June 3, 2019
One of the major takeaways from the 10th annual AWE last week was that enterprise is where the AR/VR market is growing. It was clear that there are serious – and real – enterprise applications providing ROI today to both large and small companies. AWE USA 2019 also saw a number of launches and updates from enterprise AR/VR solution providers. Catch up on all the enterprise news below:
Atheer
Atheer announced expanded support for devices that can control and provide input to smart glasses via gestures. The enhanced support for gestures – achieved with advanced machine learning tech – makes it easier to control more types of smart glasses outside of the limited group of smart glasses with dedicated depth sensors and enhances other modes of interaction. Learn more
Bose
In addition to being on track to have over one million BoseAR-enabled devices in consumer hands by the end of the year, Bose – an unlikely enterprise player – is building an industrial BoseAR wearable for loud, noisy and distracting work environments. Learn more at EWTS 2019 Sept. 17-19 in Dallas, Texas, where Bose’s Ilissa Bruser is speaking. Bose will exhibit at EWTS.
Jujotech
Jujotech’s latest solution Fusion AR with WorkLogic provides connected workers on the job with quick access to IoT-enabled machine information and remote expert guidance. WorkLogic, an open API, works within Fusion AR to send digital work instructions and checklists to AR glasses/headsets, tablets and smartphones. Learn more
Lance-AR
Lance-AR launched at AWE! The consulting and integration company specializes in AR enablement for the enterprise market. Its Enterprise AR Deployment Services are focused on enabling scaled enterprise deployments that deliver real, near-term value with the AR hardware and software available on the market today. Learn more
LogistiVIEW
LogistiVIEW announced its partnership with Fetch Robotics, which combines the AR company’s Connected Worker Platform with Fetch Robotics’ autonomous robotics solutions. The combo enables robot-assisted processes to achieve a “complexity and scale rivaling traditional fixed automation.” It also costs less and is more flexible than traditional automation. Learn more
Logitech
Logitech’s VR Ink Pilot Edition – still a 3D-printed prototype – is like an oversized stylus that lets you draw and design in virtual reality. You can trace designs in 3D space or sit at a table and draw on its surface. The harder you press on the button or tip of the stylus, the thicker the line. The tech offers more precision than a game controller and is more natural to use for creators and designers. Logitech says it’s close to a final design. Learn more
Qualcomm
Qualcomm’s Snapdragon Smart Viewer reference design debuted last week. Built on the Snapdragon XR1 Platform, Smart Viewer is designed to help speed up product development for AR/VR headsets. It takes advantage of the XR1’s processing power to enhance the content AR/VR headsets can offer to consumers and enterprise, distributing the workload and tapping into the compute power of host devices. Additional features like eye tracking and six degrees of freedom (6DoF) controllers unlock even more immersion. Learn more
RE’FLEKT
The Munich-based company announced that the REFLEKT ONE ecosystem now includes Siemens Teamcenter. Siemens customers and business units can easily source live data from the Siemens PLM system for content creation on the REFLEKT ONE platform. The connection should dramatically increase the speed and accuracy of AR/MR content creation. Learn more
Rokid
Rokid provided a sneak peek at its next-generation mixed reality glasses called Rokid Vision, which are distinguishable from the Rokid Glass (now ready for mass production) thanks to a dual-screen display and 6DoF technology. The sleek design includes an RGB camera, two depth cameras, and a simultaneous localization and mapping (SLAM) module that offloads complex 6DoF calculations from the mobile CPU. Rokid is tethered, requiring you to connect it to a USB-C device with DisplayPort support. Expect the Rokid Vision SDK to be released in the third quarter of 2019. Learn more
Scope AR
Scope AR made a few announcements at AWE, including a new customer (medical device company Becton Dickinson) and an expansion of its integrated AR platform at Lockheed Martin. The company also launched an upgraded version of its WorkLink platform, including session recording. This addition means users can capture and save live sessions between themselves and an expert (the live remote video support calls and AR annotations) for later reference—a great way to retain and pass on tribal knowledge. Learn more
ThirdEye Gen
The creator of the world’s smallest MR glasses (X2) announced a new Software Partner Generate Program intended to expand its developer community and provide exclusive partnership opportunities to individual developers as well as large AR/MR software companies. Learn more
Ubimax
Ubimax expanded its industry-proven Frontline platform to support HoloLens. The integration of HoloLens 2 into Ubimax Frontline extends the benefits of Ubimax’s software into mixed reality environments, making it easy to enrich existing and new AR workflows with holographic 3D objects. Preview here
Varjo
Varjo was certainly a crowd favorite at AWE, where the company announced and demoed its new industrial-grade headset. Varjo says XR-1 Developer Edition delivers on its promise of making mixed reality indistinguishable from the real world. The video pass-through headset is capable of producing images with a resolution of more than 4K per eye, making the XR-1 the only device that can seamlessly blend the real and the virtual. Varjo will begin shipping XR-1, which connects via wire to a powerful PC, to developers, designers and researchers in the second half of 2019.
Varjo has also teamed up with Volvo, which uses its tech to test-drive virtual car designs on the road. Check out VentureBeat for more specs and examples of industrial applications for XR-1. In addition, hear from Volvo’s Amanda Clarida at EWTS 2019.
Wikitude
Wikitude now supports all leading wearable technologies, not only standalone devices like HoloLens but also a new spectrum of tethered smart glasses starting with the Epson Moverio BT-35E. This means users can engage with AR content wearing head-mounted devices connected to 5G smartphones. Learn more
Vuzix
The smart eyewear maker revealed that the Vuzix M400 Smart Glasses are now available for purchase at a cost of $1,799 as part of an early adopters program. The device, however, won’t actually ship until September. With a larger memory profile, improved voice recognition/noise cancelling, a new touchpad, built-in GPS, OLED display, and Qualcomm Snapdragon XR1 at its core, M400 promises improved interactivity, power consumption and thermal efficiency. Learn more
Catch Atheer, Bose, Lance-AR, LogistiVIEW, Qualcomm, RE’FLEKT, ThirdEye Gen, and other leading enterprise AR/VR solution providers at EWTS 2019.
The Enterprise Wearable Technology Summit (EWTS) is an annual conference dedicated to the use of wearable technology for business and industrial applications. As the leading event for enterprise wearables, EWTS is where enterprises go to innovate with the latest in wearable tech, including heads-up displays, AR/VR/MR, body- and wrist-worn devices, and even exoskeletons. The 6th annual EWTS will be held September 17-19, 2019 in Dallas, TX. More details, including agenda and speaker lineup, available on the conference website.
