This week, two separate articles on Business Wire and Erie News Now reported on a new Tracker research program by the International Data Corporation (IDC), which focuses on the Augmented and Virtual Reality headset market.

Significant points mentioned by both articles include:

• According to IDC, worldwide shipments of ARVR headsets will increase by a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 108.3% from 2016 to 2020
• IDC is currently focusing on three headset categories: tethered head-mounted displays (such as the HTC Vive), standalone head-mounted displays (such as Microsoft’s Hololens), and screenless viewers (such as Samsung’s Gear VR)
• IDC expects AR headsets to increase due to technology becoming more affordable and OEMs entering the market, despite VR devices currently leading the market in terms of volume
• Jitesh Ubrani, the senior research analyst for IDC Mobile Device Trackers, is quoted to have said that this year has been important for Augmented Reality, and that the technology may create a change in computing to rival the smartphone, despite it having a long way to go before mass adoption
• Tom Mainelli, the program vice president  of Devices and ARVR, is quoted to have said that AR is a long-term opportunity, while VR will capture most media attention in the short-term
• A table is shown, which compares worldwide ARVR headset shipments from 2016, and predicted shipments in 2020

The two reports can be read here – BusinessWire and ErieNews

A recent article on Digital Journal reports on Market Research Reports Search Engine’s analysis of the Augmented Reality market.

According to the article, the demand for Augmented and Virtual Reality is predicted to increase in the near future due to the increased demand for ARVR service, rise in end-use application, and affordable hardware cost.

The ARVR market is segmented into component, end-use application, and geography. Component types are software, hardware (head-mounted display, head-up display, glasses, consoles, and others), and services. End-use applications are education, healthcare, gaming, retail, construction, automotive, media and entertainment, defense and aerospace, and others (manufacturing and energy). AR and VR are segmented separately.

Geographical regions are segmented into:

• North America (US and Canada)
• Europe (UK and Germany)
• Asia Pacific (China and India)
• MEA (South Africa and the GCC)
• South America (Brazil and Argentina)

Aspects analysed in the report include:

• Driving / restraining factors of the market
• Prevailing market trends
• Prospective growth opportunities
• Major strategies increasing the popularity of the market
• Market estimates and forecasts for all segments
• Estimates and forecasts for the head-mounted display, glasses, and console
• Industry evolution
• Impact analysis of the market on smartphones, tablets, etc.

Key players profiled in the report include:

• Google, Inc.
• Microsoft Corporation
• Oculus VR LLC
• HTC Corporation
• Nokia Corporation
• Blippar Ltd.
• MindMaze SA
• NuFormer Projection B.V.

A press release dated December 21 2016 revealed that Meta has begun shipping its Meta 2 Development Kit, the first augmented reality (AR) product that delivers a totally immersive experience.

Meta 2 enables people to use their hands to interact with holograms so they can touch, grab, create and share digital content. Customers receiving Meta 2 units in this first shipment include select individual and enterprise developers.  They will develop compelling market-specific applications across a number of use cases, including product and building design, education, manufacturing and medicine.

Meta looks forward to working closely with developers to create compelling market-specific applications for Meta 2 across a range of industries, including medicine, education and manufacturing.

The Meta 2 Development Kit is the company’s second-generation AR technology and was designed with input from nearly 1,000 users of the Meta 1 product. This included developers, early adopters and academics.

Details revealed in the press release about the Meta 2 Development Kit are as follows:

Meta 2 offers numerous capabilities for AR that are only available with the Meta platform: including the widest field of view of any augmented reality product on the market, the most intuitive access to digital information, and support for direct hand interaction with digital content and holograms.

Field of View (FOV)

Meta 2 has the largest FOV of any product on the market, making it the most immersive AR experience available today. The 90-degree (diagonal) FOV and high-resolution display eliminate the limitations of screen size, making it easier for users to work, collaborate, and create or design.

Intuitive Access to Digital Information 

Meta 2 has been developed to work in the most intuitive way for the brain. While allowing people to use the traditional means of interacting with technology through keyboards and other devices, Meta 2 enables people to easily access, manipulate and share digital information in ways that are natural and enhance productivity and collaboration. Examples of AR applications built on interfaces designed to work like the human brain include 3D modelling and multi-monitor viewing.

Technical details are included in the press release, which can be read in full here.

Last week, an article on Global LEDs/OLEDs discusses the global head-up display (HUD) market, as it has been analysed by Transparency Market Research in their recent report.

Significant points in the article include:

• It is predicted that the global HUD market will increase at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 19.1% between 2015 and 2022
• In 2014, the global HUD market was valued at $1.76 billion; this is expected to increase to $7.05 billion by the end of 2022
• By application, the market is divided into aviation, automotive, and others
• In 2014, the aviation segment accounted for over 79% of the total demand for HUDs; however, the automotive segment is predicted to grow most quickly during the forecast period
• Currently, HUDs are integrated in premium cars and sports cars, although it is yet to be incorporated into mid-range cars
• HUDs have been integrated in military aircrafts for many decades, but have recently been introduced to helicopters and civil aircrafts
• Market drivers include: increased demand for active safety systems in aircrafts and automotive, technological developments of Augmented Reality in HUDs, high military modernisation, and increased luxury car industry
• Limitations of the market include: the high cost incurred on producing HUDs,
• In 2014, North America was the largest market for HUD; the region has many driving factors for the HUD market
• Europe was the second-largest HUD market in 2014 due to the involvement of luxury car manufacturers such as BMW AG, Audi, and Mercedes Benz
• The Asia Pacific HUD market is predicted to have the highest CAGR from 2015 to 2022 (19.4%) due to  increased demand for high-end cars

Key players in the global HUD market include:

• BAE Systems PLC
• Rockwell Collins Inc.
• Thales Group
• Delphi Automotive PLC
• Yazaki Corporation
• Microvision Inc.

A recent article by Michael R. Blumberg examines major players in the industry of Augmented Reality who have developed solutions in field service and maintenance in addition to use case scenarios. A number of AREA members are included.

The article initially discusses the multiple components which should be integrated in order to make AR applications successful: viewer technology, such as a mobile device or smart glasses; the application allowing the device to access what the engineer is viewing in real time, which produces extra content such as sound or graphics; also video streaming from the onsite engineer to a remote engineering expert.

AREA members APX Labs, iQagent, NGrain, Scope AR, and XMReality are all mentioned in the article as key industry players, in addition to AR Media, Epson, Fieldbit, Microsoft, and PTC. AR technology from each organisation is noted and described:

• APX – Their AR product Skylight is a platform which integrates with wearables such as smart glasses.
• iQagent – Their mobile-based AR app scans QR codes to provide information related to maintenance.
• NGrain – They have various AR applications, such as ProProducer, Viewer, Android Viewer, SDK, Consort, Envoy, and Scout.
• Scope AR – Their Worklink application provides instructions as well as 3D images on the mobile or wearable screen. They also produced Remote AR, which enables onsite employees to remotely communicate with experts.
• XMReality – Their product XM Reality Remote Guidance also enables onsite employees to receive visual instructions from remote experts.

A recent article by Karl Guttag discusses waveguides, which are optical devices involved in the components in devices such as the Microsoft HoloLens. Light enters the thin piece of glass, projecting a small image on one side of it; using total internal reflection inside the piece of glass, the image exits in a different place.

The article discusses a major disadvantage of waveguides; the light that enters the glass has to be at 45 degrees, then at 45 degrees again when it leaves. This means that the image is often of a worse quality, as not all of the light makes the correct turns. ‘Waveguide glow’, as Karl Guttag calls it, is another issue that can occur, which causes a glow around high contrast objects or text.

The conclusions made by the article are:

• The waveguide did not significantly decrease the size of the HoloLens
• Waveguides worsen the image quality compared to simpler combiner designs
• HoloLens’ use of waveguide restricted them to only using certain display devices that are compatible; they are unable to use OLED or tech which emits a broader spectrum of light
• Even if the device was smaller, getting more SDKs in developers is important sooner rather than later

Readers can read the full article here.

Readers may be interested in a perspective article on High Tech Forum about Augmented Reality in Business.

The article draws on other articles and includes historical information about user interfaces, and moves onto AR interaction and how AR technology can relieve constraints, representing the first real change in the way information age people interact with their information infrastructure.

The article moves onto discuss how AR is being used in the enterprise, mentioning industries such as agriculture and aviation. AREA members Boeing and DAQRI are mentioned.

Topics discussed in the article are:

• The use of holograms in AR
• Networked holograms
• Creating holographic content
• AR communications infrastructure

The article can be read in full here.

Development company Datacom have moved premises into the AR/VR Garage in Auckland, New Zealand, to develop AR technology. Datacom will be working with Microsoft’s HoloLens headset to develop new products, including apps. Front-end visualisation is the focus for development, to develop new AR products.

Chris Blair, Delivery and Innovation Agent at Datacom, foresees that Augmented Reality is set to have “huge appeal” in a variety of sectors, including: –

• Education and training
• Health and safety
• Search and rescue
• Construction
• Manufacturing
• Architecture

The full article showing the news can be read here and a link to Datacom’s website with information about their development work with HoloLens is available here. 

Worth a read is a section on Augmented Reality on the Wall Street Journal’s Morning Download, December 13 2016.

The article mentions AGCO Corp, manufacturer of agricultural equipment, whose factory workers are equipped with AR glasses to improve logging of quality checks (use of the wearables made the checks 20% faster).  The firm has plans to use AR technology headsets to guide workers through welding 30-foot booms to chemical sprayers.

The summary draws upon another article, written by Sara Castellanos, which can be read here (for subscribers to WSJ) which sets out research from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology predicting that AR has the potential to transform the way workers interact with large amounts of data, specifically in the supply chain.

Context is provided for the global 3-D imaging market, which includes holograms.  The market is expected to grow from $4.9 billion in 2015 to $16.6 billion by 2020 (Markets and Markets Research, India).

Lockheed Martin Joins Augmented Reality for Enterprise Alliance Board

Lockheed Martin Brings Industry Expertise to AREA Board of Directors to Help Build Augmented Reality Ecosystem and Best Practices

WAKEFIELD, Mass., USA – December 13, 2016 — The Augmented Reality for Enterprise Alliance (AREA) announced today that Lockheed Martin has joined AREA at the Sponsor level and accepted a seat on its Board of Directors.  According to AREA Executive Director Mark Sage, Lockheed Martin, along with other AREA Enterprise members Bosch, Boeing, Huawei, and Newport News Shipbuilding and many others, have pledged support to drive ecosystem development and best practices for Augmented Reality (AR).

With over 30 members, the AREA is the only global membership funded alliance, helping to accelerate the adoption of Enterprise AR by creating a comprehensive ecosystem for enterprises, providers, and non-commercial institutes.  It supports innovative companies, aspiring to invest in AR who need a better understanding of the tools available, application possibilities, methods of implementation and return on investment.

The AREA provides a free and open exchange of best practices, lessons learned, and technological insights which can help enterprises effectively implement AR technology, boost operational efficiency and create long term benefit.

“Lockheed Martin is another strong and significant addition to the AREA Board of Directors,” said Sage. “They bring long experience with and a keen understanding of the tools, applications, and implementations of AR in the enterprise.  Their collaboration with AREA members in defining this emerging industry through research, networking, education and best practice is a welcome addition.”

The AREA’s membership benefits include access to high-quality, vendor-neutral content and participation in various programs, a research framework to address key challenges shared by all members, discounts for fee-based events, and more. Sponsor members have a direct role in shaping the rapidly expanding AR industry and demonstrate their companies’ leadership and commitment to improving workplace performance.

About the AREA

The Augmented Reality for Enterprise Alliance (AREA) the AREA is the only global membership funded alliance, helping to accelerate the adoption of Enterprise AR by creating a comprehensive ecosystem. The organization provides high-quality, vendor-neutral content and programs. Discover the benefits of joining the AREA by visiting our membership information page.