Drop: Future of Immersive Computing
What happens when a guy who is infatuated with information discovery on computing devices begins sketching out the future of discovery in immersive computing with a group of tech geeks, designers, and sci-fi nerds?
The Introduction
At Drop, we’re an intuitive and creative crew that is intricately bonded by our collective vision for the future and our individual interests. We spend our time outside of Drop doing gardening work, in the comic book store, falling deeply in love with contemporary black art, or developing new games for Oculus VR.
One of our mantras at Drop is that people build products and people use products hence people become your greatest asset. We always say, “we are in the people business.” We are technologists creating a foundational part of the human experience.
The Accident
Drop started out as a personal obsession of our CEO — Russell Ladson. One afternoon while heading back to New York City after a weekend trip, he was a passenger in a near-fatal accident. The ER doctor told him that his injuries didn’t match the physics of the accident — that he was lucky to be alive. Having that face-to-face encounter with death reshaped his perspective on the relationship between our human existence and our daily work. This occurred around his third year on Wall Street so he was already contemplating new opportunities. Unintentionally, Drop became the new opportunity, thus taking this personal obsession and building a product around curiosity, intuition, and empathy.
The Product
Drop is the “Google Chrome for VR/AR.” It’s an immersive internet searching and browsing experience designed for virtual reality and augmented reality users.
The first thing many of us do when we open our MacBooks or iPhones is access a web browser because the browser has traditionally been our gateway to information discovery. Well, what does this foundational computing experience look like in about 3–5 years when our iPhones or MacBooks are no longer our primary computing devices but instead each of us owns a virtual reality or augmented reality headset?
Our team has been looking to answer that fundamental question.
If you ask any of us on the team, our users, or investors, there is this invisible, esoteric, divine force that has guided our journey. Rooted in this belief that our work serves a greater good that we don’t understand today, we remain passionate because Drop sits at the center of three areas we care deeply about: technology, art, and design.
The Future
People often laugh when we tell them this, but we are looking to create the first piece of hardware that replaces our smartphones. As Marvel fans, we often joke about creating a Kimoyo bead-like hardware from Black Panther that would allow you to search, interact, and discover the world around you in a more meaningful and authentic manner — in a way that reminds us that technology is merely a tool to enhance our human experience.
We believe that design is not how something looks, but how it functions. Matter’s emphasis on design thinking, human centered design approach, and vision for creating a more empathetic society through media and technology was mutually aligned with our mission of building products that help the world connect in a more meaningful and authentic way.