Vehicle AR software firm Basemark raises €22 million
Original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) can create augmented reality (AR) applications for their vehicles with Basemark’s software. Bringing its total capital acquired to EUR €34 million, the firm just announced that it achieved its goal of EUR €22 million in phase B fundraising.
ETF Partners led the round, which included grants, loans, and stock. Additional investment came from the European Innovation Council, Constructor Capital, Business Finland, Tesi, and Finnish Industry Investment.
According to ETF Partners’ Senior Partner Remy de Tonnac, as self-driving automobiles become commonplace, it is anticipated that there could be a substantial reduction in the overall amount of automobiles on the roadways, with most of them being electrically powered.
Emissions will be significantly reduced as a result of this change. This shift is largely dependent on augmented reality, which is a fundamental part of the Software Defined Vehicle megatrend that is pushing the car industry towards complete autonomy. Being at the forefront of the AR/VR HUD technological revolution, Basemark is in a unique position to assist OEMs in creating more sustainable, safer, and pleasant driving environments for all users.
By projecting real-time contextual information, alarms, and other AR material onto the windscreen, AR head-up displays (HUDs) contribute to increased driving safety by enabling drivers to maintain a constant eye on the road.
Basemark claims it will use the funds to further its global expansion into South Korea, Japan and China, as well as to deepen its relationships with European and American original equipment manufacturers. The business announced that it is in active talks with significant OEMs in Europe and Asia, having last year won its first series manufacturing agreement with an OEM in the United States. The goals of Basemark are to fortify its Rocksolid AR software development tools and win additional series production agreements from OEMs.
Basemark offers automobile augmented reality software called Rocksolid AR, which lets original equipment manufacturers create custom AR apps for Heads-up Displays (HUDs) and other in-car screens.
According to Basemark, Rocksolid AR enables OEMs to build AR solutions themselves by integrating an AR development studio with an interconnected AR software development kit (SDK), in contrast to its rivals, many of which concentrate only on offering AR software development services. This combination makes it possible to create custom AR apps that accurately represent the distinct brands of different OEMs in an effective manner.
The Rocksolid AR Studio development studio facilitates OEMs in creating compact and lightweight augmented reality apps that can run on low-end CPUs and power many in-vehicle displays at once, including infotainment screens, instrument clusters, HUDs, and E-mirrors.
The CEO and creator of Basemark, Tero Sarkkinen, claims that learning AR development requires a deep understanding of AI, computer vision, computer graphic design, and embedded technology, and that the process is time-consuming, costly, and laborious. The necessity for an AR development tool in the automobile sector grew as traditional HMI [Human Machine Interface] development tools lack computer vision capabilities. For this reason, the company created the first series production-grade automotive AR development tool set in the world, called Rocksolid AR.
Basemark claims that their Rocksolid AR system has sophisticated motion tracking and localization features that guarantee AR material is always properly positioned in the driver’s Field of View and attached to real-world objects, independent of motion or vibration.
Furthermore, Rocksolid AR has algorithms in-built to mitigate latency, which can create motion sickness and a disconnection between the AR content and the outside environment. To guarantee a secure and engaging augmented reality experience, the software can also automatically recognise safety-critical information present in the surroundings and refrain from obstructing it with AR content.
