8th Wall has beaten the large multinationals in delivering the first ever AR Web platform. While Google and Apple are still wallowing in experiments, the 8th Wall Web browser support is up and running.
What was thought to be a two-horse race between Google and Apple is hijacked by another company. The California-based 8th Wall Inc. has spoiled the party by delivering the full-fledged AR Web platform first. What the new platform offers is the possibility to view all AR content directly inside a browser. Eliminating the need to download apps in order to view AR content, the 8th Wall Web platform opens up the world of Augmented Reality to the general audience. We will be seeing a lot more Augmenter Reality like Pizza Hut AR game or L’Oreal AR content, only without ever needing to download their apps.
The statement from 8th Wall CEO Erik Murphy-Chutorian reads: “AR transforms the way people can use the Web, whether it’s taking a closer look at a product on an e-commerce site, interacting with immersive branded content, or being guided through a recipe with AR in the comfort of your own kitchen.” It is hard not to imagine the glee that the robot from the company’s official site is displaying. Indeed, Erik Murphy-Chutorian has a good reason to be and sound excited. The AR Web platform is a game-changer and breakthrough in reaching wide audience that AR is ready for.
8th Wall Web platform uses javaScript and WebGL standards in adapting the company’s AR optimized SLAM engine. The platform is compatible with many of the existing AR features. It also adds a few things of its own. 6DoF positional tracking, for instance, enables smartphone cameras to view AR content from different angular positions. The Web platform also features light and surface estimation and detection. These allow for a better ‘scanning’ of the real world and consequently match the lightnings and improve the AR object placement respectively.
Google and Apple have been working on their own takes at AR Web platform. The efforts resulted in various experimental releases like web-based API or Apple’s Quick Look. But either of these has yet to sprout into an independent platform compatible with existing mobiles and browsers. 8th Wall CEO is unconcerned with the big AR players catching up. As opposed to their solutions that will need ‘a new web browser, new operating system, new web standards… 8th Wall Web platform is a full computer vision and camera pipeline built on well-established web technology. We can launch any new features and technology with 8th Wall Web immediately’.
It is the scale that matters. Despite the inventions so far, we will be looking back saying that the September 2018 is when it began. The 8th Wall Web platform gives developers an enormous opportunity to go out and reach as wide an audience as possible. It is now a matter of time for brands and retailers to make the most of the new platform.
