AWE EU 2024 : A strong spirit of innovation and resilience.

AWE EU 2024 in Vienna this week has shown the face of a European and International XR industry brimming with ideas and new products.

Yet, 2024 has frequently been difficult year for most sectors, due to international macroeconomic events, budget restrictions in companies and a contraction of public spending in several European countries.? This has not been helped by the cancellation of the HoloLens headset by Microsoft, and the announced refocusing of Magic Leap on OEM activities, penalizing both companies that have spent time and money to optimize their solutions for the headset, and the large groups that have started deploying, now at risk.

So NO, not only is XR not on the way out, but it’s probably more active than ever.? ?AWE EU 2024 with its nearly 2000 visitors, 140 speakers and 120 exhibitors are a good example. ?Furthermore and unexpectedly (given the many recent announcements on the new virtual reality (VR) products), the event gave prominence to augmented reality (AR) in all its forms.

A great diversity of exhibitors

What I particularly like about the AWE EU is the diversity of exhibitors in terms of origins (Europe, United States, Asia including a pavilion from Hong Kong) and proposals (software, applications, hardware...). Obviously, it doesn’t always help if you’re looking for something specific, but it offers a nice overview of what different parts of the world experience in terms of XR.? It is reassuring to see that the trends are the same … everywhere.

On the software side, we are indeed seeing a rationalisation of the sector with a tighter number of use cases and with usage values.? Sectors are being highlighted such as culture and tourism (BavArt , Imvizar and Blueray presents a nice panel of solutions in this sector from the 3 corners of Europe), industry, medical and retail.? Finally, this is where XR has real deployment opportunities and proven solutions.

In terms of usage, training/work instructions definitely rank high with common areas for improvement: simplicity of use for trainers and trainees (SynergyXR ), gamification, intuitive content creation platform, multi-user (LS Group ), efficiency and speed of execution (Sphere , hosted this year by Niantic), tools for managing 3D objects and more extensive libraries (Fynd Reality );? but also content/material optimization: 3D, Basic Management of Materials (MDM) as ArborXR ou ManageXR .

Of course let’s not forget the other tools that use the other ?senses?? for example the English company Scentient its scented necklace.?

Even Unity was present and promoted the uses in companies.? Their positioning and offerings are well known, and they already have a large user base but we feel that the whole sector is looking for new markets. ?XR still remains relatively niche.? Unity was present to remind us that their platform is also a tool for developments for companies and especially the industry.

Helmets, glasses, lenses and “nothing”.???

The “big” companies were present for the most part, with stands from Meta, Lenovo, Snap, Pico, or Panasonic. Many visitors were hoping to see the prototype of Orion recently shown at Meta Connect.? ?However, ?the product remains invisible and will remain so for some time it seems.? Meta faces the same difficulties as its predecessors in designing a product.? It is seeking a compromise between weight, power and battery in a form factor that is acceptable to the general public. Nothing new but this explains why Orion will stay a little sheltered until the prototype is viable.

Snap, on the other hand, demonstrated its 5th generation of Spectacles , creating a buzz at AWE, and an uninterrupted queue for 2 days to try the Holy Grail.? The product remains bulky and a little heavy (especially on the ears), and I am definitely not very comfortable with the portrait mode of projection (‘Snapchat format’) which limits even more the field of vision to 46°. On the other hand, I found the image quality very good, sharp and with beautiful colors, even in full light.? The anchoring in reality is very stable when drawing in AR, and the interface and interactions especially when playing chess with a partner are quite fluid.? Péridot, the game of Niantic like ?Tamagotchi? demonstrated with the Spectacles makes his character ?Dot? much more ?kawa?? with glasses than on a smartphone!? The 5th generation of Spectacles are still just at development stage.? Nevertheless, they engage a community towards creating AR content for the general public.? In addition, I can only admire Snap which continues to develop new products, year after year with a consistency which is still doing well in a market where some have given up halfway there.... Well done Snap!

In a more confidential helmet category, Panasonic demonstrated the VR headset of their now partner (and no longer a subsidiary) Shiftall ;? not unlike the VR helmets from Pancake XR , the department of the sprawling Chinese company Skyworth (I visited their stand at the World Automobile trade fair in September where they exhibited a range of … not surprisingly ...electric cars!).?

Arvicom , a Luxembourg company, demonstrated its clear lens glasses for remote assistance and training in an interesting format, even if the product needs to be refined in terms of materials used.?

It was also a real pleasure to finally meet a company that I have been following for years, XYZ Reality , and through their conference demonstrated that they are moving forward in the construction industry with their custom AR headset and integrated solutions using BIM performance.

Ocutrx on its side exposed its augmented reality helmets for surgery.? This is an interesting vertical, with well thought-out, product developments for precision surgery.? They are being manufactured in a nearby plant on the east coast of the United States.? There are still small points of improvement (weight, materials used) but having a use case and a customer base, already identified, is a good development lever.

In another category (where manufacturers are now very few), the connected lenses of Xpanceo , always cause a stir. ?There was a demonstration of a working prototype on their stand which attracted many people, although no product will be marketed for some years.? Each iteration has new improvements: 30° field of view (vs. 10°), for now on dynamic images, always with the same energy efficiency.? It is easy to see what medical applications could be with all their built-in sensors, but the road ahead is still long.

But the most innovative concept came from the north, and more particularly from Finland, with the project of “AR without glasses” by the company Distance ;? The new company was founded by the founders of Varjo to “ Transform virtually any transparent surface into an extended reality window with a computer-generated 3D light field that blends with the real world, covering the entire field of view for maximum immersion.”? The main first target markets are the increase in car and aircraft windscreens, not forgetting military vehicles.? The demonstration was quite convincing, and the timing rather good with the current revolution that is going through the mobility sector.

Let’s not forget lots of ?other components!

It was also really interesting to see a number of stands that offered components for making AR glasses, and at different levels. ?Micledi with its mini projectors MicroLed put forward its value for money and the efficiency of the technology.? Polight its ?adjustable lenses? improve the management of light from the waveguides.? Tarsioptics presented its Fresnel lenses with a wide view or Eulitha , the Swiss company demonstrated its lithography solution to optimize the passage of light from the waveguide to the eye.? Even PPG at a conference recalled that they were a major player in chemistry and offered ?coatings? for AR glasses! Finally, OBE offers connected glasses to manufacturers of smart hinges on glasses to facilitate the transmission of the electronic current from the branch to the frame of the eyepiece.?

Whilst going shopping among the exhibitors, we could almost come out with our own prototype of AR glasses! This demonstrates the big market opportunities soon to come.

The (Too) Many Quality Conferences and the too little time!

There were many conferences, and like last year, I could only attend a few because the timing was tight during these two days. Visiting the stands, remaking the world (of XR) with long-time friends and colleagues (Ping Michael Leyva) or meeting new contacts and their exciting ideas, takes a lot of time.? ?This is also the time I favour to talk with participants.

One conference worth noting, however, is the investment round table which is always interesting. It contains the expected approaches that could be considered as obvious but do not yet appear to be fully integrated into the projects:?

·?????? Value the leader and team, even before the project

·?????? Never mention your “passion for technology”, but focus on the business model and the target market

·?????? Be (very) ambitious, avoid humility or shyness

·?????? Know and present the tools to measure success

These little reminders never hurt when you pitch!?

As for the other conferences, if you were unable to attend AWE EU 2024, or if you missed some of them like me, I invite you to watch them on the rather well-made website of AWE that allows you to see and review these sessions: AWE - YouTube ?

So what’s next?

XR is not a new sector, and it has always resisted the waves of the economic crisis and technological challenges.? It is in fact much more flexible and adaptable to the hazards, and probably more robust than other technologies simply more ?hyped?.? (Notice to investors??).?? Moreover, AWE EU 2024 shows that the XR industry is proving more resilient than ever, with continuous improvement in deployed solutions, intelligent management of artificial intelligence in these solutions, without chasing the “hype”. In additional to the technological innovations which meet the challenges on major topics such as glasses/helmets.? These are essential elements for the success of XR.?

As always I am still (proudly) amazed by the incredible capacity of the sector to adapt and innovate after all these years and I can’t wait for the next event!