With new software, businesses can make virtual reality videos

A new virtual reality company in Boise is developing software that will help businesses make their own immersive marketing and training videos.

The software by VRigami, founded in May, walks non-technical users through the creation of a virtual reality video.

The company was founded by the angel investor Denise Dunlap and game developers Markus Nigrin and Martin Schwarz with business needs in mind. The group noticed that businesses were finding more and more uses for the virtual reality technology, but had to hire a contractor or staff a developer to build a project.

“Our intent is to not do consulting; there are plenty of companies that will build what you need,” Dunlap said. “We want to teach businesses to do it themselves in order to save money.”

VRigami plans to release the beta of its software before the end of the year, after which businesses will be able to follow instructions to build a video compatible with any major virtual reality device.

Inovus Solar, a Boise company that builds solar powered street lights in cities around the world, partnered with VRigami to test the software and said the resulting marketing video helped to save money and attract customers. Nic Kawaguchi, director of marketing at Inovus, said the software meant the company didn’t have to spend $1,000 shipping its 200-pound, 15-foot-tall light pole to a recent trade show.

“We were the only company with a virtual reality demonstration at the trade show; it attracted a ton of traffic,” he said.

Inovus is already looking for other ways to use the technology, including mailing Google Cardboard headsets to clients who are considering the purchase of solar-powered lights, and creating training videos for installations.

“Imagine you’re the mayor of a city and we could just mail our (experience) to you so you can see our lights without having to meet us out in the middle of nowhere,” Kawaguchi said.

VRigami’s software will allow users to build videos using a computer. The software will then allow users to change the video while wearing a headset in order to help scale items properly.

Dunlap’s vision for the company stems from her experience at an IT service company in the 1990s that created websites for businesses for about $10,000 before Wordpress and Wix came along.

“We’re really trying to be that tool,” Dunlap said. “We want to make virtual reality as accessible as websites are now.”

The software will operate on a freemium model. The base version of the software will be free to download and more advanced versions will be available for purchase.