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hedgehog lab looks to VR market with latest appointment

Newcastle-based APP developer hedgehog lab has brought Shaun Allan on board as Director of Immersive Technologies.

Mr Allan, whose talents recently proved key to NewcastleGateshead winning the bid to host the Great Exhibition of the North, will be tasked with setting up and overseeing a new VR, AR and MR division.

hedgehog lab, which this year grew revenues by 160%, will also invest a six figure sum in a custom VR space with hi-tech equipment, as well as extensive R&D.

CEO Sarat Pediredla said: “With the interest we’re seeing in this technology, the time was right to invest. And since most VR is mobile now, this was a natural step in our long-term focus as a ‘post-PC’ technology consultancy.”

He added that Mr Allan was an “obvious fit”, coming with great credentials and a similar approach to workplace culture.

“We’ve got multiple projects lined up in this space and expect VR to contribute a significant proportion of revenue within three years,” he said.

With previous experience in graphic design, videogames and the music industry, Mr Allan first recognised the potential of virtual reality in 2007 while on a training trip to Dublin as head of the web team at the University of Sunderland.

He had never visited the city before, but found he knew it well - purely through experiencing virtual Dublin within the Second Life platform.

“On the flight back, I decided to set up a VR company, bought a virtual island and built a virtual NewcastleGateshead,” he said.

The project was a success, boosted by a virtual performance from musician Little Boots to coincide with her appearance at the Evolution festival.

Other major projects Mr Allan has been involved in include building a virtual version of South Shields Community School and creating an augmented reality app for the Road Respect campaign.

Of his most recent high profile project win, he said: “NewcastleGateshead Initiative contacted me to say they were putting in a bid for a major DCMS project and had been told by Tech North I was the person to speak to.

“Over a couple of weeks, we collected lots of content for the pitch and flew a drone with a 3D camera attached to it over the Tyne. The content was then used to produce a 360vr immersive video to support the bid.

“When the judges put on their VR headsets, they were totally immersed in the city. We’re now working to bring the best of this technology to the event itself in 2018.”

Mr Allan added that he looked forward to bringing his experience to hedgehog lab - as well as continuing good relationships with the likes of Oculus, HTC, Microsoft, Google and Samsung.

“The ethos of the company is similar to mine and we have a shared vision on how important VR will be over the next couple of years “ he said.

As well as the move into immersive technology, 2017 will see hedgehog lab expand its business model by beginning to look at how it can develop its own products on top of its work as an agency.

To facilitate this, Mark Forster - a co-founder of the company and previously Chief Operations Officer - has moved into a new Chief Product Officer role, leading strategically on hedgehog lab’s own projects and joint ventures, and taking responsibility for innovation.

Mr Forster said: “I am delighted to take the lead on this major turning point for hedgehog lab, which provides our hugely talented team with the chance to demonstrate their true capabilities.

“Over the past few years, we have been able to hire many gifted individuals; this is a way of empowering them to use their creative talents to the full.”

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