Introduction to Augmented Reality at CES
CES is generally about corporations showing off all manner of recent consumer phones, TVs, cars, laptops, and smart devices. But there are at all times some business innovations to be found amongst all of the buyer gadgets and gizmos. This 12 months, the enterprise side of CES is all about augmented reality (AR). Plenty of hardware makers rolled out AR headsets at CES designed for business and industrial use in the course of the annual tech extravaganza in Las Vegas this week.
New AR Headsets for Enterprise Use
Vuzix added to its enterprise AR headset line with its latest M3000 Smart Glasses, while Lenovo made a surprise entrance into the smart glasses ring with its Lenovo New Glass C200. Resembling the ghost of Google Glass, the headset combines AR and artificial intelligence (AI) for enterprise use cases and will likely be available in June. Then there’s Osterhout Design Group (ODG), which announced its consumer-focused R-8 and enterprise-focused R-9 glasses running Qualcomm’s latest Snapdragon 835 processor.
Evolution of AR Space
Jay Wright, President and General Manager of Vuforia, spoke about how the combined Vuforia software and R-9 glasses will work for enterprises. Wright has been within the AR space longer than most, originally developing and running the Vuforia platform for Qualcomm from 2008 to 2015 when it was acquired by software company PTC. He also talked about how the AR space is evolving, each from a hardware standpoint and regarding how businesses are using the technology. Enterprises are exploring a number of scenarios for augmented reality across each smartphone-based AR apps and head-mounted wearables equivalent to Microsoft HoloLens.
Industrial Use of AR
Wright stressed the importance of the excellence between smartphone and tablet-based AR apps and head-mounted experiences. Concerning the previous, businesses can use AR for sales, e-commerce, and marketing apps. Startups equivalent to Augment are already doing that. These apps let salespeople carry around virtual inventory and superimpose a product in real space to point out a client. When we get into the type of AR headsets we’re seeing at CES, Wright said they’re designed more for hands-on industrial situations. For salespeople, AR is fundamentally a tablet story. What’s more interesting is the commercial side of AR: eliminating service manuals and work instructions and diagrams on pages in favor of self-guided 3D instructions in AR.
Future of Enterprise AR
ODG has been working with Vuforia since 2014, using previous iterations of the AR glasses equivalent to the R-7 for apps that give BMW drivers augmented vision, including the power to see through the passenger side door when parking the automobile. Wright said the industry has been missing an all-in-one AR device for industrial enterprise that may actually be deployed, but he calls the R-9 glasses an enormous step in the appropriate direction—one that might ultimately help eliminate written manuals utilized by technicians, designers, engineers, and other technically-oriented employees. The R-9 is far lighter and provides you a greater field overview with the Snapdragon 835 and far higher processing loads.
Types of AR Glasses
Microsoft, ODG, Vuzix, and Lenovo are only a few of the players which are constructing business-focused AR glasses. When taking a look at the larger hardware industry around enterprise AR, Wright said the space could be segmented into two kinds of glasses: binocular and monocular. Binocular glasses with displays in each eyes permit you to see 3D content aligned with the physical world. HoloLens and Magic Leap are good examples, though Magic Leap’s much-hyped technology has avoided announcing a release date long enough that many use it an example of how difficult binocular AR experiences could be to create. Monocular glasses, equivalent to Google Glass and the Lenovo and Vuzix headsets mentioned earlier, provide you with a display just outside your field of view.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the longer term of enterprise AR is exciting and rapidly evolving. With the introduction of recent AR headsets equivalent to the R-9 glasses, we are able to expect to see more businesses adopting AR technology to enhance their operations and efficiency. The distinction between smartphone and tablet-based AR apps and head-mounted experiences is crucial, and the commercial side of AR is where probably the most interesting developments are happening. As the technology continues to advance, we are able to expect to see more revolutionary applications of AR in various industries, and the potential for AR to revolutionize the way in which we work and interact with the world around us is vast.
