The AR Roundup — 1019
Here is what happened in Augmented Reality between October 1–31, 2019

Numbers
Forecasts
- AR/VR Region revenue by 2023 expected to be 51% Asia, 25% Europe and 17% North America according to Digi-Capital (VentureBeat)
- IDC expects AR/VR headsets, drones, wearables and smart home devices will make up around a third of consumer spending by 2023. Consumer spending is expected to reach $2.06 trillion by this time according to the firm (CNET)
- Mixed Reality revenue is estimated at $8 billion dollar according to Juniper, growing to $43 billion by 2024 of which its expected that social-media applications are to account for 40% of all consumer mixed reality revenue (MediaPost)
- Pokémon Go has made $3 billion over its lifetime according to SensorTower (MobileSyrup)
- Globally, Pokémon Go grossed $118 million in its first 30 days, with Dragon Quest Walk coming in second with its $86 million says SensorTower (VentureBeat)
- Winerytale, that brings any wine label to life with augmented reality, will drive up to 8% of global wine sales within five years, according to digital marketing expert, Dave Chaffey (PR Newswire)
- Gartner has released a forecast that predicts consumer spending on wearables will increase by 27% in 2020 from $41 billion USD this year to $52 billion USD (Hypebeast)
- Global startups dealing just in VR and AR are now valued at $45 billion, based on the latest tally by Digi-Capital (MediaPost)
Survey Results
- More than 33% of US consumers would like to have additional AR around every TV program according to survey (Twitter)
- YouGov survey found about one-fourth (26%) of consumers said AR led them to think a brand was technically savvy, ahead of artificial intelligence (Mobile Marketer)
Reported
- Snapchat Grows to 210 Million Daily Users, Surpasses Q3 Revenue Expectations (Variety)
- The Snap community has created more than 600,000 Lenses (The Verge)
- 70% of Snapchat user are engaging with the AR feature on a daily basis says Snap via AWE EU 2019 (Twitter)
- EDM Artist Marshmello Instagram AR Face Game Achieves 3.2 Million Views in 48 Hours (Groove Jones)
- Coca-Cola AR use case for warehouse picking saw +99.99% picking accuracy and +11% productivity in 6 months via AWE EU 2019 (Twitter)
- Unity provides data on recent Miller Lite AR campaign specficially the Unity-built AR portal had a 28% engagement rate, compared with a 20% benchmark for past branded AR experiences that Unity tracks. 93% of users completed the portal tour, which again exceeded historic benchmarks which are about 40% (AR Insider)
- After 7 minutes of usage people accept holograms as being real says Bosch via AWE EU 2019 (Twitter)
- AR has 1 million times reduction in cost over the last 20 years according to Bosch via AWE EU 2019 (Twitter)
- Apple’s Wearables, Home, and Accessories” were up 54% YoY, to $6.52 billion (TechCrunch)
Featured Video: Change your face in seconds with this wearable projector by Jing-cai Liu
Money
Funds & Grants
- Qualcomm creates $200 million fund for 5G uses beyond phones (Reuters)
- DevLab XR Accelerator Opens Submissions For Third Edition (Forbes)
- $300,000 NIH award to boost STEM proficiency through augmented reality gameplay (Global Newswire)
- Imaginate and Partners receive $1 Million NSF grant to research augmenting emergency responders (Forbes)
- 10 Finalist selected in Verizon’s “Built on 5G Challenge” including Lexset, Ario, Soul Machines and SVRF to name a few, winner will receive $1 million (Verizon)
Hardware
- Samsung Is Pouring $11 Billion Into Next-Generation Displays (Bloomberg)
- AR gaming console, Tilt Five, raises over $1.7M on Kickstarter (Road to VR)
Platforms & Tools
- Verizon is buying virtual reality company Jaunt (CNBC)
- Tencent leads $10M A funding round in SenSat, which digitises real-world locations (TechCrunch)
- Apple Acquires Real-Time Motion Capture Startup IKinema (Variety)
- MediView raises $4.5 milltion ot use AR to give surgeons x-ray vision (VentureBeat)
- Augmedix Raises $19M To Streamline Physician Services With Automated Note-Taking (Crunchbase)
- Vuforia Parent PTC Goes All-In on 3D Content Creation with $470 Million Acquisition of Onshape CAD Platform (Next Reality)
Applications & Solutions
- InContext Solutions acquires augmented reality system from Kiwi firm Smudge (CIO)
- Niantic unveils winners of its million dollar developer contest (Pokemon Go Hub)
Featured Tweet: Holograms took over Twitter this month
News
Hardware
Launch Announcements
- New Surface Earbuds are Microsoft’s first truly wireless earbuds (The Verge)
- Google launches Wireless Pixel Buds (Engadget)
- Apple reveals new AirPods Pro, available October 30 (Apple)
- Mitchell announces proof-of-concept smart glasses for collision repair in collaboration with Qualcomm (Business Newswire)
- Varjo unveils high-resolution enterprise VR headsets (VentureBeat)
- Tobii’s eye-tracking I-Series has a second screen for face-to-face communication (VentureBeat)
- Lightform debuts the first AR projector, LF2 (Lightform)
- Australian Forcite MK1 smart motorcycle helmet is coming to the U.S. (Digital Trends)
Updates
- Dimension NXG’s New Headset Brings Rural Indian Schools into the Future of Augmented Reality (Next Reality)
- Epson smart glasses now integrated with TeamViewer Pilot (Blooloop)
- Amazon adds tool to aid visually impaired customers in the kitchen (Grocery Dive)
- Bose releases new sizes for its Alto frames (Twitter)
Rumors, Patents & Relevant Research
- Sony Invents an Augmented Reality Gaming Visor for PlayStation, Xbox and both Apple and Google Operating Systems (Patently Apple)
- Patent reveals PlayStation VR 2 with built-in cameras, augmented reality mode (Digital Trends)
- Samsung patent application reveals augmented reality headset design (The Verge)
- Apple Tags are rumored to track your stuff: everything we think we know (CNET)
- Apple Invents Augmented Reality Glasses using Photochromic Lenses (Patently Apple)
- Apple Advances their Work on a Ring Accessory for Virtual Reality Glasses or Headset to Control Content on Screen (Patently Apple)
- Apple’s 2020 iPhones will offer an advanced 5G modem, a 3D-Sensing Rear Camera and a 5nm Processor (Patently Apple)
- Kuo: Apple’s AR Headset to Launch in Second Quarter of 2020 (MacRumors)
Platforms & Tools
Launch Announcements
- 8th Walls’ new Cloud Editor helps customers quickly build mobile AR experiences (TechCrunch)
- Announcing the Threekit Platform (ThreeKit)
- Auxuman launches AI-generated album with five virtual artists (Musically)
- NVIDIA Announces CloudXR for AR/VR Rendering of SteamVR Applications Over 5G (Road to VR)
- Adobe launches pre-orders for its AR creation app, Adobe Aero (Adobe)
- Magic Leap Releases Toolkit With Pre-built Components for Easier AR Development (Road to VR)
Updates
- 8th Wall Escalates Race for Volumetric Video Content with Microsoft Mixed Reality Capture Support (Next Reality)
- Snapchat rolls out new 3D paint feature (The Verge)
- Instagram now lets you shop with augmented reality (Mashable)
- Instagram rolls out new effects features including saving effects to your carousel (Twitter)
- Google adds “Style Ideas” to Google Lens (Google)
- Spatial releases updates including 3d freeform sketching and avatar eye-tracking (Spatial)
- AR.js 2.0 released (Twitter)
- Niantic rolls out new tool: Niantic Wayfarer giving players the ability to shape future adventures (Niantic)
- Torch partners with 8th Wall to create WebAR (Torch)
- Chrome Beta 79 enables WebXR API by default, opening door to more web-based AR/VR experiences (Android Police)
Rumors, Patents & Relevant Research
- W3C publishes first public working drafts: WebXR Augmented Reality module and WebXR Gamepads Module (W3)
- Machine vision has learned to use radio waves to see through walls and in darkness (MIT Tech Review)
- Facebook Reveals Computer Vision Research That Could Hasten Development of AR Smartglasses (Next Reality)
- New software system developed by Brown University lets users get hands-on with virtual objects (Newswise)
Featured Creator: Matthew Hallberg’s Creator Cam brings inanimate objects to life
News
Applications & Solutions
Mobile
Consumer
- Apple’s ARKit 3 Casts Next-Level Illusions via Meisai AR App (Next Reality)
- Facetune2 gets AR filters (Next Reality)
- Marvel Expands Roster of Avengers Playmoji (Next Reality)
- Genpact updates its iOS app with augmented reality features to transform insurance claims (Yahoo Finance)
- TIME launches “Inside the Amazon: The Dying Forest” AR story (TIME)
- New AR app, BoardBoss, launches to enhance board games (BoardBoss)
- The New Wizarding World Harry Potter Mobile Companion App Has a AR Sorting Hat to Decide Your House (Gizmodo)
- MarkAR is one of the first apps built on Google’s Persistent Cloud Anchors (The Verge)
- Within launches “Willowcrest Manor” the sixth storybook in its AR app Wonderscope (VR Scout)
- Henn na Hotel in Tokyo rolls out virtual staff (DW)
- Modiface and Shoppers Drugmart partner on virtual makeup service (BetaKit)
- LG TV Launches AR Home Shopping For South Korean Viewers (VR Scout)
- Sotheby’s Curate App for Magic Leap Lets You Reimagine Your Home & Office in the Most Realistic Fashion via AR (Next Reality)
- NYC Marathon’s New App Features Include Augmented Reality Tools (Observer)
- Beijing Zoo to introduce mixed reality experience (Xinhaunet)
Enterprise
- ABB Introduces Augmented Reality for Remote Technicians (DesignNews)
- Light Guide Systems launches TrainAR AR training system (PR Newswire)
- Nedap equips farmers to see cow data in augmented reality (Manitoba Cooperator)
- GEFCO has partnered with ArtiShock to develop augmented reality (AR) application, “GEFCO Enterprise AR” (Freight Week)
Wearable
- Sony Is Launching a Location-Based Ghostbusters Training Experience in Augmented Reality (Next Reality)
- Viacom and AwesomenessTV team up to launch “Light as a Feather” Magic Leap app (Magic Leap)
- Smithsonian uses the HoloLens to tell the story of the Narwhal (Newswise)
- Immersion Analytics Visualizer app now available on Magic Leap One (Magic Leap)
- Magic Leap Takes on Musical Theater with Augmented Reality Experience Starring Vanessa Williams (Next Reality)
Featured Quote: Evan Spiegel on the long road to AR headsets
“Over the long term, the next 7–10 years, we will work towards realizing our vision of computing overlaid on the world through wearable augmented reality,” Evan Spiegel, CEO of Snap. “We are building low volumes of Spectacles 3 and using this iteration to test and learn more about wearable computing,” he said. (Variety)
News
Marketing
Snapchat
- (RED) launches a series of Snapchat Lens featuring work from street artists to raise awareness for AIDS (RED)
- HRC Foundation Announces Campaign with Honey Nut Cheerios (HRC)
- Snapchat is used to market music from Bruno Mars. Gucci Mane. Kodak Black. Missy Elliot. Imagine Dragons. Panic! At the Disco (Next Reality)
- Snapchat’s first swipeable lens is an AR partnership with Tinder (Engadget)
- Jimmy John’s orders its 1st nationwide Snapchat Lens game (Mobile Marketer)
- Snapchat, Spotify Team Up for Diwali-Themed Gateway of India ‘Landmarker’ AR Lens (Gadgets 360 NDTV)
- Snapchat used to bring a mural to life for the LA Clippers (Twitter)
- ‘Terminator: Dark Fate’ Invades Snapchat with Pair of Augmented Reality Camera Effects (Next Reality)
- HBO Returns to the AR Well with ‘Watchmen’ Lens on Snapchat (Next Reality)
Spark AR (Facebook / Instagram)
- Mark Ronson & King Princess interactive music video powered by Instagram Filters wins a Lovie Award (The Lovies)
- Dior launches a new AR filter for Instagram (L’Officiel)
- WWE Filters on Instagram let you become your favorite superstar (WWE)
- Winners of the Spark AR HBO Watchmen filter contest announced (Facebook)
Web AR
- Ally Turned Personal Finance Into A Game Of Augmented Reality Monopoly (Forbes)
- 2020 Prosche Taycan Auto Motor Sport print WebAR ad (8th Wall)
- EVA Air Fast Company print WebAR ad (8th Wall)
- Trainline’s outdoor ads ‘transform’ into departure boards (Campaign)
- Foundry512 Partners with Foursquare to Deliver Jägermeister’s Darke Spirit Web AR Experience (PR Newswire)
Other
- Nexus Studios and Scape team up to power a 5G experience at AT&T Stadium with the Dallas Cowboys (Scape) (Nexus)
- Macy’s tests Verizon Media’s new immersive AR ads (Mobile Marketer)
- GOAT sneaker app updated with virtual try-on (Complex)
- Vikings, Pepsi Create Augmented Reality-Featured Commemorative Cups (Front Office Sports)
- TRYON is using AutoML Vision Edge’s object tracking capabilities to power an augmented reality jewelry shopping experience (Google Cloud)
- Disney’s ‘Maleficent’ Brings Its Magic to YouTube with Augmented Reality Make-Up Experience (Next Reality)
- Google snuck an augmented reality ad onto the back of the Pixel 4 box (Mashable)
- Bentley created an AR app for its EXP 100 GT concept (Digital Trends)
- United Way launches AR tower to show how much people are struggling in Toronto (blogTO)
- Alcohol Delivery Startup Drizly Teams with Wine Brands to Deliver Intoxicating AR Experiences via DrinkAR App (Next Reality)
Arts
- 4th Wall turns New Orleans into art “Battlegrounds” (LA Times)
- Immersive art exhibit “Arcadia Earth” opens in NYC (My Modern Met)
- RAS studio announces permanent interactive public art project DATALAND at the THE LINQ in Las Vegas (Twitter)
- Human-Scale AR ‘Tunnel Book’ Launches At Welsh National Opera (VR Scout)
- Paris’s digital art museum launches ambitious interactive competition (The Guardian)
- teamLab Unveils Plans to Open Immersive Art Museum in Macao (Hypebeast)
- Holographic Roy Orbison & Buddy Holly Come To New York (NYS Music)
Human Impact & Ethics
- Preparing for the future of augmented reality (Axios)
- User-Created Facebook & Instagram Face Filters Lead to Ban on ‘Plastic Surgery’ Effects (Next Reality)
- We’ll soon be able to experience reality as we want it. But is that a good thing? (Quartz)
- California Just Blocked Police Body Cam Use of Face Recognition (ACLU)
- New Research Reveals Facial Recognition Software Misclassifies Transgender, Non-Binary People (Forbes)
- Dead musicians are taking the stage again in digital form. Is this the kind of encore we really want? (The Washington Post)
- Azure Spatial Anchors approach to privacy and ethical design (Alex Kipman, LinkedIn)
ICYMI: I shared some big personal news this month in joining 8th Wall as VP of Product. Read all about it on Forbes.
Follow me on Twitter @TomEmrich. Got news to share or have feedback on “The AR Roundup”? Email me at tom@tomemrich.com.
