Zerolight

Member Article

Major recruitment at Eutechnyx follows ground breaking showroom tech

The boss of Gateshead-based games developer & publisher Eutechnyx says its new virtual reality division is likely to become as big as its current 110-strong game operation.

Darren Jobling, who has recently taken over as chief executive from his brother Brian, says the firm is now on a major recruitment drive to fuel its ZeroLight division which specialises in interactive virtual showrooms.

ZeroLight, which was a top secret operation until recently and previously revealed on Bdaily, has ignited the interest of the global automotive industry as it allows manufacturers to show ultra-realistic, life-size digital imaging of their cars, in every permutation of spec.

Darren said: “We’ve been making driving games since 1996, and ZeroLight was a logical progression. IBM approached us along with a major manufacturer who wanted to do something to revamp the antiquated business of selling cars.

“We selected a team of Eutechnyx staff and posted them off to a separate location to start working on the project and now we’re piloting the system in six showrooms across the world, including Leeds, Edinburgh, Moscow, New Jersey, Shanghai, Hong Kong and Frankfurt.”

The technology allows dealers to present the model to customers and customise any detail instantly.

Buyers will peruse the car in much the same way they would in a normal showroom environment.

A sensor follows the customer’s actions, allowing them to walk round the vehicle, open the bonnet, peer under the chassis and even hop in the driving seat.

Excitement is building among manufacturers who see ZeroLight as a way to promote top spec models to customers and penetrate emerging markets where it is difficult to ship numerous showroom cars.

Darren added: “We were speaking with a German manufacturer at the Frankfurt Motor Show recently who said that while photographs and graphics can excite customers, our product also delivers ‘an experience.’

“We recently secured a deal to provide ZeroLight to one of the world leaders in the virtual showroom space. They’ve found that a high proportion of cars sold through digital showrooms are the higher specs, and that’s because dealers can instantly demonstrate the advantages of different configurations, such as what alloy wheel or different interior options look like.”

Virtual reality showrooms do exist in the market but often require up to a quarter of a million pounds’ worth of server equipment. ZeroLight can be run on something as small as a £3,000 PC.

The ZeroLight division is a business partner of IBM and has the backing of Dutch venture capitalists, Prime Ventures and Newcastle-based Northstar Ventures.

ZeroLight will operate on a Software as a Service (SaaS) licensing model - something of a role reversal for the developers who are used to paying car manufacturers for a licence to use their cars in Eutechnyx’ games.

The success of the ZeroLight division means that Eutechnyx is on a major recruitment drive to find talented new team members to join its head office in Gateshead. Darren Jobling says that Eutechnyx welcomes applicants from a range of disciplines and added: “Eutechnyx staff can work on cutting edge game and technology projects such as ZeroLight right here in the North East of England. These are world class jobs supporting world class projects and are a great opportunity for residents of the region and those looking to relocate.”

Current opportunities are listed on the Eutechnyx recruitment pages http://www.eutechnyx.com/recruitment.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Tom Keighley .

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