Continuing our NR30 series this week, we focused on the leaders of the software development industry that make augmented reality experiences possible. In other news, two of the current leaders in making AR headsets, Microsoft and Magic Leap, are pursuing multiple verticals with their products, as both now appear to be interested in making AR headsets for the military.
A major obstacle to the mainstream acceptance of smartglasses is the current inability able to smoosh processors, sensors, and batteries into a pair of frames that look cool. Wearables maker Thalmic is hinting that it may have figured it all out.
This week, Next Reality published profiles on the leaders in augmented reality hardware industry, with Magic Leap CEO Rony Abovitz topping the list. So, it should be no surprise that two app makers want to align themselves with Magic Leap's flagship product.
This time last year, we got our first taste of what mobile app developers could do in augmented reality with Apple's ARKit. Most people had never heard of Animojis. Google's AR platform was still Tango. Snapchat introduced its World Lens AR experiences. Most mobile AR experiences existing in the wild were marker-based offerings from the likes of Blippar and Zappar or generic Pokémon GO knock-offs.
Augmented reality gaming developer Niantic has decided to give its players the opportunity to make their mark on Pokémon GO with a PokéStop nomination system.
After a $20 million funding round fell through, augmented reality headset maker Meta Company has been forced to furlough (or place on temporary leave of absence) approximately 65% of its workforce for 30 days.
Better known among consumers for its virtual reality apps, Jaunt is now pivoting toward solutions for augmented reality developers.
The display is one of the most critical components in augmented reality hardware, and on Tuesday, one of the companies making that component, Avegant Corp., closed a funding round of $12 million to support development of next-generation AR displays.
Computer vision company Blippar has already dabbled with outdoor AR navigation, but now it wants to make it easier for people to make their way through indoor spaces with augmented reality.
When you drive along the deceptively sedate streets of Silicon Valley, there are few hints that all those nondescript office parks and low-rise buildings contain the very future of the planet, but they really do. On a recent trip to tech's epicenter, I found that out firsthand when I got to visit the offices of Meta, the startup that produced the Meta 2 augmented reality headset.
For years, Magic Leap has promised to deliver stunning augmented reality experiences that will outperform any other competitor, and a newly revealed partnership hints that the company may be able to deliver on those promises.
Germany-based Augmented reality software maker Re'flekt has added a new tool to its enterprise app development platform that makes it simpler to link AR content to physical objects.
Talk about rapid-fire. Apple released the sixth beta for iOS 11.4 on Thursday, May 17. The update comes just three days after the release of iOS 11.4 beta 5, indicating that Apple is readily approaching the official release of the software. Apple has not issued an official iOS update since 11.3.1, which found its way to users over three weeks ago.
Despite the fact that Snap Inc.'s Spectacles weren't the hit some were expecting, the company is nevertheless taking another swing at it by releasing an updated version.
This week's Game Developers Conference came at just the right time for Magic Leap, a company that was riding a wave of bad news from legal troubles and rumors regarding Magic Leap One.
Noted poet T.S. Elliot once wrote that "April is the cruelest month." But Magic Leap might argue that March is the most miserable, as the Ides of March brought more legal woes to augmented reality startup. Elsewhere, its closely-held branding secrets have been spilled by way of the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).
After closing its 2017 financial books on a high note, Snap, Inc. is planning to ride the momentum of its augmented reality products into the new year. That's the main takeaway following the company's 2017 earnings conference call, which was held on Tuesday.
Following up on a preview of the deal we reported during last week's CES, Dell has officially announced the details around its role as the first company to resell the Meta 2 augmented reality headset.
As the calendar year (and, for many companies, the fiscal year) comes to a close, it appears 2017 may stand as the new high-water mark for investment in augmented and virtual reality technology.
It finally happened. Magic Leap has given the world its first glimpse at its debut device, the Magic Leap One Creator Edition.
Last week, Magic Leap CEO Rony Abovitz teased his Twitter followers with some "fun and cool stuff" to share in the coming days. On Monday, he made good on that promise, sort of.
In a move that will increase production capacity for its TrueDepth camera system, Apple has awarded vendor Finisar with $390 million from its Advanced Manufacturing Fund.
The would-be role of Snap Inc. as the first step toward mainstreaming wearable tech in the form of glasses has stalled, and now we have proof. In the company's third quarter financial results report, released on Tuesday, Snap Inc. revealed that it will lose nearly $40 million due to unsold Spectacles, the camera glasses first sold at kiosks throughout the US.
When it comes to augmented reality smartglasses, for now, it's still a mostly enterprise world, since the form and function of most are more acceptable on a job site versus your local cafe, and the still high price tags are far more palatable to major companies rather than individuals.
At the Augmented World Expo Europe press conference in Munich today, RE'FLEKT will unveil the addition of remote video calling to their RE'FLEKT One enterprise augmented reality platform, in addition to ARKit and ARCore apps that demonstrate the platform's capabilities.
Lowe's Home Improvement has been an early adopter of augmented and virtual reality in their business practices, so it was a bit of surprise that their name was absent from the ranks of companies launching ARKit apps last week.
Outside of early military applications, augmented reality is a relatively new technology. It stands to reason that the next company to make a splash in AR would be a startup, and Techstars wants to help.
While Meta Company has agreed to a settlement in its lawsuit against a former employee and his company, they find the tables have now turned on them in the form of patent infringement allegations from another entity.
For as long as 14,000 years, the First Nations people of the Heitsuk Nation have made their home along the Central Coast of the Canadian province of British Columbia. Among the territory's inlets, islands, rivers, and valleys lie a clay deposit on the north side of Kisameet Bay, near King Island. For as long as most can remember, the tribe has used the clay as medicine. Now science says microbes that live in that clay may have important antibacterial properties.
BMW seeks to hire 2,000 engineers for its driverless program ahead of the launch of its iNext Level 3 model in 2021, a source close to the company told Driverless.
We continue to field stories underscoring the strong trends of Investment in augmented reality in various sectors. This week, one company strengthens their offerings to the enterprise sector, while two other companies capitalize on the promise presented by augmented reality to consumers – specifically, in gaming.
A new survey shows that the majority of companies have an interest in using augmented reality, though adoption remains low. Meanwhile, two companies with support roles in the augmented reality industry are seeing positive financial results.
Thanks to a $100 million deal, you could be seeing more original shows on your Snapchat soon. Already, Snap has been producing super short shows in order to compete with social media outlets like Twitter and Facebook who have also been attempting to create their own content. While musical.ly has so far had the biggest success in this area, this deal with Time Warner is certainly promising for the beleaguered platform.
The leading platforms enabling augmented reality technology lead our headlines in Market Reality this week.
We're all passionate about something. Maybe it's the environment. Stopping poverty. Finding the best taco joint ... Whatever your cause, the last thing we want is to support companies whose practices go against what we believe. After all, you can't trust someone who doesn't like tacos. So it can be difficult to know which companies to avoid; there are just too many doing too many shady things to keep track of. Until ...
In a series of news about the OnePlus 5, the company posted its first teaser of the upcoming device on its Weibo account. According to GSM Arena, the teaser doesn't show us any sneak peaks of what the phone might look like — co-founder Carl Pei took care of that — though, we are greeted with the caption "Hey Summer! Give me five!"
The US driverless market has become a competitive – and crowded – arena, with big names like Google, Apple, Uber, and even Intel intent on leading the pack. Not to be outdone, the EU is also getting in on the automated car action with self-driving fleets launching in both the UK and the Netherlands within the next two years.
One thing you don't see often in the driverless industry are partnerships. When automakers are in the news together, it usually means drama. However, an important partnership between Nissan and Mobileye was announced today. One that has the potential to make driverless cars on the road better and safer.
The drama continues! In the latest installment of the feud that has rocked the driverless vehicle industry, Waymo is now accusing Uber of withholding a secret LiDAR device.
Velodyne wants to set the standard for the driverless industry when it comes to LiDAR. To do that, the Silicon Valley-based team just announced its next step — create a low-cost, fixed-laser sensor that can be embedded into a wide range of automotive and autonomous vehicles. That next step is named the Velarray. A sturdy, compact, and affordable LiDAR laser.
