Gregory G. Curtin founded a California company, CivicConnect, whose mission is making people see things that aren’t really there.
CivicConnect, of which Curtin is also CEO, develops mobile technologies, with emphasis on augmented-reality technologies, to improve cities. The company says its CivicAR is the first AR platform to be built specifically for the public sector.
In the last 18 months, CivicConnect has partnered with the cities of Palm Springs and Mission Viejo to create mobile apps. The apps are designed to instantly give the user navigation data on the best places to see, stay, eat and shop to help users take advantage of their time in these cities.
CivicConnect is working on a regional travel app that will have wayfinding and regional connectivity abilities — some of which will be AR-enabled, like visual navigation and searches — as well as visual and audio guides and alerts. Users will also be able to use the app to remotely explore any covered location.
Another project in the works from CivicConnect is the development of augmented reality technology for Alameda County.
The company is working with the county and Irvine-based MaintStar to create an app that will allow users to access data about Alameda County’s infrastructure through mobile devices.
MaintStar’s software is used to collect data about the county’s assets and facilitate and track any submitted work orders.
The role of CivicConnect on this project is to pull this data about the city’s infrastructure assets into the CivicAR program to create an augmented reality around the assets that can be seen through a mobile phone, headset or even an AR-enabled windshield.
The purpose of the augmented reality app is to get residents involved and engaged with what their city or county is doing. Additionally, a city or county’s employees will be able to use this AR technology to have specific information about a problem and a visual aid while remaining onsite, increasing their efficiency.
Alameda County has recently completed a beta test of the public works AR app, which focused on streetlights, buildings and traffic lights, and it should be in use for field workers this summer.
“The beta test results show the very promising potential of AR in public sector environment,” Daniel Woldesenbet, director of the Alameda County Public Works Agency, told Techwire via email.
The goal of CivicConnect is not to develop the AR devices or collect the data. Rather, it’s the middleman that interprets the data, develops the software and creates AR content for a device.
“We’re the ones out there turning the soil, planting the seeds, fertilizing and watering the vast fields of the augmented reality experience,” CEO Curtin told Techwire.
SimX, another California-based company founded by three physicians and a team of developers, has created augmented and virtual reality medical training software, making medical training more comprehensive and accessible.
Traditionally, medical mannequins — often costing from $250,000 to $500,000 each — are used, but they are limited in what kind of data they can display. SimX’s software displays highly customizable virtual patients for a fraction of the cost.
It can be used for AR, putting a patient on a bed in the room the student is in, or to create an unfamiliar VR environment where a medical student could move freely to handle a patient.
The software can accommodate multiple participants, meaning a team of medical students could work on a case together at the same time. It’s also compatible with most AR/VR headsets.
The product is fully functioning and is currently in a paid beta testing phase with a limited number of customers, but is only a few months away from a wider release, according to SimX CEO Ryan Ribeira.
Ribeira also told Techwire that the company has discussed the future possibility of using the software for training the public on simple medical or first-aid procedures, such as CPR.
In addition to CivicConnect and SimX, countless other startups, corporations and entrepreneurs are making great strides to bring AR and VR technologies into the mainstream.
Notably, Apple CEO Tim Cook recently announced that the next-generation iPhone and iOS will be fully AR-enabled.
Additionally, Bing released an updated, AR-enabled Android app last week. Android users can use the camera within the app to find things around them like restaurants, shopping locations and gas stations.
