The AR Roundup: July 2020

Here is what you missed in augmented reality between July 1–31, 2020

Source: 19 Crimes

Numbers

Forecasts

• Pokémon GO Surpasses $3.6 Billion in Lifetime Revenue as It Celebrates Four-Year Launch Anniversary (SensorTower)

Reported

• Over 1M fans pay to attend virtual Tomorrowland (IQ-Mag)
• The Sims 4 hits 30 million players with massive pandemic bump (VentureBeat)
• Roblox jumps to over 150M monthly users, will pay out $250M to developers in 2020 (TechCrunch)
• 7-Eleven AR app saw 2.7m scans in 6 months across all five mini games (ARInsider)
• “J&J Vision debuted the AR experience during the recent “6.18” midyear shopping festival in China with high engagement and an almost 30% consumer purchase conversion rate, J&J Vision said in answer to email questions from Fierce Pharma.” (Fierce Pharma)
• “The company says users check Snapchat an average of over 30 times per day, and CEO Evan Spiegel says in his prepared remarks that the team has seen an increase in “group activities,” like games, calls, and chats.” (The Verge)
• “There was a 112% increase in mobile conversions when users interacted with 3D-AR enabled products, the company (eBags) says.” (Search Engine Land)
• “Yivian notes that Goertek also hopes to push production of VR/AR devices to 3.5 million more units annually, and increase output of “precision optical lenses and module products” by an annual amount of 5 million units.” (Road to VR)
• “This is the Future of Raving”: Sansar Delivers a Next-Level Festival Experience to 4.36M Fans Globally Across PC, VR & Mobile (BusinessWire)

Featured Video: AR concept visualizes music on vinyl by Signal-to-Noise

Source: Twitter SignaltoNoise1

Money

Funds & Grants

• Digital Catapult & Ace National announce 20 teams to join latest cohort (CreativeXR)
• Varjo receives Epic MegaGrant to further develop and expand its enterprise-grade Mixed Reality support for Unreal Engine (Auganix)

Hardware

• Ostendo, an advanced display technology company, has raised over $200M to develop a new type of high resolution see-through display and optics system (Forbes)
• Lululemon to buy Mirror, a fitness start-up, for $500 Million (NY Times)
• Nvidia is reportedly in ‘advanced talks’ to buy ARM for more than $32 billion (The Verge)
• Israeli medtech startup RealView Imaging raises $10 million for medical holograms system (Calcalistech)
• Augmented reality startup Mira announces $10M more in funding from Sequoia and others (TechCrunch)

Platforms & Tools

• Virtual Beings Summit: Artificial people startups have raised more than $320 million so far (VentureBeat)
• Sony buys $250 million stake in Fortnite creator Epic Games (The Verge)
• The AI Foundation raises $17 million to create digital AI-powered personas (VentureBeat)
• Grid Raster secures USD $2.5 million In additional financing for its cloud-based XR platform (Auganixa)
• Volograms raises €1.5million to democratize the creation of volumetric holograms (Volograms)
• Teamviewer buy augmented reality firm Ubimax (Reuters)

Applications & Solutions

• Bungie vets raise $9M for VR game studio Polyarc to pursue augmented reality development (GeekWire)
• AR creative platform Poplar acquires SVRF Inc. (Poplar)
• Microsoft said to be in talks to buy TikTok (NY Times)

Featured Tweet: AR skate course created by AR design lead Kim Pimmel using Adobe Aero

Source: Twitter kpimmel

News

Hardware

Launch Announcements

• Toronto-based eSight unveils new vision enhancement glasses (MobileSyrup)
• Jio announces mixed reality glasses Jio Glass (CNBC)
• Nimo Planet debuts and opens up pre-orders (Nimo Planet)
• Audi’s new Q4 Sportback e-tron concept has ‘sexy back,’ cool AR features inside (Mashable)
• 2021 Mercedes S-Class teases AR windshield and hybrid range boost (SlashGear)
• Leia introduces Lume Pad lightfield tablet (Twitter)
• Emerge launches haptics solution (Twitter)

Updates

• Canadian smart glasses going ‘offline’ weeks after company bought by Google (CTV News)
• Form’s smart goggles now work with GPS smartwatches to track open-water swims (The Verge)
• LYNX MR Headset Reveals Compact Redesign, Production Units Expected to Ship in September (Road to VR)
• Chinese ODM Goertek Aims to Produce Over 3 Million More VR/AR Headsets Annually (Road to VR)
• Rokid Glass 2 AR Glasses Finish Mass Production (ARPost)
• Microsoft HoloLens 2 now supports Research Mode (MSPoweruser)
• Lumus and Schott Develop Reflective Waveguides for Augmented Reality (Novus Light)

Rumors, Patents & Relevant Research

• LG may release ultra-light AR glasses in 2021 (Android Authority)
• Huawei’s Upcoming Smart Glasses Has A Pop-up/Rotating Camera (SeekDevice)
• Vuzix Looks to its Next-Gen AR Smart Glasses (DealerScope)
• Toshiba’s Light Sensor Paves the Way for Cheap Lidar (IEEE Spectrum)
• Facebook Reality Labs Says Varifocal Optics Are “almost ready for primetime,” Details HDR Research (Road to VR)
• Researchers show FingerTrak, a hand tracking wristband for AR/VR input (VentureBeat)
• Facebook Reality Labs Shows Method for Expanding Field of View of Holographic Displays (Road to VR)
• Report: Apple’s lenses for new AR headset/glasses move to trial production, slightly thicker than normal glasses (9to5 Mac)
• Apple Glasses Patent Suggests Any Surface Could Become a Virtual Touch Interface (MacRumors)
• Patent describes how you could control Apple Glasses with your eyes (9to5 Mac)
• Apple Takes Binaural Audio to the next-level by adding Head-Tracking for Next-Gen AirPods Pro and Future HMD (Patently Apple)
• Google is quietly experimenting with holographic glasses and smart tattoos (CNET)

Platforms & Tools

Launch Announcements

• AfterNow launches ‘AfterNow Prez Remote’ platform in beta for AR and VR remote meetings (Auganix)
• Google Swirl Redefines Advertising With Its 3D Ad Format (ARPost)
• 8th Wall announces on-device in-browser video recording (8th Wall)
• Aircards Develop Innovative Web AR Spatial Analytics (Aircards)
• Verizon Media Immersive Launches To Foster Next-Gen 5G, AR And VR Advertising Ecosystem (Forbes)

Updates

• Azure Spatial anchors now available for Unreal (Microsoft)
• Display.land sunsetting August 11, will share “big news” soon (Display.land)
• OpenXR comes to multiple PC VR headsets, HoloLens 2, and Oculus Quest (VentureBeat)
• Google Maps can use Live View AR to calibrate your current location, orientation (9to5 Google)
• Samsung Internet 12.1 update brings WebXR device API (Samsung Internet Dev)
• TetaVi releases updated iOS SDK supporting native rendering & ARKit (Twitter)

Rumors, Patents & Relevant Research

• The brain behind the Google Pixel camera is building a universal camera app for Adobe (The Verge)
• Scandy shows off prototype with Magic Leap (Twitter)

Featured Creator: VR artist Rosie Summers makes her forest walk even more magical by adding Tiltbrush-created art using AR

Source: Twitter VR_Rosie

News

Applications & Solutions

Consumer

• Metro ARchive augmented reality app lets you bring the streets and buildings of old New York to life before your very eyes (TimeOut NYC)
• Google adds creepy crawlies to its AR search results (The Verge)
• Tobi Robot smartwatch with AR and games is made for kids (SlashGear)
• Thousands of virtual fans will attend FOX’s MLB games (Twitter)

Enterprise

• Nestlé speeds up factory support with augmented reality (Nestle)
• NHS staff are given some of the best training in the world thanks to technology (Microsoft)
• Holograms help physicians during cardiac procedure (MedicalXpress)
• Siemens uses Geopogo to demonstrate the power of full-size on-site AR to clean up the design and construction process (Siemens)
• Unreal Engine releases an app that uses Face ID to capture 3D facial animations (Apple Insider)

Marketing

Social AR

• J&J Vision debuts new try-it augmented reality tech application for Acuvue lenses in China (Fierce Pharma)
• PetSmart’s First Snapchat AR Lens Turns Reptile Enthusiasts Into Lizards (AdWeek)
• Street Artists Reimagine Classic Ralph Lauren Polo Shirt for AR-Enabled Murals (AdWeek)
• Microsoft, Look Mister Create Special Snapchat Lenses for Xbox Games Showcase (AdWeek)

WebAR

• Burger King Shrank This British Rapper so He Could Perform on a Whopper (AdWeek)
• Netflix’s Cursed: Virtual Experience Launches Alongside Premiere (IGN)
• WebAR Experience Helps Users Select Siduri Wine (ARPost)
• Burberry uses QuickLook to let shoppers preview merchandise (Twitter)
• Müller Milchreis launch a WebAR-enabled sweepstakes (8th Wall)
• Saatchi Art Launches Augmented Reality Feature on Mobile Web (GlobeNewsWire)

Other

• Snoop Dogg gets his own AR wine (VRScout)
• OnePlus press conference in augmented reality (CNET)
• Nike Japan Allows People to Color Their Own Sneakers Through an Augmented Reality Zine (AdWeek)
• BTS holograms used to market new Galaxy Phone (Twitter)

Featured Quote: Niantic COO, Megan Quinn, on the next inflection point in augmented reality

“I think we are 12 to 24 months from the next inflection point with AR and consumers. I do think Pokemon Go was the first inflection point. It really familiarized the average consumer to the opportunity that there was with AR, and the delight that AR can provide. Other companies have continued to expand on that journey and that opportunity. But I think the next inflection point, as it relates to new form factors and potentially new experiences that those form factors unlock, is somewhere in the 12 to 24 month range.” (Protocol)

Music & Art

• Ellie Goulding’s ‘Brightest Blue’ launch features a mixed reality Vevo performance, providing yet another example of music’s embrace of XR. (Screen Rant)
• christo’s floating ‘london mastaba’ sculpture to be recreated in augmented reality (Designboom)
• Artist Doddz Debuts Virtual Art Space (SparkAR)
• Indigenous women create augmented reality murals tackling inequalities, showing strength for Calgary (Global News)
• “Liberty Bell” Tolls for Sites Where History Is Alive and Kicking (NY Times)
• 4thWall “Method №13” now appears in the Swiss Alps (Twitter)

Human Impact & Ethics

• CBSE partners with Facebook to launch Digital Safety, AR curriculum for teachers, students (HT Tech)

Follow me on Twitter @TomEmrich. Got news to share or have feedback on “The AR Roundup”? Email me at tom@tomemrich.com.