Over the past few years, my work in mixed reality has evolved from a fascination with emerging interfaces to a disciplined pursuit of practical, scalable value. What began as experimentation has matured into a mission: to understand not only what XR can do, but what it must do to achieve real-world adoption. The path has been iterative and humbling, rooted in both creative ambition and the sometimes-hard constraints of markets, users, and feasibility.
From Fascination to First Principles: The CodeBloc Chapter
My initial entry into mixed reality was driven by curiosity—captivated by hand tracking, passthrough, and spatial interaction. CodeBloc was the first tangible expression of that excitement. In a summer sprint with two collaborators, we built an MVP and tested it with real users whose reactions confirmed the emotional potential of immersive experiences.
Through the Zell Entrepreneurs program, however, I came to recognize its limitations. CodeBloc could delight, but it lacked the repeatability, durability, and business model required for longevity. Still, it was an essential chapter: it grounded my intuition about where MR excels and where it fails when confronted with real-world expectations.
Shifting Toward User-Centered Design: The Birth of OXR 1.0
Armed with these lessons, I approached OXR 1.0 from a new lens. Rather than leading with technology, I led with user needs. Through structured interviews and field observations in classrooms, I identified critical friction points—multi-device complexity, limited accessibility, and the lack of user agency when content is locked behind vendors, despite the inherently contextual nature of education.
This insight drove the development of a web-based platform that simplified creation and delivery while preserving XR’s spatial strengths. We also engineered a one-headset streaming system with multi-perspective view control, enabling real-time visualization across devices without adding complexity.
This phase marked my first true experience managing a multidisciplinary team—eleven contributors aligned around a shared vision. Through pilots and workshops, we validated usability, reliability, and early adoption. For the first time, I understood what it meant to build not just an impressive demo, but a product that real users could integrate into their daily workflows.
“OXR is pushing the status quo in K–12 educational spaces.”
— M.A. Education student, University of Michigan School of Education
In pilots, 100% of the participants successfully designed and delivered XR lessons with minimal training.
“I enjoyed how we could see the heart beat and the difference in thickness. I also liked that we could listen to the heartbeat.”
— Upper School Student, Detroit Country Day School
With 90% reporting satisfaction and 90% wanting OXR in future courses, these results and reflections affirmed that we were building something not only technically strong, but genuinely meaningful and socially relevant.
Redefining Scope and Value: OXR 2.0 and the Move Beyond Education
Deploying and piloting in educational contexts revealed several structural challenges—procurement processes were slow, decision-making was often misaligned with end-user needs, and traditional K–12 environments lacked both the time and digital assets required to fully leverage XR. While we saw stronger traction in innovation centers and after-school programs, even securing early paid licensing, it became evident that scaling beyond isolated pilots would remain difficult within these constraints.
These realities prompted a broader strategic shift toward additional verticals. With OXR 2.0, the ambition expanded beyond educational innovation to position OXR as a productivity platform for spatial content creation.
The goal was no longer merely to showcase XR’s potential, but to operationalize it—enabling non-technical users to build, update, and deploy spatial experiences using familiar tools and predictable workflows. This phase required confronting market realities and rethinking value propositions across industries.
As we approach the end of 2025, we are beginning another round of outreach and discovery, extending OXR’s applications beyond education and into enterprise contexts such as museums, product showrooms, and marketing environments—where spatial storytelling and interactive showcasing have tangible value and clearer pathways to adoption.
The Transformation: From Novelty to Empowerment and Adoption
Looking back, I see a clear evolution, from technologist to product thinker, from experimentation to disciplined execution. I’ve encountered enthusiasm, skepticism, and the sobering lessons that come from real users and real markets.
Throughout this journey, many people have told me that XR is going nowhere, or that products like OXR are ahead of the market. Much of this skepticism comes from those whose last experience with XR was five years ago, who tried early prototypes, walked away, and never revisited the space. They point to devices like Apple Vision and call them failures; they dismiss the entire field as redundant.
If we look at the data, it is true that nearly 90% of XR initiatives stall in pilot phases and fail to become integrated into workflows. But rarely do we pause to ask why. The issue is not the lack of potential—it’s the lack of accessibility, usability, and alignment with everyday needs.
I now believe that MR’s path to widespread adoption hinges on accessibility over spectacle. The future belongs to platforms that reduce friction, enable agency, and integrate seamlessly into existing workflows. Novelty may open the door, but empowerment keeps it open.
This conviction now anchors my work: building toward a future where spatial computing becomes an everyday productivity layerm, that is practical, intuitive, and accessible to anyone, not just experts.
Choosing the Harder Road: Conviction, Growth, and Long-Term Value
Reflecting on the past few years, I know I could have taken the easier route. Most graduates seek the safety of predictable routines and clear career paths. But I chose uncertainty. I chose to build in the “undefined” and navigate without a map, embracing the loneliness and the risk of failure that comes with it.
This wasn’t a reckless decision. It was a calculated conviction. While others saw risk, I saw long-term value. I’ve realized that the essence of life isn’t the destination—it’s the growth and the thrill of creation.
Even if this product eventually fails, the impact of the process is permanent. It has forged my character and redefined my mindset. Products have lifecycles; the courage I’ve gained is forever. The biggest change hasn’t been the code—it’s been my shift from a tech-loving kid to a problem-solving leader.
Entrepreneurship is lonely, but it’s where conviction is tested and humility is learned. Real courage shows up in the quiet moments when you decide to keep going. I don’t know the final destination, but I know my “why”: I see a future where spatial computing is a practical, everyday tool.
I am not waiting for that future. I am building it. And that growth is what makes the struggle worth it.
