Magic Leap is a company which aims to merge the physical and digital worlds via Augmented Reality (AR), and they’re no strangers to partnering with other companies to reach their mission. This month, they’ve announced another partnership, this one with reality capture giant NavVis. The two companies will use this partnership with the “aim to deliver scalable localization and digital twin solutions in complex environments.”
Through this arrangement, users will be able to access large-scale AR applications in enterprise environments such as factories and other large facilities. The announcement specifically calls out the automotive and manufacturing, the latter being the initial focus, industries as sectors who can benefit from this partnership. Users will be able to access NavVis VLX and NavVis IVION Enterprise in order to generate photorealistic digital twins of their facilities quickly and covering large spaces. Users can then visualize the digital twin in the physical space using the Magic Leap 2, the company’s newest model which is expected to be released later this year.
This could be a game-changer for leaders working in large facilities like warehouses, big box retail stores, and factories. Using the NavVis platforms mentioned above, they’ll be able to create hyper-accurate pre-mapped digital twins of even the most complex facilities that can then be accessed in real time using Magic Leap’s platform. Being able to be used for things like remote training, assistance, and collaboration, the companies expect companies will ultimately be able to save money, streamline their workflows throughout the facility, and democratize their future manufacturing workforces, combining the best of both worlds with accurate 3D modeling and cutting edge AR technology.
NavVis, based in Munich, Germany, is one of the biggest names in the digital twin and 3D modeling world, serving customers around the world in industries like manufacturing, AEC, and surveying. The NavVis VLX is a wearable scanning device that can be used for scanning at walking speed that includes a built-in screen for users to view as the scanning is taking place, and then utilize NavVis IVION Enterprise, a software platform in which the data collected from the NavVis VLX can be visualized and where users can interact with generated digital twins.
Magic Leap is getting ready to release the aforementioned Magic Leap 2, and the company’s mission, in their words, is “to amplify human potential by delivering the most immersive AR platform so people can intuitively see, hear, and touch digital content in the physical world.” They are working specifically to bring AR technology into the world enterprise, a market that projects to reach $36 billion TAM (Total Addressable Market) by 2024, according to a cited report from IDC Worldwide Semiannual Augmented and Virtual Reality Spending Guide.
Peggy Johnson, the CEO of Magic Leap, mentioned in the announcement press release that Magic Leap had been seeing significant demand for digital twin solutions from their enterprise customers, making NavVis an ideal partner for them given their considerable experience with large companies like BMW, Volkswagen, Siemens, and Audi. Johnson said of the partnership, "Coupled with our Magic Leap 2 platform, NavVis’s advanced visualization capabilities will enable high-quality, large-scale, and novel AR experiences that business users demand.” Dr. Felix Reinshagen, the CEO and co-founder of NavVis, added, “Enterprise AR solutions for larger-scale activations will open the door for greater innovation in the workplace.”
