Palo Alto startup 8th Wall launches cross-platform tools for Mobile AR

8th Wall XR provides a single solution for developing AR apps on all iOS and Android phones

PALO ALTO, Calif., Aug. 28, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- 8th Wall, Inc. announced today 8th Wall XR, the world's first Augmented Reality (AR) platform that works on all commonly available iOS and Android phones and integrates seamlessly with ARKit (Apple) and Tango (Google).

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/51163dc6-2e25-4f8d-a653-d797786f1e26

Founded in August 2016, 8th Wall is a Palo Alto startup made up of an all-star team of ex-Google and Facebook engineers with extensive experience in computer vision, machine learning and product development. Passionate about AR, the team believes that the shift to widespread AR adoption will start with today's mobile phones. As a result they have been working on a suite of native tools that make it effortless to develop AR applications for mobile.

Even with promising native AR frameworks such as ARKit becoming available later this year, current estimates put the availability of native mobile AR frameworks at less than 15% of smartphones in 2018. This severely limits the consumer reach of these applications compared to standard mobile apps.

In contrast, 8th Wall XR provides a cross-platform AR solution that works on any common phone with or without native AR frameworks, proving an estimated 650% increase in the number of supported smartphones. When a phone supports a native framework such as ARKit or Tango, 8th Wall XR uses these libraries to provide 6 Degrees-of-Freedom (DoF) tracking, surface estimation, lighting estimation, and calibrated scene display. For other phones, 8th Wall XR provides 3DoF tracking, fixed surfaces, camera calibration information and vision-based lighting estimation. Later this year the team plans to bring 6 DoF to all supported phones as well, using 8th Wall's vision and machine learning algorithms.

"8th Wall XR works by bringing the best possible AR experience to each user's device," said Erik Murphy-Chutorian, Founder and CEO of 8th Wall. "It leverages native libraries like ARKit or Tango when available, and in their absence as is common today, the very same apps run on all other iOS or Android devices by using the phone's camera and inertial sensors. We've made it much faster to develop as well, addressing the current shortcomings and challenges in building an AR app today. With 8th Wall XR, developers can now effortlessly create an AR application in a matter of minutes."

Beginning today, 8th Wall XR is publicly available to Unity developers at www.8thwall.com and is also available as a native library for iOS and Android per arrangement.  The team plans to support additional platforms in the future.

About 8th Wall, Inc.

8th Wall's mission is to break the wall between the digital world and the physical world by creating software that enables developers to quickly and easily build mobile applications that interact with the real world. The 8th Wall team is comprised of proven experts with deep expertise in computer vision, image infrastructure, machine learning and full-stack mobile product development. For more information, please visit www.8thwall.com

Trademarks

8th Wall, 8th Wall, Inc., 8th Wall XR and associated logos are registered trademarks or trademarks of 8th Wall, Inc. and/or its affiliates in the United States and/or other countries. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

Safe Harbor

The preceding is intended to outline our general product direction. It is intended for information purposes only, and may not be incorporated into any contract. It is not a commitment to deliver any material, code, or functionality, and should not be relied upon in making purchasing decisions. The development, release, and timing of any features or functionality described for 8th Wall's products remain at the sole discretion of 8th Wall, Inc.

Dana Elizabeth
dana@8thwall.com