1) Apples
Under the leadership of Tim Cook, Apple has shown a clear enthusiasm for augmented reality. In its 2017 Worldwide Developers Conference, Apple unveiled its ARKit. The latest iPhone model (8, 8 Plus and X) running on strongly, AR-friendly A11 bionic chip. The Company has also made several significant acquisitions, gradually building a promising profile co-AR. In 2015, for example, Apple bought Metaoi, a startup specializing in augmented reality software.
The company is now rumored to be working on a pair of wireless specifications for the overlay of digital content to the real world. Various release date has been proposed but, true to form, Apple has revealed little about the product. It looks like they took their time – perhaps in the hope of avoiding the same fate as Google Glass.
2) Microsoft
Microsoft refers to himself as ‘a leader in reality mix’. Mix fact refers to the combined power of augmented reality and virtual when used in the real world. HoloLens their flagship headset is generally regarded as the AR. The first iteration of HoloLens went on sale in 2015 at a price of £ 2,719. While the price of limited adoption in the consumer market, the products offered AR is really good quality and demonstrates the success of Microsoft in developing the technology. Also in 2015, Microsoft released a catalog mix reality experience on the platform of its Windows Mixed Reality. Users can access a mix of reality content including games, a 360 ° video, social media, and live events.
Announcement of the second version HoloLens, HoloLens 2, expected in the first quarter of this year. This may be lighter than its predecessor and will feature custom Holographic Processing Unit embedded with AI coprocessor. This will allow the headset to visualize data locally without communicating with the cloud, accelerate the introduction of the object and the increased use of a variety of business applications.
3) Niantic
Niantic, spin off Google, founded in 2010 to ‘enrich our experience as human beings in the real world’ with augmented reality. Real World Platform for managing the company together with AR communications, security, mapping, and functions. According Niantic, it is the world’s only ‘planetary scale’ augmented reality platform. In the summer of 2016, Niantic launch game that will quickly become the poster child of augmented reality. Very popular Pokemon AR Go brought into the mainstream and remains the most successful AR games ever made.
At the end of 2017, Niantic announced that it has partnered with Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment to bring out other cult titles. Harry Potter: The Wizards Unite will be released later this year. Niantic is now worth nearly $ 4 billion following a $ 245 series C financing round which closed earlier this month.
AR game is on the right economic and popular game of its own shift public awareness of the technology which in turn makes the adoption of a broader business more viable and accessible.
4) Zappar
Set up in 2011, aims to democratization AR Zappar through a free application and simple SaaS model for brands that want to build AR solutions. The company has partnered with Unilevel, Warner Bros. and AXA, and has worked with many influential brands like Coca Cola and Sony. ZapWorks Zappar platform allows marketers, designers and developers create interactive experiences that are accessed by scanning zapcodes via mobile. Zapcodes can change the products, packaging, and printing a passive into multimedia channels that drive engagement and unlock value for the brand. In 2017, the Augmented World Expo, ZapWorks named Best Authoring and Publishing Tools.
2019, CEO Caspar Thykier expect to see greater consumer adoption and mobile AR experience richer, and has promised “some exciting announcements’ for next year, we expect to see what they might be.
5) Augmented Reality Labs
After seven years of promises, augmented reality pioneer Blippar went into administration in 2018. However, at the beginning of this year, the founder of this Blippar Ambarish Mitra AR registered a new company called Augmented Reality Labs. We know nothing about the new company partner, but what we do know is that it will build this Blippar formidable expertise. Before the company goes bankrupt, it worked with the likes of Jaguar, Cadbury, and Heinz. It creates the first AR digital advertising platform, and work towards the universal visual browser for mobile AR. After a blip Blippar, it will be interesting to see how quickly Augmented Reality Labs move, and whether it can avoid the same fate.
6) Lucyd
What happens when you combine augmented reality and blockchain? When AR startup Lucyd release their blockchain powered, AR ‘smartglasses’ in the next few months, we’ll know. Lucyd was founded in 2017 with the ultimate goal of creating a highly functional smartglasses first in the world for the mass market. Lucyd glasses is built on decentralization blockchain called Lucyd AR Lab. This enables open innovation, and support for democratization AR. Lucyd really crowdfunded – one of the facilities for investors is the opportunity to exchange tokens for the Lucyd smartglasses their initial release.
At the beginning of last year, Lucyd partnered with leading augmented reality development company Gravity Jack. Gravity Jack will create AR applications for the next generation of this Lucyd glasses, which will go head to head with Apple and Microsoft.
7) Magic Leap
In 2018, Magic Leap finally bring out the real product after years of hype. While Magic Leap One headset make improvements expected at the beginning, HMDS alternative, certainly did not wow the technology community. Then, to add insult to injury, the Magic Leap loss of military contracts $ 480m to Microsoft.
Even so, the Magic Leap is still very much considered to be ‘one to watch’ in this space. In this, the startup has expanded its partnership with AT & T to build solutions for business. The first three industries will benefit the manufacturing, retail, and health … In other words, Magic Leap diversification. AT & T also will provide 5G connectivity required to deliver high quality AR content. A new job listing posted earlier this month showed that the Magic Leap is looking into mobile AR – central trends in the evolution of augmented reality.
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