physical limitations, are unable to travel for work, education, or medical treatment, but XR technology can break these barriers by bringing the world to them”.
Mr. Subramaniyam’s team, XR Titans, is developing a Virtual Reality solution for enabling remote medical diagnosis and surgery using 3D Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) visualisations. While physiotherapy often is painful, repetitive, and expensive, he is of the view that it can be transformed into an interactive and engaging experience using XR-based gaming.
The challenge which was launched in August 2024 saw registration of over 2,200 aspirants — ranging from hobbyists, working professionals, students, freelance professionals, entrepreneurs, research scholars, and academicians to social workers — from about 250 cities in over 25 States and Union Territories. About 30% of the participants were women.
“In the second round of the challenge, they had to create software and now, during the ongoing third phase, there are 40 teams of finalists, each comprising three to four members. We have also organised meet-ups in Delhi, Maharashtra and Gujarat, to popularise the field. They saw attendance of over a 100 participants. Such meet-ups will also be held soon in Bihar, as some quality entries came from the rural areas of the State, Karnataka (Bengaluru), and Madhya Pradesh (Indore),” said Mr. Kumar.
The XR Creator Hackathon is being organised by Wavelaps in association with the WAVES 2025 initiative of the Ministry. Bharat XR and XDG, two XR communities within India, are co-organisers. “This hackathon is a gateway for XR developers to shape the future of immersive technology and make a meaningful impact. XR/VR are revolutionising the way we experience education and entertainment. They are also creating new possibilities across various industries,” said a government official.
With the WAVES grand finale set from May 1 to 5, the top five teams will showcase their innovations. The finalists are exploring a wide range of domains for XR/VR applications. A significant number of them are focusing on “healthcare, fitness, and well-being” for solutions enhancing medical training, mental wellness, and personalised fitness experiences.
Another key area is educational transformation through creation of virtual learning environments and interactive tools. XR/VR solutions are making learning more immersive and experiential through visualisation of abstract concepts. Virtual labs help students to conduct experiments without any associated risk or cost. In medical and engineering fields, VR empowers skill-based training and opening new possibilities.
Immersive tourism is yet another field attracting innovations related to virtual travel experiences. Besides, the domains of e-Commerce and retail transformation (involving virtual shopping experience, interactive product display, and AI-driven personalisation) and digital media and entertainment (involving storytelling, gaming, and cinematic experiences) are also being explored by the participants, said Mr. Kumar.
Published – February 24, 2025 01:35 am IST
