Brandon Hedges
XR Software Engineer
Brandon is an XR Software Engineer that began his journey in XR as an intern making mixed reality applications for the Bosch Research and Technology Center and its partner Carnegie Mellon University.
He thoroughly enjoys building real-time 3D applications for healthcare use cases. In the past, he has worked as a contractor for the University of Pittsburgh’s Biodynamics Lab to build real-time medical visualization tools. He has also worked as an XR consultant for the University of Pittsburgh’s School of Medicine building XR applications for medical training.
Brandon’s experience as an engineer extends into several other industries as well. He has worked for Bosch Building Technologies and Edgetide LLC as a full stack engineer. He has also worked as a QA Engineer for Panasas Inc.
Brandon holds a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science from the University of Pittsburgh, where he also teaches a course in Video Game Implementation for the Information Science School as an Adjunct Instructor.
What do you find most inspiring or powerful about VR?
The ability to show something to a user from a different perspective. You can alter someone’s perception of reality so much in VR. You can make an adult see from the perspective of a child, or put the world in the palm of someone’s hand. There is really no limit.
What’s your favorite thing we’re working on at BehaVR?
I love working on engaging applications that do more than just entertain, they genuinely help people. Often times applications that are educational and gamified get the stigma of being boring or not engaging. I am a firm believer that engagement can be a great tool to get someone more invested in their mental health. At BehaVR I get to make applications that are engaging and helpful to the user, which is very fulfilling for me.
What’s the best advice you’ve ever been given?
Success is a direction. Not a destination.
What’d you think you’d be when you grew up?
I wanted to work in emergency services, and I did for many years.