In Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality News
September 24, 2020 – Hololight, a provider of augmented reality (AR) software and hardware for industry and enterprise, has today announced that it is bringing its AR Engineering software ‘ARES’ into virtual reality (VR) on the Oculus Rift S.
According to Hololight, in ARES VR users will have the full range of features from the company’s AR workspace at their disposal. One special feature of the solution is a cross-platform multi-user mode. The collaborative mode will allow AR and VR users – for example via a Microsoft HoloLens 2 and Oculus Rift S – to connect easily and work together on virtual designs. The VR version of ARES also includes ‘teleport’ and ‘flight’ functionality, making it well suited for large-scale designs. Applications of ARES VR range from complex design reviews to factory installations, according to Hololight.
Florian Haspinger, CEO and Co-Founder of Hololight, said: “While virtual reality is already widely used in gaming and entertainment, more and more industrial companies see a competitive advantage in immersive technologies. The pricing and general availability of VR headsets make the technology particularly attractive. With ARES VR, Hololight has created a fully immersive engineering environment and at the same time enables collaboration between AR and VR users”.
As in the augmented reality version of ARES, engineers and designers can visualize, manipulate and collaborate on CAD models in the VR version too. The platform enables users to examine the internal structures of 3D models by using a cross-section function and selecting individual components or moving, rotating and scaling objects. Any changes or markups to a digital 3D model discussed in a session can then be seamlessly integrated into subsequent workflows, the company stated.
Hololight added that the field of application and the use case of its platform will determine the choice of technology, noting that in VR colors are more intense and large 3D models can be visualized, although space in the real world may be limited. Therefore, if users want to merge virtual objects with the real environment or physical prototypes, then AR might be better suited. With both ARES and ARES VR, engineers will be able to choose and combine whichever solution suits their needs.
Hololight has yet to announce a release date, simply stating that ARES VR will be “available soon” in the Oculus Rift Store including a free demo version. For more information on Hololight, please visit the company’s website.
Video credit: Hololight / YouTube
Related Posts
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.