Why VR providers are pinning their hopes on profiting from ‘Zoom fatigue’

What is the latest marketing strategy for virtual reality software providers? If the Covid-19 pandemic will cause the new normal to become the normal full stop, Zoom and their ilk are not going to cut it long-term.

Meet AfterNow. The California-based startup, which describes itself grandly as 'building the future of human computing with augmented reality and artificial intelligence', is looking to help users against 'Zoom fatigue.'

The company has launched its new...

29 July 2020 | Advertising

‘Bright future’ for AR and VR in 2021 and beyond, says Strategy Analytics

The short-term outlook for virtual (VR) and augmented reality (AR) may be a struggle, according to Strategy Analytics, but if organisations can ride out this wave then the future looks bright.

The findings appear in the analyst firm's latest report, 'Short and Long-Term Impacts of Covid-19 on the AR and VR Market.' Among the report's key takeaways are:

XR hardware revenues will overtake $28 billion annually in 2025Total XR shipments - combined VR and dedicated AR headsets -...

14 July 2020 | Applications

As Varjo and MeetinVR team up, can VR provide the human touch videoconferencing lacks?

Virtual and extended reality headset manufacturer Varjo has announced a partnership with MeetinVR, providers of virtual enterprise collaboration software, to help deliver more realistic experiences.

MeetinVR will release a dedicated version of their application which supports all Varjo's headsets, from the VR-2, to VR-2 Pro and the XR-1 Developer Edition, as part of the partnership. New buyers of any Varjo headset will receive MeetinVR free for six months for up to five...

28 May 2020 | Applications

Magic Leap announces layoffs as company realigns focus on enterprise and hardware

Virtual and augmented reality (AR) may well signal the future of online collaboration with the 'new normal' promised by the Covid-19 pandemic - but it may have come a little too late for Magic Leap.

The AR hardware firm has announced major layoffs and a move towards the enterprise ahd hardware markets, with some reports suggesting that up to half of the company's workforce is to go.

In a blog post, Magic Leap CEO Rony Abovitz outlined the 'painful process' of...

24 April 2020 | AR

Survey: More than half of manufacturers plan to adopt real-time 3D technologies within two years

According to a new survey by Unity Technologies, 55% of manufacturing and AEC (architecture, engineering, construction) companies plan to adopt real-time 3D technologies (RT3D) in the next two years.

The report, which was put together by Forrester and explored digital experiences in the physical world, explored adoption trends when put alongside Unity's own RT3D offering.

Unity’s RT3D technology is used by more than half of the top fifty AEC companies and top ten...

7 April 2020 | Ecosystems

All Nippon Airways to introduce VR safety training to enhance risk prediction and worker safety

Japanese airline All Nippon Airways (ANA) has announced that it will soon be introducing virtual reality (VR) training designed to help its mechanics predict future risks and also improve safety in all aspects of aircraft operation.

According to the company, the latest VR Safety Training System will make use of 3D simulations of work environments in order to build real-world scenarios based on common work-related accidents. Those workers who would be participating in the VR training...

10 March 2020 | Brands

NexTech AR to bring augmented reality to the mining industry with new deal

NexTech AR Solutions has announced that Romios Gold Resources will be using its augmented reality (AR) technology to demonstrate exploration projects. The latter has contracted for NexTech’s 3D/AR omni-channel services to help drive its marketing and client-education activities in 2020.

As reported by Proactive Investors, according to NexTech CEO Evan Gappelberg, its AR technology will enhance Romios to “bridge the gap by showing what actual core samples look like in...

15 January 2020 | Applications

PTC extends Magic Leap partnership to expand AR in the enterprise

PTC and Magic Leap have announced an extension of their partnership that will let enterprise and industrial customers to merge the AR capabilities of its Vuforia Engine solution with the powerful Magic Leap 1 wearable headset.

Starting from this month, PTC will offer Vuforia Engine to Magic Leap 1 customers, who will have access to the new AR innovations of Vuforia Engine which also includes its differentiated AI-based Model Target technology. Michael Campbell, EVP and GM, augmented...

13 December 2019 | Applications

Raytheon and CAE examples show how VR can be utilised for aerospace training

Defence contractor Raytheon and airline simulation technology provider CAE have both made recent launches showcasing the potential of virtual reality (VR) in terms of employee training in the aerospace sector.

Raytheon has announced the launch of a VR version of its portable V-22 trainer. According to the company, the Aircraft Functional V-22 Trainer-Virtual Reality is a fully immersive system that provides hyper-realistic training across all experience levels that also includes...

5 December 2019 | Applications

How BP is using mixed reality – and HoloLens in particular – for its upstream operations

If you think of the oil and gas industry, then BP, as one of the seven ‘supermajors’, will feature prominently in many people’s thoughts. The company has many emerging technology initiatives in place, from artificial intelligence to blockchain, yet mixed reality – the co-existence of physical and digital worlds, utilising virtual (VR) and augmented reality (AR) – is among its most interesting.

For oil and gas companies – in such a particularly...

5 December 2019 | Ecosystems