PTC announces AR support for Windows 10 and VuMark

PTC has announced new features for the Vuforia augmented reality (AR) platform targeted for the enterprise. This includes support for Windows 10 devices and the introduction of the VuMark solution for delivering AR experiences to any object.

A report from Juniper Research estimates that the use of AR apps in the enterprise will grow to be a $2.4billion market in 2019, up from $247million in 2014.

“PTC believes the technology has arrived to completely transform the way we interact with and experience things, and that technology is augmented reality,” said Jay Wright, Vuforia general manager & senior vice president, PTC.“Our goal with Vuforia is to deliver an augmented reality experience on top of all types of things.”

With support for Windows 10, Vuforia developers will be able to target devices including Microsoft’s Surface Pro 4 and Surface Book. Developers can use Unity, the leading tool for interactive 3D app development, to build a single cross-platform application that will run on iOS, Android and Windows 10 devices. Additionally, developers will be able to use Microsoft Visual Studio to add AR functionality to their Windows 10 applications.

VuMark also provides a simple method for encoding data such as a URL or a product serial number. It overcomes the limitations of existing bar code solutions that do not support AR experiences and can detract from a product’s appearance.