News: North Lets Focals Owners Share Their Experience with Friends via New Software Updates
With the latest software updates for its Focals smartglasses, North has essentially deputized its customers as marketing evangelists to friends and family.
Including Companies Search Results
Market Reality: A Hidden ODG & Magic Leap Connection, Epic Games Launches Fund, & Investors Back Mojo Vision & Scope AR
While Magic Leap turned heads at the Game Developers Conference with AR experiences at the Unity and Unreal Engine booths, news broke that the company was the winning bidder for ODG's patents.
Market Reality: AR Goes to Court as Meta Infringement Case Unfolds & Epic Games Takes on Nreal for Trademark
Reading the augmented reality news lately has felt a bit like reading a John Grisham novel, as the business side of things has dripped with legal drama.
Exclusive: Judge in Meta Patent Lawsuit Sets Deadline for Default Judgment, Meta's Founder Moves to Save Startup
The saga of augmented reality startup Meta appeared to be at end, but there are new developments unfolding in real time that may either sink Meta deeper into trouble, or provide a tenuous lifeline for the beleaguered augmented reality company.
Market Reality: Google Takes on Leap Motion, Snap Spectacles Invade NYC, & Vuzix Starts Selling Mainstream Smartglasses
All of the the tech industry giants, including Apple, Facebook, and Google, are working on new smartglasses and/or AR headsets, but this week, Google took a major step forward with gesture recognition technology that could make its way into AR wearables, posing a threat to Leap Motion and its hand-tracking controllers.
News: Snapchat's New Augmented Reality Trick Is Literally for the Dogs, Lets You Turn Your Pet into a Nerd or Reindeer
First, there was SnapCat. Now, we have DogChat! Or SnapBark? In October, Snapchat took social media by storm with its Lenses for cats. But the latest addition to the camera app has given dog lovers an augmented reality Christmas gift they won't want to return.
News: Smartglasses Maker North Picks Up Intel's Vaunt Patents
When wearables startup North officially unveiled its Focals smartglasses in October, the stylish frames strongly resembled, in form and function, Intel's canceled Vaunt smartglasses.
Market Reality: Magic Leap Demotes Execs, Artie Makes AR Smarter, & Walmart Adds AR to Its Shopping Cart
Signaling a new direction forward for the company, Magic Leap shook up its executive suite by re-assigning to top leaders to new advisory roles. Meanwhile, a new startup backed by Hollywood executives, tech venture firms, and notable angel investors plans to bring new life to AR for marketing entertainment properties.
News: MagiMask Is Probably Not the AR Headset You're Looking for, but Offers a Cute Trick for Mobile AR
So far, consumer augmented reality headsets haven't found mainstream success. That's primarily because no manufacturer has managed to hit the sweet spot between slim form factor, performance, and affordability.
NR30: The Augmented Reality Investment Leaders of 2018
People say that money makes the world go 'round. And it's no different in the world of augmented reality.
News: Illumix Emerges from Stealth with $8.6 Million in Funding to Build a Mobile AR Gaming Platform from the Ground Up
Apple often cites its tight integration of hardware and software for its success. Startup Illumix is looking to do the same thing for AR gaming by building an AR platform for its apps.
News: Meta Company's Funding Fallout Followed by Furloughs, Report Says
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.
Market Reality: AR Display Companies Cash in as Apple Acquires Akonia & Avegant Closes $12M in Funding
For the augmented reality hardware industry to progress towards the consumer segment, display technology needs to get better. Investors recognize that, and they are showing AR display makers the money.
News: VR Veteran Jaunt Develops Portable 3D Capture Service for Volumetric Augmented Reality Content
Better known among consumers for its virtual reality apps, Jaunt is now pivoting toward solutions for augmented reality developers.
News: Avegant's Future Looks Bright as It Lands $12 Million in Funding for Augmented Reality Displays
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.
Market Reality: Magic Leap Launches, L'Oréal Friends Facebook, & Nickelodeon Takes TV to AR
The long, long, loooong wait finally ended this week for the augmented reality community as the Magic Leap One was finally released. The Florida-based company has loomed over the industry for years promising something big, and now the AR cat is finally out of the bag. Now we get to see if it will live up to expectations, but early reviews are a bit skeptical.
News: Blippar Brings Its AR Navigation Capabilities Indoors
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.
How To: Timehop Breach Impacts Everyone Who's Ever Used the App — Here's How to Check What Info Leaked About You
Data breaches are all too common now, and the latest one you need to know about involves Timehop, a mobile app that makes it easy to reminisce over old photos. The breach, which took place on July 4, was revealed on Sunday, July 8. At the time, Timehop disclosed that 21 million users had been affected by the breach, but it now appears that all users were impacted in some way.
News: Snapchat's Lens Explorer Guides You Through a Land of Augmented Reality Creations
Augmented reality experiences created in Lens Studio now have a permanent home in the Snapchat app. On Tuesday, Lens Explorer will begin giving users access to a scrollable screen full of a variety of new Lens Studio creations.
News: Build Your Own AR Headset Using Leap Motion's Open Source Project North Star Design
Less than two months since unveiling Project North Star, Leap Motion has released the reference design that will allow developers, makers, and even manufacturers to build their own augmented reality headsets based on Leap Motion's work.
News: Retailers Benefit from Augmented Reality in Operations & Online Sales Over In-Store Experiences, Research Says
Although retailers like Mac Cosmetics and Zara have been celebrated for deploying innovative in-store augmented reality experiences in their brick-and-mortar locations, a new report throws cold water on the practice.
News: DigiLens Gets $25M Boost from Continental for Automotive Augmented Reality
Waveguide manufacturer DigiLens has closed a $25 million Series C round of funding from automotive technology company Continental, which uses the technology in its heads up displays.
Market Reality: AR Competition Heats Up as Microsoft, Google, & Samsung Make Money Moves
Some of the big guns developing augmented reality technology fired shots at their competitors with announcements and leaked plans this week.
Market Reality: Microsoft's HoloLens Sales Figures Revealed, AR Boosts Snapchat Revenue, & Facebook Expands AR Platform
This week, we're beginning to see the wide ranging impacts of some of the early iterations of augmented reality hardware and software.
News: Snapchat Unveils Updated Spectacles with Improved Audio, New Colors & Faster Data Transfer
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.
News: Developers Can Now Add Native 3D Content Search & Download from Sketchfab to Their Apps
Sketchfab, one of the leading 3D model aggregators, continues to defend its turf from encroachment by Google. This time, the company has deployed a new API that gives developers even easier access to Sketchfab's extensive library.
News: Scope AR Adds ARCore Support to Live Remote Assistance App
Scope AR has decided to take its live remote assistance enterprise application, Remote AR, further into the mobile augmented reality realm by harnessing the powers of Google's recently released ARCore.
News: Cisco & Accenture Lead $17.2 Million Investment Round in Upskill's Enterprise AR Suite
Enterprise augmented reality software provider Upskill has raised $17.2 million in its latest round of funding, led by new investors Cisco and Accenture.
News: Magic Leap Confirms Massive New $461 Million Investment from Saudi Investors & Others
Just a week after rumors surfaced of a massive new investment in Magic Leap led by Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund (PIF), the investment has been confirmed by the company's CEO Rony Abovitz.
News: Magic Leap Working on $400 Million Extension of Last Year's Series D Round Funding, Report Says
As the Notorious B.I.G. once said, via his hit single, "Mo Money, Mo Problems." However, it would appear that Magic Leap feels a bit differently about piling on the cash.
News: Snapchat Launches In-App Store with 'World's First AR Superstar' Hot Dog Toy & Other Swag
It used to be that the best kind of swag was T-shirts and hats from your favorite music artists, but now the symbol of casual insider cool falls to the tech companies, and Snapchat has just joined the ranks of branded apparel purveyors.
News: Meta 2 Augmented Reality Headset Available to Businesses Through Dell Starting in February
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.
News: HoloLens Can Now Simulate Childbirth to Train Medical Students
Medical training technology company CAE Healthcare has given birth to the latest example of how augmented reality can help to build practical operating room skills for doctors and nurses. The company's newest product is called LucinaAR, which harnesses the power of the Microsoft HoloLens.
News: A New Age in Wireless Charging Is Here — & It's Not Just Qi
Today could mark the beginning of a new age in wireless charging. The FCC has certified the WattUp transmitter, a revolutionary technology that could shape the future of smartphone charging. This new tech addresses many of Qi charging's limitations, and if things go right, may lead to a truly wireless future.
Market Reality: Magic Leap One Says Hello, Google Tango Waves Goodbye & Honda Uses AR for CSR
Everything that has a beginning has an end. This week marked the end of the long wait for the reveal of Magic Leap's first product and the beginning of the wait for more substantive details. Likewise, Google Tango will meet its end in March 2018, when ARCore will officially begin its public rollout.
News: Magic Leap Previews New Way to Experience Music with Sigur Rós App
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.
News: Honda Thaws Our Cold Hearts with Augmented Reality Get Well Cards for Hospitalized Children
Augmented reality has given companies worldwide great powers for innovating business practices and engaging customers, but on Monday, Honda demonstrated that with great power, also comes great social responsibility.
News: Apple Bets Another $390 Million on AR's Future, Funds Finisar to Increase iPhone X Component Production
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.
News: HoloLens Update for Remote AR App Offers a Peek at the Future of Remote Collaboration in AR
On Wednesday, Scope AR, makers of Remote AR, the augmented reality video conference calling and remote assistance solution, announced that the app is finally available for HoloLens. Next Reality had a chance to talk with the founder and CEO/CTO of Scope AR, Scott Montgomerie, inside this new version of Remote AR.
News: Star Wars Unleashes Adorable AR Porgs via Snapchat
To promote Star Wars: The Last Jedi, Disney and Lucasfilm released virtual porgs into the wilds of Snapchat via a Sponsored Lens on Sunday.