In Augmented Reality News
April 10, 2024 – Basemark, a provider of automotive augmented reality (AR) software that enables original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) to develop AR applications for their cars, has this week announced that it has successfully raised EUR €22 million in series B funding, bringing the company’s total funding raised to EUR €34 million.
Who were the investors in this round?
The round was a combination of equity, grants, and loans, and was led by ETF Partners, with additional funding from Finnish Industry Investment (Tesi), Constructor Capital, Business Finland, the European Innovation Council, and private investors.
Commenting on the investment, Remy de Tonnac, Senior Partner at ETF Partners said: “In the future, as autonomous cars become the norm, we expect a significant decrease in the total number of vehicles on the road, with the majority being electric. This shift will result in a substantial reduction of emissions. Augmented reality is key to this transformation, serving as an integral component of the Software Defined Vehicle megatrend that is guiding the automotive industry toward full autonomy. Basemark is at the forefront of the AR/VR HUD technology revolution and they are perfectly positioned to help OEMs craft safer, more sustainable, and more enjoyable driving experiences for all.”
What are Augmented Reality HUDs in vehicles?
AR HUDs help to improve driving safety by projecting real-time contextual guidance, alerts, and other AR content onto the windshield, allowing drivers to constantly keep their eyes on the road.
How will Basemark use this new funding?
Basemark stated that it will use the capital to deepen its business with OEMs in Europe and the United States and fund its international expansion to Japan, China, and South Korea. The company secured its first series production deal with an OEM in the United States last year and noted that it is actively discussing with major OEMs in Europe and Asia. Basemark’s aim is to secure more series production deals with OEMs, and strengthen its ‘Rocksolid AR’ software development tools.
What is Basemark’s Rocksolid AR software?
Rocksolid AR is Basemark’s automotive augmented reality software solution that enables OEMs to develop their own AR applications for Heads-up Displays (HUDs) and other in-vehicle screens.
Basemark stated that unlike its competitors, many of which focus solely on providing AR software development services, Rocksolid AR enables OEMs to develop AR solutions themselves by combining an AR development studio with an interconnected AR software development kit (SDK). This combination enables the efficient development of bespoke AR applications that reflect the unique brands of various OEMs.
This development studio, titled ‘Rocksolid AR Studio,’ enables OEMs to develop lightweight, portable AR applications that can fit on low-end chips and power multiple in-vehicle displays simultaneously, such as HUDs, instrument clusters, infotainment displays, and E-mirrors.
“AR development is very slow, expensive, and tedious to learn, requiring expertise in AI, computer vision, graphics, and embedded systems,” said Tero Sarkkinen, Founder and CEO of Basemark. “Traditional HMI [Human Machine Interface] development tools do not have computer vision capabilities, so there was a growing need for an AR development tool in the automotive industry. That’s why we developed Rocksolid AR, the world’s first series production-grade automotive AR development tool set.”
What features does Rocksolid AR offer the automotive industry?
According to Basemark, its Rocksolid AR solution includes advanced localization and motion tracking mechanisms to ensure AR content is always anchored correctly to real-world objects and appears in the correct position in the driver’s Field of View, regardless of motion or vibration.
Additionally, Rocksolid AR has built-in algorithms to combat latency, which can make the AR content feel disconnected from the real world and cause motion sickness. The software can also automatically understand safety-critical information in the environment and avoid blocking it with AR content to ensure a safe and immersive AR experience.
“Displaying the right information at the right time and place for the driver is the most difficult part of developing immersive automotive AR experiences. Rocksolid AR handles all the AI heavy lifting for positioning content in the most immersive way, enabling OEMs to focus on brand differentiation,” added Sarkkinen.
What automotive companies does Basemark work with?
In 2022, Basemark announced the implementation of its augmented reality applications for BMW Group on its new iX AR applications. The company added that it also counts several other well-known OEMs and Tier-1 companies as customers from the USA, Germany, France, Italy, and UK.
For more information on Basemark and its automotive augmented reality solutions, click here.
Image / video credit: Basemark / YouTube
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About the author
Sam is the Founder and Managing Editor of Auganix. With a background in research and report writing, he has been covering XR industry news for the past seven years.