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.
Naomi Kawase has a pretty cool job: as NGRAIN’s UX (User Experience) Designer, she’s focused on industrial augmented reality interaction design and production management. We recently picked her brain about industry challenges, upcoming trends, and the ins-and-outs of the job. Read on to find out what a day in the life of an AR UX designer is like and why she thinks collaboration is so important in this emerging market:
Great to see companies like NGRAIN utilizing the Metaio SDK for complex industrial augmented reality experiences. Like Metaio, NGRAIN will be showcasing their projects at this year's Augmented World Expo. If you plan on attending, use code AWE3META at registration to receive a 200.00 discount courtesy of Metaio.
If you'd like to learn more about industrial augmented reality solutions from Metaio, please visit http://metaio.com/products/engineer
3-D Measurement technology provider, and longtime Metaio partners FARO recently wrote a post on their experiences with Metaio’s vertical solution software for the Industrial sector, the Metaio Engineer. We thought we’d share it with our readers as well, just in case any of you missed it.
In case some of you didn’t know (or forgot), Metaio began as an enterprise to provide industrial solutions to manufacturing and automotive firms, and it’s really only since the dawn of the smartphone that Metaio has seriously pursued marketing and advertising use-cases for AR.
For greater insight on Metaio’s industrial history, you can watch this Industrial AR video playlist, read the Metaio Engineer Whitepaper or scan past blog articles featuring industrial augmented reality. In the meantime, enjoy FARO’s post, and make sure to visit their website for more information on state-of-the-art 3-D precision and measurement technology. And if you want to see FARO first-hand, don’t miss the 2013 InsideAR Conference in Munich, October 10-11.
Thanks again to FARO, and enjoy the post!
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Augmented Realitymeans to enrich and enhance the user’s view of the real world with additional digital information, e.g. a virtual 3D-model that originates from CAD.
This content is made visible on a monitor, a tablet PC, within the user’s field of view using a head-mounted display or projected onto the respective area. Virtual and actual realities merge in the most natural manner that is possible.
metaio Engineer is software that brings Augmented Reality to the industrial field. And it is a perfect complement to an existing measuring arm. The best of both worlds is combined: a quick and direct visualization with the precision of a measuring arm.
With the new release of metaio Engineer 5.0, an interface to support FARO measuring arms is already built-in. All necessary features are integrated by default, from calibration to functions that support your daily tasks.
Previously, in case of quality control every relevant point had to be measured to discover deviations between the CAD model and the related assembly part. metaio Engineer and Augmented Reality accelerate this process by identifying errors and selectively measuring deviations.
These are the basic steps to set up an Augmented Reality system based on the FARO Edge:
1. Mount an industry camera with available adapters onto the grip of the measuring arm 2. Calibrate camera and spatial relation between camera and measuring arm 3. Determine position of the arm in relation to the subject of analysis 4. Visualize a CAD model onto the existing model, part or product 5. Compare planned vs. actual state, measurements and more features
If you haven’t already heard the news, we went and did something no one has ever done before- Metaio has successfully designed and released a chipset architecture for accelerating augmented reality experiences on semiconductor platforms (like the chips in smartphones).
To coincide with the 2013 Mobile World Congress, we released the third edition of the InsideAR Augmented Reality Magazine featuring the all-new AREngine. If you missed picking one up at MWC, you can download the full version at the previous link, but I thought I’d post our cover story right here. So without further ado, here is the story on the “shot-heard-round-the-world” of the entire Augmented Reality Industry:
Nearly a decade ago, to the day, Thomas Alt and Peter Meier founded Metaio with the intent of advancing Augmented Reality (AR) as the primary interface for experiencing the digital and online worlds. This was a time when the most popular mobile device’s (the Nokia 1100) features were limited to SMS and a calculator. The dawn of the era of the smartphone really did change everything for the Augmented Reality industry, as suddenly the average user could experience through mobile cameras the same visual elements formerly restricted to factory-floor AR installations running on offline high-powered PCs.
Back then it was clear that computer vision and Augmented Reality experiences would greatly benefit from optimizing the software for individual handsets and chipset platforms. It was then that Metaio embarked on developing relationships with OEMs, handset manufacturers and chipset platforms in order to one day realize a fully optimized device, ready for Augmented Reality from the moment the consumer removes it from the shelf.
Despite hardware limitations, Metaio was able to make leaps and bounds with applied research and lowlevel optimizations. Their award-winning R&D team was responsible for the first commercial deployment of 3-D tracking and recognition on a mobile device. Metaio’s engineers were also the first to align a given smartphone camera with gravity, educating the sensor on how to better perceive its surroundings like the human eye. In fact, Metaio has made incredible software developments in 2012 alone.
In 2009, it was no less than a technological feat to get a top-of-the-line HD camera connected to an offline desktop PC to recognize a single pre-designed image and render a single 3-D model in real-time. With the latest low-level optimizations, Metaio has achieved recognizing 100 unique images and overlaying 100 unique 3-D models, all on a mobile device. If Metaio can accomplish these things without having any prior access to the processors and sensors inside these devices, imagine what mobile users could do with a fully AR-ready smartphone.
Whether it’s Google’s Project: Glass concept or popular movies like Minority Report or Terminator, nearly all of the popular references to Augmented Reality depict an “always on” interface. The camera is constantly scanning, detecting, recognizing and overlaying information and content onto the real world. In order to achieve this vision (something Metaio refers to as the “Augmented City”) of ubiquitous interaction, it is imperative that the groups developing the hardware are working with those developing the software.
For this reason, Metaio began developing a piece of hardware IP now known as the “AREngine”, an architecture designed specifically to accelerate Augmented Reality performance in mobile hardware, and one of Metaio’s longstanding platform partners, ST-Ericsson, will be the first to adopt and deploy it on silicon. The AREngine will propel Augmented Reality into the future and will do for the industry what the addition of the GPU did for the gaming industry.
Before the populace sports head mounted displays that resemble eyeglasses; before society adopts wearable computing; before contact lenses come in 16, 32 and 64 gigabyte models; before we exist in an Augmented World – there must be the first step. The future of Augmented Reality starts now with the first ever introduction and implementation of the AREngine.
Welcome to always on, always augmented - powered by Metaio.
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.
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]
With one week left to go until we host our yearly conference InsideAR we already have a record number of registrations for the event. metaio will unveil the latest advances in the exciting field of Augmented Reality (AR).
Business and technology professionals come from all over the world to see the newest industrial installations, the latest mobile app developments, wearable computing prototypes and futuristic projects straight from the R&D labs of metaio and its partners.
We proudly present a brand-new release of metaio’s most powerful Augmented Reality tool. After integrating additional modules for calibration and alignment, metaio Engineer provides every function for adjusting AR analyses. This applies especially to set-actual comparisons in product development, based on tracking with a measuring arm.
Here are the most sophisticated new features of metaio Engineer 5.0:
Integrated high precision camera calibration
Instead of the Sextant Calibration with a chessboard pattern, now you can chose the Extended Sextant Calibration based on a 3D AICON panel.
Efficient high precision off-set calibration
The offset between a camera and an external tracking sensor – like a measuring arm – now can be determined based on a 3D AICON pattern.
Alignment without external help
For finding out where an external tracking sensor is located in relation to the real object that has to be analyzed, no more external measurement tool is necessary.
We invite you join us at insideAR 2012, October 1-2 in Munich, Germany! With ARM, STEricsson, Intel and Imagination as sponsors, metaio unveils the latest advances in the exciting field of Augmented Reality (AR). Business and technology professionals come from all over the world to see the newest industrial installations, the latest mobile app developments, wearable computing prototypes and futuristic projects straight from the R&D labs of metaio and its partners. Find out all about it: http://www.metaio.com/insidear/
Highlights of insideAR 2012 include:
Presentations by AR Industry Luminaries including LEGO, NVIDIA, Beijing Institute of Technology, Volkswagen and many more
The world’s biggest AR live exhibition with showcases such as AR for Digital Marketing, Retail, print & publishing, Industrial solutions and the Augmented City
Free Seminars & workshops hosted by metaio and its partners to share best-practice AR solutions and help developers getting started with the new metaio AR solutions
InsideAR 2012 brings together the AR industry and customers from all over the world to give you a 360° view on the state and future of Augmented Reality!
Other news:
Everyone’s talking about the new 2013 IKEA Catalogue:
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