SPIE.AR|VR|MR 2024 is just around the corner. The event looks to bring together researchers, engineers, investors, entrepreneurs, customers, and suppliers to encourage development towards the hardware required to enable broad enterprise-focused metaverse use cases.
The event comes just as Apple is set to debut its Vision Pro MR headset for US customers next week. Following the device’s debut, the market may face a wave of mainstream interest, potentially fueling the XR engine.
SPIE.AR|VR|MR aims to carry forward a legacy of inspiration. If the mainstream boom happens, events like SPIE.AR|VR|MR will become even more significant as more people find value in the field.
Microsoft Mesh for Teams is now Available on Meta Quest Headsets
Microsoft has launched its long-awaited Mesh for Teams immersive VR meeting platform for enterprise end-users.
The service is now available for clients and can be accessed via desktop or Meta Quest headsets, providing users with immersive virtual meeting rooms and customizable avatars to suit various use cases. Microsoft states that the platform is ideal for employee onboarding, town halls, brainstorming sessions, team socials, and networking events.
Enterprise end-users like Takeda, Accenture, BP, and Mercy Ships already leverage the immersive Mesh meeting spaces. This launch comes as Microsoft aims to create an industrial Metaverse future, with plans to roll out enterprise-grade XR services for businesses in 2024, such as Dynamics 365.
Disney Research debuts Holotile
Disney, the international media conglomerate, has made headlines this week with its latest invention, the Holotile, a prototype device that acts as a VR input treadmill, enabling multiple users to walk around a shared virtual environment without requiring a controller.
The Holotile is an omnidirectional treadmill that users can stand and walk on, translating their steps as movement input for an XR application or experience. The prototype is modular, expandable, and unobtrusive, supporting multiple users.
Although Disney is creating this omnidirectional product for use in its theme park attractions, it has the potential to find other applications. Disney has already experimented with XR services at its theme parks to develop new modes of customer on-site engagement, marketing, and advertising.
Disney Research highlighted the device in a YouTube video this weekend, Disney Research Fellow and Imagineer Lanny Smoot, explaining, “so I can walk on this omnidirectional floor, in any direction I want. It will automatically do whatever it needs to have me stay on the floor, and what’s about this is that multiple people can all be on it and all walking independently,” Smoot said.
Apple Vision Pro Pre-Orders Sell Out
Apple’s Vision Pro MR headset became available for pre-order on January 19 and sold out before the weekend ended.
Despite concerns about the device’s price point of $3,499, which led some to believe that the debut of the Apple XR could be underwhelming, the market has spoken, and buyers have shown unprecedented interest in the Apple MR device. The company expects to ship about 500,000 products by the end of the year, with approximately 180,000 models sold to US online customers during the pre-order cycle.
While the current pre-order cycle is likely comprised of XR and Apple enthusiasts, broader audience interest will be tested in the coming months. Furthermore, more enthusiast demographics are probably waiting for the next wave of XR devices from other XR device vendors.
Pundits will soon see if the interest in the device will continue after the first hands are on the Vision Pro. Apple plans to debut the device in stores and online next Friday.
Tim Cook, the CEO of Apple, recently stated that the “era of spatial computing has arrived,” further adding that the Apple Vision Pro is the most “advanced consumer electronics device ever created.” Additionally, the release only covers US regions, and Apple has not confirmed when it will debut the Vision Pro in other areas. However, the company may announce further details at WWDC later this year.
TeamViewer Partners with Almer
TeamViewer has recently partnered with Almer to collaborate on an AR headset designed for enterprise end-users. This partnership marks TeamViewer’s move towards supporting workplace AR solutions, following a successful history of working with enterprise customers to leverage AR for various use cases.
The two companies are designing a product called Arc 2, which will enable remote collaboration. The Almer Arc headset boasts a 25MP camera, beamforming microphones, built-in speakers, a holographic display, 8 hours of battery life, and only weighs 138 grams.
Percy Stocker, Senior VP of Product Management AR at TeamViewer, said that partnering with Almer is a “no-brainer” for the firm, and Almer’s “product and technology stack is head and shoulders ahead of the industry. We see wide-scale adoption for the product and immediately in industry,” they remarked.
Immerse Welcomes Paul Jones
Immerse has recently hired Paul Jones as their new VP and Technology Strategist for Life Sciences. Paul had previously served as the Head of Emerging Technologies and Global Innovation Labs at AstraZeneca.
This hiring marks the company’s strategic focus on commercial partnerships, particularly in the healthcare and life sciences. Paul’s experience at the global research-based biopharmaceutical company will be valuable in assisting Immerse with this focus.
Tom Symonds, Founder and CEO of Immerse, explained that the hiring reinforces and elevates the firm’s “position as the leading XR training technology and solutions provider for enterprise.”
