Author: Maria Stenina

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News

Smart Glasses: use cases, challenges, and future potential

smart glasses

Smart glasses, the eyewear technology that layers information onto a user’s field of view, started off as simple front-end displays. Throughout the years, we saw it progressing to being capable of performing complex computer-powered tasks. Below, we will cover a few highly-rated devices, followed by successful use case applications.

Unlike the 100% immersive virtual reality headsets, smart glasses give users a sense of physical and digital worlds simultaneously, providing a much more natural experience. This experience is achieved through either an Optical Head-Mounted Display (OHMD), Augmented Reality (AR) technology, or through Heads Up Display Glasses (HUD).

Despite its continuous growth and value potential in the enterprise and industrial sectors, these wearable computer glasses still face challenges that delay them from reaching mass-market usage.

Challenges


Facing a defining moment, smart glasses companies currently strive to expand their ground. Even though businesses are finding great workflow solutions through eyewear technology, the public will still have to wait a little longer to reap the benefits of mass accessibility and usage.

Smart glasses producers have realized that to reach mass-market usage, they must first overcome the challenge of balancing functionality and wearability at an affordable cost.

According to Fast Company, “the sheer number of components needed to make AR glasses function will be hard to squeeze into a design that you wouldn’t mind wearing around all day. This includes cameras to pinpoint physical location, cameras to track the movement of eyes to see what you’re looking at, displays large enough to overlay the full breadth of your field of view, processors to power the displays, and the computer vision AI that identifies objects, and a small and efficient power supply.” Furthermore, ensuring comfort design and cooling mechanisms to compensate for intense computation will be key for mass adoption. 

Despite these challenges, there are many smart glasses in circulation today providing great value to various users. Below, we will cover a few highly-rated devices, followed by successful use case applications.

Smart Glasses

Lenovo ThinkReality A6


The ThinkReality A6 AR headset includes inside-out 6DoF tracking to optimize AR experiences and enable industrial versatility. This mobile device is designed to help the workforce use AR applications to receive expert assistance, reduce repair times, decrease errors, streamline complex workflows, improve training quality, and save costs. The device is powered by Wikitude image and object recognition technology.

Epson Moverio BT-300

This lightweight eyewear device contains a front-facing camera, motion tracker, and a display on each lens. The device is suitable for entertainment, manufacturing, medical science, and more.

Supported by Wikitude: optimized Epson SDK

Vuzix M300

These smart glasses provide an agile workplace, with fully connected staff and managers. Industry operations are facilitated by the wide range of apps available, a built-in HD camera, AMLCD display, and more.

Supported by Wikitude: optimized Vuzix SDK

Mira Prism Pro

Since no plugs, computers, or wires are needed, this AR headset offers an alternative way to interact with holographic images. The company has recently raised ﹩10 million funding and decided to focus solely on the industrial use of the headsets. Mira Prism Pro device features external cameras and a see-through interface, allowing hands-free intuitive interactions with the real world.

To be supported by Wikitude: optimized Mira Prisma SDK

HoloLens

The HoloLens is an untethered mixed reality device that is designed to deliver value instantly. Users get the benefits of using cloud and AI services from Microsoft—including reliability, security, and scalability.

Being one of the leading mixed reality headset devices on the market, Wikitude has optimized its augmented reality SDK to support and complement the Microsoft HoloLens 1. 

Use cases

Better than asking what a specific device is capable of, we want to answer a more important question. What are some solutions smart glasses can provide? What is stirring the computerized eyewear market right now?

Video Collaboration

The most prominent application for smart glasses today is most definitely video collaboration. The ability to work together with experts remotely in a “see-what-I-see” system is improving many sectors across the board. Applicable from field service to complex engineering support, remote assistance functionality makes more companies incorporate the smartglasses technology into their workflows.

Complex Manufacturing

Assembly lines are all about speed, productivity, accuracy, compliance, and quality control. These fundamental elements happen to be the exact areas in which smart glasses can deliver. In tasks where every detail counts, automotive and aerospace manufacturers implement eyewear devices to bring real-time solutions to the factory floor.

Logistics and Warehousing

While keeping their hands free and receiving directions and visual cues directly in their field of view, warehouse workers can quickly locate, collect, and deliver items. Smart glasses are substituting handheld devices, scanners, and printed materials. As a result, employees are increasing productivity while decreasing errors and subsequent costs.

Building and Construction

Using smart glasses (or smart hard hats), construction workers experience a safer, more productive hands-free workflow. Structural inspections and errors can also be more accurately held and corrected through remote solutions offered in real-time.

Validation functionality

Augmented reality solutions are invaluable when it comes to maintenance. Smart glasses allow technicians to receive step-by-step visual prompts to help accomplish tasks such as assembling, repair, or maintenance procedures. The head-mounted displays also come in handy for technicians to validate the actions to ensure that every step was correctly executed.

Consumer Level

Even though the consumer market still can grow, we can already see use cases in various areas. For example, AR guides that enhance visitors’ experiences in museums. Theaters rely on eyewear to provide instant subtitling to their guests, while tourists can easily find their way around through projected navigation directions and reviews. Athletes can have access to real-time speed, power, distance, and other indications. Drone pilots conveniently see their drone’s field of view. All these are critical and worthy niches, even if they are still far from mass adoption.

Future potential

The current use of smart glasses is convincing more and more forward-thinking businesses to hop on board. Although widespread public usage is still pending, smart glasses have found valuable areas to operate, develop, and grow. So helpful that it is not surprising to hear that tech giants like Apple, Samsung, and Meta (just think of Oculus market success!) are working on their AR-powered smart glasses.

Let’s take a look at the potential this technology has in store for those still not convinced.

Imagine being able to update the knowledge you need directly to an eyewear database. This scenario allows a hands-free workforce with instant access to targeted knowledge directly in their field of view. Such an implementation would ultimately increase quality control, improve maintenance, provide faster and more reliable solutions, save money on management and training, facilitate remote assistance, to name a few.

Until mass-market glasses finally hit the stores, this eyewear technology will continue doing its magic behind the curtains hidden in facilities, warehouses, and construction sites worldwide.

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News

How tech can be harnessed to do good in the world

Tech for good Wikitude

AR is an immersive technology of our future. It generates value in every vertical applied – from factory floors to education. How can brands and organizations use it to do good and bring society’s critical issues into the spotlight? Let’s find out.  

Listen to my voice

“My name is Ann. The Big Issue saved me. I want to tell you my story” – the street newspaper vendor Ann’s face lights up the screen as she proceeds with telling her life story through the AR-powered video.

Like thousands of street vendors across Europe, Ann is usually not spoiled with passers’ undivided attention. They rush past, looking intently at their smartphone screens, barely paying attention to anything around. The UK street newspaper The Big Issue decided to challenge the existing paradigm and use technology to bring otherwise unnoticed stories to society’s eyes and hearts.

https://youtu.be/QJeFi7XXL1s
The Big Issue AR special experience

Ann’s story was brought to life through the ‘GenARate’ AR app by Konica Minolta. Realizing that the impact companies and brands leave in the world goes well beyond the consumer level, Konica Minolta decided to use the power of omnipresent technology to connect people. Interestingly, the project came to life following an inspiring conversation between The Big Issue magazine vendor and a Konica Minolta team member. It prompted the team to think about how it could help the organization and its vendors to overcome the challenges it was facing as a traditional print publisher.

Selling the magazine has given our vendors structure, a sense of purpose, and dignity. It was really important for us to find a way to engage and empower a wider audience through digital channels whilst not compromising on our physical vendor model.
Oliver Waddington-Ball | Head of Content and Partnerships | The Big Issue

As the result of this creative collaboration, the Big Issue “Tech for good” special was filled with augmented exclusive content. Using the app, readers discovered the story after story – from the animated front cover and living city map to renowned Scottish actor David Tennant reading an extract of a magical adventure story.

People don’t tend to associate AR with a social enterprise like The Big Issue. We used AR in several editions to shift this perception and demonstrate how technology really can make a difference in all parts of our society.
Rob Ferris| CEO| Konica Minolta Business Solutions (UK) Ltd

This initiative was later recognized by a prestigious Tech-for-Good Award 2020, showing appreciation for the positive impact on the local community. But most importantly, The Big Issue collaboration with Konica Minolta marked an essential trend of social impact storytelling spreading wide and far.

Socially distant, emotionally connected 

Well aware of the heavy weight the COVID-19 pandemic has put on the shoulders (not seeing the family members for a long time to keep everyone safe), the GenARate app continues its mission to bring positivity to the world using technology.

Their #STAYHOME campaign aims to provide an easy (and free!) augmented reality tech-for-good tool to help people connect with friends and family. Users just need to download the free app and follow step-by-step instructions in the AR editor to create a personalized augmented message. 

A brand that wants to save the planet

Konica Minolta was not the first partner who used Wikitude-powered storytelling for a social cause. Haircare brand Herbal Essences teamed up with digital agency Tactic and innovative waste management company TerraCycle for an equally good cause. AR campaign was launched to raise awareness for the global ocean pollution issue. As Herbal Essences believes in biodiversity’s critical role in keeping our planet in balance, they wanted to encourage consumers to be mindful of recycling.

Herbal Essences AR
Herbal Essences tech for good AR app

The partnership involved creating recyclable shampoo and conditioner bottles made of 25% beach plastic. This project used augmented reality enhanced product packaging as a portal to the immersive game.

Plastic floating in our oceans and rivers has been a recent topic for discussion and unless people work to find solutions, it stays just that—a discussion. By incorporating beach plastic into their bottles, Herbal Essences shows that they are committed to leading by example.
Tom Szaky| CEO| TerraCycle

Values that drive decisions

Why does social impact storytelling becomes too important to ignore? In our increasingly digitalized society, technology can act as a mixed blessing. With generation turnover and people under 40 years old possessing most of the purchasing power globally, personal beliefs and values become a significant currency in relationships between brands and consumers.

According to 5Ws 2021 Consumer Culture Report, Gen Z and consumers aged 55+ are most vocal when it comes to brand loyalty. At least 56% of Gen Z responders claim that they buy from companies that align with their values. Those aged 55 and up are the least forgiving and most likely to boycott a company entirely because of their stance on an issue. 

The best way out for the brands is to use their power intentionally. Not only in doing good but in choosing the right tech tools to spread the message that reaches their customers’ minds and hearts. And for that, there is no better companion than augmented reality.

Did this blog post get you inspired? Follow Wikitude on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn, and sign up for our newsletter to receive the latest news about augmented reality first hand!

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News

Disrupting the sports industry with augmented reality

Augmented reality technology is taking industries by storm. It is versatile, portable, and easy to deploy, making this tech infinitely adaptable for every sector. Let’s explore how the sports industry is already experiencing significant AR-led change.

Pioneering AR industry since 2008, Wikitude has established a leading position as a consumer and enterprise faced technology provider. This year marks the technology officially reaching its maturity and increased adoption speed across industries due to the global pandemic. 

PwC pre-pandemic forecast envisioned the XR sector to boost GDP globally by 2030 by up to $1.5 trillion. This claim still stands true. Adding to the impressive numbers, one of the major AR features is being portable and easily enabled through the personal devices. According to the ARtillry revenue forecast, there are currently almost 3 billion smartphones on the planet capable of supporting AR experiences. Thanks to hardware and 5G advancements, AR experiences become more immersive and elaborate, becoming a go-to tool to increase retention and boost customer engagement. 

So how AR disrupts the sports sector in particular? Read on to learn more.

AR in sports: theory and practice 

Within a couple of years, we saw a massive shift in the consumer and users’ perspective towards AR acceptance. These days with social media face filters and apps, this technology penetrates our daily lives and proves to have more value than the initial one-off “wow” effect. Sports fans and enthusiasts, in particular, seem to found precisely what they’ve been looking for. A technology that is easily accessible (be it their own home or stadium) sparks genuine emotion and helps to connect with their favorite teams and athletes in a new exciting way. Wikitude has been in the game for a decade, catering to the most renowned sports brands and agencies’ needs. 

From branded filters on social media to augmented sports apparel, multiplayer AR games, or 3D volumetric avatars of the favorite athlete practicing moves on your coffee table – augmented reality makes it possible.   

Campus AR by Balti Virtual

Augmented reality in sports: use cases to watch

One of the most powerful examples of using AR in sport on a large scale to date is the Wikitude-powered Globo Rio app, specially created for the Olympic Games in Rio. The app used Geo AR technology to act as an interactive Olympic Village guide. Using the augmented reality mode, visitors could quickly orient themselves among venues, discover statistics, matches, and follow live results. The app’s multifunctionality and ease of use proved essential for such a major sports event, resulting in over 100,000 installations in the first two days.

Before Rio, Wikitude has powered the official 2012 London Summer Olympics app, “Join In.” The app provided visitors to the Olympics with everything they would need to fully enjoy the games – from online scheduling to Geo AR navigation and social sharing. 

While Geo AR still stays one of the most demanded features, the industry sees the rise of other AR features, allowing high-quality 2D and 3D markerless and marker-based augmentations. 

Augmented reality is a powerful way for sports teams and their sponsors to engage with their fans wherever they are (which is unfortunately not in stadiums and arenas these days). From AR “photo ops” to mini-games, we’ve seen some of our most successful campaigns to date in the sports world.
Will Gee | CEO | Balti Virtual

Wikitude partner Balti Virtual studio specializes in ubiquitous AR sports experiences. The studio successfully uses the Wikitude SDK to augment a wide range of objects, printed materials (like “Tilt the Ice” augmented coasters created for Washington Capitals), and create stunning volumetric avatars.  

Washington Capitals Tilt the Ice by Balti Virtual

Augmented reality in sports coaching and training

AR can improve on-field decision-making and help eliminate the human factor when professionally assessing game results. The technology is capable of providing sports professionals with a better understanding of game analytics. The most common AR use case is a Hawk-eye system. Essentially a computer vision-based augmented reality solution; it is used in ball sports to help judges make fair decisions based on the real-time ball trajectory projection.

Training efficiency can also be improved with the help of augmented reality. Volumetric capture and 3D data visualization enable athletes to get a better overview of training sessions, enhancing performance and technique. Trainers tap into the AR potential to move from a paper bond field strategy to a digital one, where decisions could be made in real-time, thus drastically improving the game quality.

AR in betting, e-sport and fantasy sports

As the global pandemic completely disrupted the sports industry in 2020, the world has to get used to new social distancing rules. This, in turn, led to a significant rise of interest in the PokémonGo style outdoor AR games (think fantasy sports and scavenger hunts). Such games use geolocation to connect players in the nearest vicinity, adding virtual elements and bounties to the real world map and allows players to interact. AR sports are about to be added to the fantasy sports range, offering an inimitable monetizing opportunity yet to be capitalized. 

Another area where augmented reality creates additional value and increases engagement and retention is e-sports and sports betting. Hugely popular, these sport varieties benefit from digital overlays, visualization, and different advertising options for brands. Blockchain-based companies like Wikitude’s partner Socios use augmented reality with fan tokens to increase the members’ engagement. 

Read more: Socios.com Fan Token Geo AR hunt

Sport AR with smart glasses

Lockdowns across the globe made people embrace technology and use it to compliment or even substitute live sports events. Within a couple of years, this steady habit of taping into AR, not just for one-off effect, but to get diverse content will be taken even further.  Wearables will play a significant role in how fans interact with sports in the future. With consumer smart glasses launching in the predictable future, sports fans can expect an increase in truly immersive experiences, that will leverage the engagement. 

Explore: Roadmap to augmented reality for sports companies

Augmented reality in broadcasting

AR is truly versatile and works well live or on TV. Several TV channels are already successfully using technology to generate more traffic and enrich real-time coverage with digital content. As the sports broadcasting market is expected to reach $78.5 billion in revenue next year, advanced technologies like AR will significantly contribute to its growth.  Augmented reality turns classic broadcasting into an interactive show with embedded 3D graphics, real-time game analysis, and overlays that audiences across the globe can truly enjoy. 

Ready to create sports AR apps that can recognize, track and augment images, objects, scenes, geographical locations, and much more?

Request a free consultation to learn how our tools and AR features can help you create the solution you need to boost your sports offerings.

Request free AR consultation with expert

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Team

In focus: interview with Markus Eder

Markus Eder CV Wikitude

At Wikitude, we are proud to say that we have a talent to find (& keep) talent. To show you how, we are introducing our new interview series, In Focus. Each article will tell a story about a team member that makes Wikitude what the company is today. Let us introduce Markus Eder, Head of Computer Vision team, who has celebrated nine years at Wikitude.

What made you take the leap and start your AR/Computer Vision journey?

When I studied computer science for my Bachelor’s degree, many things started shifting in the industry. The first smartphones were just introduced, with their new capabilities (especially these of iPhones), allowing a whole new category of applications. 

A concept that immediately caught my attention was an app called London tube. It overlaid the location of the next tube station in London over the running camera feed. I liked the concept and its potential and started to read about the technology and theory behind it. This search first brought me to augmented reality and further on to the whole area of Computer Vision (CV). So much so that I decided to focus my Master’s on it. 

After doing a semester abroad in Australia, I looked for opportunities to get a paid Master’s thesis. Such an opportunity arose in Salzburg at a local research center. There I developed a concept for AR assisted pedestrian navigation on a mobile device. To improve the user experience, it combined Geo AR with Computer Vision algorithms. As the thesis was completed, I realized that I want to stay in this field.

At the time, the job openings in Computer Vision were scarce, but luckily I landed one directly in Salzburg – at Wikitude.

What were your initial expectations?

When I joined the company, I thought I could continue in the same area as my thesis. But soon, I realized there is a clear gap between scientific research and product development. One thing is to show a prototype proving that a particular technology works. Developing that prototype into a ready-for-market product that works under all circumstances proved to be a whole other topic.

From a research perspective, those days were really exciting. Many Computer Vision concepts and groundworks that are applied in current AR frameworks were conceived around that time. As research topics like SLAM, Structure-from-Motion, or 3D Reconstruction were evolving, it became apparent that these ideas will enable a new generation of AR capabilities (even on a mobile phone). Wikitude, Imagination and Metaio (now part of Apple) were the first movers to integrate some of these ideas into their products.

What challenges or setbacks did you face along the way?

In 2012, a few AR apps in the market used the device’s sensors (GPS, Accelerometer, Compass) solely to overlay AR content on the phone’s camera stream. Back then, the focus was to market the existing solution rather than improving technology. So the first technical challenge was shifting from sensor-based to Computer Vision-based algorithms for AR visualization. But once we did, it opened the door for an entirely new category of AR use cases which have shaped the market as we know it today.

A second challenge was playing in a highly competitive environment. Up until now, the leading AR companies are far larger. Despite that, we’ve been competitively leading the space. I believe this drives all Wikituders to compete with those companies and offer better features and quality.



How did Wikitude transition from an app to an AR SDK provider? 

When Wikitude was still a young startup, the atmosphere encouraged the exploration of new ideas. It facilitated the integration of new features into the application. Soon, it got clear that there is a massive potential in allowing other developers to integrate AR technology into their products. This shift in focus meant changes in the tech teams to optimize our resources and develop a full-merged AR SDK.

As you progressed, did any part of your journey change? How?

Initially, the focus lay mainly on the Geo AR-based Wikitude app, so I worked on the Android side. The more we realized CV and AR’s potential, the more my focus shifted in that direction. At this point, we decided to create a new team to focus on R&D in that area solely. For me, it meant that I could work on the CV-based research aspects of the SDK. At the same time, we conducted state-funded research projects with several Austrian universities, which are among the best in AR and computer vision. The research results and expanding our team with international hires have helped us a jump-start in the right direction. 

Can you share any tips on how to build a successful CV team?

With an increased demand for Computer Vision-based features in the SDK, we continued to hire more people. It was hard to find people with a computer science background in general and with a particular skill set. Quickly we realized that we have to look for potential candidates internationally as it still was a very specialized field.  

As a tight-knit collective, we can not afford to hire the wrong people. I guess I always go with my gut feeling, and time shows it has been working.

There is also an exceptional working atmosphere in Wikitude where each team member feels that they can bring something to the table, and it encourages people to do their best.


How were your expectations met along throughout your journey at Wikitude?

When I think back to where we started, the whole journey exceeded my expectations – especially considering the market changes in the last couple of years. After all these years, we are one of the leading AR technology providers in the market with a vast customer base. The profile of our customers changed drastically over the years. 

In the early stages of our SDK, customers were most interested in creating a “wow”-effect for the customer by showcasing necessary information in AR. This approach has changed – now, the customers come with business cases in mind where AR has a clear benefit for the users. Just showing something in AR is not enough. Relying heavily on constant communication with our clients, we have significantly changed our offering and the feature set we provide to the developers.

Did you achieve what you wanted to? 

After completing my studies, my goal was to deepen my knowledge and continue to work and research in that field. Since then, AR has progressed so far that it influences people’s lives and assists in daily use cases.

Until the technology hasn’t reached its full potential yet, I will not stop working in this field until it’s done.

From your perspective, how is the future of AR and Computer vision will look like?  

I believe that in the future, we’ll move away from the web-based AR experiences where users have to hold a device in their hands as it restricts the use cases and interaction. As technology evolves, we’ll see a more natural and less intrusive way to interact with augmented reality content that is comfortable and intuitive for users. 

Another aspect that will change is the level of immersion. At the moment, in most cases, users statically look at augmented experience. Along with the hardware that will handle heavy computing and advanced optics, augmented experiences will evolve and offer more advanced graphics and interaction. We can already see how devices have solved the problem of localization, next up will be detecting and recognizing the objects in user’s environment to create a context. 

As a company, we are working closely on solving these challenges to support more use cases and make the engine smarter to recognize more complex objects.

What would be your advice for professionals who want to enter and succeed in the area of Computer Vision and Augmented reality? 

Many ways could lead to this area. Having a solid background in advanced mathematics will help along the way to understand the fundamental concepts of computer vision and AR. It has become more accessible in the last couple of years, thanks to dedicated programs focused on computer vision and the progress of deep and machine learning. 

Another helpful thing is defining which specific area you’re interested in – whether it’s visualization (an essential aspect of AR) or other areas, which comprise the fundamentals of computer vision and machine learning. There is much research happening in this area, but trying your hands on the actual technology could be very useful. 

Get more insights about our team: Read the interview with Wikitude COO Nicola Radacher

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News

How AR helps to solve the industrial workforce crisis

AR aging workforce

As the global population rapidly ages, the skill gap between generations of workers widens with an accelerated speed. Just like a pandemic, the aging workforce crisis makes an impact across industries and countries. This blog post will overview the complex challenges that the current workforce crisis brings and how technology and industrial AR can help solve them. 

Enterprises and manufacturers worldwide are about to face a strenuous challenge as a drastic amount of skilled workers will retire within the next 5 years. With industrial machines growing increasingly complex, workplaces, and teams becoming geographically dispersed, the task of closing the skill gap and passing the valuable knowledge of retirees needs to be urgently addressed. Industrial AR is here to help.

The decline of the skilled worker

Older workers represent a growing segment of the labor markets worldwide. According to Deloitte and The Manufacturing Institute’s joint study, the increasing proportion of the aging specialists in the US will leave 2,4 million positions unfilled by 2028, with a potential economic impact of 2.5 trillion. Studies show that by the year 2026, working Americans aged 55+ will comprise 24,8% of the working population. Similar processes happen in other countries. There are currently 9,4 million employed people in their fifties in the UK, equivalent to over 30% of the country’s workforce. According to Eurostat data, the European Union currently faces the rapidly aging workforce fallout too.  By 2030 European population aged 20 to 64 is expected to shrink to 55,9 % and those aged 65 and over to reach up to 24 %, namely a quarter of the total population.

Read more about tech and pandemic challenges: How AR drives value in the COVID-19 world

Retaining the expert knowledge 

While a whole generation of baby boomers steadily heads to retirement, the new generations of workers are often slow to show up in time to fill in crucial positions. The reasons for such delay vary: some take more time to complete tertiary education, while others find factory floors less attractive compared to office jobs. Seeking new ways to alleviate the financial burden of sourcing and training new talents, industry leaders begin to see that upskilling existing workers might be a safe way out. 

“The transfer of know-how and experience is a complex social challenge that cannot be done within a couple of weeks. The difficulty is mainly the human component: not enough appreciation for the loyal, older specialist and an overload of work for the – often much younger – successor. Ideally, both employees follow a clear process and have a coach on their side to take off the pressure.”
Klaudia Bachinger | Founder CEO | WisR

Advanced technology may hold a key to solving this challenge. Continuing technology adoption and increased investments in technological industrial solutions such as AR have already proved to exceed the return of time and financial assets. The digital revolution that has commenced to streamline and optimize the workflows in industries such as manufacturing, field service, and production is now rolling over to the human resources area.  

For many companies, the challenge of leaving older workers on board is often directly correlated with the overall challenge of creating and maintaining a permanent talent pool with employees ready to be upskilled and trained further to adapt to emerging jobs, complex data integrations, and automation.  Pioneers in future-proofing their organizations have already realized that upskilling large numbers of employees require money, time, and serious commitment. Here the digital dexterity of organizations comes to the fore.  

Industrial AR as a connecting link

Augmented reality has recently graduated from the Gartner’s Hype Cycle, officially moving from the emerging technology to the mature technology ready to be used and safely invested. Moreover, Gartner’s latest report predicts that multi-experience platforms, including augmented reality, will be deployed at least in one-third of all enterprises by 2021. 

Augmented reality offers a wide array of solutions for the field service companies and manufacturers that allow keeping and utilizing experienced workers’ knowledge. While the AR technology might still not be widespread, digital working instructions overlay and augmented remote assistance have proven to deliver rapid value across industries.

Scalable AR experiences allow uses to collaborate easily, using the expertise on-demand where and when required. Thus, AR solutions facilitate the expertise transfer, allowing the over-the-shoulder coaching by a senior worker, saving travel and training costs. 

The pandemic has accelerated the use of smart glass technology as an effective remote contact solution, not just in providing assistance solutions but also for remote training. The aging population was a pre-pandemic issue for many of our clients, in particular the challenge of replacing and training experts when older experienced employees retire. Smart glasses like Moverio can help address the skills-gap challenge of aging populations as well as upskilling the existing workforce through more efficient and remotely supervised hands-on training techniques.
Valerie Riffaud Cangelosi | Head of New Market Development | Epson Europe

The formula for successful reskilling is to keep training concise and achievable to motivate workers and guarantee a quick return on investments. Following the same objectives, Wikitude augmented reality applications allow easy deployment while driving high ROI and generating value across the enterprise and generations. The ubiquity of AR usage can help organizations embrace their workers’ aging and prolong their careers while carefully passing the knowledge and skills to the new generation.

Find more AR use cases: AR in maintenance and remote assistance

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Education

How AR adds value in the COVID-19 world

The 2020 COVID-19 pandemic forced the whole world into the new realm of remote work. While we seek new ways of staying connected through tech, AR shows its potential by bringing connectivity to a whole new level.

In the past months, we’ve seen the world change in the blink of an eye. With sudden lockdowns caused by COVID-19 across the globe, many were imposed to isolate and build new remote daily routines from scratch. What seemed unusual just a month ago turned into an everyday necessity. 

During this time we mastered virtual meet-ups not only on a technical but also on a human level. We realized that online conversations can be just as valuable as face to face ones. Countless Zoom and Skype calls rapidly took new shapes and meanings as they substituted our daily stand-ups and Friday get-togethers. Many employees appreciated the opportunity to cut the costs and time spent in daily commutes while their managers had to embrace the whole work from home situation and learn to build new workflows around it. 





And just like that, we found ourselves in the process of change, creating a new remote reality. While the tech we are using is not necessarily new,  it’s the newly developed attitude towards technology that changes the rules. With its unleashed potential, augmented reality becomes a technology that takes our daily experiences to the next level. And although the technology has been around for a while, its spread got catalyzed during the pandemic. Suddenly, the COVID-19 pandemic made the impact AR can bring crystal clear.

Here are 4 areas where augmented reality brings real transformation:

Shopping 

Being constantly concerned about hygiene is a trait of the new normal, that will stay with us for a while. As retail players hectically try to invent new ways to boost sales during the COVID-19 pandemic, try-before-you-buy AR apps and masks gain solid traction with social media platforms playing a significant role in making these solutions popular.  In the next few months, we will see even more helpful “try-before-you-buy” services, allowing customers to easily try any product – from sunglasses to a new piece of furniture. In the long run, the retail industry will fully adept AR as it proves to be indispensable in providing customized experiences and solutions.  

Safe reopening

Safe reopening is also becoming an important topic. Visitors will appreciate a tech that helps estimate how many people are already inside the museum and whether it makes a visit with a safe distance feasible. And while waiting outside, augmented reality allows visitors to have an engaging experience without even entering the building. For office buildings and academic institutions, AR can help keep people informed on new regulations and get questions answered about any COVID-19 response policies. See how Niagara University helps 3,300 undergraduate students stay safe in this year’s fall term.



Education

Schools and universities had to embrace the e-learning, as well as the ever-present possibility to go into the new lockdown on short notice. Remote learning and impromptu homeschooling demand digital tools to keep students connected, engaged, and motivated. Augmented reality could do the trick by providing new engaging ways to learn. Even the dry facts like the periodic system receive a new flair as students can interact with molecules. In Japan, kids can already use an augmented card game to learn how to code. Even printed materials get an upgrade with digital content or augmented animations that bring a foreign language to life.

Customer service

Is the vacuum cleaner broken during the pandemic? No clue what the error code is about? Customer service calls (especially in the context of a lockdown) can be long and tedious. And let’s face it, troubleshooting over the phone can be confusing and ineffective. Imagine that the manufacturer of your Roomba would be able to send an expert virtually to your house?  All you’ll need to do is to point the camera of your smartphone to the device to fix the problem. The expert then sees what you see and gives you clear and helpful instructions remotely on the next steps. These are only a few of the possible case uses of augmented reality in our daily lives.



Such effective AR solutions receive deserved recognition due to the limits the pandemic imposes. As the situation cools down, we will find the ways back into real life. We’ll most likely take the winning solutions with us to enjoy.

In the long run, AR proves to be a technology that helps us make the real-world better – by bringing more value to our daily experiences.

Categories
News

Augmented reality in maintenance and remote assistance

AR in maintenance and remote assistance

Make no mistake, the fourth industrial revolution is upon us. While conservative industries are still observing the action from the sidelines, leading 4.0 industries are reaping the benefits of their investments in AR-enhanced maintenance, repair, and operations practices.

Continue reading to learn more about how augmented reality is taking preventive, corrective, and predictive maintenance and remote assistance to the next level.

Augmented reality in maintenance

Maintenance plays a vital role in the industrial sector. Since it has a direct influence on performance, productivity and product quality (not to mention profit and reputation), maintenance is an area that is always being improved and perfected over time. And, rest assured, the current innovation in maintenance is augmented reality technology.

Augmented reality, in a nutshell, allows users to enhance their field of view with real-time superimposed digital information. But, more than that, it is a valuable solution for many of the challenges which surround industrial maintenance, repair, and operations.

Before we dig into practical applications, let us review some proven advantages of implementing a finely-tuned AR-enhanced MRO system:

General benefits of augmented reality maintenance

Don’t take our word for it. Controlled augmented reality case studies proved AR solutions to be indispensable in increasing the efficacy and cutting the error rates :

Boeing cut its wiring production time by 25% and reduced error rates effectively to zero. GE Aviation experiences an average of 8-12 % in efficiency improvement. GE Healthcare warehouse workers had a 46% increase in productivity using AR. GE Renewable Energy wiring technicians are yielding a 34% increase in productivity.

As they say, numbers don’t lie. Considering such attractive advantages and adding to the fact that large-scale factory breakdowns are often far more costly than maintaining a regular MRO program, more and more AR maintenance use cases are coming to life.

AR maintenance use cases

Industrial maintenance has humble origins. Back in the day machinery was slower, demand was milder, control systems were very simple and breakdowns were not as drastic. Fast-forward to the present day, and we have a whole different story.

Much has changed since the origins of the industrial revolution, with the more prominent developments emerging in the last decades. From physical documentation, we moved on to the desktop, then progressed to smart mobile devices and have now reached the hands-free wearable technology era.

AR-powered solutions for maintenance and repair operations:

Preventive Maintenance:

  • Operator assembly instructions
  • Service inspection instructions
  • Detailed instructions for unfamiliar procedures
  • Compliance checklist

    • Corrective Maintenance:

  • Service manual instructions
  • Remote assistance

    • Predictive Maintenance:

  • Performance panels
  • Real-time access to data: monitoring, control actions, disruptions, analytics

Even though the above-mentioned solutions have their unique value, augmented reality remote assistance is definitely worthy of a closer examination.

Augmented reality in remote assistance

Commonly referred to as the “see-what-I-see” remote collaboration, this solution is the new preferred way to have specialized expertise on-site anytime, anywhere. Whenever a new or complex problem arises, field service technicians can now connect with experts to get a faster diagnosis and solution, decreasing repair downtime, saving time and money.

Thanks to its real-time two-way audio and video capabilities, which allows annotations to be made and remain stable on the shared scene, the costly expenses of moving skilled workers from site to site are being drastically reduced. Learn how Coca-Cola is reducing costs, improving quality control, and increasing efficiency throughout its supply-chain by using augmented reality.

“We no longer need to fly in people from Germany – where our main equipment suppliers are based – to troubleshoot our machines. Now they can virtually see what we are seeing, instantaneously, and help diagnose and solve issues without stepping foot in a plant. This allows us to operate ‘virtually’, unencumbered by time or distance.”
Helen Davis, VP of the supply chain, Coca-Cola Refreshments

Persistent AR experiences and worker collaboration

Collaboration among workers is a key driver for including AR technology into enterprises’ systems and processes. The display of real-time (or saved) 3D annotations on environments and objects help teams solve problems efficiently and with no extra relocation costs.

Features like Scene Recognition, Instant Tracking and, Persistent Instant Targets facilitate the sharing of AR experiences among professionals. While Scene Recognition helps workers overcome the challenge of tracking industrial sites and machines, Instant Tracking allows remote experts to guide onsite workers on the fly. The ability to ‘save and load’ AR experiences with Persistent Instant Targets allow staff to leave important messages directly on the machinery itself for the next shift to be aware of.

Combined, these three features bring AR collaboration among different users, devices, and operating systems one step ahead.

Maintenance is only one of the many use cases of augmented reality and Wikitude is proud to provide the technology which enables so many innovative and positive solutions to come to life.

All things considered, implementing an augmented reality maintenance program has a vast array of advantages. If you are interested in incorporating augmented reality solutions to support your specific needs, we encourage you to explore the features of our powerful SDK.

Contact the Wikitude team

Categories
Toys & Games

Augmented play: how to pitch AR to the toy industry

The toy industry is all about connecting the imaginative world with physical objects. Now, augmented reality opens endless opportunities to make users experience play in new ways.

With technologies penetrating every sector of manufacturing and customers’ interest steadily leaning towards digital, the toy industry is the one at the forefront of changes. For digital agencies that cater to toy manufacturers, AR offers an indispensable opportunity to bridge tangible and virtual elements, providing the end-users with a new dimension to play.

In this post, we’ll take a closer look at how toymakers could benefit from using augmented reality products.

The shift in audience

Purchasing power worldwide has been rapidly transitioning to millennials. According to Accenture research, this population segment is projected to spend $1.4 trillion on shopping each year by 2020. The same cohort belongs to the so-called digital-natives generation. When asked what technologies they expect to see in everyday life, they claim AR to be one of them. With the oldest of the millennial generation being in their early 40s, they represent the majority of toy companies’ customers.

The toy end users are the children belonging to Generation Z or, the youngest so far, Gen Alpha. These kids grow along with technology, which penetrates all aspects of their life. No wonder they naturally gravitate towards brands that stay on top of emerging technologies.

Now, the reasoning behind customer purchasing behaviour is clear. Let’s explore what crucial improvements AR solutions bring to the toy industry.

Staying relevant

As the demand in technology grows, toy industry giants embrace digital elements (AR specifically) to enhance their product lines. For example, LEGO Hidden Side playsets provide building bricks with a complimentary interactive augmented reality. The app serves to deepen the game experience, turning users into real ghostbusters. Using the mobile device, gamers scan the play scene to find hidden creatures and interact with other players.

Image source: LEGO

LEGO is not the only toy company exploring the augmented reality niche. A few years ago Hasbro excited their fans by introducing a movie-inspired, 1:1 scale Iron Man mask that featured AR technology. By downloading the Hero Vision app and using AR goggles and markers, players have the opportunity to take pretend play to a whole new level.

Adding value

A cutting edge technology such as AR not only adds a new dimension to the gamers’ experience. It is also a proven way to revive the classical formats that might lose their appeal with time. Let’s take a look at a board game genre.

The all-time favorite Hedbanz by Spin Master got a complete facelift by using Wikitude’s Image Tracking technology. The popular mask feature (well known by social media filters) is used here to add an interactive digital element. A toy industry legend, Mattel company, introduced a new spin to the popular hit – Pictionary Air. In this game, players can literally draw the words in the air by using a smart device and an app with an AR feature.

Expanding product features

Toymakers always rely on storytelling and the power of imaginative play as an immense resource that enhances any product. Yet, the human brain is designed in a specific way making visual information better perceived than anything written or spoken. Augmented reality allows to create life-like elements that add to the storyline and engage players deeply.

Video source: Virtuali-Tee

These 2D and 3D computer-generated projections complement the real-world game set, without overtaking the user’s attention. The same goes to learning by doing. By interacting with physical and digital elements of the toy, children improve their sensory skills and learn how to handle simulated reality.

AR game features make parents commit to buying more easily as they see the added value in the tech element. At the same time, young users maintain a healthy playing habit, engaging with the real world and growing less dependent on the screen.

Bridging sensorial and digital brand experience

New technologies like Object Tracking and Instant Tracking make toy concepts more engaging and accessible.

Thus, with extra investment in AR features, toymakers can achieve double as much retention for the same price. Game experiences with physical products can be easily leveraged to boost the player’s creativity and brand loyalty.

Discover more: Toy and game brands’ roadmap to AR

Revamping marketing campaigns

Existing within a pressing seasonal agenda, toy brands can benefit from including AR features into their marketing activities. Through product development to marketing strategy and ad campaigns, augmented reality solutions are highly customizable – meaning they could be tailored even to very specific needs and audiences.

What’s more to it? AR can be used in every format: from remarkable product launches to in-store activations, brand awareness campaigns and creating viral content. To help your clients understand its value, we advise showing the direct relation to revenue and ROI.

You are now one step closer to explaining to toy industry clients why AR is the next big thing they need to consider. Do you have questions or need advice?

Contact us to get started

Read more about Wikitude AR solutions for toy companies:


For more practical advice: 5 tips how to pitch AR for your next project