At the 2015 INFORMATIK conference there was high emphasis on Industry 4.0 topics. One of the papers presented by bitstars and published in the conference proceedings features the holobuilder platform. Contrary to what the name may suggest, this hosted platform is not designed for use with Microsoft HoloLens. It is an Augmented Reality experience authoring environment.

Based on WebGL, holobuilder produces experiences that, once the “holo player” is loaded, can run in a web browser and on any device.

The paper goes on to evaluate holobuilder against the six design principles for Industry 4.0. According to the authors:

1. Interoperability: holobuilder supports interoperability on two levels of abstraction. First, the platform enables machine-to-machine communication through OPC UA. Second, holobuilder itself has been realized as a web app running in any modern web browser. Hence, any appropriate mobile device can be used to monitor machines in a corresponding holobuilder-based AR scenario.
2. Virtualization: Since the platform enables the use of AR in smart factories, it clearly fuses the physical and the virtual world. Moreover, it leverages the advantages of OPC UA for monitoring physical processes by communicating with the monitored machines.
3. Decentralization: holobuilder supports the decentralization of smart factories since, e.g., interactive instruction manuals can be created separately for each machine (optionally with OPC UA capabilities). This facilitates decentralized monitoring and maintenance.
4. Real-Time Capability: AR scenarios such as interactive instruction manuals are applied in real time since the corresponding machine is viewed live through a camera. Also, in the case of an OPC UA–enabled holobuilder project, machine parameters are communicated in real time.
5. Service Orientation: Projects created with holobuilder are not specific to a machine and factory. That is, as long as the same marker is being detected by the platform, interactive instruction manuals and OPC UA–enabled projects can be applied across different smart factories. Also, holobuilder itself is a general platform not bound to any particular context. It can be used in any smart factory with any appropriate mobile device.
6. Modularity: The platform supports modular systems in smart factories, as it simplifies the process of adding, changing and monitoring individual components of machines.

Holobuilder Presentation

The successful commercialization of new enabling technology requires both financial support and special talents. The Columbia Tribune reports that the University of Missouri has selected an enterprise Augmented Reality project to receive a $100,000 grant to accelerate commercialization.

Described in this paper submitted for publication, Panacea’s Glass and Cloud is a system that leverages hands-free displays such as Google Glass and permits doctors to see what first responders see. The system uses its own wireless hot spot to support real time communication with hospital doctors following mass casualty disasters where other internet access is unavailable. Panacea’s Cloud system allows triage and coordination in the event there is no phone or internet service.

The system will be tested with MU ambulances the next month. Researchers also will be participating in a mass casualty simulation with Missouri Task Force 1, a federal urban search and rescue unit stationed at the Boone County Fire Protection District.

During the October 6 and 7, 2015 meeting of the grassroots community of people seeking to advance open and interoperable AR content and experiences, AREA Executive Director Christine Perey, presented the preliminary Enterprise AR Tool and Technology Provider Landscape Model.

The model segments technologies that are necessary for enterprise AR production and management. Technologies in the landscape leverage the underlying mobile and wearable hardware and software.

Segments identified and discussed include:

• Augmented Reality Delivery and Presentation System Providers
• AR Experience Authoring and Publishing Software Providers
• User Experience and Interface Technologies
• Recognition and Tracking Technologies
• AR-specific Hardware: capture, acceleration, optics

In a press release on October 12, 2015, PTC, a global provider of platforms and solutions that permit companies to create, operate, and service connected objects, announced that it has acquired the Vuforia technology, and its developer ecosystem, from Qualcomm Connected Experiences, Inc., a subsidiary of Qualcomm Incorporated.

The companies emphasized the potential for impact by drawing a direct line between Augmented Reality and visualization of Internet of Things data stored in and managed by PTC systems.

Developers using Vuforia have primarily been developing campaigns for brands, educational products and applications designed for entertainment so there will be significant effort needed to reshape their business models and skills to the needs of enterprise customers.

Jay Wright, VP of Vuforia, stated in the release “As part of PTC, Vuforia will allow developers to realize this potential through integration with PTC’s industry leading applications and ThingWorx IoT platform.” The statement does not address the matter of future support for popular third party systems that produce and consume data from connected products.

Augmented Reality tracking technology provider, Diotasoft, has announced that has changed its company name to DIOTA, and in the same event, launched a new software platform for enterprise Augmented Reality.

The company, a spin off the CEA Technology, a French government sponsored research center, has developed a client application it calls “DIOTAPLAYE.R” The companion system, DIOTACONNECT, establishes interfaces between the client application and systems such as Catia Composer or Unity3D to fetch CAD data or multimedia content, and assemble it automatically into a single DIOTAPLAYER project.

Sony has announced completion of its acquisition of Softkinetic Systems, causing speculation about Sony’s future plans in the AR domain across the industry.

Softkinetic was a leading provider of body-sensing and image-recognition technology. Many systems that produce 3D Augmented Reality acquire and use information such as that produced by Softkinetic technology embedded by and/or licensed by from the company by third parties. Sony’s announcement does not specify what it plans to do with the technology nor the terms of the deal.

The change in circumstances will likely cause those enterprise Augmented Reality system providers that currently license Softkinetic technology for gesture control to begin exploring alternate providers such as Thalmic Labs and Leap Motion.

Cockpits are highly-instrumented environments and require a great deal of training to master. Heads-up displays, not to be confused with head-mounted displays, can be used in a cockpit to show the pilot information without requiring them to divert their attention from the windshield and the world outside. The same or similar technology is being incorporated into car windshields for driver information.

Transparency Market Research issued a press release announcing that it has published a new market research report about the results of a recent study on the topic of heads-up display market trends in which in determined that aviation industry would exhibit the strongest demand to adopt the technology in coming years.

In the context of a global HUD market valued at US$ 1.76 Billion in 2014 and forecast to reach US$ 7.05 Billion by 2022, the research also reveals that the key players in the HUD market include BAE Systems plc, Continental AG, Delphi Automotive PLC, Denso Corporation, Esterline Technologies Corporation, Johnson Controls Inc., Microvision Inc., Nippon Seiki Co. Ltd., Pioneer Corporation, Rockwell Collins Inc., Thales Group, and Yazaki Corporation.

These companies are well positioned to introduce Augmented Reality-enhanced displays to their existing and future customers.

The Consumer Electronics Association has announced in a press release that in January 2016, when the crowds flock to CES to get their peak at the latest technologies, it will be easier to find and visit the exhibitors that are demonstrating their Augmented Reality products and services. In contrast with prior years, the Augmented Reality vendors will have the opportunity to set up in an area on the exhibition floor dedicated to Augmented Reality.

The press releases suggests that there will be a minimum of 3,000 square feet of exhibition space in South Hall 2 of the Las Vegas Convention and World Trade Center. Exhibitors such as ASRC Federal for NASA, Marxent and Occipital have already been promised booths in what’s being called the “Augmented Reality Marketplace.”

Although it is true that consumer-facing technologies are featured, an increasing number of CES visitors and exhibitors are focusing on enterprise solutions.

Vuzix continues to forge relationships with software providers that bring value to enterprise customers. In a press release, the company announced that it has qualified the software for use on M100 and customers of SAP can immediately download the Ubimax xPick and xAssist applications from the SAP Store and the SAP HANA Apps Center.

Once a user wearing the M100 has the software running, Ubimax‘s pick-by-vision solution, xPick, accleerates and reduces errors associated with manual order picking, incoming, outgoing and sorting of goods, as well as inventory processes.

Similarly, when using the M100 with Ubimax xAssist and the SAP HANA Cloud Platform, the system can provide AR-enabled remote assistance to users. With remote assistance the expert and user can capture and document activities, chat and see mark ups in AR-view.

Between 80 and 90% of human activity takes place indoors: in warehouses, factories, office buildings, homes and commercial spaces. Some Augmented Reality experiences are going to be optimized to deliver content and support decisions based on the user’s precise indoor location. Indoor mapping is also playing an important role in personal device management (e.g., turning systems on or off depending on user location).

Google and Apple have been mapping indoor commercial spaces but it is up to enterprises to develop and maintain their indoor maps. One of the solutions for capturing 2D and 3D maps is the Trimble Indoor Mobile Mapping Solution. It’s operation is shown in the video below.

In a press release Trimble announced that it will soon release its next generation of hardware and software. The TIMM2 will be smaller, lighter and more easily maneuverable than its predecessor. In addition, it uses both both LiDAR and spherical video. The data is then processed with Applanix POSPac MMS, a suite of tools that permits visualization and integration with a variety of enterprise data management systems.