Meet the real Irish companies building the Oasis of Ready Play One

With the recent release of Stephen Spielberg’s “Ready Player One” the hype about Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality has reached fever pitch. The movie which tells the story of a future where humanity lives, works and plays in a virtual world called the Oasis is breaking box-office records and is expected to be the biggest movie of the year. In the real world the largest companies in the world are also getting in on the act with Google, Facebook, Microsoft, Sony, Intel and even Bose announcing that they are developing hardware solutions in the space. Irish companies are also leaders in the innovation so we decided to take a look at real life Irish companies who are building Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality software products and hope to make it big in this space.

UtilityAR
UtilityAR is an Irish start-up that is developing Augmented Reality Smart Glasses software for the technicians who maintain equipment for Utilities and Industrial companies. The system allows a technician to see the information they need to get their job done on the lens of their safety glasses while remaining hands free and mobile at all times. It also allows a remote advisor to see what the technician is seeing and annotate what they are seeing in real time, guiding them through a trouble shooting incident. Though only founded in Summer 2017, the company already boosts an exciting customer list and is in talks with many multinationals to use their software all over the (real) world.

For more on UtilityAR see utilityAR.com, or email Patrick Liddy [email protected]

Simvirtua
Simvirtua is a Virtual & Augmented Reality software development studio based in Limerick. From an experiential marketing exhibit for Eir and Verve Live Agency, to an immersive mindfulness application for MindMyths, the company builds custom applications across the entire spectrum for industry and enterprise. Other projects have included VR Health & Safety Training, VR Retail and AR Education apps. Simvirtua started life in 2013 as a reboot of the not-for-profit MissionV Education. Supported by the Department of Education, it rolled out a pilot Virtual Reality teaching programme in 20 schools across the country. Needless to say they are hugely excited to see how the Oasis of Ready Player One compares to the virtual Clonmacnoise that students in a rural Co. Offaly school built in 2013!

For more on Simvirtua see Simvirtua.com or email James Corbett [email protected]

MeetingRoom
Enterprise Ireland backed meetingRoom is an Irish based, remote team building the next generation of digital meeting spaces. Frustration with existing solutions for remote meetings led the company to build a platform to allow teams and organisations to set up shared virtual office space. By clicking a link, users enter a digital call space where they can work on whiteboards, share documents and reduce the need to travel for low value meetings. The company has built a light weight solution for mobile, desktop and virtual reality which runs 90% faster than Skype for Business, without the dropped calls.

For more on meetingRoom see meetingroom.io or email Jonny Cosgrove [email protected]

Realar
“Ready Player One uses augmented reality in the future to take the viewer out of their home, here at Realar we use AR today to put the viewer in their new home” says Realar Co-Founder Keith Ahern who along with Australian Co-Founder Dan Swan started Realar in 2017.  Realar™ Places is an augmented reality platform that is transforming the off-plan purchasing experience for home-buyers, and real estate sales teams. Innovative and deeply immersive, the platform allows properties to be viewed on-site, in real-time, using only a smartphone or tablet.

For more on Realar see realar.com  or email Keith Ahern [email protected]

CleverBooks
CleverBooks creates brighter future for the kids empowered by Augmented Reality technology. CleverBooks brings revolutionary approach towards teaching existing subjects by combining truly innovative augmented reality (AR) technology with traditional techniques to enhance children’s learning and building the future of education aid.

For more on Cleverbooks see cleverbooks.eu or email Darya Yegorina [email protected]