Larry O’Reilly, CEO & Director - ARHT Media
Larry O’Reilly is an accomplished media and entertainment executive currently serving as the CEO of ARHT Media, a global leader in HoloPresence™ communication. Since joining ARHT in February 2018, Larry has focused on monetizing cutting-edge technology that brings celebrities and public figures to audiences worldwide, including luminaries like Stephen Hawking and Prime Minister Trudeau. Previously, he was President of Worldwide Sales at IMAX Corporation, where he played a pivotal role in expanding the IMAX Theatre network from 70 to over 1,400 locations. A graduate of Wilfrid Laurier University with a degree in Political Science and Business, Larry is based in Toronto, Canada, where he continues to innovate and shape the future of immersive media.
Vincent John Vincent, CEO/President and Co-founder - GestureTek Inc. & VJV Interactive Consultants Inc.
Vincent John Vincent is the co-inventor and pioneering innovator of gesture control technology, serving as the CEO/President and Co-founder of GestureTek Inc. For over 38 years, Vincent has played a pivotal role in merging technology and creativity, leading GestureTek to become a global leader in video gesture control. The company has secured over 65 patents, installed more than 8,000 gesture controlled systems worldwide, and impacted over 250 million consumers through various technology/patent licensed consumer devices (EyeToy, Kinect, Toys, and Mobile Phones).
Vincent’s journey began at the University of Waterloo, where he co-invented video gesture control technology with Francis MacDougall in the mid-1980s. Their groundbreaking work laid the foundation for the Gesture Xtreme Virtual World System, enabling users, with their live video image, immersed on the computer screen, to control computer functions through full-body gestures. This technology has found applications in museums, entertainment centers, public digital signage, education, and health facilities (notably with the development of the IREX, Interactive Rehabilitative EXercise System, which enhances rehabilitation outcomes for individuals with various injuries and disabilities).
As the world’s first virtual reality artist, Vincent has delivered over 250 performances globally, blending dance, music, and gesture control into immersive audio-visual experiences.
Vincent and Francis’s innovations continue to inspire the next generation of designers and technologists. Vincent continues exploring the future of interaction at the cutting-edge of gesture analysis and control technology with 3D depth cameras, both through GestureTek, and independent Contractor projects. He has a keen interest in clean energy projects. His work has garnered numerous awards, including a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Canadian New Media Awards, and being inducted into the Digifest Digital Pioneer Hall of Fame. Vincent remains a sought-after speaker, sharing his insights on emerging technologies at conferences around the world.
Bill Buxton, Innovation Advocate and Human-Computer Interaction Expert
Bill Buxton has had a 50+ year romance with human aspects of technology, interaction design, telepresence, multi-modal adaptive designs, access, and the nature of innovation. Morphing from musician to designer/researcher he has practiced his craft at the University of Toronto, Xerox PARC, Alias Research, SGI and Microsoft Research. Awards include four honourary doctorates, co-recipient of an Academy Award for scientific and technical achievement, ACM/SIGCHI Lifetime Achievement Award, and Fellow of the ACM. In Dec. 2023 he was appointed an Officer of the Order of Canada. Writer, speaker and consultant, he is also an Adjunct Professor, University of Toronto, and Distinguished Professor of Industrial Design, TU/Eindhoven. He is currently largely occupied curating his collection of over 900 artifacts documenting the history of interactive technologies. Outside of work, he has a passion for his family, books and the outdoors.