Augmented Reality for Enterprise Alliance

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AREA FAQ

Welcome to our AREA FAQ page! You will find answers to many of the common questions we get asked regarding the AREA’s mission, membership benefits, and our support for AR market directions.

For those venturing into the realm of AR, you will want to gain proficiency in the technological foundations, stay attuned to market trends, recognize diverse application possibilities, and contribute to the evolution of AR through creative and user-centric experiences.

At its core, augmented reality enriches the real world with digital elements, typically through devices such as smartphones, smart glasses, or headsets. These devices employ cameras, sensors, and complex algorithms to recognize the physical environment and overlay virtual information seamlessly.

Key aspects of AR technology encompass:

    • Hardware Diversity: AR experiences can vary significantly based on the hardware used, including considerations such as field of view, display quality, and form factor. This influences the immersion level and usability of AR applications.
    • Software Tools: Augmented reality development relies on Software Development Kits (SDKs), which provide the necessary tools, APIs, and frameworks for building applications.
    • Tracking and Localization: AR systems typically rely on precise tracking and localization mechanisms to accurately map virtual objects onto the real world.
    • Marketplace: Understanding the dynamics of the AR marketplace is vital for newcomers.
    • Market Momentum: The AR market is witnessing substantial growth due to technological advancements and increased adoption across industries. Forecasts predict exponential expansion with a projected CAGR of over 40%, presenting ample opportunities.
    • Major Players: Tech giants such as Apple, Google, Facebook, and Microsoft are heavily invested in AR technology. This concentration of influential players indicates the transformative potential of AR.
    • Challenges: New practitioners should anticipate challenges such as hardware limitations, content quality, user acceptance barriers, and privacy concerns. Addressing these challenges proactively is essential for sustainable success.

If you have a question that isn’t answered in the AREA FAQ, please contact us.

The AREA is an acronym for the Augmented Reality for Enterprise Alliance. Our organization is the only global, membership-funded non-profit alliance dedicated to helping accelerate the adoption of enterprise augmented reality (AR) by supporting the growth of a comprehensive ecosystem.

The mission of the AREA is to help enterprises across the ecosystem to achieve greater operational efficiency through the smooth introduction and widespread adoption of interoperable AR-assisted enterprise systems.

The AREA conducts research, develops content, and galvanizes its membership to offer programs that help enterprises understand the business benefits of implementing AR to overcome barriers to adoption.

Our content presents AR and its enterprise uses and benefits in a vendor-neutral, quantitative and timely fashion. The content supports the deployment of AR and encourages the evaluation of AR-based visualization and communication in IT organizations of both member and non-member companies in all industries.

Our content and programs also support knowledge development for IT professionals seeking to deploy high-quality augmented reality projects. We publish in-depth materials, such as developer guides on the use of AR-enabling technologies that are open and interoperable with existing, mainstream enterprise solutions. We establish committees through which our members collaborate on solutions to challenges and prepare recommendations.

Our recommendations and best practices offer guidelines to those developing corporate policy for enterprise AR safety, security, human factors, requirements, and research.

Our programs include convening member and ecosystem meetings on topics concerning the smooth introduction and adoption of AR in enterprise, the adoption of open and interoperable interfaces, and addressing challenges that face AR providers and systems integrators.

We offer resources, such as a database of current use cases used throughout the industry, a database of AR technology products and services, and research conducted in collaboration with international research publishing firms, using internal resources when and as needed.

The AREA also has a robust, ongoing research program funded by members that produces findings that advance the understanding and adoption of enterprise AR.

Yes, any commercial entity, non-commercial organization, or government agency of any size can join the AREA by completing the membership application and agreement form and paying the membership dues. You can find complete information here.

When we receive your signed membership application and agreement form, AREA member services will:

  • Have an authorized member of the AREA countersign the agreement.
  • Return the countersigned agreement to you for your files.
  • Issue an invoice for payment of the AREA membership fee (credit card payment can be accepted).

After receiving the membership payment, an onboarding call will be held where members of staff can be invited to understand how to engage with the AREA. A follow-up email will then be sent requesting:

  • A summary explaining why your organization joined the AREA.
  • A completed member profile form on which we will base the member profile page on our website.
  • Images to accompany your profile page (and permission to use them).
  • Permission to use your logo in our materials.

As soon as we receive your membership fee payment in full, we will:

  • Add your e-mail address, and the addresses of those you provide us, to the AREA members mailing list ([email protected]) and any requested committee mailing lists.
  • Create a member account for the primary contact and anyone else whom your primary contact approves, for access to our Causeway collaboration platform (members-only portal) where you will be able to access our committee materials and resources, as well as other programs.
  • Invite you to a briefing by the Executive Director about our collaboration tools and committees, and to participate in all AREA member meetings and programs
  • Create a member profile page and add your organization to all our materials including documents, website, and presentations.

The AREA seeks to serve the needs of three Augmented Reality ecosystem segments:

  • Enterprise organizations and users of enterprise AR.
  • Providers of enterprise AR tools, technologies, and solutions.
  • Non-commercial entities involved in advancing their constituents or providing benefits to specific stakeholders.

The Enterprise segment consists of enterprises of all sizes and other types of organizations that use AR-enabled technology to reduce costs and operational risk, and increase the value and quality of its goods and services.

Providers are companies that offer core enabling AR technology, AR tools, and AR development and integration services to the enterprise segment exclusively or as any part of their portfolio. Communication services companies, providers of bespoke AR-assisted systems and solutions for enterprises, and designers of content that can be used in AR experiences are also part of this segment.

Any company that designs, builds, and/or sells directly or on an OEM basis the tools and technologies that can be used by AR experience developers (i.e., builders) and their IT customers are also providers and part of the enterprise AR tools and technology provider segment.

Non-commercial entities, including universities and educational organizations, civic, and regional and national government agencies (and government-regulated agencies), are amplifying the impacts of AR by introducing the technology into specific industries, developing tools to train skilled professionals providing AR in enterprise, and using AR for their own operations. Standards Development Organizations are also part of this segment.

These three ecosystem segments benefit directly from the AREA technical knowledge, business acceleration, and market development content and programs.

The AREA has an Executive Committee composed of a President, several Vice Presidents, a Secretary, and a Treasurer elected from members of the Board of Directors. The AREA Steering Committee is supported by a professional staff that develops and maintains the AREA portal and delivers AREA programs to members and the wider ecosystem interested in AR.

We have formed AREA committees for Marketing, Research, Human Factors, Safety, Requirements, and Security. We are open to adding other groups, such as industry-specific member groups and local chapters or issue-specific committees.

By becoming members of the AREA, organizations demonstrate that they are innovators and thought leaders globally and in their industry. They benefit from association with the brands of other AREA members and the respected brand of the association.

Participation in the AREA provides enterprise AR customers with direct access to AR solution providers, while solution providers benefit from customer feedback that can help drive further solution development. For all members, AREA activities offer an opportunity to share their views and issues and, in doing so, help to influence the future of enterprise AR.

Each AREA Sponsor member can appoint a representative to the AREA Steering Committee and may participate in high-impact, jointly-designed, and AREA-managed research projects as well as other programs.

Contributor and Startup members can access and contribute to AREA member-only content and programs for use in their internal informational and educational activities. Contributor and Startup members can request the establishment of industry-specific or regional AREA member chapters and receive discounts on meetings of the AREA and partners, courseware, and fee-based services.

Click here to see the list of AREA members.

The AREA is a program of Object Management Group® (OMG), the international, not-for-profit technology standards organization with administrative offices in Massachusetts.

Postal mail can be addressed to:
9C Medway Road, PMB 274
Milford, Massachusetts 01757
United States

The AREA is supported through annual fees paid by members. The fees are calculated according to membership level and company size (based on gross annual revenues). For complete information, please consult the Membership information page.

There are four membership classes: Sponsor, Contributor, Startup, and Non-Commercial/Academic. The AREA Steering Committee members are composed of Sponsor and Contributor member representatives. They guide the direction of the AREA and shape its vision, content, and programs. All member levels are open.

The Augmented Reality for Enterprise Alliance (AREA) is a program of Object Management Group® (OMG®), a not-for-profit 501(c)(6) tax-exempt organization.