In late 2019, Herman DeBoard embarked on an ambitious journey to reshape the gig economy landscape with Huvr, a ground-breaking virtual experience app. Huvr stands for “Human Virtual Reality,” reflecting the app’s ongoing mission to provide real-time, human-guided experiences.
Today, this innovative platform seeks to transform how people explore distant landscapes and cultures by virtually connecting users with human guides around the world.
The spark of innovation that launched virtual travel on Huvr
Herman DeBoard’s idea for Huvr was born as he watched the character Jake Sully, a paralyzed former Marine, teleport virtually to a new world via a pod in the film “Avatar.” Inspired, DeBoard leveraged his coding skills to develop a minimum viable product that could turn the film’s far-fetched plot into reality.
“We built an app essentially like Uber,” DeBoard explains, “but instead of connecting riders to drivers, we connect virtual travelers to human walkers around the world. Users can log on, select a walker, and get real-time visual and auditory experiences of various locations.”