April 2022

Kaalo AR Magic
Why Kaalo is the Perfect Design Team for Augmented Reality
27 April 2022

Industrial designers focus on all aspects of a product’s development: design, usability and function; an astute designer is always looking for ways to improve the consumer’s interaction with a product. Augmented reality, with its capability of interfacing with our real 3-D world, does just that — it eases our experience. Industrial designers are a natural fit for developing AR interactions that require a deep knowledge of the product as well as the ability to intuit what the user will need to see and hear.

How Digital Content is Changing

Thus far, we have mostly consumed digital content on 2-D screens. When faced with a “How-To,” we refer to instructions on a website, in an app or perhaps as a PDF manual. In those situations, we shift our attention back and forth between the directions and the product we are trying to learn about, set up or fix. Augmented reality exists in a 3-D environment; information is overlaid directly onto the product. Because industrial designers think and design in 3-D, they are a natural fit for creating seamless AR experiences.

Why Industrial Designers are a Natural Fit to Design AR Experiences

A designer’s entire process depends upon knowing how a user will interact with a product and what will make that experience easy and intuitive. Now, designers are out to make a wide range of products more intuitive with augmented reality. They’ll create apps that enable you to fix your own laptop, toaster or car with step-by-step instructions overlayed right onto your device. Creating AR experiences on a physical laptop requires a thorough understanding of the mechanics of the product — how the device opens, how cables and screws are disconnected, etc. A mistake could damage the device, so in creating the AR instructions, a designer’s grasp of the design is critical. When this extensive product knowledge is combined with creative augmented reality and software execution, the results are magical.

Kaalo’s Unique Team of AR Creators

Kaalo is a unique team comprised of industrial designers, mechanical engineers, UI/UX experts, and software developers — all co-creating augmented reality experiences that function seamlessly with millimeter accuracy. Take a look at Kaalo’s profile on DesignRush to see why Fortune 500 companies use Kaalo for AR solutions. Experience it first-hand here.

Pokemon Go Augmented Reality
Seven Things You Didn’t Know About Augmented Reality
13 April 2022

Augmented reality, while often bandied about in the same sentence as virtual reality, is a different (but related) technology. While VR creates an entire virtual world, AR augments what we can already see. AR adds digital information to our existing environment. You have likely experienced AR in your daily life without realizing it. Here are a few already common uses for AR technology and some surprising history and statistics.

AR Technology was Developed in 1968

Ivan Sutherland, “father of computer graphics,” created an AR head-mounted display system at Harvard in 1968. Early AR systems based on this first one were used to project geological information onto terrain for aviation, military and industrial use. The first advertising campaign to use AR came about in 2008 for the BMW Mini. (Harvard Business Review, 2016)

Football and Augmented Reality

On September 27, 1998, television football fans everywhere saw what seemed like magic: a yellow line. It appeared across the field at the first down marker, not covering the players but as if it were painted on the field itself. Only it moved, seamlessly, as the first down line did. A company called Sportsvision developed this augmented reality tech that debuted during a Ravens/Bengals game. At the time, it took six people in a 48-foot semi-truck parked outside the stadium to keep the yellow line up and running. (Vox, 2019)

Disney Has Embraced AR.

In 2001, Disney used augmented reality to show their characters interacting with real people in Times Square. That same year, National Geographic employed AR to make it seem as if extinct species were walking through a shopping mall. A couple of years later, Coca-Cola displayed ice melting in, again, a high-traffic shopping mall to bring awareness to climate change. (Harvard Business Review, 2016)

Pokémon Go Broke Download Records with AR.

In 2016, Pokémon Go became the most downloaded and highest-grossing app of all time. Following digital maps in the real world and capturing characters that randomly pop up obviously has an allure. For once, a video game — with the AR combination of real-world environs and digital overlay — has people going on walks instead of cooped up in their houses. (New York Times, 2016)

“I really got into this idea of using digital tech to reinvigorate the idea of a public square, to bring people off the couch and out into an environment they can enjoy. We’re biologically evolved to be present in our bodies and to be out in the world.”

– John Hanke, CEO Niantic Labs, Pokémon Go creator
Augmented Reality Can Make Right to Repair an Actual Reality.

Right to Repair refers to proposed legislation that would make it realistic for anyone to fix an electronic device. Right now, it is technically legal to fix your own phone or laptop, but as Thorin Klosowski in The New York Times Wirecutter points out, something being legal doesn’t necessarily mean it’s possible. Most of us would be intimidated by the idea of opening up a laptop to replace a battery, but AR can overlay digital information onto your device, giving you step-by-step instructions.

Your Brain Processes AR More Efficiently than 2-D Instructions.

Most of our information processing (up to 90%) is visual. How quickly and accurately we process that information depends on mental capacity, and the demand on that capacity is called “cognitive load.” Cognitive load is greater when there is a gap between where we receive information and where we apply it. Harvard Business Review (2019) Think of typical GPS directions in which you shift your attention between your phone and the road. All that shifting increases cognitive load and the likelihood you’ll make a mistake. Through an AR heads-up display, your directions are superimposed onto the road.

Both Apple and Microsoft are Developing AR Hardware.

In March of 2021, the U.S. Army announced an almost $22 billion deal with Microsoft for a specialized version of their Hololens along with software and services. Apple has plans to roll out an AR headset in 2023 and the sleeker AR glasses in 2024 or 2025. Both products pave the way for a proliferation of AR apps and a more seamless way to use them. Clearly, both Microsoft and Apple see augmented reality as playing a significant role in our future. 

augmented reality
Why Microsoft and Apple are Investing in Augmented Reality
07 April 2022
Microsoft’s Multibillion-Dollar Deal with the Army

In March of 2021, the U.S. Army announced an almost $22 billion deal with Microsoft for a specialized version of their Hololens along with software and services. These augmented reality devices, based on the integrated visual augmentation system (IVAS) prototype version of the Hololens would only account for a small fraction of the cost; the rest covers services and Microsoft’s Azure computing. The headset employs augmented reality to project maps, a compass and thermal imaging over the real-world environment. It can help a soldier aim a weapon and can be used for training and rehearsal as well as actual combat. The deal is for a five-year term with an optional five additional years.

“The IVAS headset, based on HoloLens and augmented by Microsoft Azure cloud services, delivers a platform that will keep soldiers safer and make them more effective.”

~ Alex Kipman, technical fellow at Microsoft, introducer of the HoloLens in 2015
Apple’s New AR/VR Headset and Glasses

While Microsoft has secured a coveted government contract, Apple is focusing on the private sector. Apple has dabbled in AR and VR for almost two decades, but with the popularity of ARKit, their augmented reality platform for iOS, they’ve committed more resources to the technology. Apple has plans to roll out an AR headset in 2023 and the sleeker AR glasses in 2024 or 2025. The headset will contain a processor on par with that in their Mac computers and will be able to operate independently of a computer or smartphone. The headset will support both AR and VR (mixed reality) like Microsoft’s Hololens.

But despite AR being virtual reality’s less flashy cousin (It doesn’t create a virtual environment, only enhances our existing one), Apple ultimately seems more interested in AR (according to MacRumors) due to AR’s wide range of applications. The headset will run an operating system called rOS or “Reality OS,” and Apple plans an entire app store to provide immersive applications for the hardware. Apple Glasses (the potential name of the headset’s sleeker offspring) will be a slimmer version that resembles traditional eyewear. They will even be capable of integrating with prescription lenses.

What These Augmented Reality Investments Mean

Clearly, both Microsoft and Apple see augmented reality as playing a significant role in our future. AR can improve the safety and efficiency of combat, healthcare, shopping, of walking down the street to the coffee shop. AR is going to be part of our lives in the near future in a wide variety of settings, from the armed forces to your living room armchair.

AR can help make Right to Repair a reality.
Right to Repair Gains Ground; AR Technology is Here to Support It
06 April 2022
AR Technology can help make Right to Repair a reality.

Samsung has announced they will finally give consumers what they need to repair some of its Galaxy devices. Both users and third-party repair shops will have access to genuine parts and step-by-step guides. Apple is planning to launch a similar program giving users of the iPhone 12 and 13 access to repair manuals, and they say the program will eventually expand to some of its Mac computers. Major manufacturers are now supporting Right to Repair. (CNN Business)

Access to genuine Apple or Samsung parts and manuals is a boon for Right to Repair, but when we get down to the nuts and bolts of consumers actually opening up the cases of our phones and laptops, how will that go? We end-users may be too intimidated to take a screwdriver to our precious devices and their complex inner workings, even with directions. And when we do get into those parts and get stuck, we’ll need to call tech support. Companies like Apple and Samsung will have to provide that support and the experienced technicians to go with it. But maybe not as much as we think.

Where Augmented Reality Fits Into Right to Repair

Augmented reality — the digital overlay of information onto the real world — is already in the works for various devices. Imagine that technology applied to Right to Repair. Those users who will now be able to replace their own Galaxy screen or iPhone battery can see step-by-step instructions, not in a 2-D manual, but projected onto their device, reducing the likelihood of mistakes and confusion and the odds of needing to call tech support — a cost and headache saver for manufacturer and consumer.

Why We Need Right to Repair and AR

Americans dispose of 416,000 cell phones per day, and only 15-20 percent of electronic waste is recycled. Augmented reality can not only partner with Right to Repair to save us money, it can help save the planet. When, in the fall of 2020, school districts in the U.S. were short 5 million laptops due to supply chain issues, that problem could have been solved with repaired devices; plenty of laptops were manufactured to meet this need. (U.S. Pirg) Right to Repair and AR is a win-win pairing. It’s a cost savings for consumers who can now fix their own devices instead of buying new ones. It has a positive impact on the environment, and it’s good business. With the likes of Apple and Samsung getting involved in Right to Repair and several tech companies rolling out AR devices, it’s an investment in the future.

Augmented reality helps take apart a system board.
Why Right to Repair and Augmented Reality are Natural Partners
01 April 2022
Augmented reality helps take apart a system board.

Last year, President Biden signed an executive order directing the Federal Trade Commission to draw up some new rules for companies who like to limit who can repair your device. Tech manufacturers, for instance, have historically kept diagnostic and instructional materials under lock and key, available only to authorized shops. Ditto for official replacement parts. Many devices are also assembled in such a way (with glue, for instance) that makes it almost impossible to take them apart without breaking them. 
While Biden’s order didn’t change anything instantly, the Right to Repair movement is in full swing. Some state legislatures have already enacted Right to Repair laws for the auto industry. This thing is going to happen, and it’s going to create a need to disseminate information and repair instructions in a format the average consumer can understand. Augmented reality, with its digital overlay on the real world, can make end-user repairs almost seamless.

How AR and Right to Repair Help the Consumer

The battery life of your laptop has tanked. This is less than ideal for a device whose whole point is that it’s mobile and not constantly tied to a power outlet. But that’s the only thing wrong with it. You can take it somewhere and get the battery replaced. Maybe. Or you can give in and buy a new computer. Either way, it’s going to cost you a significant amount of money. 
Now imagine you can order a new battery and download instructions on how to swap it out. Instead of sifting through a PDF document, you hold your phone up to your laptop and step-by-step instructions are projected in real-time. You don’t have to know anything beforehand. The directions start with “remove this screw” and a digitally-projected arrow showing you exactly where it is. The AR instructions progress through each step of the process until your battery is replaced and your laptop is whole again. The process took minutes and cost you far less than taking it into a shop or buying a new computer. 

How the Manufacturer Benefits from AR Instruction

Typically, when a business provides instructions to consumers, it comes in the form of website or PDF text and two-dimensional diagrams. The manufacturer must provide tech support for any difficulties the repairer might run encounter. This means paying trained people to staff that help desk. 
AR instruction provides support as if an expert were in the consumer’s home giving instructions. This means needing fewer trained staff on hand to field problems. With quality AR instructions, users need less support. Brand loyalty is built when the customer has a satisfactory experience repairing their own device with AR directions the manufacturer has provided.

Right to Repair, Supported by AR, is Better for the Environment.

It’s not much of a leap to realize the environmental impact of being able to replace a battery rather than sending an entire device to the landfill, of making it easier for people to fix their own products — a tractor, a toaster, a smartphone. The key, as is often the case with new ways of doing things, is making it as simple as possible. 
AR removes barriers. It gets rid of the inefficient need to shift focus between written instructions and what you’re working on, reducing the chance of errors. It’s so user-friendly and intuitive, it disposes of the anxiety we feel about opening up complex electronics. Kaalo Design is already providing AR development services to help manufacturers quickly comply with Right to Repair standards. The technology and applications for AR instruction aren’t a futuristic concept; it’s already here. Right to repair is coming, and AR is key.