An extract from the Abstract follows:

The capability of Augmented Reality (AR) technology to track and visualize relations of objects in space has led to diverse industry applications to support complex engineering tasks. Object assembly is one of them. For an AR aid to support Ready-to-Assemble (RTA) furniture particularly, the challenge is to effectively design the visual features and mode of interaction, so that the first-time users can quickly conceive spatial relations of its parts.

However, AR developers and engineers do not have sufficient guidelines to achieve such performance-driven goals. The scientific evidence and account of how one could cognitively benefit in object assembly can be useful to guide them. This experimental research developed an Augmented Reality (AR) application on the Microsoft HoloLens™ headset, and tested it on the first-time users of RTA furniture. The controlled experiments and behavioral analyses of fourteen participants in working out the two RTA furniture with different assembly complexity showed that, the application was effective to improve spatial problem-solving abilities.

The full article contains the following sections:

1. Introduction
2. Related works
3. AR application: a design and development for cognitive support
4. Experimental design and test methods
5. Statistical analyses of the effects of using augmented reality
6. Discussions and conclusion

The full article may be accessed here.

The U.S. Army RDECOM-sponsored SA-147/S WARDS helmet mounted display (HMD) provides the world’s largest field of view in an augmented reality display at an unprecedented 147 degrees with 3840 x 1200 full color resolution per eye.

SA-147/S will be exhibited and displaying augmented reality icons, as well as showing out-the-window capability across its large horizontal field of view.

The full press release can be read here.

This is excellent news for the company and demonstrates enterprise commitment to augmented reality.

XMReality has signed a third order to improve the service operations for an US defense company.

The order includes XMReality Remote Guidance™ software, XMReality PointPad™ and AR glasses with a value of approx. 0,5 MSEK and revenues will be recognized during 2018 and 2019. Including this order, the total order intake from this customer for the previous 12 months amounts to approx. 1,7 MSEK.

The initial order from the company was signed December 2017 and included XMReality Remote Guidance software, XMReality PointPad and AR glasses to a value of approx. 0,6 MSEK. This was followed up in July 2018 with additional software of a value of approx. 0,6 MSEK.

Further info: see XMReality’s AREA member profile and their company website.

Some of the key concepts from the article include:

Training and certification through AR pays for the creation of content in a new way but delivers savings straight to the bottom line.

There are a broad number of use cases here, but it boils down to saving money, saving time and improving safety:

• Knowledge transfer
• Empowering new works
• Save on travel costs
• Mitigate risk

The value of AR is directly tied to its ability to impact human workforce experience and performance and the three critical questions to ask before adopting AR pilots.

A good example of a real-world recent application of AR in supply chain is in warehouse picking and packing. A number of major companies have seen significant improvement in order fulfilment by as much 30% to 40%, providing warehouse workers with optimized vision picking directions and locations in line of sight.

We spoke to Stephen Tulip, Membership Development Manager – South West, who said:

“I’m delighted to announce that EEF has joined the Augmented Reality for Enterprise Alliance (AREA).

The adoption of AR technology is crucial to the progress of the 4th Industrial Revolution.  I’m really looking forward to working with AREA and its members to demonstrate the benefits of Augmented Reality to manufacturing businesses.

From revolutionising training to doing away with bulky instruction manuals, businesses are already seeing real increases in productivity from this emerging technology.”

About EEF:

Everything we do, from business support to championing manufacturing and engineering in the UK and the EU, is designed to help our industry thrive, innovate and compete locally and globally. We work with and for a whole range of people, including industry leaders, managers, professional staff, apprentices, policy-makers, and the media. No matter their size or field, EEF members are supported by our array of tools, campaigning and business support services. We believe in UK manufacturing and its contribution to the economy and community.

We’ll be publishing more news soon about benefits for members of our partnership and about collaborative events coming up.  Look out for details!

The International Journal of Virtual Reality (IJVR) created on 1995, is open-source and directly indexed in HAL, Google Scholar, CNKI http://www.ijvr.org

VRIC’19 Laval-Virtual (21th edition) is the premier European conference & exhibition on Immersive (AR-VR-MR) Technologies since 1999. We welcomed 18.500 attendees during 2018 edition https://www.laval-virtual.com

VRIC’2019 gather specialists on Immersive (AR-VR-MR) Technologies from research institutions & industry, to work together and imagine the evolution of immersive technologies and their future usage scenarios within different sectors. During 3 days, the program will include invited keynotes, master classes, papers’ presentations and unforgettable social events.

Click here for further information https://easychair.org/conferences/?conf=vric2019

The extension to the main agreement signed in 2017, gives LLVision the right to pre-install the gesture software in the AR-platform ARISE, making gesture control an integrated part of the LLVision AR-offering. By becoming a standard feature in the platform, Crunchfish further extends the market reach. The agreement with LLVision has a royalty business model based on the number of ARglasses sold by LLVision.

At this point LLVision has not provided any volume predictions of the two orders. LLVision expects the first commercial delivery of the joint solution to go live in Q1 2019. “After extensive field tests we are convinced that touchless gesture control is a necessity for an efficient operation. We are excited to continue and to deepen our cooperation with Crunchfish to ensure user-friendly interaction with the highest reliability.” says Wu Fei, CEO of LLVision.

“Our extended collaboration with LLVision is very exciting and includes customer projects as well as pre-integration of our software in LLVision’s new AR platform. LLVision is an important partner for us and with commercial projects with crucial applications including touchless gesture control, we get confirmation both of the market’s maturity and the strength of our product.” says Joakim Nydemark, CEO of Crunchfish.

Find out more about Crunchfish on their AREA member profile here.

AR Case Study

When SmithGroup took on the design of a new headquarters building in Washington, DC, the project’s unique site required an innovative approach. We designed a continuously curvilinear building with a facade broken down into four-foot modules, each calibrated precisely to the site using a computational methodology that takes into account facade energy performance, as well as views, viewshed and constructability.

With the new headquarters nearing completion—construction is expected to finish later this year—we needed a similarly innovative approach to complete the project’s construction administration phase.

A traditional process for construction administration review of the building’s new facade would involve an architect on site with a 2D, flattened elevation. The architect would have to interpret a 2D drawing of the building and choose an alignment point—perhaps the intersection between glass and metal panel on the 2nd floor— from which they could attempt to count approximately 200 panels per floor and verify their correct construction type against the elevation. Not only is this technique hugely laborious and imprecise, it is flawed in its logic. If the transition between curtain wall and metal panel on the 2nd floor was installed at the wrong location, there is no way to verify that the entire facade has not shifted one unit over, therefore nullifying the precise process that calibrated each building panel.

To avoid the pitfalls of a traditional process when it came time for construction administration, the project team looked to our internal Technology in Practice group—a firm-wide team that specializes in technological applications that range from data analytics to computational design methodologies and how to best utilize BIM. The group helped eliminate inefficiencies in the headquarters’ quality control process by developing an AR workflow that takes advantage of the architectural design model, overlaying digital panel tags on top of the installed building skin. The design model is three-dimensional, and by anchoring the model to a site survey point, individual identification tags appear to be fastened to the exterior face of their corresponding panel when walking the site with a Microsoft HoloLens.

Using AR, vital construction data can be transferred instantaneously from the design model to the augmented reality overlay. This enables visual surveys to provide quick, precise quality control. If a panel is found to be incorrectly placed, a simple click brings up the identification number of that panel, its correct panel type, and its precise X,Y, and Z coordinates for placement.

“We pushed the boundaries of design technology to create a solution that was functional, beautiful, and uniquely site specific,” said SmithGroup Design Director Sven Shockey. “AR has allowed us to streamline our construction administration process to ensure that every bit of labor and ingenuity that went into the design process shows in the final result.”

See the full article for more information including the future of augmented reality.

Whilst this is not directly related to AR in the enterprise, this surely represents a huge step forward in widespread understanding and availability about AR wearables in general.

The article claims the North are aiming to beat competition by introducing the technology slowly and keep devices as unobtrusive as possible.

A 3D model of the customer’s head is made via cameras in a booth; there is also an optometrist consultation.

Early adopters will need to visit one of the retail stores.

Functions of the new smartglasses are similar to those on a smartphone and can be viewed on the original article here.

Services in the hub for immersive tech companies include: access to desk space, mentorship programs, VR/AR equipment rentals, investor relations connected to Silicon Valley, advisory services, and community events and workshops.

A device lab currently being built will have the latest immersive tech, including HTC Vive, Oculus Quest, Oculus Go, Oculus Rift, Magic Leap, Occipital’s Bridge Headset, Structure Sensors, and HoloLens.

A few key facts from the article on DailyHive:

• Within the Vancouver tech industry, the immersive sector has grown from 15 companies working in VR and AR in 2015 to 220 organizations today.
• In just a few short years, 3D development enterprises have already created 17,000 jobs and generated over $2.3 billion in revenue for the region.
• Globally, the VR and AR market is expected to hit a value of $108 billion by 2021
• Launch Academy says it has incubated over 600 companies that have collectively raised over $150 million and created more than 1,000 jobs since 2012.