September 12, 2025 • 37 mins
With over a decade in XR and a career that began in marketing and product development, Thaisa Yamamura is dedicated to bridging the gap between complex engineering and creative user needs, bringing innovative 3D, XR, and spatial computing technologies from prototype to market.
Thaisa Yamamura is the Head of XR Products and Business Development at Sony Electronics, where she leads the creation and launch of XYN, Sony’s new end-to-end ecosystem of 3D tools for creators.
Key Takeaways:
- End-to-End 3D Ecosystem: Thaisa spearheaded the launch of XYN, a suite of creator-first tools including easy 3D capture (using Gaussian splatting, iPhone & Sony cameras), real-time motion capture (mocopi sensors), and high-resolution glasses-free 3D spatial displays—a pipeline designed to bring 6DoF content creation to professionals and beginners alike.
- Customer-Obsessed Product Development: From conducting on-the-ground CES research to incorporating real user feedback (like PC streaming for mocopi), Thaisa’s approach is deeply user-driven and iterative, often involving direct partnerships with engineers, the creative community, and early adopters.
- Versatile Applications: The XYN ecosystem not only supports creators in entertainment and gaming, but is already impacting industries such as virtual production and healthcare (e.g., using Sony’s Spatial Reality Display to view medical DICOM files in true 3D).
- Collaboration & Partnerships: Thaisa advocates for leveraging industry partners and existing tech—rather than “solutioning” for its own sake—to deliver integrated, rapidly evolving products. She sees her role as “the messenger and connector,” translating user insights into engineering action and aligning stakeholders for maximum impact.
- Empowering Women in Tech: As one of the only women at the table for much of her career, Thaisa is committed to mentoring globally and creating more opportunities for women in XR and tech—while celebrating her diverse, women-led team at Sony.
Thaisa’s current focus is on gathering feedback for XYN’s spatial capturing solution and broadening its real-world adoption from virtual film sets to next-gen indie content, with plans for expanded collaboration and community engagement in the near future.
About Thaisa Yamamura - Sony Electronics.
Thaisa Yamamura is the Director of XR Business and Product Development for Sony Electronics, with a career spanning over 20 years across Brazil, Japan, and the United States. She currently leads XR initiatives from Los Angeles, focusing on immersive technology, strategic product and business development.
She played a central role in launching the new 3DCG solution XYN™ (/zin/)—an integrated software and hardware platform that supports the creation of spatial content. Thaisa introduced XYN™ on the main stage at Sony CES 2025, mar
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Nathan C (00:00):
Hello and welcome to The Tech Glow Up Fabulous
Conversations with InnovativeMinds.
I'm Nathan C, and today I'mtalking with Thaisa Yamamura,
Head of XR Products and BusinessDevelopment at Sony Electronics.
Thaisa, it is so great to seeyou today.
Thanks for joining us on TheTech Glow Up!
Thaisa Yamamura (00:19):
Thank you so much, Nathan, for having me.
I know I'm excited to be part ofthe, the podcast.
I've seen some of the episodesand I'm super glad to, to be
here and speaking to you as myfriend! It's gonna be an easy
conversation we've known eachother for quite some time for
now.
Nathan C (00:37):
So I've had the pleasure, like you noticed, to
really follow your work for awhile, leading XR products and
business development at SonyElectronics.
Can you introduce yourself andgive us a, a little summary
about the work that you're doingthere now?
It's just so fascinating!
Thaisa Yamamura (00:54):
I'm the head of business development and product
for a new brand called XYN.
We announced this new brand atCES, which I was part of the,
the announcement.
It's really to focus on the XRsolutions and develop a
complete, end-to-end solutionfor content creators from
(01:16):
capturing until motion, motioncapture, and then seal the work
in 3D.
So I'm heading that product andsolution for Sony Electronics
for the past five years.
Nathan C (01:29):
Oh my goodness! I'm gonna have to push you on a
couple things here because Ithink you underplayed a couple,
like just a couple things inthat introduction.
So, when you said you helped tolaunch the XYN line at At CES,
Sony had a gigantic presencewith like an entire hall worth
(01:53):
of fantastic demos.
And I believe, if I'm correct,you actually helped to introduce
XYN on stage as part of the Sonykeynote?
Thaisa Yamamura (02:02):
Yes! I was very excited with this opportunity.
I remember joining my first CESabout 15 years ago and looking
at the Sony press conference andlooking.
And imagine like, oh my gosh,this is amazing! It's like the
biggest consumer electronic showin the world, right?
(02:23):
And, now, 15 years later,imagining myself giving this
speech, it was just an amazingexperience.
And launching something that I'mreally passionate about.
I love XR.
I think we share the samepassion, Nathan, on the
community.
So with such a special projectand being able to be there on
(02:46):
this stage and introducing thisnew brand, that really makes
sense for me and for thecommunity itself.
Because I've been in this field,over 10 years.
And, looking at how the XR hasbeen evolving, it's been truly
amazing to be part of, theseannouncements and showcase, what
(03:11):
we've been working on very hard,on bringing to the market and
really helping creators to,focus on the creativity and
allowing them to bring toolsthat will optimize their work,
so that they can focus onsomething that is important for
them, which is the creativity.
(03:31):
So let us handle the technologyand the hassles behind that.
And, let them focus on what theydo the best, which is, the
creative work.
And it's always amazing to seewhat they can create.
Right?
I think, the beauty oftechnology is really to see how,
(03:51):
the creators will push theboundary.
What we provided to, to them.
So being part of, of theannouncements with, amazing
people, with amazing team and,being able to be on the stage
and talk about XR.
It was really like a dream cometrue.
I think it was one of, the best,part of my career and one of the
(04:12):
biggest achievements, I wasreally, really happy on doing
it.
One
Nathan C (04:17):
of the other things that I wanted to get into,
right, just,'cause noteverybody, like you said, is as
geeky about XR creator tools andlike what 3D animators, graphics
people need.
I'd love to kind of just diveinto this ecosystem, a little
bit because you kind of alludedright?
It's been a bit of a journey.
(04:38):
So one of the things that I loveabout XYN is that you've
captured probably like somewherebetween three to five of the
biggest trends and like, kind oftools and media types in 3D and
spatial computing today, right?
(04:59):
You've got this capture, butyou're using 3D Gaussian
splatting, there's like designtools in, this fantastic
headset.
And then there's these likedesign and collaboration tools
within The Spatial RealityDisplay where you're being able
to interact with and see 3Dcontent, without glasses.
(05:20):
You didn't start with an elegantproduct line that goes
end-to-end.
Talk us through the
Thaisa Yamamura (05:26):
Mm-hmm.
Nathan C (05:26):
how you got to here?
Thaisa Yamamura (05:28):
Yeah, it always started, seven years ago when I
was, usually we go toheadquarters, to Japan once or
twice a year.
And, we see the products that weare gonna launch in the next two
to three years.
Really like the early stage ofthe technology.
I remember going to Japan forthe first time seeing our
(05:50):
Spatial Reality Display.
It was like this mind blowingmagical box.
And I was like, how this can bepossible technology wise.
So the Spatial Reality Displayis one of the product that it's
on, on our lineup, which is aglasses-free 3D display.
It has a sensor in the center ofthe display that senses the
(06:12):
position of your face and eyes.
Based on your viewing angle, itadapts the image for you to see
images in 3D without any spatialglasses or VR headset.
So I got exposed for the firsttime and I saw this demo, it was
a Unity demo, like a dancer, ananimation.
How can this be possible?
(06:33):
What is my brain doing?
And then being able to talk tothe engineers and see how can we
bring this to the marketbecause, this is the solution
for people like me that usesglasses.
I like the experience of wearinga VR headset, but I don't like
the experience wearing it on topof my, my glasses.
So this is, was like a magicalbox for me.
(06:55):
I'm like, I'm seeing 3D and notjust like the 3D movies that we
seen in the theater, right?
It's like the huge spatialexperience.
The immersive experience.
It's very, very high resolution3D.
So two years later, we launchedthis product in the market.
Unfortunately it was during thepandemic.
(07:17):
We showcased the Spatial RealityDisplay, and then a month after
CES, the world stopped, right?
With the big pandemic.
3D is really for people who arenot in this space, it's very
hard to explain like how you seedepth and how you have this
immersive experience.
(07:38):
Because the experience that thegeneral public have of 3D is
really like the movie theaters,right?
That just one single object isin 3D.
Not the whole, environment,which is totally different from
what we were delivering.
So it was a little bit of achallenge, launching this
product, during the pandemic,but we were able to, bring a lot
(08:00):
of developers.
We were, a lot of companies whoare interested and understood
the beauty, and the importanceof 3D.
I always tell people, for me, itdoesn't make sense that we are
still working on a 2D screensince the world is in 3D.
Right?
We wanna change that! Yes.
We wanted to change thatperspective for not only the
(08:23):
people who are passionate aboutthe 3D world, but also for the
general consumer.
So based on our experience withthe Spatial Reality Display, we
realized quickly that there arenot so many contents that are in
3D.
And what I mean by 3D is like6DoF, right?
(08:44):
To be able to have thatexperience and whole scenario
in, 3D and we were like, okay,how can we change that?
And that's how we, we'velaunched XYN, because we wanted
to bring the whole experiencefrom content creation for
helping, the general consumers,creators to, easily create the
(09:09):
environment in 3D, as well asthe physical objects.
So the spatial, capturingsolution solves exactly that
problem.
So you can connect, an iPhone toa mirrorless camera from Sony.
We have an application thatguides you on how many photos
you need to take of theenvironment or the object.
(09:32):
We uploaded those images on ourcloud and we processed those
images to recreate theenvironment or the object for
you to see in 3D to be used on aheadset or on a project, or in
Unreal or Unity, any of thetools that you are, familiar
with.
(09:52):
So once you build theenvironment with our spatial
capturing solution.
We were like, okay, that's thefirst step.
You have the environment, youhave the object that you
captured.
How can we add motion to it?
How can we add either like acharacter to be running around
the environment or, how you canuse like with a human, to be
(10:16):
walking around and having thisexperience into the scenario and
the scene that you captured.
So we have our mocopi, ourmotion capture device, which is
pretty affordable comparing towhat is available, in the
market.
You don't have to wear any suitsor any, you don't have to have a
studio to be able to captureyour movements.
(10:39):
So mocopi is like the sixsensors that you attach to your
body and allows you to previewyour body motions in real time
and translate that into youranimation or avatar.
So you can add as part of theXYN, you add that motion to your
project.
Once you have the environment,you added the motion, how do you
(11:01):
see and experience that yourwork in 3D with a very high
resolution?
That is when it comes theSpatial Reality Display that
allows you to see the images oryour project have a pre
visualization of what you'recreating.
The XYN is really the completesolution for content creators in
(11:23):
the 3D world.
So we are providing easy toolsthat can be used on creating the
project.
And it fits not only like thepeople who have no experience
creating assets in 3D, but alsolike the professional use cases.
You know, the beauty about ourtechnologies, we can meet, the
demand for, high-endprofessionals who have
(11:44):
experience, but also the earlyadopters who are starting to
create projects in 3D.
So those are the projects andsolutions that we have under our
XYN brand.
And then the two that areavailable right now in the
market are the mocopi, which wehave two versions.
Because you mentioned like, howdo you get feedback from
(12:06):
customers?
Most of our products werecreated because they asked and
we saw the demand and the needto create such a product.
So after the Spatial RealityDisplay, we've launched mocopi.
The first generation was justthe six sensors and pretty, as I
mentioned, very easy, veryintuitive.
(12:26):
You can, carry it on your pocketto start doing your animations.
It connects to a phone, it pairswith a phone, and then you can
animate your avatar, veryseamless.
You can do it outside, insidewhenever you wanted to.
The first generation was sixsensors.
And then at CES we, announcedthat together with the XYN
brand, the second generation,which allows you to combine two
(12:51):
sets of mocopi.
You have a set of, a pair withthe 12 sensors that allows you
to have a better accuracy.
We've noticed that especiallyindie game developers who wanted
to have a better accuracy, withthe first generation of mocopi,
they were like, how can I addmore sensors?
Can I pair 2 sensors, two casesinto one?
(13:13):
We were like, great! That's whatwe are gonna allow! Let's, solve
this issue, and come up with aproduct that you can combine.
And one of the other, feedbackwas, they don't wanna connect it
to a phone.
Some people think that it's verynice to be able to connect when
they wanted to record animationsoutside, but they also wanted to
have a combination of recordingthe data on your PC, sending the
(13:37):
motion data directly to your PC.
So that's exactly what we did.
We came up with a solution thatyou can combine two sets and you
can stream live motion data toyour PC directly.
So that solved the accuracy andit's still less expensive than
wearing a motion capture suit.
(13:58):
And the calibration.
I don't know if you have seenany motion capture studio, but
it requires a lot of,calibration process, like T-pose
and yeah! And we wanted to solvethat.
We wanted to be as simple andquick as as possible.
So the calibration is very easy.
It's just.
(14:18):
You know, wear your, your mocopisensors and do one step forward
and then that's it.
Like you are fully calibrated.
It's less than a minute.
It's very, I have a, a fouryears old daughter that she
loves wearing it! And she'slike, learn it very quickly! I'm
like, okay, if my four years olddaughter can do it you know, the
(14:40):
people like that don't have anyexperience on motion capture can
see it, can do it.
And it's amazing to see, when wego to events and the reaction of
the public saying, oh my gosh,how can this be possible?! We
don't even need to, invest in, avery expensive, studio to be
able to capture those motions.
(15:00):
And the good thing is everythingis in real time.
If you're using, Unity or Unrealor Maya or Blender, we have a
plugin that sends the motiondata directly to your project in
real time.
So, you can preview youranimation and customize your
animation according to yourpreference.
(15:20):
The pair of the XYN is just like$450, which, you know, it's more
than half of the price of thesuits that are available, in the
market.
Nathan C (15:30):
This is amazing! Thaisa, you read my mind and
predicted a couple of the thingsthat I just wanna dive deeper
on.
One of my favorite questions toask is about how you learn from
your customer.
And you have a very interestinggroup of customers that you're
needing to learn from and workwith and engage.
(15:54):
And I sort of counted three.
The first customer group thatyou talked about were the
engineers and the developersthat you were partnering with.
And I loved, I just to go allthe way back to this origin
story of how can we take this tomarket?
I love that the beginning ofthis journey starts with a cross
(16:16):
team partnership to talk withdevelopers and learn and build a
vision for where things can go.
Like, that's super cool! As aleader of business development
and product lines, you're alsohaving to telegraph and learn
from the industry, from theevents, from, you know, there's
a very interesting customergroup in terms of like the
(16:37):
creative side of Sony, that youget to learn with.
But like, how do you tell thatinnovation story, that 3D
creator story to executives of aglobal technology company, and
then all the way back down tothe floor at CES interacting
with the frontline consumers andfolks who are gonna be powering
(17:01):
their VR chat avatars and theironline gameplay and, maybe their
own independent films as well.
To be able to balance so many,customers and so many inputs
and, still have such an elegantsolution, like bravo!
Thaisa Yamamura (17:17):
Thank you! I always tell people that, I'm a
messenger.
I talk to a lot of companies.
We have a lot of partners, thatwork with us.
I try to get, what is the latestin the market.
I love talking to developers, tothe engineerings to see what can
we solve?
Like what are the problems theyare facing?
How can we solve bringingtogether the engineering side?
(17:42):
So I'm passing the message ofwhat the market needs to the
engineering and say, okay, howcan we build something that
solves this issue and provide,different tools for the market
focusing on the creativity, as Imentioned in the beginning.
So I always try to talk to asmany people as possible creators
(18:02):
from different industry.
I mentioned the beauty oftechnologies really, we don't
know what they are gonna create,right?
We provide the tools and we sortof imagine that, they're gonna
use the technology in one way.
But the beauty about technologyis that there are so many
possibilities that, when you putthis product and solutions in
(18:25):
front of the creators, they comeup with so many different
solutions and use cases thatthey can use the product that
you are not even imagining.
One example, when we launchedthe Spatial Reality Display,
when I was at CES during oneyear, right before the pandemic
in 2020.
(18:46):
I was on the floor and I lovebeing on the floor, to hear, the
reaction of the people andtalking, getting their brains
and pick their brains and talkto them and asking questions.
I love that part of research.
It helps me to understand thecustomer point of view.
So I was there, on the floorhearing and getting their
(19:06):
feedback.
And I remember, this customerand this person talking about,
oh, this display is great formedical.
And I'm like, medical, how wouldyou, how would you use it on the
medical field?
He's like, oh, I have a lot ofDICOM files that are in 3D and
I'm like, oh, okay! So how canwe and medical field that
(19:27):
healthcare industry was notreally our focus, for the
display, but I remembered himsaying, no, you should
definitely, I have a solutionfor 3D, to see DICOM files,
DICOM is a very, common fileformat for a CT scan, So I was
like, oh, that's so interesting.
Like to be able, becausenowadays when you see a CT scan
(19:50):
is 2D, but the doctors, whenthey're performing a surgery,
they need to have this depth,this perspective.
So I was like, oh, we shoulddefinitely study this market and
have a better understanding.
And we look into the market, Ifound some a company, that are
doing some solutions that cantranslate DICOM files into 3D
(20:11):
files that were compatible withour Spatial Reality Display.
So it was like, oh my gosh, thisis the perfect combination to
address the need for thismarket.
So that's, an example of, thingsthat we were not even thinking
about.
And then we got this idea by,showing the technology in front
of people.
And they gave us this feedbackand, this idea to focus on this
(20:35):
market.
Nathan C (20:36):
Development is hard.
Integrating products,partnerships is hard, but the
solution, you know, that theypresented you is effectively
like, give me a pathway, make iteasy for me to use the stuff
that I already have in a betterway with your tool, right?
(20:57):
Like you don't have to invent anew thing.
Thaisa Yamamura (20:59):
Yeah.
Nathan C (20:59):
You don't have to build a new file type for
medical imaging, right?
It's like, let me help you buildthis pathway, to something you
don't even know about, right?
But let me just help you usewhat you already have with a
little bit, more skill or, youknow, there's the 2D to 3D thing
is like, it's such a no brainer,right?
Like if you are a 3D designer.
(21:22):
Like, don't you wanna see whatyou're building
Thaisa Yamamura (21:24):
Yeah.
Nathan C (21:25):
in 3D?
Right?
Like, if you are a doctor who'soperating in 3D, don't you want
that extra dimensions worth oflike information?
Thaisa Yamamura (21:34):
Yeah!
Nathan C (21:34):
And to be able to make it so accessible is just
gorgeous.
Thaisa Yamamura (21:38):
Yeah, no, and hearing like physicians, when
they look at the display, theysaid, you know, this solves a
lot of problems when teachingstudents, because one of the
hardest thing to teach is thesense of depth.
Right?
How deep they can go and what isthe distance between one organ
and the other, like that type ofsensibility, and skill, it's
(22:00):
very hard, but, you know,technologies like our display
make it easier for them tounderstand, to train their
brains, about, you know, thatsense, that skill, that it's so
important in that field.
Nathan C (22:14):
You said something about how like the research and
data and consumer like insightsare key to how you approach your
work.
You know, I come from amarketing background, so you're
speaking my language, but I alsoknow that not every organization
values research and data in thesame way.
(22:36):
Can you talk about, navigating,a large organization and being,
the messenger of data and userinsights, and, what sort of
skills you've needed, to help,make that so core to the work
that you do?
Thaisa Yamamura (22:50):
Yeah.
I'm lucky that I also came fromthe marketing side.
I started my career 25 yearsago, and it was really in
marketing.
And one of the most importantthing is you have to hear your
customers, right?
Like, and I remember, beforegetting to the XR industry, I
(23:11):
was doing product, marketing forTVs.
I was able to launch the firstsmart TV in the market.
I remember telling my manager,we usually do a lot of research,
back in the days I used to do alot of, house visiting.
We would go to the customerhouse to study.
(23:31):
Every details count.
Where they position their remotecontrol, where they place the
tv, how they turn on the tv,like the usability, how they
operate the product.
Every single detail gives you achance to change and provide
unique experience for theproduct.
And I always tell my team, youhave to be in the shoes of your
(23:55):
customers.
What do they need?
Ask questions, how they operate.
Put the product in front ofthem, and how do they turn on
the product?
How do they connect the product?
What type of contents theywanted to be, seeing in the
product.
So those are very detailedinformation, but these can turn
into something really great.
You can develop features thatnobody thought about.
(24:19):
How you place the product, howyou are gonna design the
product, and being able totranslate that feedback by
talking to your engineering tosee what is possible.
This is what I see.
How can we solve this productusing your skills, to be able to
(24:39):
bring the best combination inthe market.
When I mentioned that I'm amessenger is really to be able
to bridge this gap between whatthe market needs and what our
engineering are capable ofdoing, right?
Like, how can we solve this?
Most of the time, there is noreason to involve our
engineering to change theproduct.
(24:59):
How can we bring solutions andpartners that are already
developing a technology or, atool that bridge this gap, with
the existing tools that we haveavailable in the market.
So how can we get our productand enhance that based on the
feedback that we have from ourcustomers using the partnerships
(25:22):
that we already have in place,or if we don't have, how can we
look for partners?
Who are the partners?
Who are the companies that arealready working in this space?
Most of the times we have tolook into the market, what is
available out there?
If there is a company that it'sdoing amazing job, why not
integrating with our products toprovide the best combination?
(25:42):
So that's the part of theproduct development that I work,
to be able to bridge this gapbetween product, customer, and
engineering.
And the other hand is thebusiness development.
How we can bring partnershipsthat can enhance that without
changing much about, thetechnology or the product that
we already have.
I always tell that I'm in thebest position, but I'm always
(26:06):
the connector, connectingproduct customer with the
engineering team, and how can webring new solutions into the
market that can solve, thedemand of our customers.
And I'm lucky that we lovehearing, customer feedback.
We take it very, very serious.
If there is a demand or if thereis an issue, we solve it very,
(26:28):
very quickly.
We have this as our toppriority.
Nathan C (26:31):
+1 to it is a benefit to being at a consumer obsessed
company when you're trying to doinnovation, like, oh my gosh!
You're fighting only half assteep of a hill.
This idea as well, that likeyou're leading with questions
and that there is an assumption,that development may not be the
(26:55):
answer, to make a more robustproduct, I think is like kind of
shocking in the world of 3D.
I've literally been inconversations with like Fortune
leaders who were convinced thatif their spatial experience
wasn't completely photorealisticand specific one-to-one match
(27:18):
that like people just wouldn'tbe into it.
But it was still a tool that waslike an XR tool that was
actually selling product.
It was like, you have a majorwin that nobody else has ever
done, which is sell stuff withXR in the checkout process and
that it's not 3D is like, maybenot the thing that the customer
(27:39):
is focused on so, bravo forreally listening, instead of,
you know, what I call like"solutioning" what a customer
might want.
You know, like actuallyfulfilling what they ask for.
Thaisa Yamamura (27:50):
Yeah! And I always tell my team, we are in a
unique position because, beingin charge of product and
business development, thismarket, it changes a lot, right?
Nathan, you are in thisindustry, and sometimes you know
what our customers wanted andour engineering, what our
engineering can deliver, ittakes time to develop and I'm
(28:11):
like, why not getting like apartner that have already
developed and, and bringing themtogether, to be able to provide
this solution quickly to ourcustomers.
Right?
That's the problem that we aresolving, within the
organization.
You know, how can we changequickly to adapt it to the
customers?
What they need and what are thetools to enhance their work
(28:33):
using our hardware or software.
And I always tell my team, youknow, put yourself in the shoes
of the customer.
Is this what they need?
What are the feedback that wereceive?
Not your personal opinion.
What are the exactly words thatthey said in terms of feedback?
Let's translate that into whatit really means in terms of
(28:55):
technology.
What do we need to provide?
One of the, the main tasks forour team is to be the
translator, and connector.
Nathan C (29:04):
Oh my gosh! Fantastic leadership, right?
When a solutioned approach wouldbe to say, our customers want
this.
Go build it.
Right?
An empowering leader's approachis to say, here's the problem I
want you to go solve.
Really solve the problem.
Like, wow! So we set up thisfantastic seven year journey
(29:26):
with this product and buildingand growing and adding.
The name of the podcast is theTech Glow Up, right?
Which is a notabletransformation, a rebirth, sort
of a coming of age.
I use it to talk about biggoals.
Having built this product lineand built so much insights and
(29:47):
to have aligned with yourcustomers, seems like fantastic
success.
But what's the six month goalthat you're working on?
How are you gonna top this,record setting year?
Thaisa Yamamura (29:57):
Yeah! We are very excited with our spatial
capturing solution.
It was announced at CES, butit's still a prototype.
Soon we are gonna bring backaccess to, the public.
Which we are very excitedbecause again, we wanted to get
feedback on ways that we canimprove how customers are using
it.
(30:17):
We already have collaborations,in place, but I think in the
next six months we really wantedto get feedback from our people.
So we are gonna start givingback the access for this
solution so they can really testand, push the limit of the
technology, provide us feedbackand see what they need and, what
(30:39):
we can improve to provide thebest solution, for their work.
So really focusing on that areaof the business.
Because without content, without3D, good high quality 3D
content, you cannot start aproject, right?
You cannot create a 3D, projectwithout this base.
(31:00):
And we, we were able to showcasein different tech conferences
the work that we've done.
The environments that we'vescanned and the object that we
scanned.
The feedback was really nice.
I was at SIGGRAPH last week.
People were very excited.
They were like, oh, I wanted totry this! So wait a little bit
(31:21):
longer.
It's coming soon! This is gonnabe my team's focus on bringing
that to the market.
We will start with Beta accessand then move it to the market
soon.
Nathan C (31:32):
Amazing! I know so many people, designers,
developers, photographers, dronepilots, who are just obsessed
around 3D capture and whateverthe next innovation in 3D, and
splatting may be.
You were talking aboutenvironments, I realized that I
was paying attention mostly toobjects.
(31:55):
I'm gonna have to go back andcheck my notes.
That's amazing!
Thaisa Yamamura (31:59):
Yeah, no environments, especially like
for virtual production, a lot ofentertainment companies are now
using virtual production.
Our technologies is perfect forcreating the background, for the
virtual production.
Nathan C (32:12):
Like The Mandalorian kind of?
Thaisa Yamamura (32:14):
Yeah, and it looks very realistic.
We have a location, here in LAcalled the DMPC.
And Nathan, if you're ever inLA, please let me know! I would
love to give you a tour there.
They have these virtualproduction sets and I was able
to bring my team and they werelike,"Oh my gosh, this is
perfect!" We scan some spaces inShibuya in Tokyo, and they're
(32:37):
like,"Oh my gosh, this feelslike in Japan!" And if you look
at our reference monitors, youcannot tell it's virtual
production.
It's so realistic! My team, theywere very impressed.
They know the technology andthey're like, oh my gosh, this
is, now I get it.
Like, why we're we are doingthis! Because it looks really
realistic!
Nathan C (32:57):
It's also like super telling at how complex the
ecosystem is.
Thaisa Yamamura (33:02):
Yeah.
Nathan C (33:02):
Like if you're working on the tool and can still be
amazed by what it can do whensome other person, you know,
puts it through what their partof the, that value and
production chain is.
So amazing! We like to make timefor a spotlight or a shout out
for somebody that's doing goodwork, whether it's a nonprofit
or impact org or creator thatyou're just obsessed with.
(33:26):
Is there anybody that you'd liketo share a spotlight with today?
Thaisa Yamamura (33:29):
Yeah! So I collaborate a lot with the VR/AR
(VRARA) community, theassociation.
They are great.
I think they are pushing thismarket.
And we love to collaborate withthem on how we can support,
bringing the XR world into morecreators and more developers.
And I think they do a reallygood job, but also, you know,
(33:51):
not naming any specific,community specific, but I'm
really focused on also bring,how can we bring more women or
girls into the tech world?
I always try to, set up, atleast five hours of my time
within the month to dedicateabout, mentorships, especially
(34:13):
for my home country in Brazil.
And I mentor some people inJapan as well.
So how can we bring more womeninto this space?
I'm proud also to have my team,a lot of amazing women that are
creating a lot of amazingtechnology and, I'm really proud
of that.
Most of the time within mycareer, I was the only woman
(34:36):
sitting at the table and I'mlike, which we have to change
that.
Right?
And I have to be part of thegroup that we will change it.
Like how we can, bring morepeople to, provide tools for
those women to be in the techworld.
Nathan C (34:52):
I'm gonna let that sit.
That's just gorgeous.
And thank you for that! Bravofor, in many cases, being the
first woman, to bring some ofthese products to market.
You know, bringing products tomarket like this for a company
the size of Sony, building thesekinds of partnerships, right?
Learning from users, whetherthey're an enterprise that's
(35:15):
trying to make movies or whetherit's, you know, a bunch of
teenagers who were trying tomake movies.
It doesn't matter where thestudio is, right?
This dedication to buildingconversations around what is
possible I think is absolutelygot to be the strategy that has,
helped you build thesepartnerships, bring people
(35:37):
along, let them discover whatthey see in the data.
And really push both long-termstrategic thinking with that,
what are the optimized,ambitious things we can do today
to really answer the questionsthat we're getting.
Just like a epic, masterclass inhow to think about a product and
(35:59):
build over time, while you learnand grow.
Like an amazing example of,product led leadership for The
Tech Glow Up.
Thaisa, I really cannot thankyou so much! I do need to make
sure to ask, how can peoplefollow up?
And is there anything, do youhave a call to action or
anything that you're lookingforward to?
Thaisa Yamamura (36:19):
Yes, yes! Yeah, please feel free to connect, via
LinkedIn.
I'm Thaisa Yamamura there.
Follow our page.
It's XYN, X-Y-N.
We have a dedicated website.
We have a LinkedIn page.
On our website we have all thesolutions.
You can sign up for thenewsletter.
We are always here to hear thefeedback and get connected.
(36:42):
If you have an idea or if youhave a opportunity to
collaborate a partnership, meand my team, we are always open
to hear, especially new ideas.
So please, follow us on oursocial media and, feel free to
connect!
Nathan C (36:59):
Oh my goodness! I think we just have to leave it
there.
Absolutely one of my heroes anda total boss woman in spatial
computing.
Thaisa Yamamura, thank you somuch for sharing your journey
and innovation on The Tech GlowUp!
Thaisa Yamamura (37:14):
Thank you for having me! I appreciate it.
Hello and welcome to The Tech Glow Up Fabulous
Conversations with InnovativeMinds.
I'm Nathan C, and today I'mtalking with Thaisa Yamamura,
Head of XR Products and BusinessDevelopment at Sony Electronics.
Thaisa, it is so great to seeyou today.
Thanks for joining us on TheTech Glow Up!
Thaisa Yamamura (00:19):
Thank you so much, Nathan, for having me.
I know I'm excited to be part ofthe, the podcast.
I've seen some of the episodesand I'm super glad to, to be
here and speaking to you as myfriend! It's gonna be an easy
conversation we've known eachother for quite some time for
now.
Nathan C (00:37):
So I've had the pleasure, like you noticed, to
really follow your work for awhile, leading XR products and
business development at SonyElectronics.
Can you introduce yourself andgive us a, a little summary
about the work that you're doingthere now?
It's just so fascinating!
Thaisa Yamamura (00:54):
I'm the head of business development and product
for a new brand called XYN.
We announced this new brand atCES, which I was part of the,
the announcement.
It's really to focus on the XRsolutions and develop a
complete, end-to-end solutionfor content creators from
(01:16):
capturing until motion, motioncapture, and then seal the work
in 3D.
So I'm heading that product andsolution for Sony Electronics
for the past five years.
Nathan C (01:29):
Oh my goodness! I'm gonna have to push you on a
couple things here because Ithink you underplayed a couple,
like just a couple things inthat introduction.
So, when you said you helped tolaunch the XYN line at At CES,
Sony had a gigantic presencewith like an entire hall worth
(01:53):
of fantastic demos.
And I believe, if I'm correct,you actually helped to introduce
XYN on stage as part of the Sonykeynote?
Thaisa Yamamura (02:02):
Yes! I was very excited with this opportunity.
I remember joining my first CESabout 15 years ago and looking
at the Sony press conference andlooking.
And imagine like, oh my gosh,this is amazing! It's like the
biggest consumer electronic showin the world, right?
(02:23):
And, now, 15 years later,imagining myself giving this
speech, it was just an amazingexperience.
And launching something that I'mreally passionate about.
I love XR.
I think we share the samepassion, Nathan, on the
community.
So with such a special projectand being able to be there on
(02:46):
this stage and introducing thisnew brand, that really makes
sense for me and for thecommunity itself.
Because I've been in this field,over 10 years.
And, looking at how the XR hasbeen evolving, it's been truly
amazing to be part of, theseannouncements and showcase, what
(03:11):
we've been working on very hard,on bringing to the market and
really helping creators to,focus on the creativity and
allowing them to bring toolsthat will optimize their work,
so that they can focus onsomething that is important for
them, which is the creativity.
(03:31):
So let us handle the technologyand the hassles behind that.
And, let them focus on what theydo the best, which is, the
creative work.
And it's always amazing to seewhat they can create.
Right?
I think, the beauty oftechnology is really to see how,
(03:51):
the creators will push theboundary.
What we provided to, to them.
So being part of, of theannouncements with, amazing
people, with amazing team and,being able to be on the stage
and talk about XR.
It was really like a dream cometrue.
I think it was one of, the best,part of my career and one of the
(04:12):
biggest achievements, I wasreally, really happy on doing
it.
One
Nathan C (04:17):
of the other things that I wanted to get into,
right, just,'cause noteverybody, like you said, is as
geeky about XR creator tools andlike what 3D animators, graphics
people need.
I'd love to kind of just diveinto this ecosystem, a little
bit because you kind of alludedright?
It's been a bit of a journey.
(04:38):
So one of the things that I loveabout XYN is that you've
captured probably like somewherebetween three to five of the
biggest trends and like, kind oftools and media types in 3D and
spatial computing today, right?
(04:59):
You've got this capture, butyou're using 3D Gaussian
splatting, there's like designtools in, this fantastic
headset.
And then there's these likedesign and collaboration tools
within The Spatial RealityDisplay where you're being able
to interact with and see 3Dcontent, without glasses.
(05:20):
You didn't start with an elegantproduct line that goes
end-to-end.
Talk us through the
Thaisa Yamamura (05:26):
Mm-hmm.
Nathan C (05:26):
how you got to here?
Thaisa Yamamura (05:28):
Yeah, it always started, seven years ago when I
was, usually we go toheadquarters, to Japan once or
twice a year.
And, we see the products that weare gonna launch in the next two
to three years.
Really like the early stage ofthe technology.
I remember going to Japan forthe first time seeing our
(05:50):
Spatial Reality Display.
It was like this mind blowingmagical box.
And I was like, how this can bepossible technology wise.
So the Spatial Reality Displayis one of the product that it's
on, on our lineup, which is aglasses-free 3D display.
It has a sensor in the center ofthe display that senses the
(06:12):
position of your face and eyes.
Based on your viewing angle, itadapts the image for you to see
images in 3D without any spatialglasses or VR headset.
So I got exposed for the firsttime and I saw this demo, it was
a Unity demo, like a dancer, ananimation.
How can this be possible?
(06:33):
What is my brain doing?
And then being able to talk tothe engineers and see how can we
bring this to the marketbecause, this is the solution
for people like me that usesglasses.
I like the experience of wearinga VR headset, but I don't like
the experience wearing it on topof my, my glasses.
So this is, was like a magicalbox for me.
(06:55):
I'm like, I'm seeing 3D and notjust like the 3D movies that we
seen in the theater, right?
It's like the huge spatialexperience.
The immersive experience.
It's very, very high resolution3D.
So two years later, we launchedthis product in the market.
Unfortunately it was during thepandemic.
(07:17):
We showcased the Spatial RealityDisplay, and then a month after
CES, the world stopped, right?
With the big pandemic.
3D is really for people who arenot in this space, it's very
hard to explain like how you seedepth and how you have this
immersive experience.
(07:38):
Because the experience that thegeneral public have of 3D is
really like the movie theaters,right?
That just one single object isin 3D.
Not the whole, environment,which is totally different from
what we were delivering.
So it was a little bit of achallenge, launching this
product, during the pandemic,but we were able to, bring a lot
(08:00):
of developers.
We were, a lot of companies whoare interested and understood
the beauty, and the importanceof 3D.
I always tell people, for me, itdoesn't make sense that we are
still working on a 2D screensince the world is in 3D.
Right?
We wanna change that! Yes.
We wanted to change thatperspective for not only the
(08:23):
people who are passionate aboutthe 3D world, but also for the
general consumer.
So based on our experience withthe Spatial Reality Display, we
realized quickly that there arenot so many contents that are in
3D.
And what I mean by 3D is like6DoF, right?
(08:44):
To be able to have thatexperience and whole scenario
in, 3D and we were like, okay,how can we change that?
And that's how we, we'velaunched XYN, because we wanted
to bring the whole experiencefrom content creation for
helping, the general consumers,creators to, easily create the
(09:09):
environment in 3D, as well asthe physical objects.
So the spatial, capturingsolution solves exactly that
problem.
So you can connect, an iPhone toa mirrorless camera from Sony.
We have an application thatguides you on how many photos
you need to take of theenvironment or the object.
(09:32):
We uploaded those images on ourcloud and we processed those
images to recreate theenvironment or the object for
you to see in 3D to be used on aheadset or on a project, or in
Unreal or Unity, any of thetools that you are, familiar
with.
(09:52):
So once you build theenvironment with our spatial
capturing solution.
We were like, okay, that's thefirst step.
You have the environment, youhave the object that you
captured.
How can we add motion to it?
How can we add either like acharacter to be running around
the environment or, how you canuse like with a human, to be
(10:16):
walking around and having thisexperience into the scenario and
the scene that you captured.
So we have our mocopi, ourmotion capture device, which is
pretty affordable comparing towhat is available, in the
market.
You don't have to wear any suitsor any, you don't have to have a
studio to be able to captureyour movements.
(10:39):
So mocopi is like the sixsensors that you attach to your
body and allows you to previewyour body motions in real time
and translate that into youranimation or avatar.
So you can add as part of theXYN, you add that motion to your
project.
Once you have the environment,you added the motion, how do you
(11:01):
see and experience that yourwork in 3D with a very high
resolution?
That is when it comes theSpatial Reality Display that
allows you to see the images oryour project have a pre
visualization of what you'recreating.
The XYN is really the completesolution for content creators in
(11:23):
the 3D world.
So we are providing easy toolsthat can be used on creating the
project.
And it fits not only like thepeople who have no experience
creating assets in 3D, but alsolike the professional use cases.
You know, the beauty about ourtechnologies, we can meet, the
demand for, high-endprofessionals who have
(11:44):
experience, but also the earlyadopters who are starting to
create projects in 3D.
So those are the projects andsolutions that we have under our
XYN brand.
And then the two that areavailable right now in the
market are the mocopi, which wehave two versions.
Because you mentioned like, howdo you get feedback from
(12:06):
customers?
Most of our products werecreated because they asked and
we saw the demand and the needto create such a product.
So after the Spatial RealityDisplay, we've launched mocopi.
The first generation was justthe six sensors and pretty, as I
mentioned, very easy, veryintuitive.
(12:26):
You can, carry it on your pocketto start doing your animations.
It connects to a phone, it pairswith a phone, and then you can
animate your avatar, veryseamless.
You can do it outside, insidewhenever you wanted to.
The first generation was sixsensors.
And then at CES we, announcedthat together with the XYN
brand, the second generation,which allows you to combine two
(12:51):
sets of mocopi.
You have a set of, a pair withthe 12 sensors that allows you
to have a better accuracy.
We've noticed that especiallyindie game developers who wanted
to have a better accuracy, withthe first generation of mocopi,
they were like, how can I addmore sensors?
Can I pair 2 sensors, two casesinto one?
(13:13):
We were like, great! That's whatwe are gonna allow! Let's, solve
this issue, and come up with aproduct that you can combine.
And one of the other, feedbackwas, they don't wanna connect it
to a phone.
Some people think that it's verynice to be able to connect when
they wanted to record animationsoutside, but they also wanted to
have a combination of recordingthe data on your PC, sending the
(13:37):
motion data directly to your PC.
So that's exactly what we did.
We came up with a solution thatyou can combine two sets and you
can stream live motion data toyour PC directly.
So that solved the accuracy andit's still less expensive than
wearing a motion capture suit.
(13:58):
And the calibration.
I don't know if you have seenany motion capture studio, but
it requires a lot of,calibration process, like T-pose
and yeah! And we wanted to solvethat.
We wanted to be as simple andquick as as possible.
So the calibration is very easy.
It's just.
(14:18):
You know, wear your, your mocopisensors and do one step forward
and then that's it.
Like you are fully calibrated.
It's less than a minute.
It's very, I have a, a fouryears old daughter that she
loves wearing it! And she'slike, learn it very quickly! I'm
like, okay, if my four years olddaughter can do it you know, the
(14:40):
people like that don't have anyexperience on motion capture can
see it, can do it.
And it's amazing to see, when wego to events and the reaction of
the public saying, oh my gosh,how can this be possible?! We
don't even need to, invest in, avery expensive, studio to be
able to capture those motions.
(15:00):
And the good thing is everythingis in real time.
If you're using, Unity or Unrealor Maya or Blender, we have a
plugin that sends the motiondata directly to your project in
real time.
So, you can preview youranimation and customize your
animation according to yourpreference.
(15:20):
The pair of the XYN is just like$450, which, you know, it's more
than half of the price of thesuits that are available, in the
market.
Nathan C (15:30):
This is amazing! Thaisa, you read my mind and
predicted a couple of the thingsthat I just wanna dive deeper
on.
One of my favorite questions toask is about how you learn from
your customer.
And you have a very interestinggroup of customers that you're
needing to learn from and workwith and engage.
(15:54):
And I sort of counted three.
The first customer group thatyou talked about were the
engineers and the developersthat you were partnering with.
And I loved, I just to go allthe way back to this origin
story of how can we take this tomarket?
I love that the beginning ofthis journey starts with a cross
(16:16):
team partnership to talk withdevelopers and learn and build a
vision for where things can go.
Like, that's super cool! As aleader of business development
and product lines, you're alsohaving to telegraph and learn
from the industry, from theevents, from, you know, there's
a very interesting customergroup in terms of like the
(16:37):
creative side of Sony, that youget to learn with.
But like, how do you tell thatinnovation story, that 3D
creator story to executives of aglobal technology company, and
then all the way back down tothe floor at CES interacting
with the frontline consumers andfolks who are gonna be powering
(17:01):
their VR chat avatars and theironline gameplay and, maybe their
own independent films as well.
To be able to balance so many,customers and so many inputs
and, still have such an elegantsolution, like bravo!
Thaisa Yamamura (17:17):
Thank you! I always tell people that, I'm a
messenger.
I talk to a lot of companies.
We have a lot of partners, thatwork with us.
I try to get, what is the latestin the market.
I love talking to developers, tothe engineerings to see what can
we solve?
Like what are the problems theyare facing?
How can we solve bringingtogether the engineering side?
(17:42):
So I'm passing the message ofwhat the market needs to the
engineering and say, okay, howcan we build something that
solves this issue and provide,different tools for the market
focusing on the creativity, as Imentioned in the beginning.
So I always try to talk to asmany people as possible creators
(18:02):
from different industry.
I mentioned the beauty oftechnologies really, we don't
know what they are gonna create,right?
We provide the tools and we sortof imagine that, they're gonna
use the technology in one way.
But the beauty about technologyis that there are so many
possibilities that, when you putthis product and solutions in
(18:25):
front of the creators, they comeup with so many different
solutions and use cases thatthey can use the product that
you are not even imagining.
One example, when we launchedthe Spatial Reality Display,
when I was at CES during oneyear, right before the pandemic
in 2020.
(18:46):
I was on the floor and I lovebeing on the floor, to hear, the
reaction of the people andtalking, getting their brains
and pick their brains and talkto them and asking questions.
I love that part of research.
It helps me to understand thecustomer point of view.
So I was there, on the floorhearing and getting their
(19:06):
feedback.
And I remember, this customerand this person talking about,
oh, this display is great formedical.
And I'm like, medical, how wouldyou, how would you use it on the
medical field?
He's like, oh, I have a lot ofDICOM files that are in 3D and
I'm like, oh, okay! So how canwe and medical field that
(19:27):
healthcare industry was notreally our focus, for the
display, but I remembered himsaying, no, you should
definitely, I have a solutionfor 3D, to see DICOM files,
DICOM is a very, common fileformat for a CT scan, So I was
like, oh, that's so interesting.
Like to be able, becausenowadays when you see a CT scan
(19:50):
is 2D, but the doctors, whenthey're performing a surgery,
they need to have this depth,this perspective.
So I was like, oh, we shoulddefinitely study this market and
have a better understanding.
And we look into the market, Ifound some a company, that are
doing some solutions that cantranslate DICOM files into 3D
(20:11):
files that were compatible withour Spatial Reality Display.
So it was like, oh my gosh, thisis the perfect combination to
address the need for thismarket.
So that's, an example of, thingsthat we were not even thinking
about.
And then we got this idea by,showing the technology in front
of people.
And they gave us this feedbackand, this idea to focus on this
(20:35):
market.
Nathan C (20:36):
Development is hard.
Integrating products,partnerships is hard, but the
solution, you know, that theypresented you is effectively
like, give me a pathway, make iteasy for me to use the stuff
that I already have in a betterway with your tool, right?
(20:57):
Like you don't have to invent anew thing.
Thaisa Yamamura (20:59):
Yeah.
Nathan C (20:59):
You don't have to build a new file type for
medical imaging, right?
It's like, let me help you buildthis pathway, to something you
don't even know about, right?
But let me just help you usewhat you already have with a
little bit, more skill or, youknow, there's the 2D to 3D thing
is like, it's such a no brainer,right?
Like if you are a 3D designer.
(21:22):
Like, don't you wanna see whatyou're building
Thaisa Yamamura (21:24):
Yeah.
Nathan C (21:25):
in 3D?
Right?
Like, if you are a doctor who'soperating in 3D, don't you want
that extra dimensions worth oflike information?
Thaisa Yamamura (21:34):
Yeah!
Nathan C (21:34):
And to be able to make it so accessible is just
gorgeous.
Thaisa Yamamura (21:38):
Yeah, no, and hearing like physicians, when
they look at the display, theysaid, you know, this solves a
lot of problems when teachingstudents, because one of the
hardest thing to teach is thesense of depth.
Right?
How deep they can go and what isthe distance between one organ
and the other, like that type ofsensibility, and skill, it's
(22:00):
very hard, but, you know,technologies like our display
make it easier for them tounderstand, to train their
brains, about, you know, thatsense, that skill, that it's so
important in that field.
Nathan C (22:14):
You said something about how like the research and
data and consumer like insightsare key to how you approach your
work.
You know, I come from amarketing background, so you're
speaking my language, but I alsoknow that not every organization
values research and data in thesame way.
(22:36):
Can you talk about, navigating,a large organization and being,
the messenger of data and userinsights, and, what sort of
skills you've needed, to help,make that so core to the work
that you do?
Thaisa Yamamura (22:50):
Yeah.
I'm lucky that I also came fromthe marketing side.
I started my career 25 yearsago, and it was really in
marketing.
And one of the most importantthing is you have to hear your
customers, right?
Like, and I remember, beforegetting to the XR industry, I
(23:11):
was doing product, marketing forTVs.
I was able to launch the firstsmart TV in the market.
I remember telling my manager,we usually do a lot of research,
back in the days I used to do alot of, house visiting.
We would go to the customerhouse to study.
(23:31):
Every details count.
Where they position their remotecontrol, where they place the
tv, how they turn on the tv,like the usability, how they
operate the product.
Every single detail gives you achance to change and provide
unique experience for theproduct.
And I always tell my team, youhave to be in the shoes of your
(23:55):
customers.
What do they need?
Ask questions, how they operate.
Put the product in front ofthem, and how do they turn on
the product?
How do they connect the product?
What type of contents theywanted to be, seeing in the
product.
So those are very detailedinformation, but these can turn
into something really great.
You can develop features thatnobody thought about.
(24:19):
How you place the product, howyou are gonna design the
product, and being able totranslate that feedback by
talking to your engineering tosee what is possible.
This is what I see.
How can we solve this productusing your skills, to be able to
(24:39):
bring the best combination inthe market.
When I mentioned that I'm amessenger is really to be able
to bridge this gap between whatthe market needs and what our
engineering are capable ofdoing, right?
Like, how can we solve this?
Most of the time, there is noreason to involve our
engineering to change theproduct.
(24:59):
How can we bring solutions andpartners that are already
developing a technology or, atool that bridge this gap, with
the existing tools that we haveavailable in the market.
So how can we get our productand enhance that based on the
feedback that we have from ourcustomers using the partnerships
(25:22):
that we already have in place,or if we don't have, how can we
look for partners?
Who are the partners?
Who are the companies that arealready working in this space?
Most of the times we have tolook into the market, what is
available out there?
If there is a company that it'sdoing amazing job, why not
integrating with our products toprovide the best combination?
(25:42):
So that's the part of theproduct development that I work,
to be able to bridge this gapbetween product, customer, and
engineering.
And the other hand is thebusiness development.
How we can bring partnershipsthat can enhance that without
changing much about, thetechnology or the product that
we already have.
I always tell that I'm in thebest position, but I'm always
(26:06):
the connector, connectingproduct customer with the
engineering team, and how can webring new solutions into the
market that can solve, thedemand of our customers.
And I'm lucky that we lovehearing, customer feedback.
We take it very, very serious.
If there is a demand or if thereis an issue, we solve it very,
(26:28):
very quickly.
We have this as our toppriority.
Nathan C (26:31):
+1 to it is a benefit to being at a consumer obsessed
company when you're trying to doinnovation, like, oh my gosh!
You're fighting only half assteep of a hill.
This idea as well, that likeyou're leading with questions
and that there is an assumption,that development may not be the
(26:55):
answer, to make a more robustproduct, I think is like kind of
shocking in the world of 3D.
I've literally been inconversations with like Fortune
leaders who were convinced thatif their spatial experience
wasn't completely photorealisticand specific one-to-one match
(27:18):
that like people just wouldn'tbe into it.
But it was still a tool that waslike an XR tool that was
actually selling product.
It was like, you have a majorwin that nobody else has ever
done, which is sell stuff withXR in the checkout process and
that it's not 3D is like, maybenot the thing that the customer
(27:39):
is focused on so, bravo forreally listening, instead of,
you know, what I call like"solutioning" what a customer
might want.
You know, like actuallyfulfilling what they ask for.
Thaisa Yamamura (27:50):
Yeah! And I always tell my team, we are in a
unique position because, beingin charge of product and
business development, thismarket, it changes a lot, right?
Nathan, you are in thisindustry, and sometimes you know
what our customers wanted andour engineering, what our
engineering can deliver, ittakes time to develop and I'm
(28:11):
like, why not getting like apartner that have already
developed and, and bringing themtogether, to be able to provide
this solution quickly to ourcustomers.
Right?
That's the problem that we aresolving, within the
organization.
You know, how can we changequickly to adapt it to the
customers?
What they need and what are thetools to enhance their work
(28:33):
using our hardware or software.
And I always tell my team, youknow, put yourself in the shoes
of the customer.
Is this what they need?
What are the feedback that wereceive?
Not your personal opinion.
What are the exactly words thatthey said in terms of feedback?
Let's translate that into whatit really means in terms of
(28:55):
technology.
What do we need to provide?
One of the, the main tasks forour team is to be the
translator, and connector.
Nathan C (29:04):
Oh my gosh! Fantastic leadership, right?
When a solutioned approach wouldbe to say, our customers want
this.
Go build it.
Right?
An empowering leader's approachis to say, here's the problem I
want you to go solve.
Really solve the problem.
Like, wow! So we set up thisfantastic seven year journey
(29:26):
with this product and buildingand growing and adding.
The name of the podcast is theTech Glow Up, right?
Which is a notabletransformation, a rebirth, sort
of a coming of age.
I use it to talk about biggoals.
Having built this product lineand built so much insights and
(29:47):
to have aligned with yourcustomers, seems like fantastic
success.
But what's the six month goalthat you're working on?
How are you gonna top this,record setting year?
Thaisa Yamamura (29:57):
Yeah! We are very excited with our spatial
capturing solution.
It was announced at CES, butit's still a prototype.
Soon we are gonna bring backaccess to, the public.
Which we are very excitedbecause again, we wanted to get
feedback on ways that we canimprove how customers are using
it.
(30:17):
We already have collaborations,in place, but I think in the
next six months we really wantedto get feedback from our people.
So we are gonna start givingback the access for this
solution so they can really testand, push the limit of the
technology, provide us feedbackand see what they need and, what
(30:39):
we can improve to provide thebest solution, for their work.
So really focusing on that areaof the business.
Because without content, without3D, good high quality 3D
content, you cannot start aproject, right?
You cannot create a 3D, projectwithout this base.
(31:00):
And we, we were able to showcasein different tech conferences
the work that we've done.
The environments that we'vescanned and the object that we
scanned.
The feedback was really nice.
I was at SIGGRAPH last week.
People were very excited.
They were like, oh, I wanted totry this! So wait a little bit
(31:21):
longer.
It's coming soon! This is gonnabe my team's focus on bringing
that to the market.
We will start with Beta accessand then move it to the market
soon.
Nathan C (31:32):
Amazing! I know so many people, designers,
developers, photographers, dronepilots, who are just obsessed
around 3D capture and whateverthe next innovation in 3D, and
splatting may be.
You were talking aboutenvironments, I realized that I
was paying attention mostly toobjects.
(31:55):
I'm gonna have to go back andcheck my notes.
That's amazing!
Thaisa Yamamura (31:59):
Yeah, no environments, especially like
for virtual production, a lot ofentertainment companies are now
using virtual production.
Our technologies is perfect forcreating the background, for the
virtual production.
Nathan C (32:12):
Like The Mandalorian kind of?
Thaisa Yamamura (32:14):
Yeah, and it looks very realistic.
We have a location, here in LAcalled the DMPC.
And Nathan, if you're ever inLA, please let me know! I would
love to give you a tour there.
They have these virtualproduction sets and I was able
to bring my team and they werelike,"Oh my gosh, this is
perfect!" We scan some spaces inShibuya in Tokyo, and they're
(32:37):
like,"Oh my gosh, this feelslike in Japan!" And if you look
at our reference monitors, youcannot tell it's virtual
production.
It's so realistic! My team, theywere very impressed.
They know the technology andthey're like, oh my gosh, this
is, now I get it.
Like, why we're we are doingthis! Because it looks really
realistic!
Nathan C (32:57):
It's also like super telling at how complex the
ecosystem is.
Thaisa Yamamura (33:02):
Yeah.
Nathan C (33:02):
Like if you're working on the tool and can still be
amazed by what it can do whensome other person, you know,
puts it through what their partof the, that value and
production chain is.
So amazing! We like to make timefor a spotlight or a shout out
for somebody that's doing goodwork, whether it's a nonprofit
or impact org or creator thatyou're just obsessed with.
(33:26):
Is there anybody that you'd liketo share a spotlight with today?
Thaisa Yamamura (33:29):
Yeah! So I collaborate a lot with the VR/AR
(VRARA) community, theassociation.
They are great.
I think they are pushing thismarket.
And we love to collaborate withthem on how we can support,
bringing the XR world into morecreators and more developers.
And I think they do a reallygood job, but also, you know,
(33:51):
not naming any specific,community specific, but I'm
really focused on also bring,how can we bring more women or
girls into the tech world?
I always try to, set up, atleast five hours of my time
within the month to dedicateabout, mentorships, especially
(34:13):
for my home country in Brazil.
And I mentor some people inJapan as well.
So how can we bring more womeninto this space?
I'm proud also to have my team,a lot of amazing women that are
creating a lot of amazingtechnology and, I'm really proud
of that.
Most of the time within mycareer, I was the only woman
(34:36):
sitting at the table and I'mlike, which we have to change
that.
Right?
And I have to be part of thegroup that we will change it.
Like how we can, bring morepeople to, provide tools for
those women to be in the techworld.
Nathan C (34:52):
I'm gonna let that sit.
That's just gorgeous.
And thank you for that! Bravofor, in many cases, being the
first woman, to bring some ofthese products to market.
You know, bringing products tomarket like this for a company
the size of Sony, building thesekinds of partnerships, right?
Learning from users, whetherthey're an enterprise that's
(35:15):
trying to make movies or whetherit's, you know, a bunch of
teenagers who were trying tomake movies.
It doesn't matter where thestudio is, right?
This dedication to buildingconversations around what is
possible I think is absolutelygot to be the strategy that has,
helped you build thesepartnerships, bring people
(35:37):
along, let them discover whatthey see in the data.
And really push both long-termstrategic thinking with that,
what are the optimized,ambitious things we can do today
to really answer the questionsthat we're getting.
Just like a epic, masterclass inhow to think about a product and
(35:59):
build over time, while you learnand grow.
Like an amazing example of,product led leadership for The
Tech Glow Up.
Thaisa, I really cannot thankyou so much! I do need to make
sure to ask, how can peoplefollow up?
And is there anything, do youhave a call to action or
anything that you're lookingforward to?
Thaisa Yamamura (36:19):
Yes, yes! Yeah, please feel free to connect, via
LinkedIn.
I'm Thaisa Yamamura there.
Follow our page.
It's XYN, X-Y-N.
We have a dedicated website.
We have a LinkedIn page.
On our website we have all thesolutions.
You can sign up for thenewsletter.
We are always here to hear thefeedback and get connected.
(36:42):
If you have an idea or if youhave a opportunity to
collaborate a partnership, meand my team, we are always open
to hear, especially new ideas.
So please, follow us on oursocial media and, feel free to
connect!
Nathan C (36:59):
Oh my goodness! I think we just have to leave it
there.
Absolutely one of my heroes anda total boss woman in spatial
computing.
Thaisa Yamamura, thank you somuch for sharing your journey
and innovation on The Tech GlowUp!
Thaisa Yamamura (37:14):
Thank you for having me! I appreciate it.
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