Alumnus breaks ground with interactive virtual reality

November 7, 2011

Source: Advancement and Alumni Relations

"I love to hear clients say ‘wow’,” says Concordia alumnus Stephen Roy, BEng 98, MBA 10. He’s the co-founder of AeonVirtual, which produces spectacular real-time, interactive virtual reality that’s the first of its kind.

Stephen Roy, BEng 98, MBA 10, (right) and his business partner Martijn Steinrucken demonstrate their touch screen technology at Montreal developer Solano's showroom.

The technology is being used to show potential homebuyers exactly what an as-yet unbuilt condo unit will look like. How does it work?

Imagine you’re walking around in a video game-like setting, exploring the unit you may want to buy, moving from room to room, fully experiencing the space, looking out at the view of the city exactly as it will be in real life.

The technology is a hit with real estate developers. AeonVirtual created an entire 11,000-square-foot luxury penthouse—to become Canada’s largest—in interactive virtual reality for Montreal-based developer Canderel Stoneridge.

Using touch-screen technology, potential buyers can explore the whole space and change the paint on the walls, the countertop and flooring materials, even the time of day to experience their future home during the day or night. You can see the reflection of the chandelier on the shining marble floor and the texture of the furniture. Walk up closer to inspect details, including the text on the wine label.

AeonVirtual’s technology is so true to life that it takes much of the mystery out of buying from plans. “Old technologies [images and video] were of limited use,” says Roy. “Interactive technology is engaging and builds confidence for buyers. It creates a connection on an emotional level when people can imagine their kids playing in the space, when they can see exactly what it’s going to look like when they get up in the morning and pour their orange juice.”

Roy started the business in late 2009 with his best friend, Martijn Steinrucken, whose background is in computer graphics. The two experimented with a few business ideas and, working with real estate industry leaders, came up with the concept for AeonVirtual. Two years of research and development brought those concepts to life.

While Steinrucken, as chief technology officer, oversees the technological aspects and Roy, as CEO, handles the rest, all decisions are made jointly. “It’s a true partnership. We are often up until all hours discussing the industry and ways of improving the technology.” The company counts a dozen employees, half in Montreal and the rest in Eastern Europe. Roy just hired a new sales executive to tap the booming construction market in Dubai.

The company has been handling massive projects. Working with Saudi developer Tanmiyat, which is building a city in Mauritania from scratch, AeonVirtual created the entire city in interactive virtual reality. They unveiled the touch screen in front of Mauritania’s president, who interacted with the eight-square-kilometre city in virtual reality, on the country’s national news channel.

While it’s succeeding very well in real estate, the AeonVirtual team has broader interests. “We created a virtual nuclear power plant, which is now used for safety training purposes,” says Roy. “We’re also creating touch screens for shopping malls, airports and university campuses to help people find their way around.” He is now looking to aviation and yachting—modeling interiors of luxury craft—as prospects.

Roy isn’t motivated by profit, but by seeing buyers and sellers better able to realize their dreams: “The way to be a success is to make someone else successful first.”

As for his Concordia education, Roy feels it serves him well. “We’re breaking ground here at AeonVirtual and I find myself calling old classmates to discuss business challenges. It’s like working on case competitions during my MBA—which provided great training for the real world.”