Spatial and Nreal are aiming to make augmented reality-based collaboration a reality, by contributing hardware and software for the same. The companies have plans of joining forces with telephone companies for selling 5G-powered augmented reality (AR) technology to facilitate remote collaboration.
Augmented reality is considered as a blessing for offices of the future as it would enable remote collaboration between co-workers with the help of 3D objects and digital avatars. These objects can be observed and handled in real-time when a meeting is ongoing.
The Nreal Light smartglasses were launched by Nreal at the recently concluded CES event. It garnered considerable acclaim for its reasonable pricing, usability and lightweight construction. The smartglasses will start selling at a price of $499 at the end of this year.
Based on the partnership terms, software from Spatial is set to run on the Nreal Light, a hardware device that requires computers and smartphones. The association of these two companies facilitate affordable connections between workers in virtual meeting setups. It also raises the scope of using 5G connectivity, with the rise of 5G-supported smartphones coming to the market.
Anshel Sag, a Moor Insights & Strategy analyst, remarked that the partnership is a major step forward as it opens up the door to one of the most trending AR companies for Spatial, whilst Nreal can obtain a greater selection of use cases for the headset. Spatial is seeing the deal as another stimulus for Spatial, a company that has been in a partnership with Microsoft for HoloLens, providing device software for the mixed reality headsets. These are more powerful and cost a lot more than the Nreal Light. Spatial also works on Qualcomm XR2 and Facebook’s Oculus Quest.
Sag explained that Spatial acknowledges how a platform is necessary for enabling multiple AR headset wearers achieve uninterrupted and effective collaboration. He explained that the company are laying a strong focus on facilitating remote collaboration on an enterprise-level. According to Sag, Spatial plans to achieve the objective in a manner that contributes alongside engagement and immersive collaboration. Nreal and Spatial are collaborating with KDDI from Japan, Korea’s LG Uplus, and Germany’s Deutsche Telekom for 5G connectivity.
Anand Agrawala, the CEO and co-founder of Spatial expressed his viewpoints related to the development in a statement. He said that users can interact and collaborate with anyone and anywhere, similar to just sitting next to one another. Sag believes that utilising 5G technology can aid in surpassing several hurdles on the way to a fully-functional AR workplace. He expressed that 5G technology will be crucial for reducing currently-existing connectivity constrictions and cutting down on the need for so many security steps needed for collaboration.
Sag emphasised why 5G collaboration might gain even more prominence in the future, saying that Wi-Fi collaboration is great for the same network. He remarked that reliability and safety issues rise when using external Wi-Fi networks. 5G improves the situation in this regard.
Packing and price details, and future plans of collaborations with U.S. telcos are yet to be announced.
