Open AR Cloud is opening its European headquarters for developing a future-oriented spatial computing platform in Munich

Augmented Reality (AR) innovations, i.e. digital enhancements to the real world, can now be found in nearly every area of application – e.g. in the medical, marketing and educational sectors and, of course, last but not least in the production industry. There are hardly any limits on imagination thanks to this technology, which is part of the so-called “spatial computing”. Workmen and technicians can be shown what they need to do digitally in situ; architects and engineers can work on the same three-dimensional model – a digital twin – with their colleagues across the world, while medical students can study organs as virtual, three-dimensional objects instead of just on paper. In order for AR to function everywhere, it needs the AR Cloud, i.e. a digital infrastructure as an orientation system in the real world – similar to GPS for smartphones. The AR Cloud lays across the earth like a three-dimensional grid, meaning that digital objects can be accurately integrated into the real world and everyday life.

Open AR Cloud – an open platform with partners from industry and the research sector  

The not-for-profit organisation Open AR Cloud (OARC) from the USA is advocating for an open and interoperable AR Cloud.  As the name suggests, the focus and mission of OARC is on an open platform with a decentralised approach, the aim of which is to distribute the control and ownership of AR Cloud data locally and to many users instead of allowing individual players to occupy the digital space. Open AR Cloud started two years ago during the 2018 Augmented World Expo (AWE) EU in Munich with a data protection manifesto for AR Cloud solutions. Since its foundation, more than 50 partners from a variety of industry and research sectors have become affiliated with the Open AR Cloud initiative to work together on realising its goals and ethical principles.

Open AR Cloud has now opened its first European site and future EU headquarters in Munich. “Munich is the ideal choice as a centre for researching and developing immersive technologies,” said Alina Kadlubsky, Director of Communications Open AR Cloud Association & Managing Director Open AR Cloud Europe. The site’s proximity to academic institutions and leading industrial companies are the foundation of future plans for Open AR Cloud. Munich has a unique profile as a leading industrial high tech cluster for German and international players, and a living XR ecosystem. Open AR Cloud enriches this ecosystem and is contributing to the laying of the foundations for a new era of computers through spatial computing.

Invest in Bavaria warmly welcomes Open AR Cloud to Munich and welcomes this valuable and future-oriented addition to the XR ecosystem in Bavaria.

The next opportunity to learn more about the team and its field of work is during the 3rd State of the AR Cloud Symposium & Showcase on 8 September with a broad and diverse programme where everything revolves around spatial computing.