Lionel Guillaume visited Montreal for the first time in 1996. “I immediately liked the city for its art of living and its dynamism. It benefits from both a true North American culture in economic and human relations , and a real European cultural influence”, he says. But Montreal is also a leading center for digital animation, its specialty.
“Quebec is extremely strong in creating experiences from digital technology. There is real know-how,” he testifies. An expertise that he explains in particular by the arrival of Ubisoft at the end of the 1990s, which favored the arrival of talent on the video game market, but also by “a more uninhibited vision of culture”. Following this first discovery, supported by the Office franco-québécois pour la jeunesse.
The result of a collaboration
Lionel Guillaume goes on business trips to Quebec. And became, in 2009, project manager of an augmented reality initiative: a partnership between the French audiovisual company for which he worked and a Canadian company he met on site. “It was the first industrial cooperation project in augmented reality between France and Canada,” he recalls. From there was born an application for the castle of Cherbourg (Manche). Then he meets his partner. “The creation of Ohrizon, in 2014, is the fruit of this collaboration”, he says. The company has two agencies, in Paris and Montreal.
First specialized in augmented reality for cultural and tourist destinations – we owe him the Hello Maestro Montréal application to introduce children to the city’s biodiversity, or even augmented reality visits to the Champlain church – , the Franco-Quebec structure has been developing the human resources component for two years, with applications dedicated to training and maintenance. “We are in the process of changing the economic model. This is the great adventure of 2022.” And to summarize: “Our activity is to make knowledge accessible, whether cultural, professional or other…”
The other adventure is the launch, in 2021, of a $1 million* research and development program, with the University of Sherbrooke, on artificial intelligence for augmented reality glasses. “The idea is to be able to analyze user gestures in order to correct them.” The project, according to him, would have been difficult to see the light of day in France. “Beyond the scientific support, we have benefited from real financial support. We have been supported at all levels by the city of Montreal, and the governments of Quebec and Canada”, he confides. The following ? If he does not plan to create a third agency, Lionel Guillaume, who today benefits from dual nationality, intends to develop in the rest of Canada… from the Montreal base.
* CAD$1 = €0.74