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Tag: Plantronics

  • Is 2019 The Year for Augmented Reality to take off?

    Is 2019 The Year for Augmented Reality to take off?

    As the holiday season ends a new year full of opportunities stands before us! On the augmented reality front, I expect AR to continue to grow in the enterprise market at a steady pace. I think we are going to see the biggest changes on the consumer side. New products and services are already rolling out with regularity and I expect that the pace will increase significantly in the second half of 2019.

    But, as with any other technology, before you jump on the proverbial bandwagon it is important to think about how you’d like to use the technology. What aspect of your business will it highlight? Or how will it impact your brand, and what new avenues can it open for marketing and sales? And, if you are a product maker, you’ll want to find the right technology and production partner to bring AR magic to your products and services.

    With all that in mind, let’s take a look at some of the news and bright signs for AR in 2019:

    1. Both Apple and Google have committed significant resources to lead the market in both augmented and virtual reality

    2. 5G is finally here

    3. Magic Leap finally launched its first developer’s units.

    4. Amazon has created a new publishing platform for AR

    5. My company, NorthSouth Studios has now launched our publishing platform, universal app and games. You can now publish AR experiences and pay as you go, and it is amazingly economical! gethoodoo.com

    6. Boeing is committed to the use of AR for training,

    7. Mercedes Benz, BMW, and other car manufacturers are replacing user manuals with AR apps.

    8. Museums are now taking advantage of AR for their exhibits.

    9. Snapchat, Pokémon, L’Oréal, and other brands continue to grow and impact their revenue streams with the use of AR and MR.

    10. VR is on a convergence course with AR.

    I am going to kick off my AR activities for 2019 by moderating a panel at CES “The Augmented Reality Experience” on January 7.  I love moderating this panel because it brings together experts from different areas of AR, and provides the audience with a real 360 degree view of the AR ecosystem. Mark Francis from Amazon, Elizabeth Kiehner from IBMiX, Olivier Koelemij, Michael Leventhal from Holmes Weinberg, Catelyn Orsini from Plantronics, and Nigel Tierney from RYOT will be participating.

    Unfortunately, there is no video streaming available for these sessions, so you won’t be able to see them online.  However, I do promise to follow up with a post with the key takeaways from the session and the conference in general.

    I will be posting regularly this year with new exciting advances and information about augmented and virtual reality.

  • Augmented Reality: Epson Moverio

    Augmented Reality: Epson Moverio

    Having been talking about the future at different panels for the past three years, and researching, and prototyping, I am excited to write about the present in this post.

    I am preparing for a panel I will moderate October 10, at Digital Hollywood at 12 Noon about AR. the next generation applications. I have always had great panelists and this year is no exception. Today I want to focus on Leon Laroue, Product Manager New Ventures, for the Epson Moverio line of smart eyewear products.

    Yes, Epson. You probably know them for great projectors, printers, and other hardware devices. Well they have also entered the AR arena with the Moverio line. I am excited to learn about their technology since Epson definitely knows hardware.

    My conversation with Leon was really interesting.  The first thing I learned is that Moverio AR smart eyewear products are commercially available today. You can pick them up at Amazon, for example. They have three models that include smart glasses for personal and enterprise/multi-user applications, and smart headsets for industrial applications. I also learned that these products support a wide range of commercial standards. You can learn more about this in their specifications page. This one is for the Moverio BT-300 model https://tech.moverio.epson.com/en/bt-300/

    Besides using Android as their development platform (more to come), some of the highlights include:

    • A long life battery  (up to  6 hours)

    • A light-weight (69g), truly wearable form factor

    • Proprietary Si-OLED display technology, providing bright, HD (720p) picture

    • Camera and various sensors for enabling AR experiences

    • Support for applications that enable FPV for drone piloting

    While the technology is impressive, but perhaps even more exciting, is their ISV program. Epson may have one of the most open ISV programs available in the AR world. This is great news for content developers, publishers, and entrepreneurs looking for opportunities to enter the AR expanding market.

    If you want to learn more about this fantastic technology and meet Leon in person you can join us at my panel at Digital Hollywood this coming October 10, at 12 Noon http://www.dhsessions4.com/Tuesday17Fl6.html , or join the live webcast. We’ll also be joined by Eric Travold (Avegant), Michael Leventhal (Holmes Weinberg PC, Formerly Magic Leap), Soulaiman Itani (Atheer), Tom Wesselman (Plantronics), and Mike Hildebrandt (DAQRI). Come and learn about how your company can be part of this technological revolution and tremendous business opportunity.