Scott O'Brien

2020AR - the future of vision. Paul Kouppas and Scott OBrien came together over a beer after a sports event and saw amazing creations possible in AR. They then met Luke Crane and Explore Engage (EE) came together in late 2009 with plans to start in 2010. We saw that AR was in infancy on web and was going to move to mobiles... and then we learned that Paul had skills to help us take it a step further, a 3-5 year vision to make see through AR glasses.

For the last two years we have been quietly developing our see through augmented reality glasses with various partners at a cost over $2M. We've bootstrapped largely and taken a seed investment in 2011 to help the glasses development strategically. It makes sense at this stage to reach out to the world (yes this is a global project so please tell your friends and help us spread the word) to be part of our exciting journey. Now is the time, leading up to the end of the year, to make it possible for you to have your own pair of see through augmented reality glasses or at least credits on the first applications that we make - part of history and the future either way!

Rewards:

Supporters from $10 to $299 to receive EE AR gear and put "their" face in our AR game for mobile & eyewear.

Supporters from $300 (solo) $900 (group) to receive awesome site visits (other eyewear companies charged $5k for this)

Supporters from $3,500 - $21,000 for monocular and binocular see through AR glasses with Clear-Vu see-through display by Optinvent - different quantities.

Supporters from $30-50k for binocular see through AR glasses with Clear-Vu see-through display by Optinvent For those that want to have multiple pairs of glasses and see their own basic (static model) to multi-interaction (basic 3D model showing 3-5 interactions/moving parts) AR experience.

Follow updates to the project of the year ( :) ) 2020AR on our blog: http://exploreengage.com/blog/

The pic above is from our 2010 work... since then we don't need the 'marker' to trigger the experience and the form factors have reduced quite a lot. It is now even more feasible to pack out the stadium with our eyewear concepts as we link up with companies that are connecting sports venues with WiFi.

There are two main differentiation points with our product that you shall purchase in this project.

1. We are offering see through lenses... not just a head up display

2. Different to most other see through displays, this is not a helmet nor a front weighted product... making for better ergonomics and also different use cases. We applaud Google's work in telling the world about wearable computing however our products "use cases" may be more specifically targeted... after all, it is a nice target acquisition gadget!

Our project is to give people more powerful, intelligent and entertaining vision of the world through augmented reality see through head mounted displays (not just a head up micro screen experience separate to the world). Our absolute set objectives of this project are THREEFOLD:

1. Complete our prototype to a level where it can take the form where it is a more retail worthy product rather than the existing prototype held together by typical start up gaffer tape and a bunch of loose wires. This next generation of our product may then form a reward in this campaign and in some instances, also enable a basic custom built application for your research and development or personal indulgence.

2. Complete 3 specific applications:

i) Parkinson's patients (a line that projects in front to initiate gait/walking)
ii) CPR instructions (an overlay with voice prompts of what to do when in emergency)
iii) cycling head up display (safe route, safety warning, navigation, music, communications between riders, biometrics, machine metrics interface)

Other custom apps for YOUR PURPOSE may be built within the rewards specified (see each reward for conditions). 

Examples of these basic custom built apps within the rewards are for eg. Gaming, Architecture, Design, BIMS and Infrastructure  Medical, Mining, Conservation, Culture, Sports Coaching and Performance, Sports Spectators and Stadiums, Museums, Galleries, Experiential Agency, Trade Show and Exhibition Events, Live Stage Experiences, Car and Bike Manufacturers, Car and Bike dealerships etc.

CPR, Sports Stadium interactions, Architecture, BIMS, Games - Ninjaring the world!!!

3) Complete 2 new functions:

i) Voice recognition and instruction
ii) High-precision indoor and outdoor human navigation


~ Helping particular people have more fun, enhance lives, save lives, make money, save money. We also see our project here and the glasses in general helping this type of wearable technology becoming more accessible to the common person, company, agency, academic.

~ Our wearables initially focus on simple use cases which can make a difference. Later (over the next 12 mths) we work towards use cases that will form part of our every day lives... having said that, a pair of glasses that have CPR instructions in every office is one good thing to have around every day... just in case.

~ Working with existing advanced mobile technologies


~ Setting these glasses up for the fashion catwalk...yet. Although we seek fashionable designs and a degree of personalization, we are focused on the practical and deliverable use cases.

~ We are also not wanting a HMD without truly mixing digital and the real worlds and that is why our form factor is different to Google's "Explorer" edition and other more "dashboard" style wearable's like Oakley's goggles. Our glasses help you set a focal distance that may be more "in tune" with the task you are performing and thereby offers a different user experience, in some cases, significantly better.


~ They are endless however the immediate sensible use cases for 2013 we highlight are things like using glasses to overlay CPR instructions, lines to initiate gait for Parkinson's patients, games for fun and rehab, overlay data at sports events, cyclist mixed reality, motorcyclists mixed reality, architectural visualizations, surgeons head up display so they can focus on patient, CEO visualizations of big data, tourism and real time translation using Nuance technology on iOS and Android platforms.

More specifically:

1) Sports events
Problem: TV with coverage by spider cams, octocopter camera's etc. and games industry are drawing audiences away from live sports events.
Current Solution: Some token 3D projections and basic text apps however significant graphic overlays on the game in real time, as is delivered in the TV experience are sorely missed as the value add in live events.
Our Solution: A complete end to end platform connecting real time statistics and sponsorships for the benefit of all stakeholders including spectators.

2) E-Bikes, Cycling and Motorcycling head up display
Problem: Need to take eyes off the road or stop motion in order to get directions, assess human condition (heartbeat), communicate* and effectiveness of machine or human/machine.
Current solution: dashboard indirect to safe focal point meaning eyes off the road for significant time. Audio instructions are also delivered and anecdotal evidence suggests most riders do not enjoy this.
Our solution: See through HMD's display information directly in line of sight, with a focal point seemingly at the same distance as that of the road ahead. Thereby, the digital information appears to exist 'out there' and allowing the rider to keep their focus where it needs to be.

3) BIM, Infrastructure, and Architectural visualisations
Problem: Communication between client and architect or workers on site, or even architect and architect or other stakeholders is largely based on words, flat drawings and referral to assets out of context.
Current Solution: Sometimes architectural plans are based on 3D imagery which is great however not in situ and not with real time effects for the most direct efficient decision making or communication amongst construction workers or for purposes of "selling off the plan".
Our Solution: We have already developed platform to visualise BIM and other infrastructure in-situ and based on geolocation, compass and other real-world specifics. We will configure and move this onto our glasses.

4) Education
Problem: Current boring resources, slow learners, evidence of accelerated visual learning but lack of visual ways, literacy, relevance, engagement etc etc.
Current Solution: some learning options are steering towards 3D worlds but slowly… and not in relevance with the real world…
Our Solution: Get the bums off the seats – major disruption and improvement to the education system accelerating learning, making it far more interesting and effective – sure see through heads up displays won’t solve everything but the impact will be huge and we would like to put it out to education institutions to invest in our project to work collaboratively on this.

5) Big data visualisations

Problem: there is often too much to see and comprehend to make sense of the data.
Current Solution: mostly 2D and exhaustive time in interpreting… not so fun portrayals
Our Solution: making it most enjoyable, interesting and more in a 3D perspective possibly even related to real world topography and timelines and variable axis
Inspiration: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jbkSRLYSojo Hans Rosling – health and income statistics over 200 years and close to 200 countries understood in just a few minutes. Legend!

6) Tourism industry
Problem: Various languages, subjectiveness of guides and the challenge of standing out from the crowd.
Current Solution: 2D printed maps, reliance on expensive translators and rough POI models.
Our Solution: heads up hands free see through AR solution, fun and enjoyable ways of interpreting the world, interpreting languages from the tour guide. This device will help a tourist organisation stand out from the crowd with a simplified attractive POI interface

7) Translation
Problem: Translator expense, access and potentially privacy.
Current Solution: Humans or situations where you take focus off the person talking to you in the other language and valuable body language cues may be overlooked or misconstrued.
Our Solution: Heads up hands free see through lens focus on the actual speaker using Siri like technology

8) Games
Problem: Too many bums on seats. Same old same old interface. Games do not connect to the real world.
Current Solution: Games progressing to more immersive actions and also sharp spike in casual gamers with games like Angry Birds and Fruit Ninja… both of which we have entertained 3D AR versions for.
Our Solution: Get the bums off the seats and play games out in the real world! With real world triggers reinterpreting the landscape, places, faces and creating positive game mechanics a la the awesome insights from the likes of Jane McGonigal and Jesse Schell and others. Our amazing friends upstairs in our lobby put this video together – all sorts of positive pro-social game outcomes https://vimeo.com/41282106

9) Parkinson's patients

Problem: Cannot walk in advanced stages of Parkinson's and need a trigger to initiate gait “devices using closed-loop sensory feedback appear to be effective and desirable non-pharmacologic interventions to improve walking in selected individuals with PD”

http://www.rehab.research.va.gov/jour/10/476/Espay.html

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3177092/?tool=pubmed

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22099639

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21507659

Current Solution: for patients…
a) Wait it out
b) stick a ruler under feet with strips of white cardboard for depth perception
c) medication
Our Solution: Project an AR line in front with heads up and hands free advantages and learn from previous r&d efforts making improvements for patients and adoption.

10) CPR instructions
Problem: Resuscitating can be stressful, traumatic and affect memory of training if trained at all
Current Solution: Worthy however laborious and time consuming training courses and hope that someone has the skills, remembers them correctly and applies it in the stressful situation.
Our Solution: Using augmented reality, voice control, specific programming and potentially live video feed, instructions can be overlaid to help instruct exactly what to do for a variety of emergency scenarios

11) Surgeon (qualified) and remote (possibly unqualified) monitors
Problem: Need to take eyes off the patient at times to see real time data whilst performing precise movements.
Current solution: Monitors nearby patient showing data.
Our solution: Bring that data, on call (voice prompts) in the FOV and same focal distance for the surgeon so as to inform and not distract, maintaining focus and dexterity in real time. This may work with the range of medical based applications.

People - the whole team has exhibited amazing morale and "can do" attitude to pull off projects regular that to many would seem impossible. We have achieved some of the most significant world firsts (eg mobile to TV AR, mobile to 3D world print ad, the first in the world we know of to put live camera feed into unity… and then the world famous www.tf3ar.com app…and we also did this cool thing with a storyboard artist head in 15mins flat http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mn7kjq7LHdU&list=UU8n6Iua5cy3ogapKY8rHEYg&index=8&feature=plcp)

There are two particular tech "stars" on our team.

 
Paul Kouppas (CTO) - working with HMD's and haptic devices up to 10 years ago now in the USA for top medical illustration and animation firms as well as experience from other related fields. Paul headed our project in Qatar which created a number of worlds firsts. Early early stage of this project you can see here using the old eMagin glasses which we affectionately refer to as our “Gimp” model:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G90Xzg41I0g&list=UU8n6Iua5cy3ogapKY8rHEYg&index=9&feature=plcp 

Peter Koch (Head of Product) - working with HMD's as a hobby for the last 10 years, having worked in Australia, Asia, Seattle, Peter has brought a wealth of experience and an extraordinary ability across hardware and software which has helped us uniquely optimize projects on both sides. Peter can be seen in this clip where we test the gyro: https://vimeo.com/35538214

In addition Luke Crane (CEO) performs project management on this project using Attask and Scott O'Brien (CMO) has taken a producer, communications, strategy and project lead role. Both are experienced in high end digital projects conceived by most as innovative world's firsts.

from a successful proof of concept sports stadium experience catering to 50,000 spectators (opening ceremony and player tracking for specators and coaches) through to building the future "Next Horizon Room" for Telstra demonstrating a Minority Report like experience with touchless gesture control (without needing to "register" your body for seconds) demonstrating remote emergency medical scenarios amongst other enablers for the digital economy. We have delivered over 60 projects successfully in our almost 3 years of business and half our work is from repeat clients.

We love, live and breath augmented reality and are passionate about helping fast track the simple easy to access and most worthy use cases – enhance life, save lives, make money, save money… not just the cool gimmicky stuff which is still fun.

Our main risks/challenges are –lack of funding or making apps that aren’t relevant or apps that are brilliant yet are not shared with the world. So dig deep and share the love. Like, comment, share, invest. Christmas, Geekmas, Gadgetmas, Weddings, Birthdays, Saving Lives! Building, Cycling, Gaming, Digital Earth, Digital You. Whatever your commitment, belief and curiousity, share the love and join us on this amazing journey and evolution away from the slate of glass (mobile) to a more exciting future!

· Development time and associated Project management (8-12 weeks depending on rewards chosen)

· Production tooling costs

· Production set up costs

· Certifications

· Voice recognition integration

· Location and motion awareness integration – 9 DOF gyro

· Optics

· Parkinson's patients (a line that projects in front to initiate gait/walking)
CPR instructions (an overlay with voice prompts of what to do when in emergency)
Cycling head up display (safe route, safety warning, navigation, music, communications between riders, biometrics, machine metrics interface)

· Platform engineering

· Web development resources

· Marketing team and brilliance of dedicated interns resource costs communicating with and helping educate a world-wide audience on the project

· Contingency costs x2

Thanks for reading. Your participation in our project means an incredible lot to everyone in our company. As a co-founder, along with my colleagues, both our left and right watchamecallits have gone into this product and project. We look forward to welcoming you all to be a part of a new and extremely exciting future.

Scott, Paul, Luke, Peter