When I left my role at Microsoft to take the helm at Magic Leap, I knew that the potential for AR was vast. What I found when I arrived at Magic Leap was a diverse, high performing team and a strong technology platform with one of the most robust IP portfolios I’ve seen for a company of this scale.

In a short period of time, we have accelerated the organization’s pivot to enterprise, brought our industry-leading capabilities to new customers, and strengthened both the financial and technological foundation of the company. While this past year has been a tremendous step forward for Magic Leap, 2022 will be equally important. I’d like to take a moment to reflect on my first year as CEO and share a glimpse of what lies ahead for AR and our organization.

The Growing Demand for AR

COVID-19 has transformed the way we work and has served as a major catalyst for AR adoption across industries, with a sudden and increasing need for advanced remote work technologies. With limitations on travel and human interaction, the pandemic has spurred the need for innovative technology, like AR, in training, manufacturing, healthcare, defense, and the public sector.

According to IDC, the AR/VR market is expected to grow to nearly $140 billion by the end of 2024. With over a decade in the industry and billions invested in our market leading technology, we’re seeing this firsthand at Magic Leap.

In my role, I’m in constant dialogue with CEOs and leaders of organizations who are navigating today’s rapidly changing work environment and looking for new ways to increase performance and collaboration. From the head of a hospital network who wants to find new ways to train for complex procedures and the CEO of a high-tech manufacturer who is looking to improve training methods that will further empower frontline workers to the head of a finance firm looking for market-leading text legibility to drive screen replacement and AR data visualization and the CTO looking for ways to ease video conferencing fatigue – the demand for tangible solutions is high.

While our core business objectives remain focused on enterprise solutions, there continues to be intense interest in the application of Magic Leap’s technology in the consumer space. In fact, we have received several requests to license our technology and will actively pursue these opportunities if they enhance our position and ability to innovate in the enterprise market.

Focusing on Enterprise

As we accelerated our focus to bring industry-leading innovation to enterprise, we saw significant excitement for our product and its capabilities. Over the last year, we’ve worked with several enterprise customers to drive business transformation across industries.

We partnered with Ericsson to improve work floor processes on factory floors, increasing efficiency and collaboration. Ophthalmologists at Heru used our technology to develop an AR solution for eye exams, replacing a costly and cumbersome diagnostic machine with a more affordable vision diagnostic tool. And Farmers Insurance recently used Magic Leap to remotely train newly hired claim adjusters during the pandemic eliminating the need for environmentally taxing travel.

We’ve also engaged a number of strategic partners to further bolster our support for enterprises of all sizes. We recently announced a partnerships with Google Cloud, PTC, NVIDIA and VMWare to bring their market-leading applications and technologies to the Magic Leap platform, helping to provide essential tools for businesses.

Applications for enterprise are no longer abstract concepts. We’re helping organizations drive adoption across vital industries like healthcare, manufacturing, and the public sector.

Positioning Magic Leap for Success When I arrived at Magic Leap, there was already a powerful set of assets in place. My focus was on strengthening the team, sharpening our strategic focus on the enterprise markets, advancing our technology, and getting our product into the hands of more customers.

As part of this, we established a new leadership team to drive the next generation of Magic Leap, appointing a new chief software and cloud officer, chief financial officer, chief legal officer, chief business officer, chief marketing officer, and chief transformation and people officer. They have each been critical additions to our team, augmenting the world-class talent base we had at the company when I arrived.

We’ve also strengthened our financial footing. Our recent round of funding and new valuation of roughly $2 billion reflects the progress we’ve made and the confidence we have in our future. We are positioned to pursue our share of the overall market opportunity, and enhance our current go-to-market efforts and ability to deliver augmented reality solutions that drive business transformation outcomes for enterprise customers.

Most importantly, our team has been working tirelessly to bring Magic Leap 2, our second-generation product, to market with general availability slated for 2022.

CMPC is a multinational corporation that produces and markets wood, pulp, packaging products and household and personal use products. “We implemented the use of Vuzix Smart Glasses in our company because we cannot travel sporadically to the more than 40 countries where we sell our products.

The objective of implementing this cutting-edge technology is to have greater access to our clients and take immediate resolutions,” explained Pedro Silva, Cardboard Technical Assistance Supervisor of CMPC’s Technical Deputy Manager.

Statkraft is an international energy producer of hydropower, wind power, solar power and gas-fired power and supplier of district heating. “Our plant is 45 minutes away, and each specialist has to constantly be traveling to operations.

Benefits of Smart glasses

With the implementation of Vuzix Smart Glasses in our facilities, we were able to realize a reduction of trips and travel costs. Recently, we were able to remotely obtain the advice of an expert in Brazil thanks to these glasses,” stated Mirko Ojeda, Dispatch Coordinator at Statkraft Chile.

Read more at https://www.vuzix.eu/News

For several hospitals, disruption led to innovation. Vuzix Smart Glasses allowed medical instructors to stream their first-person view to off-site students. Meanwhile, caregivers could provide doctors with a real-time view of patients.

Even though much of the developed world has now been vaccinated, healthcare administrations are doubling-down on this technology.

And with lower latency, higher capacity, and increased bandwidth, expect 5G to trigger a hands-free revolution in the healthcare space.

5G networks offer lower latency, higher capacity, and increased bandwidth, meaning wearable displays can more seamlessly assist healthcare workers. As a result, more lives will be saved.

As providers like Verizon (Vuzix Smart Glasses support BlueJeans by Verizon) roll-out 5G networks across North America and beyond, there’s more incentive for hospitals to equip staff with wearable displays.

And the motivation isn’t purely financial. Smart Glasses have a track record of making workers in several industries more efficient.

Smart Glasses enable medical practitioners to get real-time monitoring of a patient without the need for a face-to-face consultation.

This ability has value that extends far beyond the current public health crisis. Most notably, it allows experts to remotely treat patients. World-class practitioners are no longer required to travel to save lives.

Ultimately, wearable displays make healthcare workers more effective.

It’s time to ditch the clipboard. Hospitals are about to get a much-needed productivity boost.

See Vuzix’s AREA member profile.

Reinventing Intelligence Operations for the British Army

Masters of Pie was proud to showcase their work on the Digital Bird Table solution for the British Army at DSEI in London. The Digital Bird Table solution complements Project Hydra, a project about collating multiple data feeds and processing this information so that Command Centres are able to make better and more timely decisions.

The Masters of Pie’s software (Radical) has been integrated directly into multiple data sources such as SAP HANA and ESRI ArcGIS. The Radical real-time collaboration server pulls the Digital Bird Table experience together, synchronising Hololens and desktop users. The time-lapse video highlights how the solution was polling live data and tracking assets on the move. Watch Video

XR Collaboration for CAD/PLM and BIM Data

The XR collaboration for manufacturing and engineering consisted of a live demonstration of the Radical software integration into the CAD software application to enable the seamless transition to a single user or collaborative VR experience without the need for exporting complex and sensitive data into a standalone application. The solution is ideal for remote assistance, remote diagnostics, design review, design to manufacturing handover, design to supplier engagements, and engineering training purposes. Watch Video

DSEI was a great opportunity to showcase the Radical’s software ability to deliver such contrasting use cases, integrate into a wide array of data sources, deliver multiple end-user experiences (Hololens (AR), VR, and desktop), and support a range of deployment options (cloud, on-premise and stand-alone). Radical is the future of collaboration delivering any data securely to any device.

According to the report, PTC provides the leading AR platform for connected workers in the market today for three reasons.  First, PTC is the only vendor that offers a broad solution portfolio for different use cases and on different technical levels – deep code (Vuforia Engine™), low code (Vuforia Studio™), and no code (Vuforia Expert Capture™, Vuforia Instruct™, and Vuforia Chalk™).  Second, PTC is the only vendor that strongly pushes the integration of AR with emerging technologies such as IoT, AI, SaaS, and spatial computing.  Third, PTC has a strong vision for future AR integrations, bringing its Vuforia portfolio elements closer together to offer tightly integrated solutions for holistic work procedures.

In addition, the PAC Radar analysis recognizes PTC as the first vendor to integrate its AR and IoT capabilities – Vuforia and its ThingWorx® IIoT platform – acknowledging PTC’s ability to harness the digital thread to create a closed loop between the digital and physical worlds and transform how products are engineered, manufactured, and serviced.

“No other vendor offers a broader solution portfolio for different use cases and on different technical levels” said Arnold Vogt, Head of Digital Innovation and IoT at PAC.  “PTC has a clear vision and has already started to bring its Vuforia portfolio elements closer together to offer tightly integrated solutions for holistic work procedures.”

“PTC is proud to be recognized as the leading AR platform for connected workers for the third consecutive year by the PAC Radar analysis,” said Michael Campbell, Executive Vice President and General Manager, Augmented Reality Products, PTC.  “The achievement emphasizes our commitment to offering the best-in-class augmented reality solutions that empower industrial enterprises and complete the digital thread.”

When the stakes are high, the tools you use to communicate your point or value proposition will matter the most: Augmented reality has transformed how global engineering innovator Danfoss Climate Solutions has approached product presentations and trainings for its internal stakeholders and customers. The company uses the AR software AR 3S to visualize complex products in 3D to provide a captivating experience of learning and understanding.

Choosing the Right Augmented Reality Software and Partner~Keeping in line with the company’s DNA of “engineering tomorrow”, Danfoss Climate Solutions was looking to drive digital transformation by implementing augmented reality into its processes.

The company reached out to various AR suppliers, seeking high flexibility and a strong support culture. “We chose Holo-Light as our entryway to augmented reality engineering. It was easy to discuss use cases and solutions,” remarked Kabileshkumar Cheetancheri, Senior Project Manager at Danfoss.

Holo-Light’s software AR3S (Augmented Reality Engineering Space) is a new tool to improve and simplify workflows in planning, development, and presentation. It enables users to visualize, manipulate, and work collaboratively on 3D designs. “One part I was always interested in, is how we can add a new dimension to interacting with and explaining complex products – internally and externally for our customers,” said Cheetancheri. The product presentation and training use case emerged quickly as the AR software showed itself to be very easy and intuitive in use. With AR3S, Danfoss Climate Solutions was able to add real value to internal product demos with company stakeholders and help customers have a better understanding of its products.

Full original article on Holo-Light website

Find out more about Holo-Light on their AREA member profile 

Situation

To maximize uptime of its customers’ heavy trucks and other commercial vehicles, Renault Trucks needed a more effective way to remotely support a network of 72 service outlets across the UK & Ireland. They needed collaborative video technology that would be easy to use, deploy, scale, simplify training and quality control processes, and supply a safe, secure connection even in low bandwidth environments.

Solution

Using Librestream’s Onsight augmented reality software and HMT-1 hands-free headsets from RealWear, Renault Trucks developed Optiview, a remote support platform that has since been deployed throughout the UK and Ireland. The system allows licensed service centers to virtually connect with the OEM’s support desk or even with other service centers.   

Results

Since implementation, there is less need to send Renault Trucks representatives onsite. In-person warranty part inspections have gone down by a factor of five, resulting in 10 to 15% fewer miles driven and a corresponding reduction in greenhouse gases. Warranty claims and payments are much faster, customer satisfaction has improved, and asset uptime is significantly higher—for example, complex service procedures that once took 24 to 48 hours can often be performed in just 20 to 30 minutes, greatly increasing uptime value for vehicle operators.  

Read more on Librestream use cases 

on SAP^® Store.

TeamViewer Frontline Augmented Reality provides a unique AR-based software suite for deskless workers using smart glasses or mobile devices. It can be integrated into SAP’s solutions for various industries, enabling SAP customers to digitalize industrial processes and create workflows for logistics picking, assembly, quality assurance and maintenance as well as field service. Moreover, customers can receive AR-based remote support for precise and reliable troubleshooting through a shared camera stream and context-aware AR annotations.

SAP Endorsed Apps are a category of solutions from SAP’s partner ecosystem that help customers become best-run, intelligent enterprises.

Stefan Krauss, SVP & GM Discrete Industries and Energy & Natural Resources at SAP, explains: “With SAP’s recent launch of industry cloud, we simplify access to innovative vertical solutions – built by SAP and our partners on an open platform. AR-based processes can significantly increase productivity, reduce human errors, and machine downtime and therefore decrease costs. We are looking forward to the partnership with TeamViewer to help accelerate digitalization across industries.”

“SAP is a trusted global brand with a proven track record in providing enterprise software. The listing as an SAP Endorsed App gives us the opportunity to jointly go to market and to offer our leading AR solutions portfolio to SAP’s global customer base with the ambition to further digitalize their value chain,” says Alfredo Patron, EVP Business Development at TeamViewer.

You can watch the full webinar on Using Theorem-XR and HoloLens 2 for Engineering Reviews.

Key highlights

Theorem has also picked out 5 key benefits of using the Microsoft HoloLens 2 in Engineering which appear in full detail on their blog.

Visualize your models at full scale.
Work collaboratively with other engineers.
Make better factory planning decisions.
Work with large datasets using Azure Remote Rendering.
You can still work with colleagues that are using other XR technologies, or none at all.

Key summary points from the interview:

AR/VR is one of those technologies that has numerous benefits in manufacturing environments and Flex began utilizing it before a lot of other players entered the market.

Flex currently uses a variety of immersive technologies across its functions. Augmented and virtual reality are used for applications like Remote Assistance, Work Instructions, Logistics, Design Collaboration, Training, and others.

In addition, Flex uses advanced simulation technologies to not only optimize production systems but also immerse users into virtual manufacturing environments with Digital Twins.

It was a big undertaking to start the journey at Flex, and the biggest achievement in the beginning was executive sponsorship and buy-in.

My role was / is worldwide leader and owner of the technology and strategy. The first use case was remote assistance due to the financial benefits and seemingly simpler development. I say seemingly because we quickly learned it wasn’t so easy.

When we started development, we conducted very large-scale market studies and did a lot of collaboration with vendors and suppliers to understand the best path forward.

Our employees at first had mixed reactions and to this day the biggest pain point is the hardware. But as we continue to improve, we’re seeing that acceptance is growing.

To name a few challenges for AR/VR: Hardware maturity, hardware comfort, field of view, battery life, graphics, processing power and UX/UI.

The software had many challenges, as well, including tracking, localization, overlaying, OCR (optical character recognition), object recognition, IDE (integrated development environment) features, and OS compatibility. There are more, of course, but we consider these to be the major ones.

We overcame some of these challenges, mostly in the software space, and for some we had to desperately and quickly find alternatives, especially in the case of hardware. For instance, our hardware strategy ended up shifting to mobile in the beginning due to the lack of wearable hardware that could deliver what we needed.

It was fun introducing AR/VR to Flex’s customers.

The pandemic has had a huge impact; we have seen groups and teams we would never have imagined wanting to use the technology, each with their own needs and requirements.