{"id":10136,"date":"2020-09-17T17:08:09","date_gmt":"2020-09-17T15:08:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.laval-virtual.com\/?p=10136"},"modified":"2020-09-21T15:36:59","modified_gmt":"2020-09-21T13:36:59","slug":"christophe-chartier-co-founder-of-immersion-from-bordeaux-to-singapore","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.laval-virtual.com\/en\/christophe-chartier-co-founder-of-immersion-from-bordeaux-to-singapore\/","title":{"rendered":"Christophe Chartier, co-founder of Immersion: from Bordeaux to Singapore"},"content":{"rendered":"

“European expert in virtual reality<\/a>, augmented reality<\/a> and collaborative solutions for industry and research”. This is what Immersion proudly announces on its website. And indeed, it is one of the pioneering companies in the field of immersive technologies in France. Since its foundation in 1994, it has known and gone through all the evolutions of the sector. Portrait of this major player in VR\/AR through the eyes of its co-founder and CEO, Christophe Chartier”.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

26 years of experience in virtual reality <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

In 1994, Christophe Chartier<\/a>, “27 years old and nothing to lose” decided to create his own company. At his side to start this new adventure, Guillaume Claverie. Both of them were not familiar with virtual reality: “It was really the beginning, at the time we were the only ones. When you look back to 1994, it was inconceivable. The Internet didn’t even exist”<\/em>. It didn’t stop the two friends who therefore created Immersion<\/a>, inspired by a book, simply entitled: “Virtual Reality”.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This book was written by two professors, Grigore Burdea of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Philippe Coiffet of the Paris Robotics Laboratory. “Reading this book inspired us, even though I didn’t have the capacity to understand everything! But what I felt was this ability to put on a headset and be in a digital environment. It’s really extraordinary.<\/em>“<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then everything went very fast. Christophe and Guillaume contacted the people mentioned in the book, while putting together their first catalogue of virtual reality products<\/a> with gloves and helmets, among many other products existing since the 1950s. “These headsets and devices were imported and sold to research centres, industrialists and academics. We grew up with them, observing and discovering the uses of these technologies, the possibilities.<\/strong>“<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rising among the biggest<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Very quickly, Immersion asserted itself with the biggest companies. In the years 2002, the company became involved in large scale projects, notably on a European scale. At Citroën’s request, for the launch of the Xsara Picasso, Immersion provided 70 simulators and 60 headsets. “It was a world first, and therefore a big buzz. It was also a major turning point for us, it helped to anchor the DNA of innovation<\/strong>“<\/em>. In the meantime, the company has grown from 5 to 15 employees, and has considerably increased its activity by initiating customized projects.<\/p>\n\n\n\n