Because the pandemic has forced many people to work, socialize, study, and shop at home, they’re using XR experiences to replace in-person ones. This year, 58.9 million people in the US will use VR at least once per month, and 93.3 million will be monthly AR users.

Though VR and AR are different technologies growing at different rates, the pandemic appears to have galvanized the market for both.

Established use cases have increased

VR and AR usage has grown as more people stay home and pursue activities aligned with crowd avoidance and social distancing, including playing video games, consuming entertainment, participating in social VR, using AR features on social networks, and experimenting with virtual try-ons, virtual shopping, and 360-degree travel videos.

For example, June 2020 research by Ipsos and the Global Myopia Awareness Coalition (GMAC) found that 58% of US children and teens spent more time with smartphones, 53% spent more time with video game consoles, and 15% spent more time with VR headsets since the pandemic began. In general, people who owned VR headsets used them more; others explored nonheadset options or considered buying headsets.

Big Tech sees big opportunity

The pandemic has turned XR into an even more important growth area for Big Tech. While Facebook is on its way to becoming the VR leader in the US with its Oculus ecosystem, it is also investing in AR. Other heavy hitters, including Apple, Google, Microsoft, and Samsung, are all reportedly racing to introduce their own VR, AR, and/or MR solutions to grow the market and capitalize on increasing demand.

5G is becoming more available

XR developers are optimistic about the rollout of 5G wireless service—both in the US and around the world. Higher-speed 5G networks are expected to eliminate many persistent technical difficulties and boost XR’s viability. In an April 2020 survey conducted by Toluna and Advertiser Perceptions on behalf of Verizon Media, 44% of US adults cited streaming VR content and 36% cited AR experiences as expected benefits of 5G technology.

Likewise, a majority of adults in South Korea, the UK, and the US found the idea of subscription-based VR and AR at least somewhat appealing, according to a January 2020 Nokia poll conducted by Parks Associates. Nearly three-quarters (73%) of respondents found a subscription to VR experiences appealing or very appealing, while 70% and 65% said the same for AR experiences and VR sports, respectively.

The worldwide travel bans due to COVID-19 pushed Cleveron to look towards innovative technologies for installations. Augmented reality or AR turns physical product installations into virtual, meaning that Cleveron’s technicians do not have to travel on-site. Cleveron is the first to use augmented reality to install robotics-based parcel lockers.

The augmented reality tool has helped Cleveron and its partners save time, cut costs, and be kinder to nature because installations can be done remotely without flying across the world. Cleveron’s innovative products can be found in 34 countries with many more to come, and this tool makes it easier to scale the expansion for Cleveron and its distributors even as the travel restrictions continue.

“The AR tool has provided Cleveron with an opportunity to greatly improve the quality of product trainings and support which we offer to our partners worldwide. Our 3D product models are now directly linked with the material that we use for trainings, which reduces the room for interpretation when operating solely based on paper manuals,” said Cleveron’s CTO Ott Pabut. “With the help of the AR tool, we have installed products on three different continents with partners who have little or no prior experience with the particular product. Due to the restrictions imposed by COVID-19, this would not have been possible any other way.”

Cleveron’s AR software is provided by Scope AR. Cleveron’s 3D product models can be imported straight from a computer-aided design program and animated into AR within seconds. “Scope AR is thrilled to support Cleveron as they have set the golden standard for how to leverage augmented reality into Industry 4.0. Their ability to recognise value from key use cases first, align the right technology, and correctly build AR into their organisation – is nothing short of exemplary,” said Scope AR’s CCO David Nedohin.

Iristick.H1 has dual 16 Megapixel central cameras, a unique optical zoom lens and a 3-axis adjustable display to give instructions and additional information to the smart glasses’ wearer.

With the zoom lens on one side, the display on the other side and the central cameras in the middle, you get the most balanced pair of smart glasses on the market. This new device can be adapted to both right and left eye dominant wearers and can easily be clipped onto dedicated or personal PPE. With its IP67 certificate, Iristick.H1 can be used in a wide range of professional environments.

Smart glasses provide frontline workers with a powerful tool to collaborate in real-time with remote experts, making their interventions more effective and safer. The pandemic has accelerated the use of smart glasses to cope with travel restrictions and to keep operations running. We strongly believe this new remote way of working will become a standard in the future. With this product innovation, Iristick wants to provide the right smart glasses for every frontline worker.

Why was this new device, Iristick.H1, developed?

We believe true innovation comes from listening to our customers and making products that serve their needs. And realizing that not all customers are the same. Some operators work outside, some inside. Some wear safety glasses and helmets, some don’t. Some need prescription glasses. Some work in sterile environments, others in dusty or noisy environments, some in hazardous areas. The one thing they all have in common is that they need both hands free and the correct information to do their job.

But for a long time now, the smart glasses market has tried to serve all these customers with one product. This ‘one size fits all’ approach does not fully value the variety in operators, industries and use cases. After carefully evaluating the needs of our customers, we made a list of features for product innovation that resulted in the creation of the Iristick.G1 and Iristick.H1.

Will there be a solution for hazardous areas?

Hazardous areas require special equipment. The Iristick.H1 will be the foundation for the ECOM Visor-EX^R 01 for use in intrinsically safe environments. ECOM Visor-EX^R 01 is a co-created product by Iristick and ECOM Instruments – A Pepperl+Fuchs Brand, world-leader in intrinsically safe mobile devices. This collaboration brought together the expert knowledge of both companies, resulting in a new product that will serve mobile workers in the hazard areas market (ATEX/IECEX Zone 1, DIVISION 1).

Watch the launch video here : https://youtu.be/FkBNq6dQpa8

ABOUT IRISTICK

Founded in 2016, Iristick creates industrial smart safety glasses to support enterprises in their digital transformation. Iristick empowers the frontline workers of Industry 4.0 in three domains: remote assistance, digital work instructions and pick-by-vision logistics. Iristick smart eyewear is currently being used and tested by customers in maintenance, after sales support, logistics, shop floor activities, quality control, telemedicine and education.

Iristick, based in Antwerp, Belgium, supports customers globally. Winner of a Red Dot Award, H2020 European Commission Innovation Grant (N°811820) and holder of multiple patents.

More info: www.iristick.com

• Johnson said a launch of the Magic Leap 2 could be only months away
• The device is half the size of the first-generation headset and about 20 percent lighter.
• The device is optimized for professional use and is designed to be wearable for long periods, and it’s supposed to double the Magic Leap One’s field of view.
• “For frontline workers, the product has to be something comfortable that they can wear all day long.”
• Magic Leap has spent the past year transitioning from an all-purpose mixed reality company to a specifically business-focused one.
• Johnson told Protocolthat she sees a “massive” opportunity for enterprise AR headsets.
• Johnson says she sees a more viable short-term future in areas like health care or military applications. “The devices are still getting there. They’re not quite right for consumers, but they’re perfect for the enterprise.”

Read full interview with Protocol.

Read Magic Leap AREA member profile.

The training solution is based on the Augumenta SmartEyes system, which uses camera-equipped smart glasses to connect field workers in Africa with Japanese experts who can view the local scene and provide instructions and support in real-time.

JICA is responsible for delivering Japan’s official development assistance as an implementing agency, providing ODA Loan and Grant Aid, and executing Technical Cooperation in developing countries. With approximately 100 offices and a network of people cooperating within its numerous programs running all over the world, the organization provides, for example, technical training for participants from developing countries in a wide range of fields, such as medical, industrial, and agricultural fields.

Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, JICA programs allowed Japanese counterparts to host experts and researchers from developing countries in Japan and thousands of Japanese experts to travel to the target countries to arrange hands-on training locally. The pandemic caused disruptions to the programs: experts have been forced to evacuate and the hosting of trainees has been suspended. Last autumn, JICA launched an open call for proposals to find solutions that enable the programs to continue operating despite travel restrictions.

The Augumenta solution will initially be deployed in two countries in Africa as a tool to aid technical guidance:

1. In the medical field, including infectious disease control, between the researchers at Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research in Ghana and experts in research institutions in Japan;
2. In the field of infectious disease control between the University of Hokkaido and The School of Veterinary Medicine of the University of Zambia;
3. In the field of agriculture, connecting experts in Japan and the Agriculture Research Institute of the Ministry of Agriculture in Zambia studying rice cultivation. Augumenta’s SmartEyes solution matched the criteria set by JICA and was selected out of the 24 submitted proposals to provide the much-needed communication solution.

SmartEyes fulfills the key program requirements, including:

1. Needs to work with varying network conditions.
2. Does not require the researcher to stop working to communicate.
3. Provides proper visibility to the target, traditional webcams have not been sufficient.
4. Short learning curve, the solution does not require technical expertise to be used.
5. Can be customized based on JICA’s needs.

Read more about this in the full press release

Read Augumenta’s reaction in their blog about the SmartEyes JICA announcement

Read Augumenta’s AREA member profile

The JBLM deployment is part of a $600 million investment by the Department of Defense (DOD) to test 5G at five U.S. military sites. According to a recent DOD press release, this represents “the largest full-scale 5G test for dual-use applications in the world.” Planned projects include implementing 5G-enabled augmented reality/virtual reality platforms for equipment maintenance and repairs, mission planning and training, and use in smart warehouses.

“The JBLM project is an innovative collaboration between 5G providers and AR category leaders like Taqtile,” stated Chris Christou, Vice President at Booz Allen Hamilton. “We expect this project to set a new standard for deploying advanced wireless applications on military installations.”

“We will break new ground through our work with Booz Allen Hamilton, demonstrating the advanced capabilities and tangible benefits of 5G and the Manifest AR platform on a military base,” said Dirck Schou, CEO, Taqtile. “The ability to use Manifest and 5G to put knowledge at the fingertips of frontline military personnel will make them exponentially more efficient and effective at their tasks.”

Manifest can serve as a digital repository for maintenance and repair information, including video and audio “notes,” and related documents. Equipment-specific repair information can be seamlessly transferred between personnel, reducing delays and the risk of human error. Manifest can also automatically upload all saved documents to a centralized maintenance queue for quick access to accurate materials.

This project further deepens a strategic partnership between Taqtile and Booz Allen Hamilton in terms of driving XR capabilities into DoD. “Booz Allen is committed to remaining on the edge, integrating and deploying advanced capabilities for the warfighter,” stated Eric Billies, Booz Allen’s Principal guiding business in the Pacific Northwest that includes delivering immersive solutions for multiple defense clients. “That is why partnering with companies like Taqtile is so valuable – combining applications like Manifest with other technologies including 5G, AI/ML and cybersecurity helps our clients realize the power of XR for mission execution.”

Participation in the JBLM 5G initiative is the latest endeavor Taqtile has been contracted to implement with the U.S. military. The company has been awarded a U.S. Army Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase 1 contract, providing the opportunity for the Army to evaluate Taqtile’s Manifest AR platform in use by motor-pool personnel. Taqtile also recently supported a study with the Air Force Institute of Technology (AFIT) measuring the impact of its AR platform on technician performance. Among the confirmed benefits was a 53-percent reduction in errors and discrepancies by technicians using the Manifest platform.

Read Taqtile’s AREA member profile here.

How has the COVID-19 pandemic driven the rise of AR?

Tuong Nguyen: I would say the pandemic has been another enormous boon for this industry. It’s put the value proposition for AR front and center for users and IT buyers. Before, when you were trying to sell AR, you had to make that business proposition: ‘Look, here’s the benefit, you can do things remotely, you can see the unseen, you can do things digitally without touching it physically.’

And the buyer would be like, ‘Why, when we can do all those things [physically]?’ But, in a time when we can’t, it becomes a little bit clearer, and that value proposition will carry on beyond the pandemic. You can help someone repair a piece of equipment when normally you would call and they would say, ‘I’m on this jobsite, I won’t be able to fly out there for another three days,’ and my task gets put off for three days. Now, they can remotely dial you in, you can draw on my screen, show me how to do things and we’re off and running.

Facebook announced it is working on AR glasses and Apple is working on an AR headset. They’re new entrants to the market, so what does this say to you about how AR use cases are maturing?

Nguyen: These are all steppingstones, and I think that announcements and introductions from companies like Facebook and Apple will be important milestones in moving us toward our goal — spreading, evangelizing the benefits of this solution.

Similar to smartphones and computing, someone had to go out there and say, ‘This is why you want a tiny computer in your pocket or purse.’ Apple did that really well with the introduction of the iPhone. That’s what I expect to see from Apple and Facebook and whoever else is doing this — to start introducing this to the consumer and the enterprise market and saying, ‘Look, this is why this is the next era of interfaces and computing.’

Should CIOs and IT professionals be seriously looking at AR use cases in 2021?

Nguyen: It depends on the application. Within the enterprise, which is where we see more of the adoption and maturity happening, there are certain industries that are benefiting from it more than others.

I will delineate it in the following way: frontline workers versus information workers. I am an information worker; I spend about 10 hours a day at my desk hammering away. Whereas frontline workers, they’re not in front of a desk, and they’re using one or both hands to do something, fix something, assemble something, pack something, etc.

AR is benefiting frontline workers more, and it’s typically [benefiting] … capital asset-intensive industries — oil and gas, energy and utilities, manufacturing, those types of industries where you have really expensive machinery.

In the past, companies were willing to fly you around the world because you’re one of the two people who can fix this [expensive machine]. They’ll put that bill up [against] $10,000 to $20,000 [for AR] because that’s a drop in the bucket in terms of the investment they made or the productivity loss due to that.

In short, IT leaders are adopting [AR], but within those certain parameters.

Where are you finding the most exciting AR use cases in the enterprise?

Nguyen: Exciting to me is something that is applicable and shows value. So, exciting to me are procedural tasks and situational videos. It’s exciting because this is what we see enterprises adopting it for.

A procedural task means task itemization. Let’s say I have a [packing order] because I work in a warehouse, AR delivers me that information. I’ll give you a hypothetical situation. I have on a headset, and my job is to go around the warehouse to pick certain things and put them in a box. Now I get the information delivered to me on demand. Or maybe it’s a procedure for you to repair something; [AR] gives you the instructions. Whether you are a veteran at it or newer, it doesn’t hurt to have that little reminder on your screen to say, OK, step one, two, oh, did you forget step three because you’ve been working a 12-hour shift?’ That’s procedural tasks.

Situational video is ‘see what I see.’ I’m on site, I call you, it’s either wait three weeks for you to come out or you can look through my video. It’s kind of like a FaceTime but with perks because it’s augmented reality. Now you’re looking at the same thing I am, and you start to draw on my screen from 3,000 miles away. They say, ‘This is a thing you should be looking at, I just circled it in red. Rotate it 180 degrees clockwise and then replace it with the following.’

Those are the two use cases and you’re seeing it being used for many things — guidance, maintenance, repairs, collaboration, inventory management, etc. That’s what organizations are deploying, and that’s what I’m excited to see more of. It’s still new, so everyone is still toe in the water. I’m excited to see more organizations recognize the benefit, but also recognize that this is the future. This is how people will interact with the world.

Global software company TeamViewer (who recently acquired AREA member Upskill) which has just become Mercedes’ third biggest sponsor in its $300 million (USD) total portfolio, works with many industry partners in helping provide Augmented Reality solutions.

Mercedes believes there is scope for AR to help improve the speed of problem solving at grand prix events, help ramp up processes and also reduce expenditure in the cost cap era by it not requiring so many staff to travel to races.

The idea is that the AR systems would allow a direct live contact between personnel working at the track and related staff at factory that would provide a vital link on F1 race weekends.

Asked about the potential benefits by Motorsport.com, Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff said: “Formula 1 is a sport that travels around the globe. And in the same way as we have our race support room, where we have around 30 people that monitor the car, that work in the simulator, and in the wind tunnel to enhance the performance on track, we need to inspect high tech parts, such as the power unit hydraulics components and gearboxes.

“I think having remote access from the factory through the augmented reality possibilities that TeamViewer provide is going to give us an edge.

“The benefits are also that the remote work that we all have experienced in the last 12 months is also helping us to reduce our carbon footprint. We will be able to take less people to the racetrack, because the remote access will allow us to have exactly the same kind of potential in working with our engineers on the track even when they are back at base.” TeamViewer CEO Oliver Steil said that AR had been a huge help in other industries, so was something that could certainly offer opportunities in F1.

“In manufacturing, logistics, repair, inspection, testing healthcare, we have solutions where the worker wears glasses and gets step by step instructions on those glasses,” he explained.

“When you have a very, very complex inspection of an aircraft engine for example, then you can have somebody on call who is a trained engineer but working in a different location – and they work together to solve a problem.

“We have many different use cases. It is really gaining momentum now across industries in a way, to either help people perform more complex tasks or to upskill existing workforces. Or you can just have higher quality, and a faster understanding, of what has worked and how the parts flow works.

“It’s what we’re offering many customers around the world, mostly large enterprises that are deploying the solution. I think over the years, there will certainly be an opportunity to discuss this also in the sports arena.”

Becht was awarded a project to perform a “Repair versus Replace” analysis of failing coke drums at an Indian Refinery.  Due to travel restrictions, the Becht team was unable to travel to the site for field walk-downs and inspections.

Becht utilized an in-country sub-contractor (Ingenero) to perform the walk-down utilizing the RealWear glasses which allowed the Becht experts to be there virtually for important field visits in the absence of being able to visit on site.

Utilizing RealWear smart glasses gave the Becht team a better perspective than drawings and photos ever could.

Read the original case study on Becht’s website.

Read RealWear’s AREA member profile.

Whilst the consumer side has not been entirely successful as yet, it looks as though producers are betting on the enterprise and industrial customers.

• Facebook‘s AR/VR research division last month showed off its futuristic wristband for controlling AR glasses. The company’s Ray-Ban smart glasses will arrive later this year, though they won’t have an integrated display. They’re considered a precursor to future glasses with full augmented-reality features.
• Last week, Niantic CEO John Hanke teased what appears to be a see-through headset or smart glasses; he said the company is working on “new kinds of devices” that leverage its augmented-reality platform. (The WSJ reports that Niantic is developing AR glasses with chipmaker Qualcomm.)
• Apple is expected to reveal its $1,000+ AR/VR headset in the next several months, possibly during Apple’s virtual Worldwide Developers Conference in June. They’re a forerunner to Apple’s more complicated AR glasses, due out by 2025.
• Snap, which already sells its Spectacles smart glasses with a camera but no display, is expected to reveal its AR glasses in May at its Partner Summit. After that, Snap will ship the glasses to developers and creators.
• Google opened up its Glass Enterprise Edition 2 AR headset, geared toward businesses and developers, for direct purchase last year. Now, the WSJ reports that Google is “likely to try a consumer play again” in the AR space.
• While fewer than 1M AR glasses and headsets are expected to sell this year, IDC projects that will skyrocket to 23.4M in 2025, mostly on the business side:

You can read all about it in the original article on the Wall Street Journal https://www.wsj.com/articles/facebook-apple-and-niantic-bet-people-are-ready-for-augmented-reality-glasses-11617713387