Augmented reality startup Almer has released its latest headset, the Almer Arc, in partnership with TeamViewer, allowing collaboration between remote individuals as if they were physically present and sharing a reality.
The Almer founders are ex-Microsoft executives, formerly building the HoloLens 2 before setting out on their own and forming Almer. Now, Almer is helping take remote support from desktop to reality with the Almer Arc 2 in conjunction with TeamViewer.
The Almer Arc headset allows people to collaborate anywhere across the world while augmenting the wearer's environment with relevant information for pointing out actual, real-world, physical objects. The Almer Arc 2 includes a 25MP camera, beamforming microphones, built-in speakers, and a holographic see-through screen with eight hours of battery life. Yet, despite all these features, it only weighs a tiny 138g making it much more comfortable to wear for sustained periods than other augmented reality headsets.
Due to its completely transparent display, it can be used in mission-critical tasks and changing environments, such as out on the field, gaining support from experts back in the office.
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TeamViewer expects the partnership with Almer to help it expand into untapped opportunities with industrial companies, while Almer expects to benefit from scaling its operations and advancing AR adoption.
TeamViewer chief product and technology officer Mei Dent said, "Approximately 80% of the global workforce does not work at a desk but at a company’s frontline, and most of them currently benefit very little from digital transformation. There is immense potential for efficiency and productivity gains by enhancing the frontline work with digital tools and connecting this huge part of the global workforce to their companies' backend systems. Our joint offering with Almer allows companies to explore how Augmented Reality opens new opportunities for business and operations and massively increases the speed of their digitalization efforts.”
Almer CEO and co-founder Sebastian Beetschen said, "Our headset is much like a jet fighter visor, mounted directly in front of your eyes, featuring a transparent, see-through screen. The Almer Arc is a lightweight, compact, and easy-to-use AR headset. When a problem arises, the frontline worker takes the Almer Arc and contacts a remote expert, who can see and hear what the worker experiences. The expert identifies the issue, highlights objects, and displays documentation in the worker's view, simulating a collaborative, in-person experience.”
Beetschen founded Almer in 2021, along with Timon Binder when the duo felt the AR opportunity extended beyond clunky helmet-like apparatus. Beetschen was working on the HoloLens 2 at Microsoft Research and felt he could make a more compact, comfortable, and affordable AR device. Meanwhile, Binder was a former jet pilot and brought his experience with AR-like jet fighter helmets.
Almer now has 21 customers including Switzerland's largest defence contractor, which uses the Almer Arc to service fighter jets remotely in the US, as well as several international machine manufacturers. Almer is a venture-backed startup that has raised $US 7.6m to date from strategic investors including engineering giant Stena and manufacturing leaders Helbling among others. The Almer team consists of top talent from the fields of computer vision and microtechnology, from renowned Swiss institutes of technology, ETH and EPFL.
Beetschen said, “We have learned a lot on how to make the headset super adaptable and users can set their preferences on how they wear it. Something new entrants like Apple still have to learn. Not only this, Arc 2 comes with an improved wide-angle 25MP camera that can see and understand everything that you see and zoom into tiny details as never before. This makes it possible to understand the environment and assist, enabling superhuman capabilities”.
The global augmented reality market* is projected to grow from $62.75 billion in 2023 to $1,1 trillion in 2030, at a CAGR of 50.7%. Within this trend, the market for AR headsets is exponentially increasing over the next few years and is set to hit $120 billion in 2026. Initially, Almer is focusing on the Swiss industry and will soon expand into the neighbouring DACH region before going global.
“The cost-saving potential of using AR to service all installed machines for the 10 largest tooling-machine manufacturers in DACH alone accounts for £7.9 billion per year. So, the opportunity is very real," Beetschen said.