XR AI Spotlight

Gabriele Romagnoli
  • 5.0 (7)
  • TECHNOLOGY
  • UPDATED WEEKLY

XR AI Spotlight gives the stage to founders and makers at the intersection between XR and AI. You will learn what happens when technology and creativity collide, how AI apps and XR tools are built and brought to market, the personal stories and workflows of leaders and creatives pushing the boundaries of what these 2 technologies can offer and the opportunities they unlock.

  1. The Role of AI in 3D Animation

    FEB 11

    The Role of AI in 3D Animation

    A single Cascadeur post on X triggered an uproar on social media. From excitement to hatred, the community of professionals and creatives voiced their feelings, asked legitimate questions and tried to understand how AI is reshaping the work of animators. To answer these questions, I talked with Alexander Grishanin, CTO of Cascadeur, who explains how Cascadeur defines AI versus machine learning, what is the state of the art when it comes to “procedural motion”, the ethical implications around training data and the impact AI is having on professional animation workflows.Subscribe to XR AI Spotlight weekly newsletter 👉 https://xraispotlight.substack.com/***CONNECT WITH OUR GUEST⁠💼 ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Linkedin⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠🔗 ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Website⁠⁠⁠ ***CONNECT WITH ME🐤⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠X (Twitter)⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠💼 ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Linkedin⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠🔗⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Link-in Bio⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠  ***PAST EPISODES🎙️ ⁠⁠⁠⁠Show Website⁠⁠⁠⁠🟢 ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠🍎⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Apple Podcast

    33 min
  2. Geospatial AI Explained by Niantic Spatial

    FEB 4

    Geospatial AI Explained by Niantic Spatial

    Asim Ahmed, multi-award-winning game developer and head of product marketing at Niantic Spatial, joins the show to break down how geospatial AI is reshaping both digital experiences and real world infrastructure. As one of the early marketing leaders behind Pokémon GO and a key force behind the Peridot franchise across mobile, mixed reality and AR glasses, Asim explains how Niantic Spatial is building a large geospatial model that gives machines a true understanding of the physical world. Listeners will learn how reconstruction, localization and semantic understanding work together, why spatial intelligence matters for robotics, inspection, logistics and entertainment, and how new partnerships with Snap, Meta, Apple and Meow Wolf are shaping the next generation of immersive products. He also shares how embodied AI companions like Project Jade may change how we navigate cities, workplaces and daily life. Subscribe to XR AI Spotlight weekly newsletter 👉 https://xraispotlight.substack.com/ *** CONNECT WITH OUR GUEST ⁠💼 ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Linkedin⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠🔗 ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Website⁠⁠⁠ *** CONNECT WITH ME 🐤⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠X (Twitter)⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠ 💼 ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Linkedin⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ 🔗⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Link-in Bio⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ *** PAST EPISODES 🎙️ ⁠⁠⁠⁠Show Website⁠⁠⁠⁠ 🟢 ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ 🍎⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Apple Podcast

    46 min
  3. Gaussian Splatting for Cultural Heritage

    JAN 28

    Gaussian Splatting for Cultural Heritage

    In this episode we talk with Thomas Flynn, a digital heritage specialist with deep experience in 3D digitisation, open access, and online publishing. Thomas has worked with UNESCO, Europeana, Oxford University, Creative Commons, and served as cultural heritage lead at Sketchfab, where he helped launch the British Museum's first open 3D collection. In this conversation, he explains how museums and cultural organisations think about 3D capture, what Gaussian splatting can and cannot do for heritage workflows, and why long term storage, metadata, and interoperability matter just as much as scanning quality. He breaks down real examples of 3D printing for visitor engagement, web based publishing options, VR use cases, and the growing challenge of managing massive data sets. Subscribe to XR AI Spotlight weekly newsletter 👉 https://xraispotlight.substack.com/ *** CONNECT WITH OUR GUEST ⁠💼 ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Linkedin⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠🔗 ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Newsletter⁠⁠⁠ *** CONNECT WITH ME 🐤⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠X (Twitter)⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠ 💼 ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Linkedin⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ 🔗⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Link-in Bio⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ *** PAST EPISODES 🎙️ ⁠⁠⁠⁠Show Website⁠⁠⁠⁠ 🟢 ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ 🍎⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Apple Podcast

    51 min
  4. Social VR Identity and Economy: What the Data Shows

    JAN 21

    Social VR Identity and Economy: What the Data Shows

    Mila is a PhD student in Switzerland and a researcher of social VR culture, known for a multi-year survey series on metaverse identity, harassment, and now virtual economies. In this episode, we unpack what people actually do in worlds like VRChat, and why platform design shapes everything from avatar choices to spending habits. Mila explains the shift toward semi-humanoid avatars, why many male users present as feminine, and how researchers handle sensitive questions across English and Japanese. We also dig into money flows, from avatar fashion and seasonal drops to tipping performers, paid events, and services like tarot readings, plus what it means when users spend thousands on headsets, PCs, and full-body tracking. Subscribe to XR AI Spotlight weekly newsletter 👉 https://xraispotlight.substack.com/***CONNECT WITH OUR GUEST⁠💼 ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Linkedin⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠🔗 ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Research ***CONNECT WITH ME🐤⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠X (Twitter)⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠💼 ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Linkedin⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠🔗⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Link-in Bio⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠  ***PAST EPISODES🎙️ ⁠⁠⁠⁠Show Website⁠⁠⁠⁠🟢 ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠🍎⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Apple Podcast

    55 min
  5. These AI Smart Glasses Last the whole day

    JAN 14

    These AI Smart Glasses Last the whole day

    Cayden Pierce, CEO of Mentra, joins the show to discuss how his team is building an operating system for the next generation of personal computing through #smartglasses. Drawing on experience from MIT, building #AI agents, and earlier work with Steve Mann, he explains why all day wearability is the true barrier to mass adoption and how Mentra approaches power, latency, and ergonomics differently. Cayden breaks down the distinct roles of display glasses and camera glasses, why accessibility use cases like captions and support for blind users are leading adoption, and how enterprise workflows benefit from hands-free AI assistance. He also outlines how developers can build with Mentra OS using open web technologies, how emerging opportunities in consulting and enterprise deployment are forming, and what new hardware the company plans to release in 2026. Subscribe to XR AI Spotlight weekly newsletter 👉 https://xraispotlight.substack.com/***CONNECT WITH OUR GUEST⁠💼 ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Linkedin⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠🔗 ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Website⁠⁠⁠ ***CONNECT WITH ME🐤⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠X (Twitter)⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠💼 ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Linkedin⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠🔗⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Link-in Bio⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠  ***PAST EPISODES🎙️ ⁠⁠⁠⁠Show Website⁠⁠⁠⁠🟢 ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠🍎⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Apple Podcast

    48 min
  6. This AI Game Engine Feels Like a Toy

    JAN 7

    This AI Game Engine Feels Like a Toy

    Nuno Leiria, founder and CEO of Nilo and former performance lead for Unreal Engine 5 and Fortnite at Epic Games, breaks down how Nilo lets anyone build playable 3D worlds in the browser in minutes without complex #GameEngines. He explains the sketch to #3D pipeline, where #AI handles modelling, rigging, animation, and starter code, and why latency is the key design constraint. We dig into real-time co-creation, remixable templates, and “creative generation” that assembles complex scenes from primitives. Nuno also shares how aspiring builders from #Roblox or Minecraft can ramp up without learning traditional DCC tools and monetise their creations.Subscribe to XR AI Spotlight weekly newsletter 👉 https://xraispotlight.substack.com/***CONNECT WITH OUR GUEST⁠💼 ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Linkedin⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠🔗 ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Website⁠⁠⁠ ***CONNECT WITH ME🐤⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠X (Twitter)⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠💼 ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Linkedin⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠🔗⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Link-in Bio⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠  ***PAST EPISODES🎙️ ⁠⁠⁠⁠Show Website⁠⁠⁠⁠🟢 ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠🍎⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Apple Podcast

    44 min
  7. This AI Can Control Characters in Real Time

    12/10/2025

    This AI Can Control Characters in Real Time

    Viren Tellis, co-founder and CEO of Uthana, joins the show to discuss how generative AI is reshaping motion creation for games, VFX, and interactive worlds. With over 15 years of experience leading product and operations teams at AppNexus and Hedado, Viren explains how Uthana’s technology can generate animation from text, video, or even in real time, giving creators instant, controllable motion without traditional mocap setups. He breaks down how developers use Uthana’s SDKs and APIs in Unreal, Unity, and web platforms, what defines high-quality motion, and how foundation models for human movement could power the next generation of AI-driven characters.  Subscribe to XR AI Spotlight weekly newsletter 👉 https://xraispotlight.substack.com/***CONNECT WITH OUR GUEST⁠💼 ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Linkedin⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠🔗 ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Website⁠⁠⁠ ***CONNECT WITH ME🐤⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠X (Twitter)⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠💼 ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Linkedin⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠🔗⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Link-in Bio⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠  ***PAST EPISODES🎙️ ⁠⁠⁠⁠Show Website⁠⁠⁠⁠🟢 ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠🍎⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Apple Podcast

    43 min
  8. From 3D GenAI to the End of Game Engines

    12/03/2025

    From 3D GenAI to the End of Game Engines

    Tejas Kulkarni, CEO of Common Sense Machines and PhD in Brain and Cognitive Sciences and AI from MIT, explains how CSM turns images and sketches into game-engine ready 3D assets. He breaks down why CSM ranked highly on the 3D Arena human evaluation, what “good” means in 3D generation, and how geometry, texture, topology, and parts segmentation affect real workflows. We discuss modular pipelines, UV mapping, controllability, and integration with Blender, Maya, Unity, and Unreal. Tejas contrasts mesh pipelines with splats and NeRFs, then argues that neural network driven game engines are coming, with artists guiding structure while networks fill detail. He also tackles ethics, brain hacking loops, and adoption advice for students and studios. Listeners get concrete guidance on quality metrics, parts based editing, and near term toolchain decisions. Subscribe to XR AI Spotlight weekly newsletter 👉 https://xraispotlight.substack.com/***CONNECT WITH OUR GUEST⁠💼 ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Linkedin⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠🔗 ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Website⁠⁠⁠ ***CONNECT WITH ME🐤⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠X (Twitter)⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠💼 ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Linkedin⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠🔗⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Link-in Bio⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠  ***PAST EPISODES🎙️ ⁠⁠⁠⁠Show Website⁠⁠⁠⁠🟢 ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠🍎⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Apple Podcast

    41 min
See All (100)

5
out of 5
7 Ratings

About

XR AI Spotlight gives the stage to founders and makers at the intersection between XR and AI. You will learn what happens when technology and creativity collide, how AI apps and XR tools are built and brought to market, the personal stories and workflows of leaders and creatives pushing the boundaries of what these 2 technologies can offer and the opportunities they unlock.

Information

  • Creator
    Gabriele Romagnoli
  • Years Active
    2023 - 2026
  • Episodes
    100
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Gabriele Romagnoli
  • Show Website
    XR AI Spotlight