After another productive product improvement cycle, the Wikitude team is excited to present SDK version 8.6. The update includes our powerful – now product ready – HoloLens AR package, introduces support for Flutter, adds Geo-AR for Unity users, and offers further performance enhancements.
Wikitude SDK 8.6 at a glance:
Wikitude SDK for Hololens – production version
Flutter Plugin – release candidate
Geo AR for Unity Plugin (by PendAR)
Performance and stability enhancements
Wikitude SDK for HoloLens – Production Version
The Wikitude augmented reality SDK for Microsoft HoloLens 1 is Unity based, comes with a Holographic UI sample app, and is now available in production version.
The response has been very positive. And we have also received valuable feedback which enabled us to improve the platform even further, resulting in a powerful production-ready HoloLens AR SDK.
With Wikitude SDK 8.6, companies can now purchase and download our augmented reality package for Microsoft HoloLens 1 to create high-performing AR solutions.
New Image Recognition samples for Wikitude AR SDK for HoloLens
Make sure to check out the new Image Target samples to review the performance of the Wikitude SDK for HoloLens.
Additionally, you may access our Wikitude HoloLens Documentation section for further details, instructions, and information.
Augmented Reality for Flutter – Release Candidate Plugin
Wikitude SDK 8.6 is the first AR platform to provide official support for Flutter.
Flutter is an open-source mobile application UI development framework toolkit created by Google. It is used to develop natively-compiled applications for iOS and Android from a single codebase.
Wikitude developers can now work with Wikitude SDK 8.6 to add augmented reality technology to their projects created in Flutter. The Flutter Plugin is based on JavaScript API and comes with the full package: Wikitude AR library/framework, sample apps, and documentation.
Flutter AR Plugin: Feedback Welcomed
As this is a release candidate, we are eager to receive as much developer feedback as possible. When trying the flutter AR plugin, feel free to send us an email (info@wikitude.com) to share what you liked about the development experience and, most importantly, what you think could be improved. Every email received will be highly appreciated and taken into consideration in the improvement process.
Location-based augmented reality is a big hit among the augmented reality community. Starting with Wikitude SDK 8.6, and thanks to PendAR – augmented reality partner of Wikitude, developers can now use LBAR to create Geo-AR experiences in no time in Unity3D.
LBAR offers a very simple workflow for location-based applications. It can be integrated with other apps in Unity3D, and there will be no need to put effort into geo calculations. LBAR also offers a simple and easy-to-use radar so users can have a better understanding of their surroundings.
With every new Wikitude SDK release, our quality assurance team takes the opportunity to review and optimize the platform to ensure all AR features, classic and new, are performing as they should be, enhancing stability whenever possible.
Wikitude SDK 8.6 includes a series of fixes and stability improvements. Please review the release notes for your platform for an in-depth report.
Interested in creating an AR project of your own? Access our store to choose your package or contact our team to discuss your specific AR requirements in detail.
Expand the capability of HoloLens with the Wikitude AR SDK: attach digital AR content to images, objects, barcodes, QR codes, and personalized targets with fast, scalable and reliable AR recognition solutions.
More and more industries are investing in mixed reality headset devices to optimize their operational efficiency.
With this in mind, Wikitude has optimized its augmented reality SDK to support and complement one of the leading mixed reality headset devices on the market: Microsoft HoloLens 1.
Microsoft HoloLens
Microsoft HoloLens is an immersive, ergonomic, instinctual, and untethered mixed reality headset device that enables valuable hands-free industry-leading solutions.
An essential part of what makes said solutions efficient, flexible and personalizable is augmented reality technology.
That is why the Microsoft HoloLens 1 mixed reality device offers out-of-the-box augmented reality functionality:
Native AR Functionality in Microsoft HoloLens 1
Positional Tracking/Instant Tracking
Scene Reconstruction/Plane Detection
Cloud/Persistent Anchors
Stereoscopic Rendering
Calibration
As valuable as these out-of-the-box HoloLens AR functions are, they do not cover a broad spectrum of augmented reality solutions and do not enable image or object recognition and tracking. That is where the Wikitude SDK steps in.
The Wikitude AR SDK has been optimized to support and complement HoloLens 1 by enabling developers to implement additional augmented reality features into their projects.
Wikitude Augmented Reality Functionality on Hololens 1
Image/Multiple Image Recognition Attach digital content to images and any trackable 2D surface
Object Recognition Attach digital content to physical Objects
Cloud Recognition Fast, scalable and reliable online recognition solution for big projects
Plugins API (Barcode and QR code samples) Attach digital content to basically anything with personalized targets
This means, when working with the Wikitude AR SDK for HoloLens, industries can go beyond and attach digital AR content to images, objects, barcodes, QR codes, and personalized targets.
Wikitude AR + HoloLens = Personalized Workforce Solutions
Incorporate Wikitude AR technology in HoloLens to optimize: training, quality management, communication, assembly, maintenance, repair, safety, inspections, communication, product identification, and more.
With applications ranging from digitally augmented step-by-step instruction guides to compliance checklists, to product identification, to instant collaboration, many are the proven benefits of hands-free AR:
Reduce: human errors, execution time, breakdowns, downtime, cost
When implementing and investing in projects of this nature, it is essential to choose and work with partners you can trust. Wikitude has not only been developing and providing augmented reality technology since 2008 but has proudly become the world’s leading independent AR platform provider along the way.
Download Wikitude SDK for HoloLens 1: Release Candidate
Sample Application – Wikitude SDK for HoloLens 1
The Wikitude augmented reality software development kit for Microsoft HoloLens 1 is Unity based, comes with a Holographic UI sample app, and is now available!
Access our HoloLens documentation section to start your first steps with the Wikitude SDK all the way through to advanced concepts and examples for developing your augmented reality project.
Put your HoloLens 1 project into action with the Wikitude AR SDK and work with the reliable augmented reality technology you need to create hands-free AR solutions tailored to your business objectives.
Image Recognition just got better! Wikitude developers are now able to recognize even more types of targets and can enjoy new SDK features and performance updates.
As a result of our latest product improvement cycle, we are proud to present Wikitude SDK 8.5. The update offers even more stability to the platform and introduces two brand new Image Recognition features:
Transparent Areas in Image Targets
Image Targets at Runtime
New Image Recognition Features and Improvements
Wikitude Image Recognition is one of the best performing AR technologies on the market. But don’t take our word for it – we confidently invite any interested party to download a free trial and let the product speak for itself.
And, even though Wikitude has been offering Image Recognition since 2012, we are still eagerly committed to pushing the boundaries of what’s possible with this AR technology. Today we are excited to introduce two new Image Recognition features.
Transparent Areas in Image Targets
The new Transparent Area feature has been included to support those special types of image targets that do not fit the typical rectilinear image shape.
Examples of such images containing transparent areas beyond the main outlines include tattoos, stickers, logos, images with cutouts and basically any image file containing parts with alpha channel transparency.
Details at a glance:
Images with transparent areas can now be used as Target Images
Transparent areas will be ignored during the recognition and tracking process
Works with Image Targets at Runtime, not with WTC files
SDK 8.4 (without transparency support – WTC) X SDK 8.5 (with transparency support)
Image Targets at Runtime
Traditionally, Image Recognition requires developers to create an Image Target collection (WTC file), previous to the AR experience, to be used to detect and track images. As efficient and well-performing as this process may be – and it will continue existing as is, developers now have an additional option to create Image Targets.
With the new Image Targets at Runtime functionality, developers can create Image Targets on the fly, no need for preprocessing.
Details at a glance:
Use regular images (png, jpg,…) directly with SDK as target images
Multiple images can be bundled into a zip file
No need for WTC file creation
Working with WTC files remains as is
Being able to define Image Targets at runtime means users have the ability to easily create AR experiences on the spot. Ideal for quick and convenient testing during the development phase.
Also practical for spontaneous use cases on the go: demos during networking, dynamic art projects, in a classroom environment, adding AR to game cards, and more.
As mentioned above, Runtime Targets give Wikitude developers yet another target creation option. However, the traditional WTC file target collection methods continue to offer advanced functionalities, such as target image performance ratings and manual height value input fields. Ideal for AR experiences that require fine tuning and precise input for even more accurate distance to target calculation and proper wearable device calibration.
Image Recognition Performance Improvements
SDK 8.5 is a big release for Image Recognition AR technology. Alongside the new features presented above, the update is bringing significant performance advancements. Not only are image targets being recognized faster, but they are also being recognized from even further away. Check the details below:
Recognition distance
Image Targets can now be recognized from more than three meters away. To be more precise, we tested an A4 / US-letter sized image target and SDK 8.5 was able to recognize it from 312cm away. That is a whopping +40% increase in distance from previous SDK versions.
Regardless of the target size, our performance tests show that, with SDK 8.5, image targets can be recognized even when they occupy a mere 1% of the device screen area. In other words, this update is ideal for use cases in which users do not have the target image within hands reach.
Duplicate Targets
With a growing demand for multiple and duplicate target Image Recognition, on this release, our team focused on improving duplicate target handling. Wikitude developers will notice faster recognition when it comes to duplicate targets.
Recognition Speed and Tracking Stability
As AR technology provider pioneers, Wikitude takes pride in the quality and performance of its Image Recognition technology. And thanks to the natural advancements in processing capacity of devices, camera optics and related technology in general, we are able to expand the performance and capability of our own AR technology along the way. With this 8.5 release, expect substantial improvements in image recognition speed and tracking stability.
Update to the iOS sample project – now based on Swift 4.2
Apple has been progressing the Swift programming language quite fast since its inception in 2014. Nearly every year a new major version was released by Apple. As part of the Wikitude SDK, we are shipping sample applications, that show the integration of the Wikitude SDK and how to use the APIs to create AR experiences. The Swift-based sample project was already a little bit rusty and still based on Swift 3 – in SDK 8.5 the project is now based on Swift 4.2 and is compatible with the latest Xcode version.
AR SDK enhancements, fixes, and stability improvements
In parallel to the new components and innovative solutions that are frequently being added to the Wikitude AR feature set, our augmented reality SDK is also constantly being submitted to rigorous quality tests to ensure that Wikitude developers have access to the finest and most comprehensive AR tools on the market.
Wikitude SDK 8.5 includes a series of fixes and stability improvements. Please review the release notes for your platform for an in-depth report.
Active Wikitude SDK subscribers are entitled to any and all SDK version updates that are released throughout their term. All other parties are invited, however, to download a free Wikitude SDK 8.5 trial version for testing purposes.
Access our download page to explore all options or click on the direct links below to begin downloading now. Once the download is complete you will be automatically redirected to the signup/login page.
Interested in keeping your app running smoothly and always compatible with operating system device updates. Send us an email to learn how you can get 1+ year of SDK upgrades through our increasingly popular subscription program.
New to Wikitude? Access our store to choose your package or contact our team to discuss your specific AR requirements in detail.
Attending AWE USA 2019 in Santa Clara, CA? Make sure to visit Booth 419 to check cool SDK 8.5 demos and meet the Wikitude team. CTO Phil Nagele will also be talking about scanning and using 3D objects in AR experiences on mobile and smart glasses at the developer track on May 30. More details and Promo Discount code here. Don’t miss out!
The Wikitude Academy has been successfully supporting students, professors, and academic institutions since 2012. In short, this awesome initiative has been giving free access to the full feature set of the Wikitude SDK EDU to eligible applicants all around the globe.
Due to the success of the program and popular demand, the Wikitude Academy has now partnered up with award-winning international professor & best-selling author Dr. Penny de Byl to offer online augmented reality courses.
If you are a mobile app creator, game designers/developer, or an AR/Unity enthusiast looking to expand your skill set, this course is for you. Presenting:
Hosted on the online learning platform Udemy and designed for AR beginners, the course ranges from examining AR’s earliest origins to understanding the mashup of computerized environments with the real world. The topics covered in the course include:
Projecting Virtual Objects over the live camera feed
2D Image Recognition
3D Object and Scene Recognition
3D Scene Recognition
QR and Barcode Detection
Image Tracking, and
Placing virtual interactable objects and animations into a real scene
Like what you see? Then we suggest you act fast.
With a small investment, enrolled students have full lifetime access to 53 lectures, 10.5 hours of on-demand video, 6 articles, 28 downloadable resources, certificate of completion, and more:
All students enrolled in this course are entitled to a free Wikitude SDK EDU license.
Enroll now and learn how to create your own AR app from scratch with Unity and Wikitude.
“Dr. Penny introduces augmented reality techniques using her internationally acclaimed holistic teaching style and expertise from over 25 years of teaching, research, and work in games and computer graphics. Throughout the course, you will follow along with hands-on workshops designed to teach you the fundamental techniques used for designing and developing augmented reality mobile applications.”
A few days after launching the 8th edition of their augmented reality SDK, Wikitude was ranked among the top ten percent of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) rated by Early Metrics. Wikitude was awarded 84 out of 100 points by the European-based rating agency, maintaining its spot among Early Metrics’ prestigious club of top startups and SMEs.
Since 2014 Early Metrics assists investors and corporations in identifying and understanding the most innovative startups and SMEs across Europe by analyzing key non-financial metrics such as management team, market positioning, commercial trends, technology, and capacity to expand operations.
Being the world’s leading independent AR technology provider, Wikitude broke new grounds in the first half of 2018 with the release of SDK 8, the most comprehensive developer tool in the AR market. SDK 8 overcomes all known limitations of time and space across platforms and devices with three new features: Scene Recognition, Instant Targets, and Extended Object Recognition.
Martin Herdina, Wikitude CEO says: “So far 2018 has been an incredible year for Wikitude with technological breakthroughs and significant team expansion. We are excited to be among the top-rated SMEs in Europe. With the market booming, we are focused on making AR more robust, user-friendly and accessible to companies around the globe”.
About Wikitude®
Wikitude is the world’s mobile augmented reality (AR) pioneer and leading AR technology provider for smartphones, tablets and digital eyewear on iOS, Android, and Windows. Its fully in-house developed AR technology is available through its SDK, Cloud Recognition and Studio products enabling brands, agencies and developers to achieve their AR goals. Wikitude® is a registered trademark of Wikitude GmbH. For more information please visit: www.wikitude.com
About Early Metrics
Early Metrics is the Pan-European rating agency for startups and innovative SMEs, analyzing non-financial metrics to assess their growth potential. Ratings are free for entrepreneurs and provide them with a third party assessment, supporting their growth development. Established in London, Paris and Tel Aviv, Early Metrics works on behalf of private and institutional investors as well as corporates ventures and business units. To get rated or to access rating reports: contact@earlymetrics.com
Wikitude SDK 7 includes a long list of changes and additions to our augmented reality SDK. In this blog post, we will go through the modifications in more detail and what they offer for developers and users.
As you will see, SDK 7 has 3 key areas of improvement: Object Recognition and Tracking based on SLAM, multiple image recognition and enhancements for iOS developers.
Bring your objects into your augmented reality scene
Let’s get started with the biggest addition in this release: Object Recognition and Tracking for augmented reality. With this, we introduce a new tracker type beside our existing Image and Instant Tracking. The Object Tracker in the SDK gives you the possibility to recognize and track arbitrary shaped objects. The idea behind it is very similar to our Image Tracker, but instead of recognizing images and planar surfaces, the Object Tracker can work with three-dimensional structures and objects (tools, toys, machinery…). As you may have noticed, we don’t claim that the Object Tracker can work on any kind of object. There are some restrictions you should be aware of and types of objects that work a lot better. The SDK 7 documentation has a separate chapter on that.
In short – objects should be well structured and the surface should be well textured to play nicely with object recognition. API-wise the Object Tracker is set-up the same way as the Image Tracker.
The Object Tracker works according to the same principle as the Image Tracker. It detects pre-recorded references of the same object (the reference is actually a pre-recorded SLAM map). Once detected in the camera, the object is continuously tracked. While providing references for Image Targets is straight-forward (image upload), creating a reference for the object is a little bit more complex.
Scalable generation of object references
We decided to go for an approach that is scalable and usable for many users. This ruled out a recording application, which would be used to capture your object. This would also make it necessary, that each object is physically present. Considering this, we went for a server-side generation of Object Targets (sometimes also referred to as maps). Studio Manager, our web-tool for converting Image Targets, has been adopted for converting regular video files into Object Targets. You will find a new project type in Studio Manager that will produce Object Targets for you. Here’s a tutorial on how to successfully record objects.
After you have uploaded your video, the backend will try to find the best possible Object Target in several computation runs. We can utilize the power of the server to run intensive computational algorithms to come to a more accurate result compared to a pure on-device solution that has to operate in real-time. Have a look at the chapter “How to create an Object Target” in the SDK 7 documentation for a deeper understanding of the process. It also gives us the ability to roll-out improvements of the recording process without the need for a new SDK version.
Rendering Upgrade: Working with occlusion models
When moving from Image Targets to Object Targets, requirements for rendering change as well. When the object has a solid body with different sides it is particularly important to reflect that when rendering the augmentations. SDK 7 introduces a new type called AR.Occluder in the JavaScript API, that can take any shape. It acts as an occlusion model in the 3D rendering engine, so you can hide augmentations or make them a lot more realistic. For your convenience, the occluder can either be used with standard pre-defined geometric shapes or take the form of any 3D model/shape (in wt3 format). Not only Object Tracking benefits from this. Occluders, of course, can be used in combination with Image Targets as well – think of an Image Target on your hand wrist, that acts as an Image Target for trying on watches. For a proper result, parts of the watch need to be hidden behind your actual arm.
Updated SLAM engine enhancing Instant Tracking
Object Recognition and Tracking is based on the same SLAM engine that powers Instant Tracking and Extended Tracking. To make Object Recognition work, we upgraded the SLAM engine with several improvements, changes to the algorithm and bug fixes to the engine itself. This means SDK 7 carries an entirely revamped SLAM engine. You as a developer and your users will notice that in several ways:
1. Higher degree of accuracy in Instant Tracking and Extended Tracking
2. More stable tracking when it comes to rotation
3. Less memory consumption
4. Less power consumption
All in all, that means that devices running 32-bit CPUs (ARMv7 architecture) will see a performance boost and perform considerably better.
Instant Tracking comes also with two new API additions. Setting trackingPlaneOrientation for the InstantTracker lets you freely define on which kind of plane the Instant Tracker should start (wall, floor, ramp…). The other API is called hit testing API and will let you query the depth value of any given screen point (x,y). It will return the 3D- coordinates of the corresponding point in the currently tracked scene. This is useful for placing augmentations at the correct depth in the scene. The SDK will return an estimate dependent on the surrounding tracked points. The video below gives you an idea of how the hit testing API can be used.
1,2,3…. Multiple targets now available
Additionally, our computer vision experts worked hard to make our Image CV engine even better. The most noticeable change is the ability to recognize and track multiple images at the same time in the camera frame. The engine can detect multiple different images, as well as multiple duplicate images in the camera (e.g. for counting purposes). Images can overlap or even superimpose each other. The SDK does not have a hard-coded limit on the number of multiple images it can track – only the processing power of the phone puts a restriction on it. With modern smartphones it is easily possible to track 8 and more images.
Furthermore, the SDK offers developers the ability to get more information about the targets in relation to each other. APIs will tell you how far targets are apart and how targets are oriented towards each other. Callbacks let developers react on changes of the relationship between targets. Developers can define the maximum number of targets, so the application does not waste power searching for further targets. The image below gives you an idea how this feature can look like for a simple interactive card game.
Boosting recognition to unparalleled distances
All developers and users that require images to be recognized from a far distance in their augmented reality scene should take a look at the extended range recognition feature included in SDK 7. By using more information from the camera frame, SDK 7 triples recognition distance compared to previous SDK versions. This means that an A4/US-letter sized target can be detected from 2.4 meters/8 feet. Calculated differently, images that cover 1% of the screenable area can still be accurately recognized and a valid pose can be successfully calculated. The SDK enables this mode automatically for devices capable of this feature (auto-mode). Alternatively, developers can manually enable/disable the function. When testing the feature and comparing it to competing SDKs, we did not detect any other implementation delivering this kind of recognition distance. All in all this means easier handling for your users and more successfully recognized images.
Bitcode, Swift, Metal – iOS developers rejoice
This brings us to a chapter dedicated to iOS developers, as SDK 7 brings several changes and additions for this group. First of all, Wikitude SDK now requires iOS 9 or later, which shouldn’t be a big hurdle for the majority of apps (currently nearly 95% devices meet this requirement). With SDK 7, iOS developers can now build apps including the Wikitude SDK using the bitcode option. Apps built with the bitcode will have the benefit of being smaller, as only the version necessary for the actual device architecture (armv7, armv7s, armv8) is delivered to the user and not a fat binary including all architectures.
As a more than welcomed side-effect of re-structuring our build dependencies to be compatible with bitcode, the
Wikitude SDK can now also run in the iOS simulator. You still won’t see a camera image in the simulator from your webcam, but you can work with pre-recorded movie files as input for the simulator.
In SDK 6.1 we introduced support for OpenGL ES 3 as graphics API. SDK 7 now also lets you use Metal as your rendering API in Native and Unity projects. Talking about new stuff, Wikitude SDK 7 also includes an extensive sample for Swift explaining how to integrate the Wikitude SDK in Swift application. Note the API itself is still an Obj-C API, but the sample makes it a lot clearer how to use API within a Swift environment.
We haven’t forgotten Android
Android developers will be happy to hear, that the Android version of Wikitude SDK 7 makes use of a different sensor implementation for Geo AR experiences. The result is a smoother and more accurate tracking when displaying geo-related content. For Android, we are also following the trend and moving the minimum Android version up a little bit by requiring Android 4.4 or later, which corresponds to a minimum of 90% of Android devices.
We hope you can put SDK 7 and its additions to good use in your AR project. We love to hear from you and we are keen to receive suggestions on how to make the Wikitude SDK even more useful to you!
Start developing with Wikitude SDK 7
Getting started with SDK 7 has never been easier! Here’s how:
Download SDK 7 and sample app (included in the download package)
The highly anticipated AWE USA 2017 has come and gone and now that the dust has settled it is safe to say…it was awesome!
The largest augmented and virtual reality exposition and conference in the world is growing stronger. This year’s event, which gathered 4700 attendees, gave the AR+VR community an excellent chance to exchange knowledge, share news, demonstrate technologies and, of course, to have some interactive AR+VR fun.
Wikitude participated in all AWE USA events so far and here is how the Augmented World Expo 2017 unraveled for us.
Partnership announcement with Lenovo NBD
With a great kick-start at the AWE USA 2017 Press Conference, Wikitude CEO Martin Herdina talked about our recent 1 billion app installs achievement as well as some practical applications of our markerless tracking technology launched previously this year. Additionally, he also spoke about the importance of partnership with industry leaders before formally announcing our collaboration with Lenovo New Vision.
Lenovo NBD is launching an Augmented Human Cloud, powered by Wikitude’s intelligent recognition engine and Markerless SLAM technology, and their COO, Oscar Gu, says that “the goal of the AH Cloud is to reduce the AR applications development term from two weeks to two hours”. Impressive stuff! Wikitude: winner of 2017 Auggie Awards for ‘Best Developer Tool’
Wikitude had the honor of stepping on stage once more, but this time for a different reason: to receive an Auggie Award. Wikitude’s SLAM SDK was recognized as the ‘Best Developer Tool’ and the award was accepted with pride and will certainly be an incentive for Wikitude to keep innovating, pushing boundaries and evolving in the powerful realm of AR.
Wikitude and Walmart explore AR in retail
Martin Herdina took the stage once again to speak about the value of AR in retail, tackling a consumer perspective. He covered market facts, tendencies, and statistics followed by several interesting use cases varying from pre-shopping and onsite tools, home shopping through product visualization as well as brand engagement.
The AR retail oriented talk was finished off by Walmart’s Systems Analyst, Steven Lewis, who shared the AR introduction process experienced by Walmart’s internal development team as well as a practical use case utilized for modular (shelf) set up. If you are interested in Walmart’s Journey into AR // How AR Creates Real Value this AWE Consumer Track talk is for you.
What’s next with Wikitude
For the developer crowd, our CTO Philipp Nagele prepared a speech about the company’s background, followed by an in-depth view of present and future Wikitude developments as well as what the next version of the Wikitude SDK will offer augmented reality developers. On top of that, he was also throwing chocolates around. If you are curious, watch What’s Next with Wikitude to see this great AWE Develop Track talk in its entirety.
In between talks, press announcements and demos, we had a chance to connect with some amazing people and give them a sneak peek of what’s to come. If you didn’t make it to AWE, stay tuned to hear first hand some exciting news in just a few weeks!
Santa Clara, U.S. – June 1, 2017 – Today at Augmented World Expo, Wikitude and Lenovo New Vision, a subsidiary of Lenovo focused on AR, announced a collaboration to develop an Augmented Human (AH) Cloud. This venture will improve industrial professionals’ knowledge and capabilities by using Augmented Reality, Artificial Intelligence, and big data to change how they work.
The companies will create a fully-integrated AR and AH Cloud application platform using Wikitude’s intelligent recognition engine and Markerless SLAM technology with LNV’s remote video application (Kepler), workflow and 3D AR content edit tool (Titan), and deep learning recognition system (Martin). Combining this with Lenovo New Vision’s smart glasses will create a true Industry 4.0 device + cloud platform powered by AR. IDC forecasts AH Cloud technology along with ubiquitous sensing, wearable computing, IoT, and artificial intelligence will be mainstream in the mid-2020s.
Wikitude’s CEO Martin Herdina said: “We’re extremely excited about this partnership with Lenovo New Vision as it creates a fantastic proposition never before in this market. Combining world-leading AR and AI technologies and leveraging the core competencies and market expertise of two proven innovators enables us to make a real difference in realizing our vision of Industry 4.0.”
Bai Yuli, Lenovo VP and General Manager of Lenovo New Vision said: “Our collaboration with Wikitude, a global pioneer, and leader in the AR industry, allows us to bring total solutions like the Lenovo AH Cloud to market, disrupting traditional industries and bringing customers different, better solutions that add value to their business.”
The AH Cloud platform will feature intelligent visual recognition, cloud storage, content editing and video communication, all of which will be compatible with Lenovo’s New Glass, the C200, and alternative smart mobile devices. Designed for a range of field applications, the solution has applicability in remote industrial maintenance, intelligent command and dispatch, telemedicine, 3D diagnosis, smart tourism and many others.
The platform will enable users to dynamically edit their work processes, electronic manuals, 2D/3D product models, and videos using AR. AH Cloud technologies will be embedded into production workflows, ready for use through AR visual recognition or background push notifications triggered through AI. This capability makes real-time remote expert-guidance possible for first-line operations thanks to LNV’s remote video system, Kepler. Its multi-terminal, cross-platform, customized and open functions makes it easy to operate and manage. While there are many deployment fields, this venture will initially target industrial processes, public security, Medicare and tourism promoting increased portability and cost-savings.
About Wikitude: Wikitude is the world’s leading independent mobile AR technology provider. Its fully in-house developed AR technology is available through its SDK, Cloud Recognition and Studio products enabling brands, agencies and developers to achieve their AR goals. With more than 1 billion apps installs, Wikitude powers thousands of enterprise and consumer-focused AR apps across the globe. Wikitude’s latest product and feature addition is its 3D recognition and tracking (SLAM), allowing apps to “see” and understand rooms, spaces, and objects. For more information please visit: www.wikitude.com
About Lenovo New Vision: Lenovo New Vision, a subsidiary of Lenovo Capital and Incubator Group, is exclusively dedicated to the AR industry. Its predecessor, NBD, launched its first-generation of AR smart glasses, the C100 in 2014, and is among the first to feature an integrated AR software/hardware solution in China. Its business covers industry, public security, Medicare, tourism as well as other sectors.
Lenovo (HKSE: 992) (ADR: LNVGY) is a $45 billion global Fortune 500 company and a leader in providing innovative consumer, commercial, and enterprise technology. Our portfolio of high-quality, secure products and services covers PCs (including the legendary Think and multimode Yoga brands), workstations, servers, storage, smart TVs and a family of mobile products like smartphones (including the Moto brand), tablets and apps. Join us on LinkedIn, follow us on Facebook or Twitter (@Lenovo) or visit us at http://www.lenovo.com/sg/en.
About AWE: AugmentedReality.com has hosted AWE USA since 2010 to promote the development of AR technology. The annual Expo event attracts thousands of international AR company members, futurologists, CEOs, CTOs, designers, developers, creative agencies and world-famous AR enterprises.
If you happen to be one of the lucky 5.000 attendees expected to visit the 8th annual edition of AWE USA, the largest AR+VR event in the world, you are in for a treat.
The three-day conference, which starts today – May 31st, is being held at the Santa Clara Convention Center in California and apart from exploring the “Superpowers to Change the World” theme and showcasing 250+ speakers, organizations, and startups, AWE 2017 will also introduce an amusing and highly interactive 20.000 m² AR+VR experience center, also known as the “AWE Playground”.
Visitors will be able to explore over 100.000 m² of exposition ground and connect with a total of 200 innovative exhibitors, including Wikitude who is excited to be, once again, an AWE participant, silver sponsor, featured speaker and Auggie Award finalist.
Follow Wikitude at AWE USA 2017 – (Booth #634)
Featured Talks
“Walmart’s Journey into AR // How Augmented Reality Creates Real Value in Retail” For those interested in learning about key success factors in AR-powered service in Retail and the benefits that arise from innovative augmented reality use, this one is for you. Wikitude CEO Martin Herdina shares the stage with Walmart’s Systems Analyst, Steven Lewis, on June 1st from 12:15 pm to 12:30 pm, Room J (Consumer Track).
Wikitude CTO Philipp Nagele will present an in-depth look into the company’s recent developments and talk about what the next version of the Wikitude SDK will offer augmented reality developers. Don’t miss the session happening today (May 31st) from 1:30 pm -2:15 pm, Room 209/210.
Press Conference
Want to hear the BIG news? Wikitude is among the selected group of companies speaking at AWE’s press conference this year. Join the most influential tech journalists in the industry on Thursday – Jun 1st, at the Main Stage starting from 9:30 am to hear the latest and greatest news on augmented reality, virtual and mixed reality. Companies joining the AWE press conference are:
Digibit Epson Kopin Manomotion Massless Meta Miralupa Optinvent Re’Flekt Resonai Shadow Creator Sony Tractica Wikitude/Lenovo Zappar
Auggie Awards
You voted and we got there! With the highest public voting count, we are proud to have been announced as an Auggie Award Finalist.
Wikitude’s SLAM (Simultaneous Localization and Mapping) SDK is competing in the Best Developer Tools category and winners will be announced on June 1st. Thanks to our strong community for the support!
Booth 634 is the place to be
Last but not least, check out Wikitude’s recent developments and meet some of the creative minds behind our tech at booth 634 in the Tools Pavillion. Wikitude will be demonstrating its latest technology advancements including its most popular feature, Instant Tracking.
Be WOWed by our secret Magic wand demo and see the ‘whole world’ changing in front of your eyes and don’t forget to take your freebie home: an exclusive Superhero Hyperphoto powered by LifePrint.
You might have heard the big news: The Washington Post announced the beginning of its augmented reality journey. Powered by Wikitude, the renowned American daily newspaper launched an interactive AR series to creatively engage readers and transform storytelling.
The AR-enhanced series, initially planned to be divided into six installments, allows readers to explore first-hand some of the world’s most iconic buildings. But how?
The first story revolves around Elbphilharmonie, Hamburg’s world famous concert hall known for its refined acoustic capabilities. Users of the Washington Post Classic iPhone app now have the ability to experience, from the comfort of their own home, what it’s like to gaze upon the highly advanced acoustic panels in action.
When users point their phone at their ceiling, an animated projection of the acoustic panel layout is prompted to demonstrate how its impeccable sound is absorbed, transmitted, reflected and ultimately produced. A chance to “see what perfect sound looks like” – in the Post’s own words.
To create this experience, The Washington Post utilized Wikitude’s SLAM (Simultaneous Localization and Mapping), launched earlier this year with SDK 6. This technology enables any Android or iOS device, including smart glasses, to instantly track the user’s environment and layer interactive AR content into the real world without the need for markers.
The Washington Post’s head of product, Joey Marburger, is confident they are on the right track – “We think [AR will] be more widely adopted — you can really see it bubbling up — and we wanted to be at the forefront of that so by the time it takes off, we’re really good storytellers there”.
Learn more about The Washington Post’s new AR series in the original article, and get started with Wikitude’s SLAM technology today.
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