Atheer Labs has raised $8.8 million from angel investors to continue to develop the company’s gesture-controlled AiR platform, which includes a head-mounted display and software known as Air OS. The company is focusing on medical use cases for clinicians and other staff, among other potential scenarios. The company has also continued to attract seasonsed professionals to its management team led by HP veteran, Alberto Torres.
In conjunction with its 4D Expo event, AREA member DAQRI has announced it acquired Melon, a maker of lightweight headbands that monitor brain activity to measure cognitive performance. Inclusion of the technology into DAQRI’s smart helmet could help companies monitor their workers’ health and improve safety.
According to the article in WardsAuto, German auto supplier Continental Corporatoin has developed a diagnostic tool for mechanics enhanced by Augmented Reality.
The tablet-based Connected Technician connects wirelessly to a vehicle and guides a mechanic to solve problems. The application draws on service manuals to display augmented steps. Continental expects the product to appear in garages in late 2016.
The built environment has a great wealth of digital information associated with it so it is just a matter of time before architects and those with whom they work adopted AR for a variety of visualization purposes. In this feature story on Sourceable, Rana Abboud, a Sydney-based architect, and Rene Van Meeuwen, assistant professor of architecture at the University of Western Australia, share their views about how the field of architecture is going to be using Augmented Reality and the benefits to customers as well as those working on the new projects.
The military forces have long been able to use pre-commercial Augmented Reality components as part of their advanced technology for soldiers. The technology has now penetrated the activities of the US Navy. The CNO Rapid Innovation Cell reports on the Navy Times web site that the results of its first year of testing of Google Glass demonstrates widespread applicability to increase productivity of sailors at sea.
Mobile Health News reports that Stanford spinoff VitalMedicals has recently closed an investment round to develop an Augmented Reality medical display tool for Google Glass. Patients’ vital signs will be streamed to medical professionals wearing Glass and allow them to keep better track of patients’ conditions in hospitals. More information is available on VitalMedical’s web site.
Sony continues to add new features to its SmartEyeglass SDK for Augmented Reality authoring, permitting developers to create more immersive and compelling experiences. According to an AppDeveloper Magazine feature story, the AR engine uses a system of three different coordinate systems for determining and describing positions. The engine renders application text and graphics on the real-world view seen through the SmartEyeglass.
Magazines and journals are increasingly introducing Augmented Reality to their readers. We cover these introductions regularly, finding a lot of diversity in the approach, depth and accuracy of how the concept of AR is introduced. In this feature length article in 360-The Business Transformation Journal, the authors dedicate nearly 30% of their beautifully laid out space to the history and conceptual frameworks of Augmented Reality. And they get a “gold star” for quality in every respect.
The article then proceeds to explain the business value of Augmented Reality for industry in general and the specific projects that have been implemented in Marenco Swisshelicopter AG with the new SKYe SH09 model. Lessons learned and business analyses are worthy of a respected journal such as the one that invited these authors to contribute to its December 2014 issue. Recommended reading.
This blog post on Gigaom portal describes the Atheer Labs second generation platform and developer kit for Augmented Reality authoring. The Atheer Labs hands-free display hardware is based on the Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 and Android-based Operating System. The product’s full specifications and instructions for ordering are found on the Atheer Labs web site.
DHL is leading the charge to use of hands-free personal displays in logistics. In a trial involving 10 order pickers Vuzix M100 and Google Glass were worn by pickers and used with a customized application to support the fulfillment of over 9,000 orders. The research report indicates a 25 percent efficiency rise as a result of the AR-assisted procedures. Now DHL is indicating interest in expanding to other phases in supply chain. The article posted on the ATN for transportation and logistics managers portal cites DHL Supply Chain Benelux technology director Jan-Willem De Jong saying that there are plans for