A user’s context normally includes their surroundings, their activities, such as direction of travel, and the objects and people in their proximity. According to analyses of a patent recently awarded to Microsoft and published on the DailyMail web site, Microsoft seeks to include stress level detection as part of the user context as well. Although the analysis in this feature article is focusing on the stress of a person with concerns about their interior decorating skills, the detection of user stress can be very valuable in professional use cases. Presumably the user’s level of stress can be detected in many ways. One of those is using EEG technology which DAQRI, maker of the Smart Helmet, has acquired earlier this year when it purchased Melon, a company providing EEG technology in a headband.

Ecom instruments, the provider of mobile computing and communication devices for use in potentially hazardous areas, has been developing solutions for use in chemicals, petrochemicals, pharmaceuticals, oil and gas, mining, power generation, food and beverage. In this interview on MarketWatch, Sebastian Kaul, Product Manager, explains the many ways that using mobile platforms in harsh environments can improve operational efficiency. Augmented Reality is one of the ways that Ecom Instruments devices bring data into the user’s context.

NGRAIN, an AREA Founding Sponsor member, has announced in this press release, the immediate availability of its newest release of Vergence, a platform for authoring enterprise and industrial AR experiences with a graphical user interface. The authoring environment makes it easy for experience designers to use their 3D assets created in MAX, Maya, Inventor, CATIA, Creo, and SolidWorks. The results of Vergence experiences can be used within NGRAIN Iris, a free companion app for mobile devices and smart glasses.

ARToolworks has been providing an AR Software Development Toolkit for nearly a decade and is very popular in academic and research environments but the professional version found it difficult to compete with low cost (and free) alternative software development environments. AREA member DAQRI announced in this press release that it has acquired the ARToolworks brand and software and will be making the technology and software available using Open Source. The extra features in the professional license will be valuable to existing ARToolkit customers as well as those who seek an alternative to other commercial systems.

The typical customer doesn’t have the opportunity to test multiple smart glasses side by side and in the same setting. This feature length article published on Tom’s Guide web site, compiles consistent information about nine smart glasses products and provides videos showing the user experience. Having all the information gathered consistently and on the same page makes it easier for customers to understand the differences and similarities of the current products as well as those promised for later in 2015.

Mediatek provides processors for smart phones and mobile platforms and competes with Qualcomm in the Chinese market. The company’s new Helio X20 chipset is setting the pace for new hardware specifically designed for Augmented Reality. It is reportedly 30% more power efficient than current chips and optimized for 3D sensing and capture using dual cameras up to 13 Megapixels or other depth sensing technology that the integrator chooses. The X20 also accelerates 3D rendering and has built in Category 6 LTE modem. Other features are described in this product announcement and review on PC Magazine web site.

Many enterprises standardized on Windows operating system devices decades ago. Meanwhile, many Augmented Reality prototypes and solutions leverage the ease of use of Apple products. This dichotomy can leave customers in an awkward position. To support customers in their plant floor deployments of its iQagent platform, the company announced in a press release that it has released a Windows 8.1 compatible version of software. Support for tablets that are safe for use in hazardous environments will be the natural next step.

Geospatial Augmented Reality does not get a great deal of attention. Yet, it could be highly valuable for geospatially-referenced enterprise assets. At the SPAR 2015 conference in Houston, Andy Lowery, CEO of AREA Member DAQRI, spoke about the opportunity to enable workers in the field with Augmented Reality. Speakers from other companies, such as, BP, the oil giant, spoke about new technologies for productivity improvement. Trimble announced that it would be distributing DotProduct handheld scanner. There were many other developments announced and reviewed by Gene Roe, editor of LiDAR News Magazine, in an editorial published by the American Surveyor, a publication for surveying professionals.

It’s not difficult to see the inspiration of the popular movie, Minority Report, in the new project BAE Systems and academics at Birmingham University unveiled to the media and described in this MailOnline feature length article and this article on Engineering & Technology magazine blog. The prototype for the system, which resembles Microsoft Hololens in many respects, is said to be operating and use cases under evaluation. It may be possible for enterprise and industrial users to benefit from such technology at the same time or even prior to the military users because, in contrast with soldiers in the field, in enterprise AR many of the user’s environmental conditions, as well as their location and tools, can be tightly controlled. 

Wearables adoption in the enterprise will be neither swift or easy, predicts Alberto Torres, CEO of AREA Member Atheer Labs in this editorial published on the Read Write blog.