Category: Spatial

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AR/VR Startup Spatial Raises $14M In Series A Funding

AR/VR startup Spatial announced that it raised $14 million in Series A funding, bringing the total amount raised to date up to $22 million.

This latest round of Series A funding was led by WhiteStar Capital, iNovia and Kakao Ventures, along with continued participation from Instagram Co-Founder Mike Krieger and Zynga Founder Mark Pincus.

Spatial is a cross-device, multi-user VR and AR communication platform. The software allows for collaboration in 3D workspaces using AR and VR devices, regardless of whether users are in the same room or in completely different locations, allowing them to collaborate in the same virtual workspace.

This year at CES 2020 we tried out Spatial’s software for ourselves. You can watch the video embedded above for our thoughts on the technology, as well as some mixed reality footage of what the collaboration software looks like in action.

Spatial supports AR devices such as the Microsoft HoloLens and the Magic Leap One, but also VR devices such as the Oculus Quest, and mobile and desktop devices as well. Spatial aims to support as many devices as possible across all platforms, allowing anyone to collaborate and participate without the requirement of a specific device. Users who are not physically present in the same space are represented to others as 3D avatars which can be generated from 2D photos.

The eventual aim for Spatial is to eliminate the need for physical travel for team collaboration and provide a solution that goes farther than existing remote collaboration tools like Zoom and Slack, allowing users to collaborate in the same physical space no matter where they are in the world.

More information can be found on Spatial’s website. 

The post AR/VR Startup Spatial Raises $14M In Series A Funding appeared first on UploadVR.

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Spatial Secures $14m Investment to Make Business Collaboration in AR a Reality

Earlier this month VRFocus caught up with Spatial – which is building a collaborative augmented reality (AR) platform for enterprise use cases – at CES 2020, with the company showcasing its latest version on Microsoft’s HoloLens 2. Today, Spatial has announced the completion of a new Series A funding round, securing the company a further $14 million USD towards development.

Spatial CES 2020 demo

The was led by WhiteStar Capital, iNovia and Kakao Ventures with Instagram Co-Founder Mike Krieger, and Zynga founder Mark Pincus continuing their support. The investment round brings Spatial’s total funding up to $22 million, enabling the company to continue its vision whilst looking towards a fully released product later in the year.

“Last year we saw a strong demand to collaborate in AR/VR from more than 25% of the Fortune 1,000, and we announced our first wave of customers such as Mattel, Purina/Nestle and BNP Paribas,” said Spatial Co-Founder and CEO Anand Agarawala in a statement.

Spatial is making a platform-agnostic tool for people to collaborate in real-time, wherever they are in the world. Supporting a range of devices including Microsoft HoloLens, Oculus Quest, Magic Leap One, Qualcomm XR2, Android/iPhone mobile device or desktop, Spatial’s platform offers a range of tools, from being able to put sticky notes on a wall to importing 3D models which other users can grab and resize.

Spatial“Spatial’s mixed-reality solution will be a key part of the future of work,” adds Instagram Co-Founder Mike Krieger. “They’re taking us beyond everyday tools like Zoom and Slack and pointing the way towards what conferencing & collaboration can be like if they were invented today and I’m excited to support the journey.”

One of Spatial’s more unique features is its ability to create 3D avatars of each user from a 2D photo using AI. Hands can be tracked using modern hardware and as features like eye-tracking, lip-tracking and more become more ubiquitous, they’ll also feature.

Spatial featured during the HoloLens 2 launch at Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2019. As the company continues to grow and expand its product and presence, VRFocus will keep you updated on the latest announcements.

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The VR Job Hub: Camouflaj, WarDucks & Spatial

Whether you’re an experienced designer, programmer, engineer, or maybe you’ve just been inspired after reading VRFocus’ articles – either way, you have stumbled across the weekly VR Job Hub. The vacancies listed here are usually located worldwide, from major companies to humble indie developers – the one thing they all have in common is that they are all looking for new staff.

Location Company Role Link
Bellevue, WA Camouflaj Gameplay Programmer Click Here to Apply
Dublin, Ireland WarDucks Senior Game Client Developer Click Here to Apply
Dublin, Ireland WarDucks Game VFX Artist Click Here to Apply
New York or San Francisco Spatial Holographic Engineer Click Here to Apply
New York, NY Spatial Producer/Product Manager Click Here to Apply
New York or San Francisco Spatial AR Designer Click Here to Apply
New York or San Francisco Spatial AR Design Intern Click Here to Apply
New York, NY Spatial Quality Assurance Engineer Click Here to Apply
New York or San Francisco Spatial AR Engineer Intern Click Here to Apply
San Francisco, CA Spatial AR Engineer Click Here to Apply

Don’t forget, if there wasn’t anything that took your fancy this week there’s always last week’s listings on The VR Job Hub to check as well.

If you are an employer looking for someone to fill an immersive technology related role – regardless of the industry – don’t forget you can send us the lowdown on the position and we’ll be sure to feature it in that following week’s feature. Details should be sent to Peter Graham (pgraham@vrfocus.com).

We’ll see you next week on VRFocus at the usual time of 3PM (UK) for another selection of jobs from around the world.

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CES 2020 Interview: Collaborating in a Mixed Reality World With Spatial

The was a lot going at CES 2020 this month when it came to virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR) and mixed reality (MR) technologies, with Spatial‘s collaboration tool of particular note. Designed for headsets like Microsoft’s HoloLens or Magic Leap 1, VRFocus had a chance to sit down with CEO and co-founder Anand Agarawala to learn about the company’s plans and where it’s headed. 

Spatial

Founded in 2016, Spatial emerged from stealth in 2018, revealing its plans for an AR tool which could help colleagues collaborate in a digital space, all in real-time. Spatial can turn any area into an augmented workspace, where users can pin sticky notes, images or videos to a wall for anyone in the group to see; 3D models can be imported, scaled and manipulated, while devices like a phone or PC can be integrated. This means you don’t actually need a headset to join if one isn’t readily available.

One of Spatial’s most unique features is its ability to create a digital avatar of a user from a 2D photograph. As all users need a digital representation of themselves for remote colleagues to see and interact with, the company has tried to ensure a lifelike reproduction for a more natural working environment.

In the future Spatial aims to add further avatar features when headsets allow, such as facial tracking of lips and eyebrows – eye and hand tracking are already available. The software also supports VR headsets like Oculus Quest and integrates with Microsoft Teams.

Spatial CES 2020 demo

While available on the HoloLens store and Magic Leap World, Spatial has yet to officially launch. That will take place later this year, so for now, interested users have to download the software then contact Spatial at hello@spatial.io to create an account. Once officially available this process will no longer be required with both free and premium paid versions available to businesses.

Check out the full interview with Agarawala below and for further updates from the team keep reading VRFocus. Of for more CES 2020 coverage why not take a look at VRFocus‘ interview with HaptX or our chat with Teslasuit about its new glove.

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Watch HoloLens 2 ‘Spatial’ Remote Collaboration Demo from MWC 2019

Spatial is a real-time AR collaboration platform first developed for the original HoloLens by New York-based startup Spatial. Although now that Microsoft’s new and improved HoloLens 2 is in the mix, Spatial CEO Anand Agarawala and CPO Jinha Lee took the stage today at the Mobile World Congress (MWC) HoloLens 2 unveiling to show off what’s next for the platform.

Agarawala and Lee demonstrated some new features coming to Spatial, among which are more lifelike avatars thanks to HoloLens 2’s improved hand-tracking and newly introduced eye-tracking. Chatting through Spatial, Lee’s avatar mirrored his physical arm, hand and eye movements in a way that simply wasn’t possible running on the original HoloLens.

To show off how companies are using Spatial, Mattel CTO Sven Gerjets took the stage, saying that the Mattel’s toy designers, engineers, marketers and manufacturers are spread all over the world. Gerjets says that Mattel is now using Spatial to reduce the need to travel (as much) via the platform’s shared work spaces, represented by virtual walls filled with standard 2D media like Power Points and videos, but also interactive 3D models so the team can better assess product readiness.

Using the Spatial mobile app, Lee quickly typed a message on his smartphone which automatically became a ‘virtual sticky note’ that he could then append to an in-development toy model to tell an engineer that a critical piece needed to be tweaked.

To demonstrate how brainstorming for new products works in the shared, collaborative AR space, Agarawala showed off the app’s ability to use HoloLens 2’s vocal recognition by ordering up a collection of 2D and 3D reference images. Clicking any one of these bundles would elicit an Internet search for more 3D models, images and web pages.

As a persistent digital object, the digital work space is said to be accessible by a multitude of devices including VR headsets, PCs, and mobile phones.

Like all on-stage HoloLens demos to date, footage was captured with an external camera which included mixed reality & depth-sensing hardware to better visually demonstrate how a user can interact with virtual objects in their physical environment. Despite the video’s more immersive visuals, Spatial’s HoloLens 2 demo offers a prescient look at what could be the workplace of tomorrow.

We’re here at MWC 2019 in Barcelona, so check back soon for breaking news, previews, and all things AR/VR.

The post Watch HoloLens 2 ‘Spatial’ Remote Collaboration Demo from MWC 2019 appeared first on Road to VR.

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Walmart Brings Tricked Out ‘How to Train Your Dragon’ VR Experience to Select Stores

Walmart is continuing its onward journey to think outside of the big-box with the help of VR, this time bringing 50-foot tractor-trailers to their megalithic parking lots across the US to let shoppers go head-first into a VR experience for DreamWorks Animation’s upcoming film, How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World.

Walmart says in a press release that the experience begins in an on-boarding room where the film’s mischievous twins Ruffnut and Tuffnut greet guests. Participants then don HP Windows VR headsets outfitted with Leap Motion sensors, and sit in specialized Positron Voyager motion chairs powered by the HP VR backpack.

In the VR activation, users get a chance to experience a five-minute journey through the film’s dragon utopia called ‘The Hidden World’, of course accompanied by series regulars Astrid, Hiccup, Toothless, and Hookfang. The experience serves ages eight and up.

Parents and waiting participants can follow along with the VR content their kids and friends are experiencing inside by viewing on HP Chromebooks, and play on HP’s Omen Gaming Laptops located outside the venue while they wait.

The VR experience was developed by DreamWorks and Spatial&, Walmart’s second portfolio company to launch from their incubator Store N°8. The experience is made up of “high-resolution images and 360-degree VR videos,” the company says.

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Unsurprisingly, the activation also features a How to Train Your Dragon gift shop, because … Walmart. Merchandise includes plush toys, action figures, franchise DVDs, and video games.

The How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World Virtual Tour will visit select cities and Walmart stores between February 15th and April 9th.

Tour Locations & Dates

  • Burbank, California (1301 N Victory Place) – February 15-16
  • Pico Rivera, California (8500 Washington Boulevard) – February 17-19
  • Anaheim, California (440 Euclid Street) – February 22-23
  • San Bernardino, California (4001 Hallmark Parkway) – February 24-26
  • Las Vegas, Nevada (5200 S Fort Apache Road) – March 1-2
    North Las Vegas, Nevada (6464 N Decatur Boulevard) – March 3-5
  • Glendale, Arizona (5010 N 95th Avenue) – March 8-9
  • Gilbert, Arizona (2501 S Market Street) – March 10-12
  • San Antonio, Texas (8923 W Military Drive) – March 15-16
  • New Braunfels, Texas (1209 S Interstate 35) – March 17-19
  • Grand Prairie, Texas (2225 I-20) – March 22-23
  • Allen, Texas (730 W Exchange Parkway) – March 24-26
  • Sugar Land, Texas (345 Highway 6) – March 29-30
  • Katy, Texas (1313 N Fry Road) – March 31-April 2
  • Rogers, Arkansas (4208 S Pleasant Crossing Boulevard) – April 5-6
  • Bentonville, Arkansas (406 S Walton Boulevard) – April 7-9

The post Walmart Brings Tricked Out ‘How to Train Your Dragon’ VR Experience to Select Stores appeared first on Road to VR.

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Spatial Reveals AR Collaboration Platform

In the modern connected world, it isn’t unusual for colleagues who work closely together to be physically separated by hundreds, or even thousands, of miles. While there are a range of tools to help with communication, there is still value is having everyone looking at the same thing and expressing ideas, improvements or changes. By using augmented reality (AR), this is what cross-reality company Spatial is hoping to achieve for distributed workforces.

Spatial has spent two years operating in stealth, gathering funding and developing its products. Now the company is ready to reveal is platform that allows for colleagues to turn any room into a 3D workspace.

The platform that Spatial have created can run on a range of AR headsets, including the Microsoft HoloLens. It uses remote presence enabled by virtual avatars to let people feel like they are inhabiting the same space.

The platform also includes a voice-controlled 3D web browser, so users can look for exaples or search specific terms, and use the extended space to explore various proposals and ideas. Spatial is said to work best on AR or virtual reality (VR) devices, but is also available through web browsers and on smartphone devices.

Spatial has also announced that is has raised $8 million (USD) in seed funding from a number of investors, including iNovia Capital, Garrett Camp, Samsung Next, Joi Ito, Mark Pincus and Andy Hertsfeld.

“Spatial has built the most advanced augmented reality platform available today,” said Todd Simpson, Partner at iNovia Capital. “This is game-changing technology that will undoubtedly advance the future of work, and more broadly, the future of computing.”

“We are harnessing the power of augmented reality to create a combined digital and physical world that will change the way we work together,” said co-founder and CEO Anand Agarawala.  “With Spatial, collaboration becomes an immersive 3D experience where you can express ideas visually by just saying them, organize thoughts in the room around you and never let spaceconfine your work.”

Further information on Spatial is available on the official website. As usual, VRFocus will continue to bring you the latest developments in AR.

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Spatial Raises $8 Million Seed Investment for AR/VR Collaboration Platform

After two years in stealth, Spatial today announced an $8 million seed investment to build out its AR/VR collaboration platform.

Spatial is building an immersive workspace that allows multiple users to connect through AR and VR headsets, as well as support for non-immersive users connected by PC or phone. The app aims to turn any room into a collaborative, multi-user space with tools aimed at helping people work together even if they’re remote.

The app represents remote immersive users as avatars (which can be made to look like the user in question with quick face scan), and appears to allow non-immersive users to appear in the room through their webcam as a floating window—a neat way to bring different input modalities and devices together.

Spatial uses the metaphor of a ‘room’ to represent discrete workspaces; users can create multiple rooms, and anything that happens inside of each room is persistent from one session to the next. The company says that documents, photos, and 3D models can be pulled into the space to be shared, and users with a computer in front of them can place livestreamed windows into rooms as well.

The application itself isn’t directly available for download at this point; Spatial is soliciting signups for private invites as of today, and says they’ll be increasing their user pool over time.

Image courtesy Spatial

The company says that their $8 million seed investment, announced today, includes investors iNovia Capital, Garrett Camp with Expa, Samsung Next, Joi Ito, Mark Pincus and Andy Hertzfeld.

Spatial was co-founded by Anand Agarawala (CEO) and Jinha Lee (CPO). Both appear to have a rich history in 3D user interface design, with Agarawala behind the 3D desktop project BumpTop (acquired by Google), and Lee behind SpaceTop, a natural 3D interface prototype for desktop computing.

The post Spatial Raises $8 Million Seed Investment for AR/VR Collaboration Platform appeared first on Road to VR.

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Spatial Eyes Up Game Licenses After Kickstarter Success

Last month saw startup Spatial Games launch a Kickstarter crowd-funding campaign for its augmented reality (AR) table-top gaming device. Looking to achieve £25,000 USD over the course of a month, the campaign smashed through its target in a couple of days and now the team are looking towards their first stretch goal, shopping for licensed videogames.

Spatial Games

As VRFocus initially reported, Spatial Games has already created several titles to work alongside the Spatial AR gaming platform. What the team want to do is add more well known licenses to the system, like Yu-Gi-Oh, Magic the Gathering or Dungeons and Dragons for example.

The plan is, once the campaign has breached the $50,000 USD mark (it’s currently at $48,042) then 30 percent of all sales will be put towards buying licenses, helping support and grow the platform. Which licenses Spatial buys isn’t solely going to be down to them, as the team wants all their backers to vote on their favourites. There’s no guaranteeing any will come top unless the stretch goal is achieved but its not too far off.

The success of such a niche AR product shows how popular the technology is becoming, where a 3rd-party device can still gain an interest on a crowd funding site like Kickstarter. The Spatial Holographic AR Tabletop Gaming system stills requires a tablet of some kind to operate – obviously sold separately – whilst being used in conjunction with table top pieces and and gamepad.

Spatial Games

Spatial’s success could also be due to its affordability. Proper hands-free hi-tech AR tends to be very expensive and difficult to get hold of (HoloLens, Magic Leap One), yet it’s thanks to software like ARKit and ARCore for mobile devices that have truly thrust the technology into consumers hands and the spotlight. With the funding tiers starting from $60 for a single Spatial MRX unit (or $110 for two), this brings it nicely in range of most peoples pockets without too much risk.

VRFocus will continue its coverage of Spatial Games and its AR platform, reporting back with any further updates.