IP Review Autumn 2017

IP review autumn 2017 4 This type of application falls into the handheld/mobile device domain of AR, where developers effectively make best use of our ubiquitous, camera-equipped smartphones to deliver content. With the breakout success of these applications, it will come as no surprise that mobile devices are driving an overall forecasted annual growth in AR of over 50%. Further innovation The drive to innovate for new handheld/mobile device AR applications looks set to continue, with new players coming to the party. In the last year we have seen Facebook following Snapchat’s success, with the launch of its new AR Studio, which allows for the creation of similar filters to be used on Facebook Messenger. Although the scope of handheld/mobile device AR is considered to be much more than gaming, social media and marketing applications, its ability to thrive is effectively bottlenecked by its own foundations - the smartphones themselves. Companies such as Layar and Wikitudes have long been developing AR browsers - a class of application that shows points of interest as users browse their surroundings through the lens of their phones. However, applications of this type have had a relatively low adoption rate, perhaps because of limitations in their implementation on smartphones. Hence, in order for application developers to make more meaningful, new and exciting content, the right hardware and software platforms need to be in place and accessible to developers. This in turn invites more significant technological developments such as Google’s Tango development platform. The Tango development platform is primarily concerned with enabling computer vision and position/ orientation tracking on mobile devices for the purpose ...Is this the real life?