Key Players in the Augmented Reality Industry
A recent article by Michael R. Blumberg examines major players in the industry of Augmented Reality who have developed solutions in field service and maintenance in addition to use case scenarios. A number of AREA members are included.
The article initially discusses the multiple components which should be integrated in order to make AR applications successful: viewer technology, such as a mobile device or smart glasses; the application allowing the device to access what the engineer is viewing in real time, which produces extra content such as sound or graphics; also video streaming from the onsite engineer to a remote engineering expert.
AREA members APX Labs, iQagent, NGrain, Scope AR, and XMReality are all mentioned in the article as key industry players, in addition to AR Media, Epson, Fieldbit, Microsoft, and PTC. AR technology from each organisation is noted and described:
- APX – Their AR product Skylight is a platform which integrates with wearables such as smart glasses.
- iQagent – Their mobile-based AR app scans QR codes to provide information related to maintenance.
- NGrain – They have various AR applications, such as ProProducer, Viewer, Android Viewer, SDK, Consort, Envoy, and Scout.
- Scope AR – Their Worklink application provides instructions as well as 3D images on the mobile or wearable screen. They also produced Remote AR, which enables onsite employees to remotely communicate with experts.
- XMReality – Their product XM Reality Remote Guidance also enables onsite employees to receive visual instructions from remote experts.