Fast Company takes a look at the 106-page patent filing of Magic Leap, an Augmented and Virtual Reality startup that recently closed a $542 million financing round led by Google.

The patent application reveals gesture-controlled smart glasses featuring an innovative user interface based on totem objects such as virtual keychains of menus and commands, allowing users to interact in new ways with information about their environment. The patent filing also shows virtual menus and dials being displayed on a user’s hand in order to transform the hand into an interface “controller.”

Although the majority of scenarios are consumer oriented (e.g., changing television channels via hand movements), a few use cases describe enterprise scenarios. One example shows a firefighter using a glove as an interface controller to communicate with the dispatcher, while another describes a Magic Leap-equipped doctor using a 3D model of a heart for guidance during surgery

Augmented Reality will eventually have an impact in most industries but some industries are earlier to adopt than others. Boeing, Airbus and other large manufacturers of aircraft and satellites have been introducing Augmented Reality.

Sikorsky Innovations, a division of Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation, a global leader in helicopter design, manufacture, and service, is also on the look out for new technologies that could be disruptive in its industry. The company conducts contests to identify new developments as well as potential partners with which it can improve its operations and products.

One of the four focus areas on which the company’s sixth Entrepreneurial Challenge will focus is Augmented Reality for collaborative applications and complex manufacturing processes. In mid-July the company announced further details about the submission process and awards.

Applications are due to Sikorsky Innovations by 5 p.m. EDT on Friday, October 16th 2015.

Once again, the attention of automotive industry companies and those who follow and study them is focused on Augmented Reality in this feature story on the CompleteCar.ie blog. The author begins with a short definition of Augmented Reality for those who may not already be familiar with the term and then offers a summary of the many use cases for Augmented Reality in the automotive manufacturing processes, the sales and support for car owners, and the design of new cars.

By providing ten examples illustrated with images or videos, the feature shows that many leading car companies have experimented or delivered solutions using AR, the diversity as well as the long history of Augmented Reality in automotive.

Of course, the technology is not mature so the reader will also get a short overview of the drawbacks or risks of using existing Augmented Reality systems while driving.

As the interest in enterprise Augmented Reality continues to rise, customers need assistance to understand how the offers (and the promised products) they are being offered fit together or compete with one another.

In this article on Design News website, author Tom Emrich reviews the latest achievements of AREA members including DAQRI, Atheer Labs and APX Labs and explains how the offerings of these firms differ and resemble those of EPSON, Microsoft and Google. The article also reminds prospective buyers that the price of smart glasses and head mounted personal displays designed for Augmented Reality will continue to decline and for many purposes the digital eyewear will replace simple safety glasses.

When a technician is in the field and can’t quickly find a manual or the right section within their technical documentation, precious time can be lost and errors committed. ScopeAR’s RemoteAR system is designed to support field technicians who need help connect quickly with and receive support from a remote expert.

This post on TechCrunch describes the RemoteAR platform’s features and includes several videos to illustrate the user experience. The post also reveals that ScopeAR has partnered with other technology providers for recognition and tracking features as well as the video call set up and tear down software. This illustrates that strategic partnerships within the AR ecosystem is happening today. Partnerships between enabling technology providers and solutions integrators will continue to be valuable as a strategy to bring AR-enabled products to market and evolve these as customer requirements change over time.

Digi-Capital has released its “Augmented/Virtual Reality Report Q2 2015“, in which it predicts a $150 billion market for Augmented and Virtual Reality by 2020. Despite healthy competition among AR/VR players, Digi-Capital doesn’t see Augmented and Virtual Reality lifting off until next year.

Besides defining seven key drivers against which today’s players will need to deliver in order to dominate the Augmented Reality market, Digi-Capital has created a “Reality Matrix” for providing context for understanding the drivers. Interestingly, Digi-Capital distinguishes between Augmented Reality (which “gives users the equivalent of Iron Man’s holographic display with transparent virtual objects in the real world in daylight, e.g., Meta”) and mixed reality (which “gives users virtual objects that appear solid in the real world in daylight (e.g. Microsoft HoloLens, Magic Leap), or switches easily between AR and VR, e.g., ODG”). Here at the AREA, we tend to simply label all systems not designed for Virtual Reality as Augmented Reality systems.

Digi-Capital sees the mobile market as dwarfing the AR/VR market and cautions today’s AR players about the risks of competing with the likes of Apple, Lenovo, Samsung, and Huawei.

Despite excellent articles explaining their unique value, many people continue to be confused about the differences between Virtual and Augmented Reality. In this recently released infographic, the author illustrates how Virtual and Augmented Reality share enabling technologies. It is helpful to see the companies that are participating in different segments of the ecosystem. Where there are tight relationships between some of the vendors and/or brands, they are shown as grouped with a dotted line.

The illustration could be improved by separating the Virtual and Augmented Reality development environments and engineering frameworks as well as clarifying the role of businesses identified in the industry-specific segments. Perhaps the next version will also include industry associations, such as the AR for Enterprise Alliance.

According the this new three-part report published on PC Magazine Web site, getting Google Glass will not be easy for consumers, but those enterprises who go to the effort and pay top dollar will get a product that is likely to give better experiences and be more resilient to average workplace conditions. The report provides details of the system’s design, including water resistance and new options for better and safer storage while not in use, and configuration.

The final section of the report offers hints on what’s to come for future versions. The analysis concludes that one the most useful Glassware features currently available is Google Now, which delivers context-based information directly to Glass. It’s unfortunate that this reviewer did not report having the support of any Glassware for Work features and did not test the system in realistic workplace environments.

The large consulting firms and market research publishers are watching the growth of Augmented Reality closely and encouraging their enterprise customers to get started. Getting started needs to include selecting the best tools for the pilot project.

In this short report summary on Forrester Research web site it appears that Forrester has developed an evaluation matrix. The matrix supports the technology selection and Augmented Reality decision process based on the tasks for which the program is designed.

This sounds highly useful and we look forward to learning more about the matrix from clients who have tried it.

Civic Resource Group Int’l (CRGI) announced in a press release that it is making CivicAR, a mobile Augmented Reality solution for the public sector, available for governments and public sector agencies to deliver information and services directly to citizens and communities in a highly contextual and easy to use mobile environment.

The company recommends that agencies deploy CivicAR to streamline management of delivery of utilities, healthcare and education to citizens. Consumers will also be able to use the system’s applications for AR-assisted delivery of transportation, tourism and shopping information.