PTC Upgrades Vuforia AR Platform to Version 6
Vuforia is PTC's platform for developing augmented reality applications (AR). The solution is one of several that the company bought in recent years as part of its massive investment in the Internet of Things (IoT).
While most solutions of this type require extensive coding efforts, the point of Vuforia is to make it easy to develop AR applications via a simple API.
This week, PTC announced the release of a new version of their software. Vuforia 6 introduces VuMarks, a visual bar code that connects the AR experiences to a product or an object. PTC has also added extensive support for the Microsoft HoloLens AR goggles, as well as Windows 10 tablets.
For a number of years, Augmented Reality primarily existed in the realms of gaming and advertising. However, this has started to change.
For instance, using HoloLens and a tablet or mobile phone, users can visualize and interact with a CAD representation of a product in real time. It can also provide hands-free, voice-controlled access to visual information when a customer wants to configure a product, repair it or perform maintenance operations on the equipment.
In this way, Vuforia can be used to deepen product interaction beyond configuration and virtual catalogues to things like simulated inspections, engineering evaluations and even real design work.
The VuMark is the anchor for these experiences in the physical world. It’s a machine readable barcode, but unlike a QR code, it can be designed to look like pretty much anything.
With the help of the VuMark Designer app, users can leverage Adobe Illustrator to create VuMarks from existing graphics and logos.
The World's Most Widely Used AR Development Platform.
Vuforia is probably the most widespread platform for AR-development. It has support for most leading mobile phones, tablets and AR glasses. Around 30,000 applications, according to PTC,- have reached the market through the App Store and Google Play.
Overall, the solution has about 250, 000 registered users.
“Connecting the physical and digital worlds, as well as the content and content creation tools to support the transition, is the critical next step for the enterprise workplace,” said Dan Shey, managing director and vice president at ABI Research.
“Launching augmented reality (AR) experiences, and ensuring the proper experience aligned with a specific model, release cycle and/or asset ID will increase efficiency and decrease error in industrial settings. Integrating the VuMark with Vuforia Studio Enterprise puts PTC and its portfolio assets at the center of this convergence, while enabling customers to control their branding,” Shey added.
PTC has also extended the platform’s compatibilities to a number of Microsoft devices, meaning that the Vuforia Engine now supports Universal Windows Platform (UWP). This allows Unity developers to easily extend existing Vuforia projects to Microsoft HoloLens and tablets such as Surface Pro 4 and Surface Book. Developers can also use Microsoft Visual Studio to add AR functionality to existing UWP applications on tablets.
ARC Advisory Names IFS Leader in EAM and Aerospace & Defense Solutions
ERP and PLM developer IFS is a global leader in the Aerospace & Defense industry segments (A&D). This is according to analysis firm ARC Advisory Group, which points to the Swedish software developer as a leader in these areas for the eighth consecutive year.
In the latest report, "Enterprise Asset Management Global Market Research Study," analyst Ralph Rio notes that IFS has picked up market share in each of the past four years in the A&D segment, and has also shown growth of 25% over the same period.
Their growing customer base includes well-known industry players like Affinity, BAE Systems, Lockheed Martin, General Dynamics, SAAB Group, GE Aviation, Royal Thai Airforce, TAE and Emirates.
“IFS has evolved from a leading European supplier to become a strong enterprise solutions supplier with dedicated vertical industry software components and expertise,” said Rio. "Over the last year, aerospace and defense has seen some major changes with a wave of new technology entering the industry and the next generation of military and civil aviation equipment.”