PTC Demonstrates Augmented Reality for the Enterprise

PTC sees augmented reality making a huge impact in the enterprise. Here’s a look at the strides PTC has made in AR that it showed off at a recent event.

PTC CEO Jim Heppelmann said the real future for augmented reality (AR) is in business. “These consumer applications just scratch the surface of the potential of AR,” he said. “Now is the time for enterprise AR. Where AR already impacts how we play, it’s about to disrupt how we work.”

PTC in October 2015 spent $65 million to buy Vuforia and its AR platform, which is being used by more than 200,000 developers who have built more than 20,000 apps for smartphones, tablets and digital eyewear. “Today, we have a huge enterprise opportunity in front of us,” said Jay Wright, general manager for Vuforia at PTC.

Heppelmann said the Internet of things (IoT) is rapidly expanding the opportunity for AR in the enterprise. PTC and ServiceMax in January unveiled a partnership that uses PTC’s ThingWorx IoT platform. ServiceMax CEO David Yarnold, right, said the jointly developed Connected Field Services offering will help transform the services industry, and AR will be part of that effort. “We are now just beginning to see the possible opportunities for AR to impact services,” Yarnold said.

After Heppelmann and others made their presentation, attendees were invited to a demonstration area, where they were shown how AR can be used to help businesses.

KLM officials brought one of the company’s performance motorcycles to the event to show attendees how PTC’s AR software can help reduce service times and costs.

The VuMark is a technology that PTC introduced at the show that essentially works as a barcode for the AR world. The VuMark—which contains encoded data about the product—is placed on the product and can be detected by PTC’s AR software on a tablet or other device. The application reads the VuMark and extracts the data—such as a URL or product serial number—and displays it on the screen. Each of the systems in the multiple demonstrations had a VuMark.

The PTC software can help service technicians by displaying product information on the screen, diagnosing the problem, offering step-by-step instructions for fixing the problem and even showing—as in the photo—how each step is done.

ODG, which makes smart glasses that can run PTC’s AR software, also was at the event. PTC’s Wright said that while most AR now is done on tablets, the real promise is in devices like smart glasses and goggles. “While the future of AR is on our head, it’s actually starting in our hands,” he said.

Samsung also was at the event with smart goggles that can hold a Galaxy smartphone that runs PTC’s software. A representative demonstrated how the goggles combined with VR technology could help service technicians diagnose and fix problems with a motorcycle.