Building for the Spatial Future

As an idea guy, I'm always offering input and suggestions because I see the potential for improvement and efficiency. I may not be the most eloquent writer, but I'm working on it. I love talking about the future, and my vision for the democratization of Augmented Reality (AR) is just one of many out there.

I've always viewed code and lack of content and education as barriers to the widespread adoption of AR. For me, since 2011, each year was supposed to be the next big breakthrough year for AR, but it never happened. Unlike VR or MR, the device for consumer consumption at scale is already here – the smartphone.

In the past, lack of or fragmented software was a barrier to entry for many people who wanted to create AR content. But that's changing now. With the development of new tools and platforms, the democratization of AR is finally within reach. It's an exciting time to be a part of this industry, and I'm looking forward to seeing where it takes us.

If anything I've written doesn't make sense or if you have any questions, please don't hesitate to ask. I love talking about the future and how my vision fits into the bigger picture

Why has the adoption of augmented reality (AR) been slow? I believe it's because people are often chasing the next shiny object, companies are posturing, and there aren't enough tools for regular users to create their own experiences with the content they already have. It doesn't have to be all 3D all the time.

The general population doesn't fully understand the transformative power of AR, let alone VR, MR or the umbrella term of XR. Even experts and influencers often confuse the terms. Instead of trying to sell them on the next big thing, I decided to make AR accessible to the average user with as little friction as possible, using things they understand. This way, they can grow with the technology and not be constantly confused.

I've been in this space for a long time and have created many demos, from segmentation and occlusion to AI voice commands and webRTC telepresence. I finally realized that the reason I got into AR was to add extra information to print and gather metrics, as well as post spatial ads and relevant location-centric information.

Don't get me wrong, there's a place for hardware and apps in the utility, enterprise, and innovation sectors, as well as for sexy demos. But the masses already have the devices they need to access content; they just need tools to create and serve it at scale. That's where WorldCAST comes in.

Many creative people have had to learn to code in order to bring their visions to life in new and exciting ways. But in most cases, their visions are not accessible to everyone because of proprietary hardware and software platforms that don't have defined standards. This means that what you create in one ecosystem may not be compatible with another AR platform without significant reworking of code and the need for multiple file types. This is great for pioneers and innovators, but it doesn't benefit the general public, who often can't access cutting-edge experiences because of proprietary hardware, app frameworks, operating systems, alpha or beta builds, etc.

A great Lidar experience is only possible if the user has Lidar, which is a small subset of users who even know what AR is. However, it's important to develop new ideas and innovations in the field, such as ARCore, which was made possible by Google's Protect Tango project. The key is not just the technology, but also the content that is available to users. There are many talented content creators who are making amazing filters and other AR experiences, but they are often isolated to app builds with each having a different framework - so multiple builds of the same experience may need to be created to reach bigger audiences.

Software has come a long way in terms of content creation. For example, desktop publishing made everyone a designer, for better or worse. Similarly, there are now many tools that allow anyone to create their own business card, website, or other content with a drag-and-drop interface. This has opened up new opportunities for teachers, students, bands, and others to easily distribute their content in an affordable or even free way.

That is the democratization of technology - to have tools to create/distribute/access to all - to make something available to everyone. I see companies say this - but they don't really follow thru on that statement.

That is what we have attempted with WorldCAST - and do it in a way that all studios are the same in how they look/feel.

I've been involved in spatial information/content for a long - my first concept video was in 2013 for tourism and in 2016 we released our first prototype of what was then called ExplorAR (at that time putting AR in all the names was fashionable) incorporated our ShareAR ( < see ) script which allowed you to log in to a free account in the app and place a persistent story at a location in AR. It worked awesome - albeit drifty because it was only GPS-based until we added ARCore in February 2018 to be featured for an ARCore launch - which for some reason was put very low on the launch list - but Google did release AR Map View at Google I/O a few months later - so there's that - that helped with investment. I'd been making point cloud-based reference points for visual recognition of landmarks in any season/time of day for a few years, and what I was learning with Project Tango, and my already existing knowledge of GPS, I started paving the way for a browser-based creation tool and knew we would have to move the app framework to the web and create a much bigger basement to build what I knew needed to be made.

I started from the ground up with the server setup and knowing what we were going to serve and handle in the future - I befriended a crazy cloud architect that could get in my head and became a cloud partner with IBM last year.

I wanted to build a modular platform that could handle present and future devices, and have a clear roadmap for its development. I took everything I had learned from years of analyzing bad AR experiences, such as remote location problems, weak connections, and 3D models that looked or behaved differently, and used that knowledge to create a single engine that would work for all studios and have a consistent interface. I couldn't have found a better team to help me build the foundation of our GeoCAST Studio, which is anchored in the timeline and ready to take on passengers as they create CASTs to be distributed to larger datasets.

Our goal is not to compete with companies that specialize in city mapping or other location-based data. We want to create a visual structure for input-output that allows anyone, even those with no coding experience, to tell their story, preserve it, and present it to future generations as an educational resource. This can be used by individuals to leave messages and memories at a specific location, by event coordinators to incorporate wayfinding, or by cities to populate pop-up history.

Our mission is to create a platform that is safe, secure, affordable, and has a free component with as few limitations as possible, while also being profitable. We have spent a lot of time building the engine to create and serve content across the three main pillars of AR, and we are constantly working on new developments behind the scenes, such as supporting wearables like Vuzix, NuEyes, Epson, and Nreal as they become more consumer-friendly.

We want to be part of building a spatial future and our software is getting more powerful as we make more partnerships with content and hardware partners.

“If My Calculations Are Correct, When This Baby Hits 88 Miles Per Hour, You're Gonna See Some Serious Shit.” Doc Brown

Here's to the future.

Wil McReynolds - CVO KP9 Interactive