Super Ventures launches first fund and incubator dedicated to augmented reality

Posted on February 19, 2016 by Ori Inbar

1-YNMo-2e31fn6B7eqkPAIZg.png

For the past 20 years, our team has been building an ecosystem around technologies we believe are bringing superpowers to the people: augmented reality, virtual reality and wearable tech. We believe these technologies are making us better at everything we do and will overtake personal computing as the next platform. To help breed these superpowers, we are launching Super Ventures, the first incubator and fund dedicated to augmented reality.

“Establishing an investment fund and incubator furthers our influence in the AR space by allowing us to invest in passionate entrepreneurs and incubate technologies that will become the foundation for the next wave of computing,” said Super Ventures Founder and GM, Ori Inbar.

Today we are announcing our inaugural fund of $10 million along with initial investments in several AR companies including Waygo, a visual translation app specializing in Asian languages, and Fringefy, a visual search engine that helps people discover local content and services. Our fund will also invest in technologies enabling AR, and we are separately backing an unannounced company developing an intelligence system to crowdsource visual data.

“I am extremely excited to be working with Super Ventures,” said Ryan Rogowski, CEO of Waygo. “The Super Ventures team has an impressive amount of operational experience and deep connections in the AR community that are sure to help Waygo reach its next milestones!”

“We feel each and every Super Ventures team member provides substantial advantages to Fringefy from technical aspects, to the user experience, and business strategy,” said Assif Ziv, Co-founder of Fringefy. “We are excited to tap into the Super Ventures team’s immense network and experience.”

“Super Ventures is building an ecosystem of companies enabling the technology that will change how computers — and humans — see and interact with the world,” said the CEO & co-founder of the unannounced company. “We are truly excited to be part of this brain trust, and to leverage the network and expertise of the Super Ventures team.”

The Super Ventures partnership is made up of Ori Inbar, Matt Miesnieks, Tom Emrich and Professor Mark Billinghurst.

Ori Inbar has devoted the past 9 years to fostering the AR ecosystem. Prior to Super Ventures he was the co-founder and CEO of AR mobile gaming startup Ogmento (now Flyby Media — acquired by Apple). He is also the founder of AugmentedReality.org, a non-profit organization on a mission to inspire 1 billion active users of augmented reality by 2020 and the producer of the world’s largest AR, VR and wearable tech event in Silicon Valley and Asia, AWE. Ori advises dozens of startups, corporations, and funds about the AR industry.

Matt Miesnieks most recently led an AR R&D team at Samsung and previously was co-founder & CEO of Dekko, the company that invented 3D AR holograms on iOS. Prior to this, Matt led worldwide customer development for mobile AR browser Layar (acquired by Blippar), and held executive leadership roles at Openwave and other mobile companies.

Tom Emrich is the founder of We Are Wearables, the largest wearable tech community of its kind, which has become the launch pad for a number of startups. He is also the co-producer of AWE. Tom is well known for his analysis and blogging on wearable tech as one of the top influencers in this space. He has used this insight to advise VCs, startups and corporations on opportunities within the wearable tech market.

Professor Mark Billinghurst is one of the most recognized researchers in AR. His team developed the first mobile AR advertising experience, first collaborative AR game on mobile devices, and early visual authoring tools for AR, among many other innovations. He founded the HIT Lab NZ, a leading AR research laboratory and is the co-founder of ARToolworks (acquired by DAQRI), which produced ARToolKit, the most popular open source AR tracking library. In the past he has conducted innovative interface research for Nokia, the MIT Media Lab, Google, HP, Samsung, British Telecom and other companies.

“The next 12–18 months will be seen as the best opportunity to invest in augmented reality,” said Matt Miesnieks. “Our goal is to identify early-stage startups developing enabling platforms and provide them with necessary capital and mentorship. Our guiding light for our investment decisions is our proprietary industry roadmap we’ve developed from our combined domain expertise. The companies we select will be the early winning platforms in the next mega-wave of mobile disruption.”

“Our team will take a hands-on approach with the startups, leveraging our industry experience, research knowledge and networks to help them meet their goals while part of the incubator,” added Professor Mark Billinghurst.

“Unique to Super Ventures is the community we have fostered which we will put to work to help support our startups,” said Tom Emrich. “Our community of over 150,000 professionals not only gives us access to investment opportunities early on, it also offers a vast network of mentors, corporate partners and investors which our startups can rely on to succeed.”

Join us in bringing superpowers to the people.

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Optinvent Unveils consumer oriented ORA-X Smart Glass

Posted on January 5, 2015 by Ori Inbar

Optinvent Unveils the Smart Glass that doesn’t make you look like a Creep

 orax1 ORAX2

The ORA-X is a revolutionary mobile device in a disruptive form factor – Forget “Smart Glasses” that look geeky. Enter a new category: Smart Headphones – running Android – with high quality audio – and an adjustable see-through display.

 

January 05, 2014, Las Vegas, NV. – Optinvent, a world leader in smart digital eyewear, unveils today, for the first time anywhere, the design of its revolution ORA-X smart headphones.

Targeting music lovers on the go, the ORA-X is a brand new category that is part smart glass, part high-end wireless audio headphones. It runs Android and will feature quality audio sound as well as a disruptive see-through retinal projection technology.

“Smart Glasses have been plagued by what I call a ‘paradigm prison’. You can’t make a fashion accessory out of them no matter how hard you try. Consumers are just not ready to embrace looking geeky for the added functionality.” says Kayvan Mirza, CEO and Co-Founder of Optinvent. “The ORA-X is a clean break from this paradigm. Now not only can you hear music, but you can ‘see music’.   And that’s just the tip of the iceberg.   It’s also about hands free mobile computing without looking like a cyborg. It’s about “augmenting your senses” while still looking stylish.”

Imagine watching music videos and clips on the go, searching the web, video conferencing, taking pictures, sharing on social networks, GPS, and all the other uses that smart glasses promise…. without looking like a cyborg. Traditional headphones can give you high quality audio but their functionality hasn’t evolved much beyond that. However, they have become a fashion statement and people can be seen flaunting these colorful head-worn accessories. The ORA-X wants to go further by adding vision. This is a new and compelling user experience and this revolutionary device could mean the end of the “regular” headset. Why just hear when you can see?

ORA-X

The ORA-X is scheduled to be released in 2015. It will run standard Android apps – just like any standalone smartphone or tablet device. It is based on Optinvent’s cutting edge display technology and includes high end acoustics.

On the hardware side, specifications include:

  • Large, transparent virtual display
  • High fidelity speakers w/ active noise cancellation
  • Microphone (for calls and voice commands)
  • Front-facing camera
  • 9 axis motion sensor
  • Wireless connectivity (Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, GPS)
  • Trackpad (mouse and swipe) for tactile interactions with the device
  • High capacity Li-Ion rechargeable battery
  • Powerful microprocessor and GPU with enough memory to support complex applications

For more information, please visit http://www.optinvent.com

About Optinvent

Optinvent is a world leader in digital eyewear and see-through retinal projection technology. Optinvent’s team has 20+ years of experience in the field of consumer electronics and is recognized in the industry for developing cutting edge patented technologies and products.

 

Press contact:

Maiwenn Regnault

maiwenn@oxygen-pr.com

(415) 609-0140

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Augmented Reality at CES 2015 – What to expect?

Posted on January 5, 2015 by Ori Inbar

AR.org and Ori Inbar will be hanging out at the AR Pavilion – booth #SV6 at the entrance to the Sands Expo Level 2 at CES 2015. Come see us!

What else to expect at CES 2015?

Here are new announcements:

Optinvent unveils the ORA-X

The ORA-X is a revolutionary mobile device in a disruptive form factor – Forget “Smart Glasses” that look geeky. Enter a new category: Smart Headphones – running Android – with high quality audio – and an adjustable see-through display.

Vuzix announced a 30% stake investment by Intel

A great vote of confidence in the Smart Glasses pioneer
Vuzix is also expected to show a working pre-production demo of slim see through stereo AR glasses

ODG to unveil sub $1000 consumer Smart Glasses  at CES 2015 booth #SV6

Epson to showcase Application Developers

Epson to Showcase New Consumer and Enterprise Apps on Moverio BT-200 Smart Glasses

at booth 74728

Augmented Reality Apps for Live Action Gaming, Education, Manufacturing and More Demonstrate Power of Platform for Merging Digital Content with Real-World Environment

LyteShot, PlayAR, EON Experience VR, NGRAIN, Aero Glass, Augumenta, Scope AR, Metaio, APX Labs, Rochester Optical,

Softkinetic Reveals 3D Vision Technology for Augmented Reality Mobile Platforms

Sony SmartEyeGlass

Sony Electronics Suite 30-111, Sony Electronics Inc. N108, 14200

Seebright Wave new product announcement at booth 75480

Atheer Showcases Gesture-Controlled AiR™Smart Glasses

ARM Meeting Space MP25256; South Hall 2 (Ground Level)

Augumenta announces Roshambo Reloaded

Will demo new game at the Epson Sands Expo booth #74728

 

InfinityAR showcases its engine with Lumus Glasses at booth #SV6

http://www.infinityar.com/

 

XOEye Technologies and Vuzix Announce Partnership

XOEye Technologies and Vuzix Partner to Deliver End-to-End Enterprise Wearable Technology Solutions in North America and Europe

XOEye is exhibiting its solutions this week at the 2015 International CES in Las Vegas at the Eureka Park NEXT pavilion located in the Sands Convention Center, Level 2, Booth #75616.

Qualcomm to demonstrate Tablets with DepthSense Cameras and Vuforia

Qualcomm will demonstrate on their main booth a Sony Experia tablet with our embedded DepthSense camera running an new  Vuforia build
 Booth #8252

Hyundai to show an Augmented Reality Head Up Display at CES

Also, don’t miss:

CastAR’s Jeri in CNET’s SuperSession panel – The Next Big Thing: New Realities. Tuesday, January 6th, in LVCC, North Hall, Room N257, from 3:30-4:30 PM.  

Additional notable AR and VR presence at CES 2015

  • Kopin at the Venetian Palazzo Hospitality Suites
  • APX will also be present at the following booths: Vuzix, Epson, and Sony
  • Occipital unveils new gaming experience at CES South Hall (gaming area), also at Sands as part of Autodesk (Spark)

  • Lumus Suite 335

  • MicroVision, Inc. Suite 469, Suite 569, Suite 571

  • Sulon Technologies Inc. 26214

  • Tobii 71837

  • XOEye Technologies 75616

  • Oculus VR 26002, MP25965

  • Avegant Corporation 74547

  • eyeSight Mobile Technologies at the Venetian Palazzo Hospitality Suites 72037

  • Dassault Systemés | 3DEXCITE 72722

  • Canon N109, 13106

  • Daqri’s new Smart Helmet at Suite

 

Predictions for 2015

Finally, the best collection of predictions for Wearable Tech in 2015 by Tom Emrich:

 

14 WEARABLE TECH PREDICTIONS FOR 2015

 

And to get the lowdown of the Smart Glasses market, key players, adoption – get your copy of AugmentedReality.Org’s Smart Glasses Report at http://www.augmentedreality.org/smartglassesreport

 

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Smart Glasses Report Predicts 1 Billion Shipments By 2020

Posted on November 6, 2014 by Ori Inbar

New York, NY – November 5, 2014: A new report by AugmentedReality.Org is predicting that the Smart Glasses market will soar towards 1 billion shipments near the end of the decade. The report, “Smart Glasses Market 2014”, defines the scope of the Smart Glasses (or Augmented Reality Glasses) market, predicts how fast it will ramp up, and which companies are positioned to gain from it. It forecasts the adoption phases between 2014-2023, the drivers and challenges for adoption, and how hardware and software companies, as well as investors should plan ahead to take part in the next big computing cycle.

Get the Report

Progress and Mind Share Small

With over 10 new Smart Glasses launched in 2014 – this is a banner year for Smart Glasses. AugmentedReality.Org expects shipments to reach 1 million by fall 2015 – mostly for enterprises, followed by an increase to 10 million by 2016, 50-100 million shipments by 2018, and eventually capture the mainstream consumer space and cross 1 billion shipments at the turn of the decade. The report predicts that as the market matures and early winners emerge, by the end of 2016 the market will experience a “shakeup” with mergers, acquisitions, and significant investments. It argues that consumer electronics giants, and other players in the ecosystem have no more than a 12 months window to position their companies in the space (build, buy, partner) – or risk missing the opportunity.

Market Adoption Small

Enterprises Will Lead, Consumers Will Follow 

Driven by need of Fortune 500 companies to become more competitive, the largest investments in Smart Glasses and related software in the next few years will come mostly from the enterprise space. AR Glasses targeting niches (Bicycle helmets, competitive sports, entertainment) could also thrive. Once enterprise usage irons out the kinks of Smart Glasses and pushes their prices further down – the consumer market will take the lead – with the goal to ship a pair of Smart Glasses to every consumer.

Target Audience 

  • Hardware manufacturers and suppliers

  • Hardware startups

  • Software developers

  • Investors

  • The entire Augmented Reality ecosystem

Key Questions Answered in this Report

  • How will the market evolve?

  • Who are the key players? What are their strategies?

  • What is the competitive landscape?

  • What are the needs, challenges, and solutions?

  • What’s the value chain for AR Glasses?

  • What’s the forecast for market adoption in the next decade?

  • What are the drivers for adoption?

  • What’s the right price? The right timing?

  • Will this market happen at all? How big can it get?

Companies Mentioned in this Report

Google, Epson, Vuzix, Optinvent, Lumus, Meta, Sony, Samsung, Apple, Amazon, Kopin, ODG, Atheer, Glassup, Mirama, Penny, Laster, Recon, Innovega, Elbit, Brother, Oakley, Fujitsu, Microsoft, Canon, Lenovo, Baidu, Nokia, LG, Olympus, Foxcon, Konica Minolta, Daqri, Skully Helmets, Fusar, Magic Leap, Oculus.

AugmentedReality.Org is a global not-for-profit organization with a mission to advance Augmented Reality to advance humanity. It catalyzes the transformation of the AR industry by educating the market about the real power of AR, connecting the best talent around the world, and hatching AR Startups and helping bring them to market. This report is a service to the community funded by members and sponsors.

About the Author: Ori Inbar is the Co-Founder and CEO of Augmented Reality.ORG, and the founder and producer of Augmented World Expo – the world’s largest conference for AR. He dedicates his time is to explore and analyze every aspect of the industry, try every product, and speak with every expert. He lives and breathes Augmented Reality. In 2009, Ori was the co-founder and CEO of Ogmento, one of the first venture-backed companies focused on augmented reality games. Ori is recognized as a passionate speaker in the AR industry, a lecturer at NYU, as well as a sought after adviser and board member for augmented reality startups.

Watch Ori Inbar present key findings from the Smart Glasses Report at InsideAR 2014

For further details please contact info@AugmentedReality.Org or +1 (571) 293-2013

The 27 pages report is available for $799 on AugmentedReality.Org’s website.

AugmentedReality.Org members may purchase the report at a discount for just $99.

Get the Report

Filed under: AR Devices | Tagged: , , , | 2 Comments »

Glass Explore and Explorer

Posted on June 25, 2014 by Ori Inbar

Explore&Explorer

Google I/O kicked off today with not much fanfare around Glass. From a pure awareness stand point, Glass is the best thing that happened to Augmented Reality since the iPhone. And as a champion of the Augmented Reality industry from way back in 2007 – I am an avid supporter.

But Glass Explorers* make me angry (*users of the Google Glass prototype.)

I am not angry at Explorers because they love to walk on the street with Glass so that passerbys stop and ask them about it (although passerbys just want to take selfies with Glass)

Glass Selfie2

I am not angry at Explorers because they love getting into bars just to be denied service. Nor am I angry because they drive cars with Glass just to annoy highway patrol officers.

And you know what, I am not even angry at their eagerness to pay an exuberant amount of money to be testers in the most expensive beta program ever.

All that doesn’t bother me so much.

As Jon Stewart says : Intolerance shouldn’t be tolerated.

You know why I am angry at Glass Explorers?

Because they totally mistake the purpose of wearing.

In the Daily Show’s “Glass Half Empty” segment a Glass Explorer explains: “it’s basically a cell phone on your face.”

Ugh!

Daily show wearing Glass

“Make calls, get email, surf the internet…accessibility to everything on your cell phone” but now “right there on your eye”.

This is a bad case of skeuomorphism. Arrrgh!

iphone-dial-retro

Skeuomorphism: a dial phone on a touch screen!?

Can’t escape the comparison to Dumb and Dumber.

The “Glass Half Empty” Explorer argues: “With Glass you maintain in the here and now…”

So far – that’s brilliant. With Augmented Reality you Play in the Now.

But then he continues: “when I check messages I am looking in your general direction – I am not distracted.”

Just when I thought you couldn’t possibly be any more explorer. Or dumber.

Dumb and dumberer

My friend (and I mean it from the bottom of my heart), if you are reading a text message while talking to me – you ARE distracted. And looking in my GENERAL direction is like farting in my general direction.

Maybe these are just run-of-the-mill explorers regurgitating talking points.

So I asked a [very] senior [and very smart] member of the Google Glass team what’s the most compelling Glass app he’s seen so far. He didn’t flinch when answered: “Texting.”

Wah-What!?

This makes me mad!!!

The second Law of Augmented Reality design clearly states “Augmented Reality must not distract from reality”.

Second law of AR design

If it does distract you – it ventures into virtual reality which is an escape from the real world. The fundamental purpose of Augmented reality is to make you more aware of the real world and make things around you more interactive. Because in an interactive world everything you do is more engaging, productive, and fun.

The Simpsons’ Days of Future Future episode warns us about the consequences of not paying attention to the real world:

Epilogue

An incident that brought my anger to a head: A senior member of the Glass team which recently participated in a Glass Class at AWE 2014 didn’t agree to be video-taped or mentioned by name while at the same time was wearing Glass and [could have] recorded us all…

Aaarrrggggh!!

When I calm down, I’ll show what I consider good uses of Augmented Reality.

In the meantime check out over a hundred videos from AWE 2014 – the world’s largest event focused on Augmented Reality, Wearables, and the Internet of Things.

Filed under: AR Devices, Uncategorized | 4 Comments »

4 years at ARNY: Augmented Reality meetup celebrates 1500 members, 200 demos, new startups.

Posted on November 27, 2013 by Ori Inbar

I founded the Augmented Reality New York meetup (ARNY) exactly 4 years ago as a labor of love, and it developed a life of it’s own: attracting nearly 1500 members, introducing 200 Augmented Reality demos, helping advance AR in NYC, creating partnerships, helping AR enthusiasts find jobs, and spurring some fantastic AR startups.

How did we celebrate last night’s ARNY?

With a fantastic collections of speakers and demos from all over the world: Israel, Canada, Columbia and New York City.

Huge shout out for our wonderful host Mark Skwarek at NYU Poly!

1) Brendan Scully – Metaio – first ever SLAM demo on Google glass from the Augmented Reality Company

2) Niv Borenstein – Kazooloo – A truly fun to play Augmented Reality game-toy combination

3) Keiichi Matsuda – Hyper-Reality – A new vision for the future with plenty of Augmented Reality goodness. Back him on Kickstarter!

4) Dhan Balachand – Founder and CEO, Sulon Technologies – a new head mounted console that will fully immerse players into games where the real world and the virtual world become one.

5) Ori Inbar – The latest and greatest from around the world of augmented reality

AR on Sony Playstation 4 featuring Augmented Reality on mainstream TV

MIT Tangible Interfaces: inForm – Interacting with a dynamic shape display

8Tree – fastCHECK is a revolutionary surface inspection system that is amazingly easy to use combining a laser scanner with a projector to help inspect aircrafts.

2013 DEMO Gods winner review – Pristine – Delivering the next generation of telemedicine and process control solutions at the point of care through Google Glass.

Moto X box opening AR experience – Augmenting paper popup for story telling

One Fat Sheep’s Hell Pizza Zombie game (New Zealand)

TWNKLS cool Augmented Reality SLAM demo  for maintenance and repair at Europort

Re+Public new AR mural app – resurrecting murals with Augmented Reality

https://vimeo.com/77516545

Nikola Tesla app IndieGoGo launch by Brian Yetzer

https://vimeo.com/80143324

Stay tuned for a full video of the entire event

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RE+Public launching urban art Augmented Reality – reviving murals

Posted on November 19, 2013 by Ori Inbar

Re+Public is (finally!) publicly launching its anticipated and innovative urban art augmented reality mobile app.

App Store: search: “republic”

Google Play: search “re+public heavy”

moto_1

In addition to our projects at the Bowery Wall (NYC) and Wynwood Walls (MIA), the launch of our free app coincides with the video release of our most recent project, which is a collaboration with MOMO to create an interactive digital mural in St. Louis:

Click Thumbnail to View Video:

https://vimeo.com/77516545

+ Note: if you are unable to visit these cities, you can still trigger the augmented reality experience from mural images on the Re+Public website. Click Here to view mural images.

While currently only available on mobile devices, the Re+Public app is a visionary initial step in the coming future of digitally augmented urban spaces that individuals will view and interact with through wearables. The Re+Public app will soon expand to include projects in more US locations and cities abroad.

A sincere thanks for your support and continuing to follow Re+Public. Please feel free to forward this email and help get the word out ;)

Additional Links:

Project Videos

Facebook

Official Press Release

Re+Public

Re+Imagining Public Space

Los Angeles | New York City

info@republiclab.com

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Press Release: Sulon Technologies announces a New Head-Mounted Video Game Console that 1ups Traditional Consoles

Posted on November 14, 2013 by Ori Inbar

Introducing GVX, an Xtreme Reality head-mounted gaming console that adapts the game to your surroundings, allowing you to Live The Game.

Richmond Hill-based game technology company Sulon Technologies, Inc. (Sulon) announces their revolutionary new product, GVX, a head-mounted gaming console that offers avid gamers the freedom to play anywhere, whether indoors or outdoors. Sulon’s proprietary technology involves applying advanced Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR) technology to create the most realistic and immersive gaming experience available, enabling players to have a Star Trek ‘holodeck’ experience in their own living space and bringing to life traditional table top games in 3D on any flat surface.

Image

Sulon’s solution to a tired console market is a brand new gaming device that introduces innovative gameplay by combining the benefits of console quality gaming on a mobile platform. Sulon is a team of experienced engineers, product development specialists, researchers and science fiction and gaming enthusiasts who have discovered and proven how to make any physical environment into a “holodeck” zone. “I’ve always been interested in new technologies and how society is quick to absorb them into their everyday lives” said Dhanushan Balachandreswaran, Founder and CEO of Sulon Technologies. “We are excited about creating technology that we originally thought to be fiction and turning it into a reality.”

The GVX system introduces the concept of Xtreme Reality (XR) defined as the one-to-one integration of the real world and the virtual world with the ability to scale the whole spectrum of AR to full VR. XR blurs the lines between the real and virtual worlds to actually place the player into their game by adapting their entire physical environment into the game world. GVX uses complex and adaptive algorithms, high end graphics processing, motion tracking and position tracking to achieve the XR experience. The system has the unique ability to map the actual environment as the physical characteristics and boundaries of the game environment. Unlike any other device available, it applies AR and VR to transform any space (even outdoors!) into a completely new game environment in real-time. It is a “wear and play” experience that expands a player’s gaming space from the area in front of their TVs and PCs to their entire home. GVX runs on the Android Operating System where applications can be developed quickly and games can span the entire spectrum of casual to hard core genres. XR games on GVX are classified as Active or Surface gaming.

Image

Active games are adrenaline inducing and interactive, where the system conducts an accurate and rapid scan of the player’s entire environment to adapt it into the game world using sophisticated SLAM algorithms. GVX is also completely wireless with all devices communicating via Bluetooth or Wi-Fi, giving users complete freedom of movement. Players can now live their video game by physically exploring and interacting with the virtual environment. With Active gaming, space limitations are not an issue as the system is able to generate new graphics and scenarios to the same space multiple times during one gaming session, allowing for an endless number of new gaming experiences.

Surface games on the other hand are a creative throwback to traditional gaming where games are augmented in 3D onto any flat surface. Players can watch their cities actively grow, wage virtual wars against other players around the world or enjoy a tabletop game with friends and family. Surface gaming provides a new reach for social gameplay and a new avenue and meaning for social interaction. Family game nights can be made possible even when family members are not physically present.“GVX really gives game developers creative freedom to take advantage of all the functions and capabilities of the system when designing games.” said Dhanushan Balachandreswaran.

What also makes GVX a game-changer is that Active and Surface gaming is not mutually exclusive and can be combined to create innovative gaming experiences. Jumanji is a great example of how surface and active gaming can be combined. The game board is augmented in 3D on a flat surface (surface gaming aspect) and game events that occur would require players to interact with the virtual environment (active gaming aspect). In addition to the XR experience of Active and Surface gaming, GVX is also highly flexible and capable of playing existing games such as PC games, games specialized for stereo VR or mobile games like Angry Birds.

“The concept of mixed reality has been around for years but nobody has succeeded in making it real” said Jackie Zhang, Vice President of Research and Development at Sulon Technologies. “With the latest technologies and innovation, we have made this concept possible. It’s a disruptive product whose limitation is the bounds of your imagination.”

GVX also features a removable component (the GVX Player) that offers players a variety of gaming options. The GVX player can be used on its own to play existing mobile games from the Google Play store as well as connect to a HDTV and a Bluetooth controller for those who enjoy traditional gaming on their television. These gaming options on the GVX Player can be combined with the XR experience on GVX (i.e. Active and Surface gaming) to create a multitude of unique one-of-a-kind gaming experiences. A game could feature as many or as little of these gaming combinations. For example, a game could begin as a simple mobile game, but an in-game event may prompt the player to switch to Active gaming in order to fully experience the event. These flexible gaming options allow players to easily pick and choose their preferred gaming experiences.

GVX is also a consumer-friendly gaming device that eliminates many of the problems associated with adopting AR and VR technology. Surface games (AR application) on GVX are hassle-free and do not require physical markers. VR gaming on GVX is safe and does not induce motion sickness. GVX features an option where players can adjust the level of graphics opacity. Lowering the graphics opacity allows more of the player’s physical surroundings to appear in the game environment, ensuring safe gameplay and providing players who are not ready for a full virtual environment an alternative. The opacity option, as well as the wand controller’s one-to-one true motion tracking prevents motion sickness because the player’s movement in the physical world matches their movement in the game world.

“GVX is truly a game-changer in the gaming and mobile space. Never before has a gaming platform been able to successfully bring to life that Star Trek “holodeck” experience in a simple and straight-forward product, while freeing the user from the constraints of a wired environment,” comments Ken Wawrew, the Chief Operating Officer at Sulon Technologies.

GVX developer kits are available for pre-order on the Sulon Technologies website.

For more information, visit www.sulontechnologies.com

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The 3 Laws of Augmented Reality Design – Talk at ISTAS 2013

Posted on July 10, 2013 by Ori Inbar

Folks, here is my talk from ISTAS 2013 in Toronto on 29 July 2013. Following an intro to augmented reality I review a collection of AR experiences and test them against Lex Ardez’ “3 laws of augmented reality design”.

3 laws of AR Design-Cover

1. Augmentation must emerge from the real world and/or relate to it

2. Augmentation must not distract from reality, but make you more aware of it

3. Augmented interaction must deliver a superior experience to alternatives, or better yet – there’s no alternative.

These rules are very logical and simple and yet most AR implementations fail to meet these laws. When it comes to defining an AR experience, the #3 is the most important: do not implement AR only for a cool factor; if a traditional interaction technique (on computers, mobile devices etc.) does a good job – do not try to do recreate it with AR. Look for the specific experiences that can only be achieved with AR, even if it’s very niche.

The talk is based on my experience in the last 6 years building AR applications and reviewing practically every AR app that was published in that time frame. I have seen many applications that have a wow factor that lasts for 2 minutes – but most applications are not used more than once. Designers and producers need to look at it in a very different way than traditional user experiences. It’s important to understand that AR is about digitizing our interacting with the physical world. It should not be viewed as a traditional form of Human Machine Interaction (HMI). But rather be thought of as Human-World-Interaction, which requires a new thinking, new rules, and new experiences.

I believe that in the next few years we’ll see AR becoming an integral part of any aspect of our work and life. And it will completely change the way we interact with people, places and things. Of course traditional approaches (PCs, mobile touch) will still be best for certain things – and AR shouldn’t be forced for things that it’s not intended for – but it’ll create new categories of things that we can’t even imagine. AR has the power to enable us to do things and feel things we couldn’t otherwise. It can help us learn, and master skills instantly. AR Technology has reached a “good enough” level; it is up to designers to bring it to the masses in a meaningful way.

Enjoy!

(and let me know what you think!)

Filed under: AR Events, AR User Experience | Tagged: , , | 6 Comments »

AWE 2013 is Now Accepting Nominations for the Auggie Awards™

Posted on May 4, 2013 by Ori Inbar

The Auggie Awards™ have been promoting excellence in Augmented Reality since 2010. It is now extending the 4th Auggie Award™ Competition with new exciting categories. Here’s the full download on Why, What, Which, When, Where, Who and How…

Looking forward to your AWEsome submissions by the deadline on May 15th! 

Auggie 3 sides mid

Why Auggie Awards?

The Auggie Award™ Competition is an initiative by AugmentedReality.org, the producer of Augmented World Expo – the world’s largest gathering of Augmented Reality Professionals.  The goal of the competition is to promote excellence in Augmented Reality in various platforms and categories.  The competition is intended to bring the best in Augmented Reality from around the world to the public at large, and to recognize the best in AR: teams who develop technology and solutions that demonstrate how AR can empowers humans to interact with the world in a more advanced, engaging, and productive way.

Consistent with AugmentedReality.org’s mission to educate, connect, and hatch new initiatives in the augmented world, and AR.ORG’s global goal to inspire adoption of AR towards the goal of 1 billion active AR users by 2020, AR.ORG is co-sponsoring this competition, offering award trophies and cash prizes.

What Are the Prizes?

AWE and its award sponsors are proud to offer combined cash prizes of over $20,000, and 6 coveted Auggie Trophies – each one-of-a-kind hand made art sculpture by a renowned artist.

Which Award Categories Are Available?

When is it Happening?

  • Submission Period for nominations: May 1st to May 15th, 2013
  • Public Voting to Identify the Finalists: May 16th to May 30th, 2013
  • Judging Panel to Select the Winners: June 1st to June 4th, 2013
  • Winner Announcement at the Auggie Award Ceremony: 6:30pm on June 4th, 2013 at The Santa Clara Convention Center

How Do I Enter?

  • First, read the rules
  • Then, Sign up to the AWE site to create an account, or log in with Facebook, Twitter, or Linkedin.
  • Submit your nomination that adheres to the rules and the respective category criteria, along with contact info, description, video URL, screenshots, and the additional fields.
  • If your submission adheres to the rules it will appear on the respective Award Category page within 24 hours. Public voting starts on May 16th, 2013.
  • Make sure, to subscribe to your submission by checking the box below the comments to track it. And, share with your community to get more votes!

 Who Went Home With Auggies?

Looking forward to your AWEsome submissions!

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