The AR/VR Takeaways from Google I/O with Matt Johnson
Bottle Rocket is at the forefront of helping brands gain a competitive advantage with AR/VR experiences. That’s why we were all ears when the topic shifted to AR/VR during this year’s Google I/O opening keynote.
Our AR/VR Specialist, Matt Johnson was eager to learn the latest Google developments in the AR/VR space. He was not disappointed. We asked Matt what piqued his interest during the keynote. Here’s what he had to say:
Standalone Headsets
“The announcement of the new standalone headsets in partnership with htc and Lenovo is exciting. This somewhat mirrors the Samsung/Oculus partnership, but appears that Google will be focused on their core VR SDK on the devices (unlike Samsung, which utilizes Oculus VR software). Every major manufacturer is now working on inside out, or WorldSense, tracking. This is the first step in convergence to a high presence VR platform without the need for external sensors or cumbersome cables. This will give brands more options for interactivity and engagement without sacrificing fidelity — specifically bringing virtual hands into a mobile VR world to augment its already great ease of use and flexibility. We will continue to live in a somewhat fragmented ecosystem with multiple groups innovating on their own platforms. Our job will be to guide our brands through these choppy waters by recommending both the best hardware and software solutions for their particular business engagement needs.”
Google Visual Positioning System
“I’m probably most excited about the Google Visual Positioning System or VPS. This is another addition to Google’s Tango platform, which is built into a few specific tablets and phones. Tango is a smartphone based AR system that uses the same inside out tracking that Google is implementing in their new VR headsets to very accurately map interior spaces and objects. The example they used was using Geolocation to get you to the front door and VPS to get you to the item (within 1 centimeter). The system collects visual, positional, and other marker data as it’s trained within an environment. Imagine brands like Ikea using this to navigate you exactly to products that are in your wishlist at the store, then visualize them within 360 videos taken within your home!”
Daydream Compatibility for Samsung Galaxy S8
“Finally, the addition of the Samsung Galaxy S8 line becoming Daydream compatible opens up a huge new potential market for Google on the lower end mobile VR market. While most of these users probably already have a GearVR device, Google should have an exponential number of compatible phones (due to their open ecosystem for phone manufacturers) on the market towards the end of the year, which will drive content developers towards their ecosystem.”
Talk to the branded AR/VR experts at Bottle Rocket about what these developments could mean for your brand.
Originally published at www.bottlerocketstudios.com on May 24, 2017.
