Data suggests there will be 200 million augmented reality users by 2018. That’s a significant number of eyeballs immersing themselves in altered realities. Business owners who understand the potential of augmented reality will be significantly further ahead than those who fail to jump on this emerging trend. From mobile apps with an augmented reality overlay to doctors using augmented reality to streamline their patient load or fine-tune their surgery skills, the use cases are many for augmented reality.
There is an explosion of activity happening within the augmented reality startup sector. Entrepreneurs and developers are launching a myriad of businesses to take advantage of breakthrough AR technology. Augmented reality cameras, real-time geo-location data overlays, and hologram data analytics are just some of the advances taking place in this booming sector. If you are intrigued by the potential of augmented reality, here are 11 companies that might fuel your lust for all things AR-related.
Hubbl Labs
Currently accepting beta access requests, Hubbl Labs is building a platform that combines data from your physical surroundings with data from your digital interactions. Think FourSquare/Waze meets Pokemon’s augmented reality interface and you will have an idea of the future of Hubbl Labs.
Combine the data every mobile-enabled consumer generates with augmented reality overlays and the potential of Hubble Labs becomes clear.
Sofa VR
Sofa VR provides a platform for virtual reality augmentation. Developers and virtual reality arcade owners can build upon the Sofa VR software development kit to grow their audience. Anything from augmented reality smartphone interfaces to virtual reality merchandise is made possible with the Sofa VR SDK.
BioVirtua
BioVirtua is creating an augmented reality platform for physicians and healthcare providers. Offering 3D patient modeling and live-streamed data analysis, their interface will allow hospitals and clinicians to utilize holograms for telemedicine communications.
PoindextAR
Now accepting requests for early private access, PoindextAR provides an interface for creating augmented reality video overlays. Users can create anything from staff training videos to consumer tutorials with the PoindextAR interface. Their platform is able to capture data regardless of lighting conditions or textural components.
Karuna
Karuna uses augmented reality to assist with patient rehabilitation. From strokes to amputations, Karuna’s interface can be used to assist, track, and analyze patient recovery. This intriguing platform uses visual feedback to help patients learn to retrain their brain circuitry and develop new sensory pathways.
Loook
Loook offers mixed reality development as a service. Whether you need help developing an augmented reality app for your business or creating an experience roadmap for your virtual reality product, the team at Loook can assist. The team behind Loook have worked for companies like Microsoft HoloLens, XBox, and MSN Games.
Spatial
Still in the pre-launch stage, Spatial is an augmented reality to keep on your radar. Having already raised angel investment capital, Spatial is building a company to develop augmented reality software. Keep your eyes on this startup; chances are good you will be hearing from them as the augmented reality sector continues to grow.
PracticalVR
PracticalVR is another company to keep an eye on. They are building an authentication platform for augmented/mixed/virtual reality. Their platform will allow developers to create AR/MR/VR interfaces, will allow cross-platform communication, and will offer detailed data analytics too.
XO Cards
XO Cards combines greeting cards with augmented reality. Order and send a real greeting card via your smartphone and attach an augmented reality video to your card. You can receive a push notification once your AR video is viewed, acknowledging that your card’s recipient has viewed your thoughtful audio/video message.
WaveVR
WaveVR is developing a platform that allows artists to customize how their fans experience their music in augmented reality. Artists can do anything from changing the background their music is experienced to changing the lighting effects for their music. Think custom concert experiences without ever leaving the comfort of your home.
By paying attention to up-and-coming startups within the augmented reality sector, you get a firsthand look at the innovation happening within this market. Whether you are planning on using mixed reality as part of your content marketing strategy or you want to be among the first in your sector to make the jump into virtual reality, the more you know about AR/VR/MR, the better prepared you are for the future.
What do you think? Are you excited about the future of augmented reality and the multiple ways it will be used to enhance lives in the future?
