It’s that time of year again, as the Augmented World Expo has renewed and expanded the annual award for the best of the best in the augmented reality industry, the “Auggies”. Previously consisting of only a single award, the competition now has 6 categories, and Metaio and its partners are competing in 4 of them!
For the next two weeks, awards will be open to public voting in order to narrow down the entries for each category to just 5 finalists. We’re competing against some of the best and most creative apps in the world- we’d love your support. Please take a moment to vote for our entries- individual links are listed below, or just click on one of the category buttons below to go straight to the entry.
We are thrilled to welcome Alexander Oser, the newest member of Metaio’s Business Development Team to the San Francisco office. In the tradition of those who have gone before him, we’re subjecting “Xan” to the same brief interview to learn more about our company’s culture and to get to know the man behind the Xan.
Interested in joining the best augmented reality company in the world? Check out our company page and our job listings today!
Xan, How did you get here (Metaio)?
I was born and raised in beautiful Minneapolis, spent time in stunning Detroit, went to school at Augsburg and moved to crazy San Francisco about 18 months ago. Since graduating, I have spent my time working in retail for Target Corp. in Minneapolis and Gap, Inc. here in San Francisco. I first heard about Augmented Reality and Metaio through meeting Brendan Scully. After talking with people from Metaio, I quickly realized the potential AR has in the retail space. I became interested in AR immediately. After following Metaio for the past 18 months, I heard about an opening in the SF office and applied. A month later, I started my first day.
What do you like most about working for Metaio?
After working for two larger companies, it has been a great experience and change coming to work in an environment where everyone wears many hats. The energy coming into the office every day has been motivating and fun. It has been a big change from my past experiences in how every day poses new challenges. This, along with the belief that we are truly working on the future, makes work very exciting.
What do you do when you’re not Augmenting Reality?
I love exploring San Francisco & the Bay Area – the food, music, hikes, views. Living here has been an incredible experience. Other than that, my passion is golf – I have been playing for 14 years and love the game. I just had my first hole in one this past year in Ireland at a course called Ballybunion.
Tell us a secret.
I have a French twin.
Photographic evidence:
French Xan (left) with Brendan Scully in San Francisco’s Union Square
French Xan & Trak Lord (right) pose with a mutual friend at a charity event in San Francisco
If you haven’t already heard, Metaio has expanded its US operation to Dallas, Texas, longtime technology hub and host to companies like AT&T, RIM, Ericsson and of course, Texas Instruments.
It’s from the latter that we welcome our newest member, Rajesh Narasimha. Before joining Metaio, Rajesh was a member of TI’s Video, Imaging and Vision Lab in the System and Applications R&D Center. There he authored and co-authored more than 35 publications while filing more than 10 patents.
Holding both a Masters and PhD in Electrical & Computer Engineering, the +7 years of computer vision experience Rajesh brings to the Metaio US team will be invaluable as we continue our efforts to create hardware that will accelerate augmented reality experiences current and future mobile devices.
From Rajesh: “Metaio is the industry leader in AR technology and I feel that with my background and experience I can contribute to the existing and emerging areas of embedded augmented and vision technology.”
Metaio has a long history of working with mobile and semiconductor platforms all over the world. We hope to both continue and bolster new and existing relationships in our pursuit of introducing the AREngine into mobile devices, just as we announced at the 2013 Mobile World Congress. The new office in Dallas is a huge step towards making that happen
As the span of Metaio grows, so too does the company- Metaio is hiring for nearly all development and business roles! Interested in joining the team? Check out our Career page and learn more about the company.
We’re pleased to announce that Metaio has been nominated for the prestigious 2013 Global Mobile Awards for the 2013 Mobile World Congress in the category of Best Mobile Service or Product for Automotive. As Metaio has strong roots in augmented reality applications for the car industry, we’re very proud to have the chance to present with our partner, Audi AG in Barcelona this year.
For more information about Metaio Augmented Reality solutions for the Automotive industry, check out “VW Augmented Reality service of the future” [video]
Metaio and Audi AG worked together to develop the Audi eKurzinfo augmented reality assistant app. New Audi A1 owners can download the app for iOS devices and get introduced to their car in just a few minutes- no manual necessary. Through the app, the user can use Metaio’s visual search and recognition technology to identify insignia throughout the vehicle and receive immediate feedback on how to use that particular feature of the new Audi.
The first iteration of the Audi eKurzinfo app was purely image recognition, as showcased in the above video. For 2013, Audi will release the brand new version of the app featuring real-time visual graphics and advanced augmented reality interactions. Audi intends to roll out this service beyond the A1, starting with the A3 but with the potential for future models as well.
If you’re attending the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona this year, please come visit us! In addition the Awards Ceremony, Metaio will be in Hall 8.1 at the App Planet, showcasing the latest in augmented reality and 3-D technology. We are fortunate to also have amazing partners like Intel, Imagination Technology and ST-Ericsson, at whose booths you can see how Metaio’s technology works with some of the best chipset platforms and handsets out there. For more information, visit our Mobile World Congress page- and feel free to set up a meeting!
For more on the Global Mobile Awards, check out the GSMA Press Release:
4 February 2013, London: The GSMA today announced nominees for the 18th annual Global Mobile Awards. The winners will be presented on Tuesday, 26th February at the GSMA Mobile World Congress, in an afternoon ceremony hosted by one of the UK’s best-loved writers, actors and comedians, David Walliams. In total, 158 nominees have been shortlisted for this year’s Global Mobile Awards; the full list of nominees and awards categories can be found at www.globalmobileawards.com/nominees-2013/
“The GSMA warmly congratulates all the nominees announced today. The competition this year was of an exceptionally high quality, breaking all previous records,” said Michael O’Hara, Chief Marketing Officer, GSMA. “Our judging panel has assessed well over 600 entries and nominations for the 37 awards, the largest ever number of honours to be presented at the Global Mobile Awards. It is a tremendous achievement to have been shortlisted and we look forward to recognising the winners at Mobile World Congress next month.”
For 2013 the GSMA introduced several enhancements to the awards, such as the addition of the inaugural ‘Connected Life Awards’, and notable developments in the ‘Best Mobile Technology’ and ‘Apps of the Year’ categories. Thirty-two awards will be presented during the afternoon ceremony, which will begin at 2.30 pm in Hall 4, Conference Village, Auditorium 1, and will be open to all Global Mobile Awards nominees, Mobile World Congress Platinum, Gold and Silver Pass conference attendees and accredited press and analysts attending the Congress.
Also being awarded on Tuesday 26th February are the expanded Government Leadership Awards, which recognise governments from around the world for their innovation and leadership in use of mobile technologies in the public sector; the presentation of these awards will take place at the Government Mobile Forum. The GSMA’s prestigious Chairman’s Award 2013 will be presented at the Leadership Summit on Monday 25th February.
The award for the ‘Best New Mobile Handset, Device or Tablet at Mobile World Congress 2013’ will be identified and selected from those on show at the event. The shortlist for this award will be announced on both Mobile World Live TV and the Global Mobile Awards website on 27th February, with the winner being honoured in a live presentation on Mobile World Live TV the following day.
The Global Mobile Awards 2013 host David Walliams shot to fame through his work, with co-creator Matt Lucas, on the television series “Little Britain” and later “Come Fly With Me.” “Little Britain” has won numerous international awards including three BAFTAs and has been shown in more than 100 countries. In addition to a wide variety of television, stage and film roles, David has worked tirelessly for various charities raising over £7 million, and in September 2011, he swam the length of the River Thames (140 miles) for Sports Relief, raising £1 million in the process. He has also authored a number of best-selling children’s books and is a judge on “Britain’s Got Talent.”
To select the nominees for the 2013 awards, more than 160 independent analysts, journalists, academics and subject matter experts throughout the world participated in the judging process. In addition, the chief technology officers of 14 mobile operators took part in judging the ‘Outstanding Overall Mobile Technology’ award, including CTOs from 3, Etisalat, KT, M1, Movistar, MTN, NTT DoCoMo, Optus, SK Telecom, Telefónica, Telstra, T-Mobile, VimpelCom and Vodafone.
2013 Global Mobile Awards sponsors include: McAfee (Apps of the Year), Myriad (Social & Economic Development) and Telmap (Connected Life Awards and Best Mobile Services). Market data for the ‘Best Mobile App for Consumers’ and ‘Best Mobile App for Enterprise’ categories was provided by Distimo.
The Mobile World Congress 2013 will be held 25th- 28th February at the Fira Gran Via in Barcelona. For further details please visit www.mobileworldcongress.com.
Dear friends,The New Year started with a great buzz around Augmented Reality. Our inspiring and innovative technology is no longer the future – it is the present. Metaio believes 2013 will be a big year for the Augmented Reality industry. For the new year, we are in the midst of preparing all new advances and improvements for our software and technology for the coming months.
2013 began at the tail end of significant media attention for Metaio due to our brand new products andservices that we released near the end of 2012. Check out the leading news about Augmented Reality and Metaio:
5 reasons to get excited about Augmented Reality in 2013: Augmented reality may seem like a futuristic concept, but it will be a reality of our digital lives in 2013. AR is a new technology that blurs the line between what’s real and what’s computer generated by enhancing what we hear, see and feel. In his guest post in VentureBeat, Metaio’s Trak Lord predicts AR will be everywhere.
5 common Augmented Reality mistakes: There is no doubt Augmented Reality has made a name for itself in the mobile space, with marketers lining up to incorporate the technology into new and existing campaigns. Companies are however still learning, through constant trial and error (much to the chagrin of the user).
7 ways Augmented Reality will improve your world: You might think Augmented Reality is science fiction, but it has its roots in the 20th century. Morton Heilig, the “Father of Virtual Reality”, patented the Sensorama Stimulator, which he called an “experience theater”, on Aug. 28, 1962. Over time, the idea of using technology to create a layer over the real world has been honed and refined and put in our hands, thanks to the proliferation of smartphones.
The Kimberly-Clark Corporation has released an interactive Augmented Reality and 3-D mobile app that focuses on making the potty training process more enjoyable for parents and their children. Designed to be a reward for diligent children, the app contains a variety of 3-D augmented experiences that parents can launch for each successful “flush”. More flushes unlock more content, including interactive games featuring beloved Disney characters like Mickey Mouse and Rapunzel. Metaio worked with Kimberly-Clark and Organic Inc. to bring this great project to the consumers and parents. Check out the video to see the new Big Kid App in action.
Join us this February at the biggest event for mobile technology in 2013. Explore with us the directions in which the mobile ecosystem will expand in the near and distant future. Join our booth at Hall 8.1 (App Planet) and discover the newest projects that are in production in the Metaio’s Labs. Our team will be showcasing cutting-edge demos, and will be more than happy to talk as much Augmented Reality as you want. Learn more about Metaio’s presence at MWC here.
As the global leader in the field of Augmented Reality, Metaio is a fast growing technology company located in Munich and San Francisco. Our software and solutions are used by more than 30,000 professionals including a strong user base in the development, creative and engineering space. Today Metaio’s AR technology is helping brands and businesses all around the world to bring digital experiences and educational tools to over 30 million consumers. We have recently updated our website – check it out: www.metaio.com.Our company was founded in February 2003 and currently employs more than 90+ multinational, multi-disciplinary backgrounds. Check out our open job positions and internships and join the most exciting growing technology company in the world.
MUNICH & SAN FRANCISCO, 10 DECEMBER 2012: Metaio, the world leader in augmented reality (AR) software and solutions today released the latest version of its Metaio Creator, the only commercially available drag-and-drop design software, now with the ability to manage content directly from the cloud.
“People aren’t necessarily experts in Augmented Reality yet,” said Peter Meier, Metaio CTO. “The Metaio Creator makes it easy for them to not only launch an experience but also to scale their content – massively, through simple cloud content management.”
The Metaio Creator is the only augmented reality content management tool available. If you use augmented reality content now or plan to make an augmented reality app, this is the best solution possible. Drag and drop to augment content in just minutes, and manage that same content through the Metaio Cloud without ever having to submit an app update. If you’re starting fresh, you can even build the actual app interface – without any coding or programming required.
There are over 15 Million magazines delivered every month with fresh augmented reality content. Each month, those publishers easily swap the content out for the next issue or campaign without ever having to resubmit a mobile application. Recently the Metaio Creator and cloud were used in over 200 million innovative product catalogs, each containing more than 40 instances of augmented reality experiences, all in an app smaller than 7 megabytes.
Publishers, Designers, Brands and Agencies don’t always have access to Augmented Reality developers. This tool allows them to easily integrate and manage augmented reality content in their mobile ecosystems.Learn more and download the free version today for Windows PC or Mac OS X.
Learn all about this amazing new service:
In addition to augmenting magazines, catalogs and other print media, the Metaio Creator is ready to augment entire objects and environments, just like in popular science fiction movies like Minority Report or Avatar. Advanced users can import point clouds and SLAM maps just like any other asset, and drag and drop the augmentations just as easily.
Now available for PC and OS X 10.7 and later.
Download the free version of the Metaio Creator today at http://metaio.com/products/creator and start building your first augmented reality experience!
In something that will probably happen more often than it has in the past, we will be regularly interviewing Metaio team members and sharing some insight as to what it’s like to work here (spoiler alert: it’s awesome). So next up is the newest member of our Industrial Team, Gülcan Ucbek!
In June this year I received a contact E-Mail from Metaio explaining what the company is doing and that there are some open positions which I might be interested in.
Firstly I made the quick search on Metaio’s website and then I started to read more about Augmented Reality. I got so excited while I was reading that I just grabbed the telephone and called Metaio to find out more. We exchanged some information and met each other couple of times. And now here I am
What do you like most about working for Metaio?
I really enjoy getting to know the whole metaio team with so many different people and their interesting backgrounds. I can truly say that Metaio has a great and rich “culture”.
What do you do when you’re not Augmenting Reality?
As I am a person who gets easily inspired, I always want to do many things at the same time but end up doing the same things in the end
I love the nature! So I go hiking (even in the winter), mountain biking, walking etc.
Tell us a secret.
Ok, now you know it all: I love my Snoopy Slippers.
Aaaand we have a shot of that:
Thanks again to Gülcan for being such a good sport, and once again a huge welcome to her as one of our newest members. Want to join up? Visit http://metaio.com/career and maybe we’ll see your face up here.
Latest Junaio Newsletter – more channels, more projects and more exciting mobile augmented reality updates [article]
Prototyping with Metaio Engineer 5.0 and the FARO Camera Arm [blog]
Certified Developer AVK Terwey has got a pretty cool new Junaio channel for Gitterstar involving some Soccer [link]
Junaio Augmented Reality exhibition and developer Sander Veenhof use Graffiti as a marker [article]
Augmented Reality Portal, by developer LiveViewStudio [video]
there are things that are happening
Augmented Reality Lawyer Brian Wassom writes of the looming issues of pornography, perspective and anonymity with regard to augmented reality eyewear [blog]
Microsoft appears to be working on a Google Glass type project of its own, according to new patent [article]
Four perspectives on Augmented Reality and its future [article]
The newest version of the Metaio Creator is the most powerful Augmented Reality content production system available. It’s the ideal tool for publishers and designers who want to bridge the digital and real worlds to add content to their print media- magazines, t-shirts, posters, logos, business cards, catalogs- nearly any image or object is just clicks away from being augmented. Publishers, Designers, Brands and Agencies don’t always have access to Augmented Reality developers. This tool allows them to easily integrate and manage augmented reality content in their mobile ecosystems. Over 300 million magazines and catalogs have already been delivered in 2012 powered by Metaio Augmented Reality technology. We are convinced that the Metaio Creator will enable a content explosion for augmented reality.
Posted by Trak 
