Digital Minister Fabian Mehring: “Bavaria Is Home to XR Success Stories”

Dr. Mehring, everyone is talking about artificial intelligence right now. But today we are talking about extended reality (XR). Why does XR also deserve the attention of the Bavarian Digital Minister?

Fabian Mehring: Just because there are major advances in AI does not mean that XR is becoming less relevant. On the contrary: the sound of the future lies in the interaction of both future technologies! For example, generative AI makes it easier to create content for XR. Conversely, XR headsets with their sensor technology will enable personal AI assistants in the future to accompany and support us in our everyday lives.

Both technologies therefore have immense potential to noticeably improve our lives – and at the same time open up huge economic opportunities for us. In my ministry, we are therefore working intensively on extended reality, because we know that XR and AI need to be considered together and are key drivers of innovation and future growth in Bavaria.

From Industrial Metaverse to Digital Twin: Bavaria as a leading high-tech business location

From industry to science to culture: XR technologies are now being used in almost all areas. Where do you see the greatest potential for the use of XR in Bavaria?

Fabian Mehring: Bavaria is a leading global high-tech business location, which is why the use of XR in our companies is a focus of my work. I see numerous potential applications for extended reality there. I'm thinking of the industrial metaverse, training and further education, digital twins and remote work, among other things. Bavarian companies such as Siemens are already global pioneers in this area, and XR is a key technology for the further digital transformation of our economy. But XR is also already being used successfully in Bavarian schools. For example, in our XRXplorer Schools, which are using XR technologies to redesign modern teaching.

Are there also XR applications elsewhere, for example in the sports or cultural sector?

Fabian Mehring: Yes, extended reality is already being used successfully in the fields of medicine, sport and wellbeing, for example at the Technical University of Munich and the University of Würzburg. And cultural professionals in Bavaria are also working intensively on the topic, for example at the state theaters in Augsburg and Nuremberg and at the Residenztheater in Munich. There are also activities in the independent scene and at various universities. To summarize: there is hardly an area of life in Bavaria where XR has not yet arrived. And this is just the beginning!

What about the development of XR applications and hardware: can and should Bavaria play a role here?

Fabian Mehring: Of course - because this is a market worth billions, which opens up great opportunities for Bavarian start-ups in particular. They can quickly achieve success with innovative solutions for industry, especially as the potential users are represented in large numbers directly in Bavaria.

There are also interesting synergy effects with the strong Bavarian gaming industry: games can be experienced even more intensively with XR and I see many ground-breaking opportunities in the field of “serious games” - i.e. applications in the areas of education and training. Whether there will be VR glasses “Made in Bavaria” at some point remains to be seen. But we will develop plenty of XR applications for the whole world. That is certain.

Bavaria shines in the XR sector with a successful start-up scene, research and industry

Where does Bavaria stand in international comparison? What are the strengths of the Bavarian ecosystem and who else could we learn from?

Fabian Mehring: Bavaria shines internationally with a unique mix of a strong XR research landscape, large industrial groups and a flourishing start-up scene. In addition, our universities produce many top talents every year who will develop future applications and bring them to market. The fact that all major tech companies such as Google, Apple and Meta are based here in Bavaria and are shaping the future of XR from here shows just how attractive we have become as a location.

But of course we want to become even better. I'm thinking here, for example, of the many regulations that companies are unfortunately still confronted with here. And I'm thinking of the fact that we are often skeptical – too skeptical – about new technologies. So we need to work on the legal framework and our mindset in order to become even more successful.

What is the state government doing to promote Bavaria as an XR location?

Fabian Mehring: With the XR HUB Bavaria, we have created a structure at the three locations of Munich, Nuremberg and Würzburg that strengthens knowledge transfer, networks all relevant players and stimulates new projects. We are also making the fascinating opportunities created by XR visible to the public - for example in July at the Summer EXPO of the XR HUB Würzburg or the XR Day in Nuremberg.

Incidentally, there is also a wonderful example of the concrete benefits of XR in Würzburg: the state fire department school there operates a virtual training facility for fighting fires indoors. Firefighters can use it to run through training scenarios realistically and safely using virtual reality goggles. It is examples like these that will give XR a major boost.

What other Bavarian success stories are you particularly proud of?

Fabian Mehring: We are a country full of XR success stories! As already mentioned: Siemens is a leader in the field of industrial metaverse. And what many people don't know: The Apple Vision Pro also contains Bavarian expertise – because Apple bought the Munich-based startup Metaio, a specialist in augmented reality, in 2015. When it comes to start-ups, Hololight comes to mind. The company develops software solutions for augmented and virtual reality that enable immersive, interactive applications in industrial companies. Hololight was founded in Austria – but by two students from the Technical University of Munich and our Bayern Kapital invested in the start-up. Other examples of young companies are Aves Reality (creating interactive, virtual worlds from anywhere in the world) and Lumium (supporting transformation processes with virtual reality training).

With regard to the cultural sector, I recently saw the virtual reality application “Erwartung” based on an opera by Arnold Schönberg and the virtual reality production of E.T.A. Hoffmann's “The Sandman” for myself – both realized by the Augsburg State Theatre and absolutely fascinating. I could go on and on with this list. That's why I say: I am proud of all the pixel pioneers in Bavaria who are committed to our strong XR location in research, development, education and business.

XR in Bavarian schools: Where the future developers are

Do enough companies, universities, start-ups and creatives already have the potential of XR and the support of the Free State on their radar? Or does more enthusiasm need to be aroused?

Fabian Mehring: The examples I just mentioned show that we have already achieved a lot. With the XR HUB Bavaria in particular, we have been able to generate a lot of enthusiasm – and will continue to do so. The topic is also gaining momentum in schools. That's where we are actually training the XR developers and users of tomorrow. But of course there is still a lot to do. Particularly in the SME sector, not all potential has been recognized and exploited. This is why I am also focusing on this area in my future work as Digital Minister.

If we look five years into the future: What role will XR technologies play in your everyday life then – both professionally and privately?

Fabian Mehring: XR will help me to work more efficiently – because meetings and conferences will be held virtually and immersively without the need for our physical presence. Virtual briefings will take place in 3D environments, where data and information can be visualized interactively so that complex relationships can be understood more quickly.

In the area of public relations, we will organize immersive press conferences and citizen dialogues, where politicians and citizens can talk to each other better and government decisions become transparent. Finally, XR could also support political decision-making by visualizing models of cities or infrastructures in real time in order to better assess the consequences of political decisions and better involve citizens. This would help to make our state modern and cool so that people can regain trust in politics and identify positively with our community again.