Augumenta is introducing a new way for developers to add gesture-based machine control to their commercial, industrial and computing applications. The company unveiled the Augumenta SmartPanel, an augmented reality (AR) interface that uses hand-gesture controls and visual display panels to provide an AR display surface.
“Augumenta’s goal is to provide simple and intuitive interaction environments for augmented reality,” said Tero Aaltonen, cofounder and CEO of Augumenta.
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The SmartPanel requires the use of smartglasses in order to view data and access controls. Developers can control and authorize what certain smartglasses wearers can see, and it provides customized information based on the user’s role. “To initiate a session, a user with smartglasses looks at the SmartPanel,” said Aaltonen. “The camera in the glasses reads the unique machine code printed on the SmartPanel and begins recognition/authentication of the user. The display is then configured with the appropriate display/control information. The controls are then operated using hand gestures that are recognized by the smartglass camera and communicated to the machine.”
According to the company, SmartPanel use cases range from medical monitoring and diagnostics to industrial machinery control and test/measurement equipment operations. “The SmartPanel was developed at the request of an industrial machinery company that wanted to eliminate physical control panels,” said Aaltonen. “This potentially lowers cost of the equipment (fewer moving parts) while concurrently providing the flexibility of a configurable display and improving security.”
The SmartPanel features configurable panels for users to add new features or change panel layouts, custom panel setups that allow teams to set up parameters for different user groups, and a secure network connection.
Augumenta also provides an SDK that allows developers to integrate gesture controls and smart surfaces into their AR user interfaces. The SDK features Android Java, Unity3D and C/C++ APIs, and documentation and example apps to help developers get started.
