I had the pleasure of catching up with Daniel Jager of the German AR systems integrator Metaio. Daniel offers some insight into the what it's like on the front lines, bringing Augmented Reality technologies from university and commercial research laboratories to real-life solutions for customers. I hope you will find this interview as interesting as I did.
1. Tell our readers a little bit about Metaio and your business. Is this company a systems integrator, software developer, consulting service? What is the mission of the company?
Metaio is indeed all of these. We understand ourselves as system integrator and developer for Augmented Reality systems that are currently used in the industrial domain. In this context, we have to care about system integration e.g. diverse hardware tracking components such as GPS, or Compass sensors, Cameras with the best HMD solution available, as well as developing the right software to manage all this sensor information, and of course consulting with our customers to choose the right system according to their needs. The mission of metaio is to establish Augmented Reality as a new technology that is worth investing in by generating true profits for our customers. To achieve this goal, we focus on innovation management with a very broad view as well as full commitment to our customers.
2. How does Metaio intend to bring augmented reality technology from the research domain into commercial usage? What are the benefits to customers for pursuing AR solutions?
We are convinced that commercial customers will only use AR-systems for a longer period of time if they see true profits and benefits from using it. Thats why we do not concentrate on "technology as technology" but focusing on solution development by analyzing real problems of our (industrial) customers. To succeed, we can analyse these problems based on our expertise in the industrial automotive domain (several project engineers at metaio have worked at important car manufacturers before) so we know very well where AR can be helpful as a solution provider. Benefits are mostly in shorter periods of time, e.g. for production planning or automotive design (which of course also leads to important cost savings) as well as quality improvements by decreasing failure of production personnel.
3. What are the initial applications/industries that Metaio has chosen to pursue and for what reasons were they chosen?
We are pursuing a whole set of applications at the moment (which is also a problem for a small company like metaio...). Nevertheless, our core focus is within the production planning field, mockup-design and service & maintenance. Those are chosen because they combine our most present expertise in AR technology development and they cover the most important aspects/needs from our customers that can be found in the industrial AR-world: The best system should be stable, wireless, markerless and offer a high visualization output quality.
4. How does Microvision's technology uniquely address the challenges of implementing AR solutions? Can you describe the competitive advantages of Microvision hardware in the AR space?
I think you're pretty much in the know about this and the competitive advantages of MVIS :-) For us and our AR-solutions, it is very important to use a true see-through display, especially when working in industrial environments (for safety reasons). Also, the MVIS scanning solution provides a very clear and bright picture although it is still only available in monchrome red. I think we will see the first full-colour version in early 2007 which might additionally boost the need for these displays in the AR space.
5. What directions do you see AR technology going in the future? What types of AR apps may attain widespread appeal beyond the industrial/commercial domain, in the mainstream?
We see a very big need for very mobile and high-performant AR-systems in the professional field (e.g. industry, military) as well as systems that cover highly precise and robust tracking (e.g. medicine applications). And there is of course a big potential for AR-applications in the end-consumer segment, ranging from interactive AR-games, up to inside-city navigation or tourist information systems. The end-consumer market indeed highly depends on the progress of standard hardware and data transfer technology, as well as their avaibility and acceptance by a broad target audience.
6. My basic thesis is this: The combination of low cost GPS chips, RFID tags, digital cameras with advancing image recognition technology will serve to make the internet 'location and object aware'. This awareness will transform the internet from a series of static URLs and web pages to a 'geospatial metadata layer', where intelligent software and services can interact with objects, locations and users to perform transactions, provide valuable services like location-based social networking and deliver information relevant to users based on the context of their activities. My back of the envelope projection for this capability is 2010, which seems to be shared by Bill Gates and Ray Kurzweil (good company to keep!).
Very intersting hypothesis, and in big parts I believe this will become true. Nevertheless, you are addressing a lot of involved technologies that have to develop accordingly to meet this scenario, and so I think 2010 seems to be very optimistic :-)
As the leading company moving AR into the commercial space, what's your take on this idea? Is this concept flawed or are there aspects that I haven't considered that could impact the ability to deliver these types of services? What types of form factors and capabilities on the user's device side will be needed to make this premise into reality? From a software and network perspective, do you see these capabilities being realistic?
From a technical side (also software and hardware, network aspects), I think your hypothesis is realistic. In my view, the success of the system you described highly depends on the acceptance of end users which also involves social and psychological effects.
7. What are the biggest challenges in promoting a new technology like AR, which requires users to modify their behavior and wear head mounted displays? How do you position the benefits of the technology such that they overwhelm users' resistance to changing their daily workflow processes?
The biggest advantage might be to show every system user his/her personal benefit by using such a system. It might be clear for the system vendor (which can be the boss of the person that should use the system) that there is a certain benefit, e.g. cost/time reductions. But of course, the end user has to use the system every day and it is likely that he has to modify his/her behavior by e.g. using a HMD for 8 hours. I think it is critical to also communicate clear advantages to the system user, otherwise the resistance can not be broken and then there would also no crucial benefit to the system vendor. On the other hand, the user must be involved very early (in the design phase) of new systems and the system must be designed "around the user" and his/her working habits. This indeed is not an easy task to be solved!
8. Is there anything else you would like readers of MVIS Blog to know about Metaio and the AR space in general?
Augmented Reality systems will be an important part and change our daily life within the next 20 years. Metaio takes the challenge to establish this very innovative technology in a position where a real benefit can be seen for all stakeholders which would make it profitable to invest in this technology. If you are getting interested please check: www.metaio.com or send us an email at: info@metaio.com
Thanks for your time!!
no problem!
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