In a recent article published by Health Point Capital, it was announced that Royal Philips are developing a fully-automatic Augmented Reality surgical navigation system.

This new technology is designed to help surgeons perform image guided open and minimally invasive surgeries for spine, cranial and trauma procedures. This new system will allow surgeons to check the procedural result in 3D without the need to move the patient to the CT scanner.  This means that there is zero radiation exposure to the surgeon and the team with only minimal dosage to the patient.

This navigation system is said to be the first of its kind in the industry which combines not only 3D x-ray but optical imaging as well to create a 3D augmented view of the patient. The system utilizes high resolution optical cameras that map the surface of the patient. It is attached to a flat panel X-ray detector which provides the internal images. This technology will allow surgeons to see the internal and external anatomy of the patient simultaneously due to the cameras and X-ray machines capturing the external and internal view.

According to this article Philips are aiming to convert more open surgeries to minimally invasive procedures in order to reduce post operative pain and expedite recovery. This will help improve procedure planning, optimal device path and placement, surgical tool navigation, implant accuracy and operation times.

Philips is a leader in hybrid OR technologies and this new system expands the scope of the company’s hybrid OR solutions.

An article was released this week on Austin Inno, discussing an AR game designed by Jackrabbit Labs, inspired by the game cornhole. It works by capturing a ‘marker’ with an iPhone camera, which the app then logs and remembers its position using the phone’s gyroscope and accelerometer.

We couldn’t help but notice that this technology is similar to scanning QR codes in the iQagent app.

You can see how iQagent uses this technology in their latest video detailing the function of their Augmented Reality app for the Plant Floor. The video includes:

• A list of where data is used on the plant floor
• How access to the data is essential to maintenance and repair
• How access at the point of service keeps production running smoothly
• Steps for accessing data using the iQagent app:
  1. Identify points of interest on your plant floor with a QR code
  2. Associate relevant data and resources to each point of interest
  3. Scan QR code with iQagent
• By scanning, hidden data and resources can be revealed, so users can now access all points of data on the plant floor

The first market report released by Cio has stated the Augmented and Virtual Reality market will grow to USD 162 billion in 2020. In 2017 AR revenues will increase with the market expanding in healthcare delivery, product design and management related use cases.

The industries to benefit from AR will be healthcare, education, manufacturing and logistics. The main countries helping the market are Asia-Pacific, US and Western Europe with the US having edge over the other regions by 2020 however ever region will see an annual growth rate of more than 100% through this forecast period.

The second market report by satprnews states the Global Smart Augmented Reality Glasses Market will grow after a forecast analysis containing study material about manufacturers, regions, types and applications to 2021. The report talks about various stakeholders in the market, definitions and classification of the industry, the Global Smart Augmented Reality Glasses Markets key regions and the manufacturing process including information about production.

Main companies featured in the report include AREA members Atheer Inc and Augmate.  Others noted are:

• Google Inc.
• Meta Glasses
• Sony Corporation
• Epson America Inc
• Microsoft Corporation
• Seiki Epson Corporation

The next market report released last week by Business Wire states that the Global Mobile Augmented Reality Market will reach a CAGR of 77% through 2021. This market report provides and in-depth analysis of the market in terms of revenue and market trends with analysis and forecasts for various market segments and all geographical regions.

The top revenue generating application segments in this report are:

• Marketing and Advertising
• Gaming and Entertainment
• Education and Learning

The final report from Satprnews is a market report about the Global Smart Glasses Market containing study material about market overview, growth, demand and forecast research from all over the world.

Main competitors in this market include:

• Google Glass
• SONY
• Samsung
• Vuzix
• Carl Zeiss
• Apple
• Baidu Glasses
• Recon
• Lenovo

Earlier this week, an article on Business Wire reported that leading developer of holographics, AI, Virtual and Augmented Reality, Pulse Evolution Corporation, has announced a joint venture with Augmented Reality specialist, Augmently, Inc.

The partnership is aiming to obtain digital celebrity assets as well as boost Pulse’s digital portfolio of performers and artists. The organisations are already developing AR technologies and applications for global distribution.

The founder and CEO of Augmently, Mr. Ziggy Kormandel, is quoted to have said that their focus is to use mobile devices to expand the consumer experience of AR, as they will benefit from the partnership. The Chairman of Pulse, John Textor, is also quoted to have said that their development of digital humans can really make a difference in society by working with companies like Augmently.

By increasing awareness of AR amongst consumers, enterprises can sooner realize the benefit of such technology and use it to their advantage in the industry sector.

A recent article on IT World Canada discussed General Electric (GE) Corp.’s Wearables Challenge which was launched last year, and led to pilots being made for three use-case scenarios for AR headsets; assembly instructions and metrics, field service applications for calling an expert, and packing.

The projects involve the following AR organisations:

• AREA member DAQRI
• Google Glass
• HoloLens
• Vuzix

General Electric uses the Skylight software platform, built by AREA member Upskill Inc. (formerly APX Labs) to integrate traditional software applications to provide a sufficient platform for AR headset users. The World Economic Forum recognised Upskill as a ‘technology pioneer’ last year.

Using wearables to pilot Upskill’s Skylight platform is GE’s response to the industrial issue of maintaining complex machinery on tight budgets, and GE organised its innovation challenge so that wearables could be integrated into its workforce quickly. The platform increases efficiency from 30% to 50% from first use, and companies that use the technology experience a 30% increase in quality of output in addition to a 20% increase in resource utilisation.

Paul Boris, General Electric’s Vice President of Manufacturing Industries, views the deployment of wearables in three stages of development:

• Instruction
• Confirmation
• A profile of analytics on the machine

AR headsets are used in the manufacturing industry so that employees can access the information that enables them to complete the tasks they need to do. They also allow supervisors to provide assistance through a first-person perspective of their work.

The following is a summary of a recent article on the use of smart glasses in order picking.  Arvato SCM Solution, in cooperation with technology supplier Picavi, has successfully launched the innovation project “Pick-by-Vision” for Sennheiser.

Order-picking with smart glasses saves time and ensures a smooth flow of materials – from the moment goods are received until inventory is counted. A display integrated into the glasses gives warehouse employees all the necessary context-related information and navigates them through the work process.

 For purposes of the innovation project, a separate pick process was identified in advance together with Sennheiser. This way, processes can be carried out in a controlled environment and evaluated with precise time measurements. The objective is to use the smart glasses to increase productivity and quality and to identify the optimal process workflows for the new technology. Initial feedback from employees on the operational side of the business is positive: the new pick technology is easy to learn and intuitive to use. Furthermore, the smart glasses are very comfortable to wear during the movement-intensive work in the warehouse.

 The pickers have both hands free and their eyes on the current process steps at all times – in contrast to the work with hand-held devices. Instead of relying on the tiring voice commands of pick-by-voice systems, our system inserts data directly into the field of view of the worker in real time,” says Dirk Franke, CEO of Picavi. “We’re currently working with Arvato on additional augmented-reality features that provide intelligent support to processes aside from classic order-picking.”

 In the coming weeks, the collected data will be carefully compared and evaluated. During this time, the Arvato employees will continue to wear the mobile WLAN smart glasses in order to get used to them and be as prepared as possible for the coming peak season of growing order volumes. Meanwhile, Arvato and Picavi are already working on an expansion of the system. They have now identified another field of application that could profit from the new technology: since the glasses allow warehouse employees to have their hands free when stacking the pallets, errors can be minimized when the outgoing goods are scanned, which leads to significant gains in productivity and quality.

This summary brings our readers some of the most relevant Augmented Reality market reports of the week.

The first report, by Satprnews talks about the international mobile augmented reality and virtual reality apps market growing 74.4% CAGR. The AR mobile device market is expected to grow 78% CAGR by 2020. The report covers the growth prospects and present scenario of the global mobile augmented and virtual reality app industry.

Some of the top vendors highlighted in this report were: Apple, Qualcomm, Rockwell, Collins, Sensics and Technical Illusions

Some main facts taken from this report are:

• High penetration of AR technology in advertising sector
• There is lack of interoperability of mobile AR and VR apps across mobile platforms
• There is a growing collaboration with content providers

The next report released this week by Openpr in concerned with Global Augmented Reality in Healthcare Market by 2024. The main points concluded from this report include:

• Technological advancements and high demand expected to boost market
• Market is expected to be driven by increasing workload of healthcare professionals
• Rise is healthcare expenditure that would drive market growth
• Growth is set to take place in robust healthcare infrastructure like North America and Europe.
• North America expected to dominate the global augmented market.

The final report released this week by Tristate Update talks about the Augmented Reality Market by product, mobile devices, smart glasses, analysis and forecast to 2021. The report has been put together by many industry experts and covers the market landscape and its growth prospects.

The report covers many points such as:

• The market size is calculated by considering revenue which is generated by vendors developing engines, software, and hardware devices
• The report also considers revenue generated by the various sources like paid AR Apps, advertisements with AR Apps.
• Revenue is also generated by AR vendors that develop mobile advertisements for third parties such as PepsiCo and Volkswagen.
• Revenue also comes from vendors developing AR apps for sectors such as healthcare, retail, real estate and industrial and sale of HMDs and Smart Glasses.

Many industry key industry players are noted in this report, however, noted here are the AREA members that featured in this particular market report:

• Atheer Labs
• Catchoom
• DAQRI
• NGRAIN

Other notable key players include: Apple, Aurasma, Blippar, Cinoptics, HTC, Meta, Laster Technologies, Lumus, ODG, Optinvent, Qualcomm, Rockwell Collins.

Although the Augmented Reality Smart Glass Market is growing there are still challenges – an article by AREA Member BrainXChange, claims devices are still lacking.

Wearables in the workplace are becoming the ‘norm’ with them benefitting business, however, there are still some challenges ahead for this emerging technology.

Devices are not meeting industry regulations and in some fields this could have serious repercussions such as military where the article claims problems include hardware not being reliable, ergonomic, or intrinsically safe.

There are also some limitations when it comes to the working environment itself such as in the Oil and Gas industry. This had been pointed out before by Vincent Higgins of Optech4D, an AREA member organization. The Oil and Gas industry normally involves operations in explosion prone, harsh environments. This means putting infrastructure in place in order to accommodate wearables is extremely difficult.

These disadvantages need to be overcome, so that we can take advantage of wearables in all fields. Many enterprises are still producing wearables that are being put to good use. However these challenges need to be corrected so that widespread adoption by all businesses is possible.

For resources on overcoming barriers to augmented reality adoption, do search our large bank of resources including webinars.

An article on zdnet in December 2016 draws together information from a variety of sources to offer clues as to the product that Thalmic Labs is on the verge of introducing: a revolutionary new gesture controlwearable tech product.

The article links various news sources that help to identify clues as to what their new gesture control software might be.

The article includes a video of someone wearing a band, called the Myo ($199) – this contains eight sensors that measure electromyographic pulses in his upper arm — electric pulses sent there by his brain to move muscles that no longer exist.

These are then transmitted to a computer that studies them and figures out what movement the person is thinking of and then commands the prosthetic limb attached to his skeleton to perform them.

Now, apparently, Thalmic Labs is using its pioneering work in gesture control — used to manipulate all manner of things ranging from computers and phones to drones, video games, touch screens, surgical robots, power-point presentations and more.

The article speculates whether voice control may have a part to play. The fact that Intel are participating may indicate there are IoT functionalities involved, where wearables play a prominent role.

To sum things up, we have the possibility of gesture control, voice control and IoT functionalities all rolled into one product based on these reports.

• It raised $120 million in September of this year, built a new factory.
• There has been a marketing ‘buzz’ about a “revolutionary new product that people say will radically change the way we engage with virtual reality, gaming, smartphones, manufacturing or pretty much anything you do that can be replaced with a few subtle finger taps, swipes and gestures made in thin air.”
• Founded in 2012 out of the mechatronics program at the University of Waterloo, by Stephen Lake, Matthew Bailey and Aaron Grant.
• Thalmic Labs hasrelocated its manufacturing from China Waterloo, a 45 minute drive from Toronto and their San Francisco office has been hiring

A recent article shows how a company called Finger Food Studios is helping enterprises with design by using holograms.

They began as a game design company and are currently partnered with Microsoft, developing for their HoloLens hardware.

Finger Food Studios recently did a lot of work with a semi-truck company, helping them to redesign their vehicles. Ryan Peterson their CEO, is quoted as saying “When trucks normally go through that restyling—making them look more modern, or changing the aerodynamics—engineers work with a huge, life-size clay model, which takes about six months to create. Instead, we made a life-sized hologram, and built it so you could manipulate the truck design while wearing the headset. It cut the process down to three days.”

They recently acquired and opened a 25,000 square foot warehouse. The warehouse is called the “Holodeck” and is the first in the world dedicated to developing large-scale industrial holographic projects. Currently in the process of hiring around 100 new staff members to help program and imaginatively style the Holodeck’s ventures, Finger Food is hoping to attract some of the city’s top engineering talent and visual designers.

“We work on three levels,” Peterson says. “There’s a part of our business that we call the Internet of Things, where we produce data through things like 3D printing and electrical fabrication. The next part is VR, or virtual reality, and the last is AR, or augmented reality—both of which help people visualize data in a digestible format. When we take all these technologies together, it’s possible to make exponential transformations to the current way that we do things.