Earlier this week, uSens, Inc., a company that develops tracking technologies, announced its software developer kit (SDK) beta and availability to pre-order its new hardware series. uDev, a network created to help the community of developers integrate head and hand tracking tech offers developer kits and support for integrated development environments. The press release can be read here.

The new hardware series, Fingo, does the following:
• Offers advanced 3D human-computer interaction for mobile and tethered systems
• Allows users to utilise apps without consuming lots of power
• Entry-level Fingo enables developers to add hand and head tracking, limiting battery consumption
• Color Fingo enables developers to add inside-out head tracking, AR overlay, and smooth AR/VR transitions
• Power Fingo enables developers to add hand tracking, inside-out head tracking, and AR overlay as well as delivering advanced ARVR tracking to a broad range of mobile devices.

uSens CTO and co-founder, Dr. Yue Fei, is quoted to have said the company is focused on developing position tracking tools that are flexible and easy to use.

An interesting viewpoint article from the PwC Emerging Technology blog has some lessons for organizations on deploying emerging technologies from the experiences of Pokémon Go’s explosive growth.

Due to sheer size and popularity, users had some trouble logging in, which meant Niantic (the company behind Pokémon Go) had to keep pace with the data volume. The lesson is that with user experience and engagement being so fundamental to growth, organizations must plan carefully in terms of infrastructure and availability.

Lessons to learn for large-scale deployments:

•  Leverage cloud for business models where there is uncertainty around the uptake and thus demand
•  Use instrumentation on end points to detect anomalies and understanding end-user engagement
•  This provides early issue detection
•  Two or more cloud providers in case one cannot scale fast enough
•  Cloud capacity has to be planned for since issues will increasingly arise as companies grow more sophisticated in their use of more advanced technologies like augmented reality and IoT

At The AREA we are keen to bring a wide perspective on as many industries as possible in which Augmented Reality is being introduced and adopted. We have collated a number of news articles to provide readers with a round-up of articles connected with Augmented Reality in E-learning.

An article on Sponge UK discusses how Augmented Reality has developed from consumer devices to having an increased role in business and industry, and will play a big part in e-learning in the future. Potential training uses for AR mentioned include:
• Creating safe practice environments
• Performing a physical task that hasn’t been done before
• Allowing people to collaborate on tasks and communicate

An article on Elearning Industry.com states the opportunities in education for Augmented and Virtual Reality, as well as 3D objects and motion capture, in particular what is currently being used in schools in Spain. Examples include:
• Marine biology students being immersed in a seabed environment
• AR for Teaching languages
• Architecture students visiting monuments using VR
• A VR booth which adds temperature and smell for full immersion
Issues noted include the introduction and adaptation of new technology when integrated into the education system can be quite complicated; however, new devices will meet the needs of education when training is given.

This article from TechCo lists the top trends for e-learning, and includes Augmented Reality. It claims that the AR environment adapts to students based on their individual taste, allowing them to find their own potential. Other aspects of technology that are aiding developments in e-learning include:
• Gamification
• Mobile learning
• Social media learning
• Video-based learning
• Personalised e-learning
• Big data
• Micro learning

The following research article shows that Augmented Reality is becoming increasingly popular in e-learning due to its accessibility for young students as well as teachers. The report discusses key technologies in AR as part of education, as well as the benefits and disadvantages of using AR for e-learning. In addition, current and future AR trends are stated along with opportunities for further research.

An Education Technology interview from December last year with Ricardo Montesa, CEO of Brainstorm Multimedia, shows how new technologies can greatly benefit the education sector. Key points include:

• Tech is now being used as an innovative tool for immersive teaching in all schools and university
• Students being in a 3D virtual environment enables them to understand complex parts of the syllabus better
• Students have increased motivation during collaborative projects
• Students can improve their presentation skills
• Teachers can showcase more ability than they do in current programmes
• Digital contents are becoming more common in education

A press release issued August 31 2016 announces that DHL Supply Chain, part of Deutsche Post DHL Group (and a US leader in logistics), is rolling out the next phase of its Vision Picking Program.
After a successful trial of the Augmented Reality technology in the Netherlands, the company is now running pilot scheme across United States, Mainland Europe and the United Kingdom.

Key Facts about the Vision Picking Program:

• Their Vision Picking Solution is where pickers are equipped with advanced smart glasses which visually display where each picked item needs to be placed on the trolley.
• Vision picking enables hands-free order picking which speeds up the process and reduces errors.
• DHL Supply Chain partnered with Google, Vuzix and Ubimax to deliver the solution being tested.
• The first U.S. vision picking pilot is already taking place at a retail warehouse in Columbus. This is being used for cluster picking, single picking and retail store order picking.
• Industries where the smart glasses will be piloted include technology, retail, consumer and automotive industries.
• The Ricoh facility in Bergen op Zoom, the Netherlands will be the launch site for this new exploration phase. This is where the trial / testing was carried out.
• A second US pilot is planned for an electronics customer 2016-17.

A blog article on Equator HR provides an interesting perspective on the potentials for the more human aspects of Enterprise AR with a focus on using AR for recruitment by the HR Department. Despite the disadvantage of employees being tempted to play Pokemon Go at work, the game has caused speculation about the impact of using Augmented Reality in the workplace.

In recruitment, Augmented and Virtual Reality can be used to give office tours to potential candidates as well as presenting a day in the life of an employee at the company people are applying to. This has various benefits, such as:

• Allowing candidates to make an informed decision about the job
• Increasing number of employees staying at the company
• Reducing number of employee resignations

There are also advantages of using Augmented Reality in training and development. A virtual environment can be created, and hazards can be augmented into it for health and safety training for existing employees. Also, companies can provide customer service training by showing correct body language, tone of voice, etc. through Augmented Reality. In addition, Augmented Reality can aid workplace flexibility. Certain AR apps give details of employees’ time and attendance via various technologies such as clock software and bio-metric fingerprints.

A recent article on wareable.com walks us through the past, present, and future of Augmented Reality. Featuring images from a variety of providers, the article starts by making a distinction among Augmented, Virtual and Mixed Reality.

There’s information about the history of AR dating back to the 1960s, and research that took off in the 1990s. Ori Inbar, organizer of the Augmented World Expo, AWE, is quoted as saying that AR has taken off since enterprises took notice and invested. There’s a brief history of all the major players in head-mounted displays and smart glasses, as well as the elusive Wmagic leap,” which has generated $1.4 billion from investors to date.

While gamifying Augmented Reality may have failed in the past, Augmented Reality gaming has now taken off with the advent of Pokémon Go, which has moved the conversation forward. The article concludes by suggesting what is next for Augmented Reality: that it requires lighter, untethered devices than VR to fit seamlessly with day-to-day interactions. Applications for consumers are happening now, but the real drive is within the enterprise. The future for consumer Augmented Reality may be mobile, however, as we are seeing in the enterprise, head-mounted displays are the future. Meta believes that Augmented Reality will replace the screen altogether, and there is some discussion about the search for a new interface. The article mentions some interesting use cases for education, such as teaching anatomy, chemistry with reactions, and models of the solar system, by using Augmented Reality for a collaborative learning experience. The article concludes by suggesting that the deciding factor will be keeping hardware accessible and affordable.

An article in Biz Tech Magazine quotes the CTO of CISCO Systems’ Collaboration Technology Group, John Restrick, who was speaking during a panel interview about emerging technology at the Cisco Live 2016 conference. Restrick spoke of how AR and VR can help businesses in numerous practical ways, and made particular reference to transforming collaboration.

Cisco’s core collaboration products include video conferencing, WebEx online meetings and IP telephony. Restrick is quoted as saying that all of these scenarios involved connecting people, letting them exchange information efficiently and letting them collaborate around content.

AR and VR can help solutions like this become more immersive and far richer. For example, the technology can enable workers to see what their colleagues are seeing through the use of an AR headset. This has practical applications in fault finding during a machine repair scenario, or when updating machinery.

Remote collaboration becomes possible by sharing displays and by drawing on the user’s display to direct them to the fault. In this way, quicker communication can enable error reduction. Restrick also pointed towards the use of VR for virtual meetings in the not so distant future.

A post on the PwC Emerging Technology blog suggests that companies that can provide consumers with in-demand wearables may be able to secure competitive advantage.

The blog article highlights a number of remarkable shifts in consumer attitudes towards wearable technology since the last survey on wearables trends was conducted in 2014, such as:

• Adoption of wearable tech devices has doubled
• Concerns over privacy issues have decreased
• Trust in security has increased
• Consumers are excited about the future of wearable technology as a part of everyday life

The positive shift overall in consumer sentiment has significant implications for wearable technology, from new workplace applications to opportunities for companies to connect better with customers. The spin offs of these positive attitudes towards wearables is that there is a more welcoming attitude within the workplace to wearable technology:

• Almost 8 in 10 people say wearables make them more efficient at work and feel time companies adopted wearables on the job
• 2 in 3 people believe their companies should fund the purchase of wearable tech devices
• 49% of respondents said wearables will increase workplace efficiency
• 37% of respondents expect their company to adopt the latest technology, even if it doesn’t directly influence their work
• Examples such as fitness tracking at work with company reward schemes would be welcomed
• Companies should provide smart watches to help employees test a new app
• 3D smart glasses should be provided to help shop floor workers identify and track inventory to reduce cycle time and improve productivity and performance
• Respondents were excited about applications in the doctor’s office and within banks, mobile providers, cable providers and car producers.

There is still some way to go with trusting wearables that may be provided by companies to consumers. However, consumer excitement has certainly soared. Consumers want something to fit their lifestyles and budgets but are ready to adopt. The report has significant competitive advantage implications for companies that can provide wearables to better communicate with their customers.

Gartner, Inc. has released their Hype Cycle for Emerging Technologies 2016 report (see image). This reveals three distinct technology trends set to be the highest priority for rapidly accelerating innovation within the organization. A summary of the three main technology trends for creating experiences to connect with new business ecosystems can be accessed here.

Those three main technology trends are:

• Transparently immersive experiences
• Perceptual smart machine age
• The platform revolution

The report would be of great interest to business strategists, CIOs, R&D leaders, entrepreneurs, global market developers and emerging-technology teams when considering developing their emerging-technology portfolios.

The report distills insights from more than 2,000 technologies into a small collection of emerging technologies and trends to inform strategic planning, and provides competitive advantage across the next five to ten years. Augmented Reality is also predicted to go mainstream during this interval. Further information can be found in the following article which summarizes key takeaways: Gartner Hype Cycle Report on Forbes.

Augmented Reality gets the following mention: “immersive experiences will become more intelligent and contextually aware, enabling greater productivity.” Other technologies enabling transparently immersive experiences include 4D printing, brain-computer interface, human augmentation, volumetric displays, affective computing, connected home, nanotube electronics, Augmented Reality, Virtual Reality and gesture control devices.

 An article published by Engineering.com covers a cross section of Augmented Reality headsets with a specific focus on the ones that the author believes shows the most promise for engineering applications, particularly in the areas of training, maintenance, visualization and collaboration.

The article explores the different types of devices making use of AR technology: tablet, smartphone, Head Mounted Displays (HMDs), smart glasses, visors, helmets and AR contact lenses. The point is made that the most immersive experiences can only be achieved with the larger displays which is the reason so many devices are large.

The article explores some key terminology such as Field of View (FoV), frame rate refresh rate and virtual retinal display (VRD) before going on to look at the potential uses for engineers of the headsets featured in the article.

Customers and potential customers looking to find out detailed information about what’s currently on the market will find useful technical comparative information in this article.

The DAQRI Smart Helmet is first up, manufactured by AREA member DAQRI. The helmet has its own battery and docking station and weighs only as much as a normal industrial hard hat. The smart helmet varies in price, since its features are custom built. Autodesk, GE and Hyperloop are currently testing the smart helmet in situ. The other headsets featured on the list include Metavisions’ Meta 2 and Microsoft HoloLens, a mixed reality headset or holographic computer.

Features of all the HMDs are explored in detail before the article goes on to provide a cross section comparison of alternate AR headsets, including Google Glass, R-7 Smartglasses, Vuzix M300 Smart Glasses and Moverio Pro BT-2000.