The automotive sector accounts for the largest investments in augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) technologies. The global market for automotive AR & VR solutions is expected to reach about $673 billion USD by 2025 according to Statista, with an astonishing CAGR of 175.7 percent from 2018 to 2025. Because of the current pace of virtual reality development, these technologies are as affordable as never before and present great potential for adoption in the automotive industry. Let’s see how AR and VR have found their use in this sector.
Augmented Reality Head-Up Display (HUD)
AR HUD is an advanced driver assistance system projecting real-time information to help a driver stay more focused. This data is displayed on the windshield and usually consists of warning signals, speed, engine status, navigation and more. Although many car manufacturers have already implemented this technology, the full potential of AR HUD is yet to be unleashed. This January, Hyundai in cooperation with WayRay has unveiled the world’s first Holographic AR Navigation System, which looks like something straight out from sci-fi movies.
The biggest advantage of this technology is that the stereoscopic image can adjust to the driver’s viewing angle. Navigational information, guidance hints, and alerts can now be perceived by drivers as a part of the road. This will most likely have a direct impact on safety because drivers won’t be distracted by other sources of information from phones or built-in screens.
Immersive Showrooming
Opening a car dealership is a necessary but rather costly move. The cumulative cost of furniture, rent, demo cars, inventory, and salaries makes it hardly a viable venture, especially for smaller car manufacturers. However, VR technologies allow car retailers to reduce the showroom size, cut costs, and enhance customer experience all at the same time.
When in a VR showroom, customers can sit in a chair that imitates a real car seat and get a real-time experience of driving this particular car. Moreover, a customer can change the car’s configuration or colour in a matter of seconds by themselves. Audi has already deployed more than 1,000 VR showrooms and planning to expand.
Some auto dealers argue, however, that VR showrooms are not as effective as conventional ones if employed as standalone units. Customers still want to touch and feel the real cars to make their purchase decision. Mayank Pareek of Tata Motors believes that VR showrooms can be put in public places like shopping malls with the possibility to test a real car in a nearby parking lot.
Virtual Prototyping
Many modifications and late detection of design errors are among the major predicaments in developing a new car model. Building a new prototype is often costly and time-consuming.
Although virtual prototyping is commonly used by all the leading car manufacturers, VR takes this approach to the next level. It helps both designing and engineering teams better simulate prototypes in terms of volume and size, and get a more detailed view of how all vehicle parts are connected. This increases the chances to detect conception errors earlier, and better understand if there are faulty connections between vehicle parts. For example, SEAT reports a 30% reduction in prototype production time thanks to VR.
Interestingly enough, Ford uses VR to experience their cars from the perspective of people of below- or above-average height. This allows the carmaker to understand different viewpoints and design accordingly.
Augmented Training
AR is on its way to transform the employee training process in the automotive industry as well. AR devices allow new employees to be completely immersed in the production process without any risks. For example, BMW offers training sessions for engine assembly units in AR goggles. Participants are guided with the help of visualizations, and can control the speed of training with voice. This method drastically increases participants’ satisfaction, reduces time, risks, and human resources required in the process.
Support Service Tools
With rapid changes in vehicle structures and their growing complexity, service employees often need assistance in their work. AR-powered tablet applications can help service employees to perform certain repair tasks aided by step-by-step visual instructions.
For example, Volkswagen in cooperation with Metaio developed the AR-based application known as MARTA (Mobile Augmented Reality Technical Assistance). The system labels all vehicle parts with text and provides work instructions with additional information such as the tools to be used. This gives service employees an advantage compared to using traditional repair guidelines and makes the service faster and more precise.
Similarly, service technicians at Porsche use AR glasses that overlay virtual schematic illustrations on real vehicle parts in the line of sight. Additionally, remote experts can provide feedback according to what the service employee sees at the moment. This method has proven to be effective, with Porsche reporting a 40% decrease in service resolution times.
Addressing Adoption Challenges
A study by Capgemini Research Institute concluded that organizations that have managed to find at least five use cases for these immersive technologies have derived much higher benefits. For example, those “early achievers” increased their overall efficiency in vehicle production by 57% compared to 23% of the rest of the surveyed companies.
This implies that there are major hurdles in adopting AR and VR on a larger scale, and as with every innovative technology there has to be a clear plan of implementation to overcome these challenges.
Here are some major keys for successful integration of AR/VR into automotive operations:
It’s essential to focus on the most valuable use cases with the highest ROI. One of the abovementioned study’s key findings is that the biggest challenge for more than half of the companies is to identify a proper use case for the technology.
Building awareness, planning, and execution should be done by a committed team of professionals. The same research shows that companies with a special centralized unit that manages AR/VR applications have had more success.
Companies that have effectively integrated AR/VR technologies also heavily invested in new talent and built their in-house expert teams.
AR and VR technologies bring many advantages for both end customers and manufacturers in the automotive industry. Although there are certain adoption challenges, it’s only a matter of time when these innovative immersive technologies will become an integral part of both the production and the end product.
WayRay, a holographic display company which has primarily focused on created augmented reality (AR) screens for the automotive industry is at CES 2020 this week to showcase its latest product, a full-colour display. On top of this WayRay has revealed new efforts to expand its product offerings into new markets.
For CES 2020 WayRay will be demoing a new Holographic AR display as a vehicle-mounted product whilst looking into the future of infotainment in self-driving cars. Vitaly Ponomarev, WayRay Founder and CEO, comments: “We are coming to CES for the fourth time in a row, and every time we are trying to outdo our previous accomplishments and to demonstrate new updates to the holographic AR technology. This year, the Holographic AR Display is updated with an addition of a blue laser, offering a complete RGB experience.”
In terms of those expansion plans, the first is a strategic partnership with Covestro, a supplier of high-tech polymer materials. The company is currently developing new photopolymer products for automotive AR HUD applications and the partnership aims to create new solutions which can be embedded in windshields.
The second collaboration is with Doosan Bobcat, an engineering and manufacturing company which creates compact construction equipment like the Bobcat loader. WayRay wants to add its Holographic AR HUD to Doosan Bobcat equipment, offering operators more information to operate the equipment more efficiently and productively.
“This is an example of how Doosan Bobcat is partnering with new cutting-edge technology providers outside our industry to bring the latest innovative solutions to our customers in an effort to help them accomplish more,” adds Joel Honeyman, Vice President Global Innovation at Doosan Bobcat in a statement.
VRFocus is at CES 2020 to take a look at all the latest AR and virtual reality (VR) technology, so we’ll let you know whether WayRay’s new full-colour display is worth getting excited about.
A new year brings with it a time of reflection and hope for what the next 12 months could bring. Maybe you’re fed up in your current role or simply don’t find it challenging. In which case, a refreshing start is in order and what better industry to work in than this one, building virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) software and hardware of the future.
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 Hubto 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.
No sooner have we finished telling you about one augmented realtiy (AR) company that has secured lots of funding (Apprentice.io) then along comes another. But in this case the value is somewhat bigger – in fact it is ten times as big.
The company in question is WayRay, a Zurich-based firm that is focusing on holographic AR technology that also has offices in the US, China and Russia as well as growing interests in Germany. WayRay is looking to bring this technology to provide innovative solutions within the automotive industry and are also looking into avenues beyond this. This might explain in part how, while Apprentice received $8 million (USD) in Series A funding WayRay has just finished a round of Series C funding – netting a cool $80 million. As one of the investors is already its partner in this endeavour – sports car manufacturer Porsche.
“The WayRay team has unique expertise with a solid background in space engineering, hardware and software development. Their innovative ideas and products have great potential.” Said Lutz Meschke, Deputy Chairman of the Executive Board and Member of the Executive Board for Finance and IT at Porsche. “We are convinced that on this basis we’ll be able to offer our clients customized Porsche solutions. That is why we have made this strategic investment decision.”
As mentioned it is not just Porsche who are interested in WayRay in the car industry. “WayRay has remarkable expertise in both hardware and software development for holographic AR display systems.” Explained Dr. Youngcho Chi, Chief Innovation Officer and Executive Vice President of Hyundai Motor Group. “The Hyundai–WayRay collaboration will help us establish a brand-new eco-system that harnesses AR technology to enhance not only navigation systems but establish an AR platform for smart cities and smart buildings, which are Hyundai Motor Group’s new business interests, in the long term, providing innovative customer experiences to our drivers.”
Vitaly Ponomarev, CEO of WayRay had this to say: “As a deep-tech company, we are committed to creating fundamental innovations that bring us far beyond holographic AR displays and new interfaces. A growing number of projects with carmakers and strong investors are fuelling the company’s growth and boosting our confidence in implementing complex innovations. We are proud to be recognized as a reliable partner able to meet the high standards set by investors like Porsche and Hyundai.”
WayRay look set to become a major name in AR going forward. VRFocus will bring you more news on their activities very soon
WayRay has had a huge amount of interest since Alibaba invested in the company last year, since then Swiss augmented reality (AR) specialist company has been looking for developers to create AR applications for cars in their True SDK Challenge in February 2018. VRFocus recently spoke with Mary Glazkova, Vice President of Communications at WayRay, about Navion and their original equipment manufacturer (OEM) solution for vehicles wanting to implement AR into their windshields.
The Navion, WayRay’s True augmented reality solution.
After four years of R&D, WayRay has showcased two products this year. The first is the Navion, a holographic AR navigation system. Navion attaches to the dashboard of your car and shows drivers their speed, route and other trip details. The device is able to indicate real-time events such as pedestrians, potential hazards, points of interests and is completely hands-free. Navion also responds to voice commands and hand gestures.
Navion uses a holographic optical element created by WayRay; a photopolymer film that retains the properties of a periodic nanostructure after the recording process. It has a full HD camera for continuous mapping of the environment whilst simultaneously keeping track of the car’s location within it. WayRay call utilised simultaneous localisation and mapping (SLAM) for this technology, and also has a mobile app where you can control information from such as restaurants, gas stations or hospitals. Glazkova says that this will be released in the middle or the end of this year, as the company is releasing their first SDK soon and are hoping developers can create applications for it.
WayRay’s second solution is a larger scale product than Navion, intended for OEMs. The Chinese automotive industry have been the first to embed WayRay’s solution into their car production lines which will be seen by the end of this year. When asked why all the solutions were in Chinese vehicles, Glazkova responded that they’re faster and not as old-fashioned as Western car manufacturers who require more time.
Tech specs of WayRay’s Navion.
With the oncoming of self-driving cars, drivers will be able to be hands-free. This opens up the opportunity for all modes of transportation to become a form of entertainment. From buses and planes to cars. Having a screen that is capable of information overlay means that advertisers may already be thinking of ways of grabbing your attention, while WayRay has already devised a method of dealing with this called ‘action acts’. Advertisers in future will be able to target drivers and passengers in self-driving cars, and will have to pay in order to be featured to targeted audiences. To find out more watch the video below, and for all the latest from WayRay stay right here at VRFocus.
Today, Swiss augmented reality (AR) specialist WayRay has announced a new global competition seeking developers for its True SDK Challenge, a competition to create AR applications for cars.
No matter whether you’re a professional developer whose created AR or virtual reality (VR) apps, or new to the field and are looking to a challenge, WayRay is looking for AR enthusiasts of all levels to enter. All you need to do is share your vision for AR apps for cars, pitching ideas and designs online by 31st March, 2018. The most visually and technologically innovative concepts will be shortlisted by the jury of renowned professors and industry experts by 31st May, 2018.
So what do you win? Well the top 30 finalists will receive cash prizes of $2,000–$5,000 USD and join the True AR Hackathon in the United States to create an AR app prototype with WayRay’s True AR SDK. The hackathon winners will be granted $40,000 for first place, $20,000 for second and $10,000 for first, plus brand new Navion devices. The date and exact location of the hackathon will be announced later in the year.
The competition is WayRay’s initiative towards creating a strong community of software engineers, content providers and hardware manufacturers creating AR solutions for cars.
WayRay attended the recent CES 2018 event in Las Vegas, showcasing its holographic AR navigation system Navion plus an AR infotainment system for cars featured in the Oasis concept car built by Swiss manufacturer and iconic automotive designer Rinspeed. Navion goes on the dashboard of your car, here it can show drivers directions and trip details. Additionally, the system can display indicators for real-time events like pedestrians, points of interest or alerting to hazards. The kit has been designed to work completely hands-free, responding to voice commands or hand gestures.
To find out further details about the True SDK Challenge and also enter, head to WayRay’s official website. As WayRay continue to expand AR functionality in cars, VRFocus will keep you updated.
CES 2018 is the most exciting showcase of innovative technology every year. With over 170,000 attendees and over 3,900 exhibitors, there has to be some virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR) and mixed reality (MR) here, right? Today, VRFocus is doing a Post CES #XR event Review at the Realities Centre in London, UK bringing some of the companies together for those that couldn’t attend the main event. However if you aren’t attending the Post CES event, VRFocus has put a little recap together. From head-mounted displays (HMDs), VR platforms, VR content, 360 cameras, AR, audio, and MR to accessories to accompany new immersive technologies, you’ll find a sizable list in the run down below.
Big Announcements at Press Conferences
The HTC Vive Pro was the most exciting pre-CES announcement from HTC Vive.
Before CES even started VRFocus attended the Nvidia press event, where the company showcased its latest technology in autonomous cars. The biggest trend by far at this year’s CES, was how both VR and AR are being used to help ensure the safety of future cars, but also testing autonomous cars in environments that otherwise could not be controlled. Nvidia announced AutoSim, a VR simulator for self-driving cars as well as Drive AR, software that gives drivers information about what is around the car. All this information will be featured on the windscreen or dashboard screen. Think Google Maps on your heads-up-display (HUD).
It was HTC Vive that really stole the show that day after its initial Twitter tease of a HMD with new resolution, announcing the new HTC Vive Pro and Wireless adapter. The promise of no screen door effect and going untethered? It was a big day for VR lovers around the world. To add a cherry on top, the HTC Vive Pro will feature two microphones for noise cancellation capabilities and it’ll work with both 1.0 and 2.0 base stations.
Not exactly room-scale virtual reality, but a quick and easy access to transport users into a digital re-created world.
With the announcement of the HTC Vive Pro, Dell revealed at its press conference a partnership with HTC Vive to make it easier for consumers to get a full VR package with their desktop by allowing customers to purchase both the VR-Ready Dell Inspiron Gaming Desktop and an HTC Vive.
With no new Oculus Rift being teased or showcased, VRFocus managed to catch up with Kopin, showcasing the Elf VR headset. With a pixel density of 2,940 PPI, dual 2K resolution, 120 Hz for each eye, and a promise of smaller, lighter size and no screen door effect, Kopin is making ambitious promises for VR applications in the future. The Elf VR HMD is not yet available for consumers, but Kopin has said to keep an ear out for news just before the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) 2018.
Pico Interactive showcased its standalone headsets Pico Goblin and Pico Neo CV. Both headsets will be compatible with the Vive Wave platform, giving Pico customers access to 400 titles from the Vive owned store. A taster perhaps of what other standalone headsets might be such as Oculus Go and Vive Focus. The Pico Goblin is retailing for $269 USD and the Pico Neo CV can be pre-ordered for $749 on Pico’s website.
Lenovo also demonstrated its standalone device, Lenovo Mirage Solo. The headset utilises the Qualcomm Snapdragon 835, has 4GB RAM, with 110-degree field-of-view (FoV). The headset also uses Google’s WorldSense technology for inside-out tracking and comes with a wireless Daydream controller. The HMD is set to be released in Q2 this year.
Zeiss VR One Connect is now also compatible with Steam VR. Supporting both iOS and Android, the Zeiss VR One will need two wireless three degrees of freedom (3DoF) controllers that are linked via Bluetooth to enjoy full VR. The Zeiss VR One Connect is set to be available at major US retailers in the spring of 2018 at $129. No details on an international launch date are currently available.
Then there was Timescope’s terminal, which wasn’t what one would call “true VR”, in the sense that it’s not room-scale, you are not able to teleport or physically pick up objects with controllers – but still a form of new VR for public spaces. From the age of seven, members of the public are able to use the Timescope terminal to then see into the past or future of certain locations. All 3D content is as historical accurate as possible, with historians and engineers that have worked hard on making the terminals suitable for everybody – including people wearing glasses.
VR Platforms, VRContent, Training and Social VR
It might become easier to start a platform when making numerous amounts of VR content, and trying to find a solution to distribute the content to their clients and audience. This seems to be exactly the case for Jaunt, Ikonospace Art and Serious Factory.
Jaunt has created the Jaunt XR platform, which gives clients an easy way to distribute large amounts of VR content. With a media manager, player engine and intelligence suite to track information of how users interact with 360 content – its biggest benefit is that it allows all 360, VR films to be distributed across various VR HMDs.
Ikonospace is a small Dutch start-up company that use VR to create virtual art exhibitions. The platform would enable any artist around the world to build, create, digitise and finally curate their own art exhibition. CEO and Co-Founder Joris Demnard, personally comes from a family that specialise in curating and putting together art exhibitions. With simple design tools, one can create a building, decorate the interior and then place their art in it.
Serious Factory have a special toolkit that enables users to create social scenarios. Think of it as directing a social space where you can control the characters interactions, facial expressions, reactions and create the perfect social training scenarios. The platform allows for full customisation of characters from ethnicity, outfit, and interactions to the 3D environment where the interactions would take place. The final scene also has a point system, which would allow recruiters to see in which category users failed in or excelled in.
Fibrum is the largest Russian developer for VR games and applications, having dipped its toes into e-sports as well as creating the Fibrum Pro HMD. Fibrum now focuses on a platform called Desirium, a mobile VR app and platform that’s similar to Jaunt’s app, where the company can host 360-degree and VR content. You can download the app on Google Play, App Store, Google Daydream or Samsung Gear VR for a free trial period now.
Make your dreary gym workout plan fun with VR, gaming and highscores.
VRFocus got into the grind of CES with Black Box VR, a new concept that combines gaming with gym workouts. Instead of getting bored at the gym, trying to make your exercise routine more interesting by listening to your ‘Gym Workout Session 1’ playlist on Spotify or attempting to enjoy the visual images on the TV screen, you’ll soon be able to dive into a HTC Vive headset (accompanied with special trackers on each arm) and carry out various work outs through Black Box VR. Several Black Box VR gyms will be opening on the West coast of the United States, to make your average gym workout more interesting.
Anybody who’s been trying to use VR for exercise will have heard of Sprint Vector, Survios’ action-packed multiplayer VR title. Survios announced several Sprint Vector tournaments and that it would be coming to various VR arcades soon, which can also be experienced in California.
Serious VR takes things very serious indeed, specialising in VR training and performance data focusing on industrial companies such as defence, metal and automotive sectors. The plan is to change manuals and e-learning into an information schedule to implement VR for training processes. The benefits of immersion that VR offers seem be very cost-effective and more efficient than conventional training for industrial companies at the moment.
French company Light and Shadows use both VR and AR to provide solutions to major industrial enterprises, having created various devices and training applications for companies that are looking for ways to train or operate in VR. With a background in 3D environments, they showcased a training simulation that combined leap motion with the HTC Vive. Using just your hands, VRFocus managed to pick up mechanical and industrial pieces in a factory.
vTime gets an audio boost with DTS custom audio technology.
All in all, VR companies exhibiting at CES showcased various platforms that wanted to be cross-platform friendly and were looking to have users create and generate their own content in order to boost their platform. For the most part, it seems like these platforms are oriented at large industrial companies looking to train staff or employees, whether it be in factories or in social situations. With it comes a lot of responsibility to create easy-to-use toolkits, quick production work flows as well as the tools to create the best immersion. For the most part, it has been HTC Vive that’s been the winner when looking at how companies are using the HMD to help introduce VR to the masses.
360 Cameras
Kodak’s three lense camera shoots 8K and will have a waterproof case to film underwater in.
There were only two cameras that really showcased what 360 VR could offer in the future. Besides Sony and Zeiss’s previously mentioned, it was Chinese company Pisoftech and Kodak that offered 8K capabilities. Lenovo also dips into VR, but uses 180 degrees instead.
Pisoftech has a background in mass surveillance and data. They decided to venture into the realm of hardware when they saw that the products their clients were making could be more efficient if they made it. The Pilot Era camera can shoot 8K and has the capability to stitch internally. In other words, no need for an external device or software to stitch for you anymore. It’s quite big as well, 61mm x 61 mm x 159mm and weighs around 565g, however it may be worth it if you don’t want the hassle of stitching your images and if you want 180 minutes of battery life. 8K comes at a huge price though, its estimated price is at £3,000 GBP, not exactly affordable for the average consumer. The product is expected to be available on Amazon in April 2018.
What Pisoftech offer in 8K internal stitching, Kodak makes up for in size. Showcasing two brand new cameras that as of yet have no name, Kodak is also dedicated to creating 8K VR footage but in stereoscopic 3D VR. The first to be shown is the three-lens 8K PixPro 360 camera that is able to film at 30 frames per second (FPS) or 4K at 60FPS, potentially even at 120FPS. A waterproof version is said to be released around the same time to enable underwater filming. Half the size of the Pilot Era camera, this camera does not offer internal stitching but is very small and could potentially last a long time if combined with external batteries.
The second camera shoots 4K 30 FPS and can fold out and do 3D stereoscopic 180 images. It was designed specifically to please the push YouTube and Google are making into 3D on their platforms. You can also tether the cameras together and make a full 360 3D unit, if you were to have three of them. When speaking to Kevin Kunze, he mentioned that the three-lens 8K camera would be $1,000-$2,000 cheaper than other 8K cameras on the market and both cameras would hopefully be coming out in Q4 this year.
Lenovo hasn’t exactly created a 360-degree camera but instead opted for the Lenovo Mirage Camera. The device enables users to capture VR video in broad 180-degrees from its two front facing lenses, which can then be viewed on the Lenovo Mirage Solo HMD (mentioned in the HMD section).
It really depends on what you’re looking for when it comes to cameras, 8K, size, weight, price or the effort of stitching. It’s interesting to note that both Lenovo and Kodak have created VR 180 degree cameras due to the push that Google have made for this content on the YouTube platform. Lenovo’s Mirage Camera for example natively integrates VR 180 images and videos onto both YouTube and Google photos.
Augmented Reality
AR was a big buzz word when it came to autonomous cars. Nvidia showcased this with their Drive AR, but it was WayRay that really got people on the show floor queuing up to have a try.
WayRay, is a Swiss developer of holographic AR navigation system for connected cars. They showcased NAVION, the world’s first ever holographic AR navigator, and the advanced version of the AR Infotainment System for cars. Placed on a dashboard, NAVION shows directions, trip details and display real-time indicators for things like pedestrians, POIs or alerting to hazards exactly where the driver needs them to be — on the road ahead — with no headgear or eye wear required. NAVION works hands-free and responds to the simple voice commands or to unique hand gestures.
Hololampon the other hand depends on interactions with your hands. Tracking individual faces, it’s able to change and alter the perspective of holograms to appear 3D. This can include anything, from food to architectural buildings. The holograms can be interacted with as well, so you can choose to change the colour of a room for example by tapping on the hologram.
AstroReality takes 3D printed objects and then uses their AR app AstroReality to help inform users about planets. AstroReality showcased how this was done by using 3D printed planets such as Mars, Earth and the Moon for example at CES. They hinted at working on other 3D printed objects and AR for other uses cases such as Dinosaurs, Rocks and other things. They’ve been very popular with astrologists, space-enthusiasts and classrooms.
uSens has not only partnered with Pico interactive on hand-tracking for mobile VR, but has managed to find a way to bring AR to almost all Android phones with the uSensAR app. uSens also announced a partnership with Chinese technology firm Spreadtrum, and uSensAR will be bringing AR camera effects to the Spreadtrum SC9853 chipset platform which will be in “hundreds of millions” of smartphones in 2018.
AiFishowcased the Wonderlens app which remarkably manages to capture individuals from their phones or tablets to anywhere they want without the need for green screen. This is all done in real-time as well, so no need for Chroma keying or masking – it’s all done on your phone or tablet. For those who aren’t filmmakers – this is remarkable and ground breaking technology at the tips of your consumer fingers and should definitely be tried (it can be argued that Wonderlens is actually MR). AiFi also showcased Holo Messenger turning you into a hologram which then gets projected in a personal video message to friends and family. Founded by former Google and Apple engineers, AiFi is currently working on the advanced checkout-free shopping experiences in the US. Apparently they’re doing Amazon Go, but on a much larger scale in US retail stores.
XXII is a French company that has taken the profits made in VR and AR and have gone into Artificial Intelligence (A.I.). Its created various escape room VR experiences and have now gone into smart retail, where the system uses sensors to analyse customers. They use AR to show and explain how their smart retail AI can be used. Similar, but smaller in size to AiFi it looks like the combination of immersive technologies and A.I. are proving to be a great combination for selling products.
The feedback VRFocus was getting from exhibitors was that AR was the first step to bring VR into the mass market. AR was an easier and less drastic way of introducing the technology to consumers. The buzz around autonomous cars and AR definitely looks like a new exciting possibility for future entertainment – right there on your dashboard. Stepping into an autonomous car in the future, will possibly be like stepping into a theatre. The combining of AI with both VR and AR can be very interesting, but is just at the start. Booth AiFi and XXII are blurring the lines and we could potentially see various interesting outcomes from both companies if they were to apply it in new and exciting ways.
Audio
Can you imagine being in a busy and loud room where only you hear the sound and voices?
Audio is equal, if not more important when it comes to feeling immersed. You can hear a mistake a lot quicker than seeing a mistake. If audio doesn’t quite work the way it does in real life, it breaks the immersion for many people. Besides vTime’s partnership with DTS, Dirac and Noveto aim to help create more immersive environments for both VR and AR.
Some tech needs to be experienced first hand, VR is certainly one while Noveto’s audio tech is another. The company showcased what it called ‘virtual headphones’, named Sowlo, projecting sound into your ear like a pair of headphones. The system tracks the users’ ears as well, so even if you turn your head a certain degree, the sound and volume would stay the same. Noveto demonstrated this for a conference call and interior of car use cases, explaining that the days of ‘headphones’ would soon be over. The system works with no need for any accessories on the user at all, no headphones, cables or added accessories. It just needed you and your ears.
Swedish company Dirac launched Dirac VR last year, a 3D audio platform for VR. This year at CES Dirac showcased the next iteration of the Dirac VR platform. The audio rendering of a virtual environment showcase how the location and volume level of the audio adjusts as the head rotates with a VR headset. In other words, if you move your head, sounds bounce off the walls the same way they would if you were doing this in real life.
Noveto’s Sowlo has the potential to not only change the way users interact with audio for VR, but also for everyday use cases. It has the potential to really enable social VR and really alter the way we can experience audio as a whole. Dirac’s experience in audio means that the re-creation of environments will create more immersive and realistic sound environments. Both look very promising to enhance VR worlds through means of audio.
Mixed Reality
Being hands-free would enable health care providers to work more efficiently.
There was not too much MR that VRFocus saw on the show floor at CES. Luckily the company that did showcase MR are doing something that could revolutionise the future of public health care. Making it more efficient, quicker and potentially lifesaving.
Exelus, a French telemedicine solution company has created a comprehensible mobile diagnostic platform using Microsoft’s Hololens. Partnering with Holoforge, they’ve created Nomadeec. It’s focused on delivering and providing the most accurate information as efficiently and quickly as possible between healthcare providers. Designed for nursing homes and out-of-hospital care facilities, it would allow nurses, care assistants, night watchmen and doctors to communicate with one another. Nomadeec is currently being used in France and could be a glimpse of what future healthcare methods healthcare providers will be using in future.
The last part of this recap is dedicated to accessories that are made to enhance your VR experience or can be used by developers to help develop and create new VR content.
When it comes to untethered VR, or VR without wires and cables that attach you to a laptop or desktop, HTC Vive users can rejoice at the announcement of the HTC Vive Wireless Adapter. However TPCast are also providing another option. The TPCast 2.0, which according to TPCast will utilise the latest generation of ultra-low latency codecs and upgraded real-time data control protocol. This will allow the company to deliver high quality video with low latency and real-time transmission at a range of distances. TPCast’s General Manager for Americas Udi Yuhjtman confirms that regardless of which HTC Vive HMD you’re using (Vive or Vive Pro), you’re able to use the TPCast 2.0 for both.
Feeling and Touching in VR: Gloves and Haptic Feedback
French company Go Touch VR uses haptic feedback to create the illusion of touch, except you don’t need to wear a glove. So no matter what size your hands or fingers are, you will be able to feel haptic feedback. It’s probably important to note, that long fingernails do not work with the system. By wearing small devices at the user’s fingertips, the units provide pressure on the fingers, allowing for multiple haptic feedback sensations. The VRTouch Developer Kit began selling in October 2017 and has since sold to several companies that include BMW.
Dutch start-up company Sense Glove is also seeking to find a solution for haptic feedback. However instead of putting items on your fingers, you need to put on what looks like a very complicated exoskeleton of a glove. It not only provides haptic feedback though, but force feedback as well. This was demonstrated at CES by having users trying to crack an egg and various other circular objects. The idea is to help the user feel the shape and density of virtual objects.
BeBop Sensors showcased their newly announced BeBop Sensors Marcel Modular Data Gloves that allow for either 6 or 9 degrees of freedom with a sensor sub-frame latency at 120 Hz. The data glove uses smart fabrics, with sensors tracking force, location, size, weight, bend and twist.
TreeTech is a Dutch company that realised that PC gamers were moving to the couch with VR and Steam Link box. So they created the PO!NT Controller, a modular game controller that brings the keyboard and mouse shortcuts to a controller. TreeTech also create custom module controls, and can be approached by developer for custom experiences. They will start producing the PO!NT controller in Q3, and on the market in Q4 retailing at $149.
Jamzone is a Dutch company that’s created a videogame to help train users to learn and cope with stress. Stressjamuses a special waistband that measures heart rate variability to read your body’s state of mind. So in other words it knows when you are calm or stressed. Stressjam then takes you on a guided journey where you can only complete certain tasks by making yourself calm or stressed. Jamzone want to use it for B2B purposes and want large companies to use it to help prevent stress, burnout and depression in their employees by training them to control their stress levels in VR.
VRFocusstumbled upon the Yaw VR Motion Simulator which makes VR more like a Cinema 4D experience. The Yaw VR offers full 360 degrees swivel, tilts, shakes, spins and motions that make you feel like you’re in real life. You can pre-order the Yaw VR and it is compatible with the Gear VR, Oculus Rift and HTC Vive for £629 if you get an Early Bird version.
On a special note, Pico Zense, AiFi and various other companies seem to be working on depth sensing technology at CES. The ability for VR or AR headsets to recognise the location around them could change and alter the way we interact with digital objects as well as pave the way forward for mixed reality content. All in all, it’s clear that there are numerous exhibitors who are looking for new solutions to solve problems in the fields of VR and AR.
Conclusion
CES 2018 showcased untethered VR without the need to link to a PC or laptop, trying both the HTC Vive Wireless Adapter and TPCast 2.0 was very strange in the sense that the usual ‘safety net’ or umbilical cord that kept you grounded to the sense of existing reality was gone. However with Oculus’s Santa Cruz and HTC Vive’s Wireless Adapter coming to the market – TPCast may struggle to stay relevant by the end of the year. The most common trend amongst HMD manufacturers such as Kopin or Zeiss One and VR content producers such as Jaunt, Fibrum, Ikonospace or vTime was that they wanted to be cross-platform and enable user generated content. This means that users need access or full customisation to what they’re creating in VR, but also make VR a much more accessible platform. It was very refreshing to see Timescope take VR outdoors and to public places where numerous tourists, and anybody from the age of seven is able to experience a location in a new way. It just goes to show that no matter which HMD you have, it’s all about content.
With regards to 360-degree cameras the trend is looking to get higher quality resolution and bumping up the cameras to 8K. It’s then just a matter of size, prize, weight and intent. There’s a definite trend towards using 3D 180 degree cameras for YouTube and Google’s sake, as is seen in Lenovo Mirage Camera – although not many except the Lenovo Mirage Solo seem to be discussing being a platform for the 3D 180 degree video or image content that would be created with the cameras. The foldable Kodak camera seems to try and combine both stereoscopic 180-degree 3D as well as full 360-degree filming – but at what cost? Stitching is still a massive problem when it comes to creating 360 content, but is paying $3,000 worth the price for not having to stitch?
When it comes to AR, the autonomous cars were the winners. AR on the dashboard or windscreen were two of the biggest hypes at CES when Nvidia and WayRay discussed them. Not only would information become easier, but it seemed like a natural progression having all this information accessible. Within five years, it will be expected that every new vehicle should have AR integrated in it. This means that in some sense AR will have reached the general consumer population to a certain degree. uSens as well as AiFi do deserve a special mention. uSens not only showcase impressive finger tracking, but uSens AR would also bring AR to cheaper android phones – especially in China opens up the AR market to various new types of content, users and market. No longer will AR be something only iPhone users can afford, but something that is for everybody. AiFi is one to watch with regards to how they are using A.I. with AR and VR. Though Wonderlens and Holo Messenger seem like small quirky apps, the technology behind it really showcase the intelligent sensors and software created by AiFi that enable them to go into the mass smart retail market.
When it comes to audio, it’s clear that vTime is trying to address immersion through realistic audio. It’s great to see a company such as Dirac who have built custom made audio for various locations and applications intently try and create a realistic audio as possible for VR. It was however Noveto that really blew VRFocusout of the water. Not only could this revolutionise the way users interact with audio as a whole, but it would also enable various users to go into a public space without the need to wear headphones on their VR headsets to enjoy an experience. No unnecessary wires, hygiene problems or headphones that aren’t suited to your specific ear shape.
There was only one real contender that truly showcased a working platform and model that is revolutionising the healthcare industry, and that is Nomadeec. A small thing such as enabling hands-free care whilst giving real time data back to the hospital as well as being able to call a doctor regarding the patient can be life changing and perhaps even life saving for patients that need immediate care. Though Nomadeec would be implemented in large business such as care homes or out of-hospital care facilities, it’s clear to see the potential of it as Nomadeec roles out. Hopefully Nomadeec will be brought to more countries and have a quick as well as immediate positive impact on patients in need. The only barrier to entry then becomes the price as well as training of staff the use the expensive Microsoft Hololens.
And last but not least, accessories. Now it’s hard to say which glove or accessory was the best at CES. When we reached BeBop Sensors it was nice to see something that felt complete, I personally was unable to use Go Touch VR because I have long fingernails and my colleague Peter demoed the Sense Glove. However after much discussion VRFocusconcluded that when it comes to being prepared for consumers, BeBop Sensors was the closest to being ready. Go Touch VR and Sense Glove both felt like early prototypes which needed several iterations whilst BeBop Sensors was almost there, had haptics on the fingers, was small and worked for both myself and Peter who have very different hand sizes.
A personal favourite of mine was Stressjam. This was probably because of how drastic and immediate of a change was asked from me whilst at CES in my state of mind. When I came out of Stressjam, it had a similar effect to how I felt when I used Noveto’s Sowlo system. Personally, I also believe that being able to control stress is a very healthy and useful ability for a population that suffers a lot from stress, depression and other illnesses as a result of that. It would be great to see VR implemented in a healthy and fun way that is not only associated with shooting zombies, scary horror VR videogames or training simulations.
Finally one thing that was most prominent from the whole show, was the continuous showcasing of VR experiences by using HTC Vive. Almost every single experience used the headset, from Black Box VR to training simulations that combined it with magic leap. Another thing that was noticeable was the incredible number of Asian or Chinese people at CES. It’s very clear that China is a huge market to be tapped, and it will be interesting to see more Chinese VR and AR tech coming out of the continent as well as seeing how HTC Vive will fare in the Eastern market.
After experiencing significant increase in sales and positive response from the clientele, the company is now taking automobile ventures to a higher level – and at higher costs.
It has invested a whopping $18 million dollars for WayRay’s Series B round. Alibaba’s senior investment director, Ethan Xie, is confident that the investment will lead to greater opportunities in product development, particularly in the automobile industry highlighting the use of Augmented Reality in its applications.
Who Is WayRay?
WayRay was founded in 2012, which specializes in creating holographic navigation systems. They are one of the pioneers in using Augmented Reality dashboards in Smartcars. What this does is that it immerses the driver into a dimension wherein directions are overlayed onto the driver’s view. This AR dashboard for Smartcars is popularly known as Navion.
The company initially invested $10 million dollars to develop Navion. And now, with a promising partnership with Alibaba, the company is set to develop a consumer version of Navion this year. The e-commerce behemoth announces its future plans with other partners as well.
Facts You May Have Missed Out
Here are some fast facts about the new technology.
Alibaba debuted its RX5 Smartcar in the market last summer.
Alibaba partnered with SAIC – an auto manufacturer owned by the Chinese government. It is one of the “big four” companies in the automobile industry.
The RX5 uses the operating system developed by Alibaba – Yun.
Its biggest competitor is LeEco’s electric car LeSee.
Another competitor is Baidu, which develops smartcars in partnership with BAIC, also a state-owned Chinese automobile makers.
Future Plans
WayRay has made an open statement that they will partner with Banma Technologies to develop more AR possibilities. Banma is a joint venture owned by SAIC and Alibaba Group.
They are planning to create AR developments including AR navigation and an entertainment system. It is set to be released in 2018. WayRay states that this is “the world’s first vehicle in-production with a holographic AR head-up display.” Alibaba agrees and believes that the potential of AR technology in Smartcars can create a cutting-edge technological advancement, especially smart internet services such as the Alipay.
More developments are to be expected of the joint venture in 2018. For the meantime, WayRay develops new possibilities with the AR dashboard for Smartcars in preparation for the joint venture’s future plans.
Chinese Internet company Alibaba recently announced it will be investing in WayRay, a company that makes holographic augmented reality (AR) dashboard systems for cars.
WayRay, founded in 2012, is behind the technology that created Navion, an AR navigation system that projects the directions and other important information onto the driver’s view of the road. WayRay is hoping that the Navion system will be ready for commercial consumer release some time this year.
Alibaba began working in the car industry last year, when it partnered with state-owned car manufacturer SAIC to create the RX5 smart car, which uses the Yun operating system developed by Alibaba.
In a statement, Alibaba Group’s senior investment director, Ethan Xie, said: “We believe there is huge potential in the development of leading-edge technology like augmented reality and its application to various industries, like WayRay’s AR navigation system in the auto sector. The potential of augmented reality makes it an exciting and promising area.”
WayRay also plans to work with Banma Technologies, a Alibaba/SAIC joint venture, to create an AR navigation system for a car that is planned to be launched some time in 2018.
Car manufacturers are beginning to utilize virtual reality (VR) and AR in other ways, such as Chevrolet using AR in their advertising campaign for the new Camero, or AT&T demonstrating how their ‘connected car’ services work with the help of the Microsoft HoloLens.
VRFocus will keep you updated on AR technology use in automobiles.
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