The AR Roundup: July 2018

Here’s what you missed in augmented reality for July 2018

Numbers

• IDC released its latest augmented and virtual reality tracker numbers for Q1 of 2018 which showed a slump in shipments. The analysis firm estimated a 30.5% year-over-year decrease in headsets between 2017 and 2018, forecasting 1.2M headsets shipped in the first quarter of this year.
• A new study by the Harvard Business Review found that over 68% of respondents believe MR is important to achieving their companies’ strategic goals in the next 18 months. Training and simulation was the most common use for MR in the enterprise with 54% of respondents identifying with this use case. This was followed by visualizing and analyzing data at 49%.
• CTA released a VR report forecasting virtual reality will become a $1 billion sector in the US with an estimated 4.9 million VR units to be sold in 2018 up 25% from 2017.
• Analysts reported that AR could be an $8 billion revenue opportunity for Apple with some analysts forecasting this figure to be as high as $11 billion if Apple was to introduce AR-specific eyewear.

Money

Big News

• AT&T takes stake in AR company Magic Leap at a $6.3B valuation and exclusive distribution deal (TechCrunch)
• Ubisoft Opens XR:MTL An Innovation Factory Focused On XR Technologies At Concordia University (VR Focus)

Hardware

• University Of Michigan Commercialisaton Fund Invests In Neurable (VR Focus)
• Austin’s Ambiq Micro Adds $11M for Energy-Efficient Microcontrollers (Xconomy)
• Beyeonics Raises $11.5M to Further Develop AR/VR Surgical Visualization Platform (Road to VR)

Platforms & Tools

• Trax raises $125 million to bring computer vision insights to retailers’ shelves (Venturebeat)
• PTC acquires Waypoint Labs (CRN)
• Computer Vision Retail Startup Trigo Vision Raises $7M in Seed (Finsmes)
• Octi raises $7.5M to create augmented reality that understands human movement (TechCrunch)

Applications & Solutions

• RE’FLEKT raises $4.4 mln from BASF Venture Capital (PE Hub)
• ANGLR raises $3.3 million to create a Fitbit for fishing (TechCrunch)
• Penrose Studios raises $10 million for AR/VR entertainment (Venturebeat)

News

Hardware

• Magic Leap confirmed Summer 2018 shipping and revealed Magic Leap One specs (VR Focus)
• Microsoft Opens Access to Sensor Data on the HoloLens with ‘Research Mode’ Update (Next Reality)
• Lenovo Unveils Portable Workstation for AR, VR Developers (eWeek)
• Nerf teases AR-powered Laser LOps Pro blasters (Popular Science)
• Toshiba Unveil Workflow Optimising xPick on dynaEdge AR Glasses (CBR)

Platform & Tools

• Unity Unveils Project MARS for Simplified AR Development & Facial AR for Easy Mocap (Next Reality)
• Unity Builds Developer Bridge Between ARKit & ARCore Apps with AR Foundation Tool (Next Reality)
• Apple is rebuilding its Apple Maps from the ground up (TechCrunch)
• Niantic debuts Neon — an AR platform for multiplayer gaming and interaction with real world objects (Next Reality)
• Microsoft debuts new visual search on Bing (The Verge)
• Apple releases iOS 12 beta to everyone (TechCrunch)
• Facebook is testing AR ads in the news feed (TechCrunch)
• Shopify demos use of Apple’s AR Quick Look tool for retailers (Next Reality)

Applications & Solutions

• Daisy Duck and Goofy added to Samsung’s AR Emoji (9to5 Google)
• Drake launches Snapchat Shopple AR Lens to market his new album (Next Reality)
• Instagram’s group video chat and new custom AR filters go live (The Verge)
• Yo-Kai Watch Taps into Pokémon Go-Style AR for New Mobile Game (Crunchyroll)

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