That we're witnessing a major shift these days — from web apps' supremacy to mobile apps' domination — is definitely no news. It's been a while since it grew from a trifle into a (digital) world dominating... reality. And so, anticipating which of last year's trends will be growing into “megatrends” and which of the newly emerging ones will be the mobile app development trends in 2018 with the highest impact on the digital landscape
… becomes crucial for anyone in the mobile app industry.
Should you continue to bid on virtual reality and cloud technology? Is blockchain nothing but a bubble about to burst this year? What place should wearable apps and IoT have in your mobile app development strategy?
We've done our research, approached the experts and the authority figures in the mobile app development industry apps and here's what we've come up with:
An 8-point list including precisely those high-impact trends to keep an eye on in 2018:
1. Wearable Devices and IoT Are “Exploding”! And So Is Wearable App Development
And I'm sure you, yourself, anticipated this: that IoT devices and wearable apps will go from niche to mainstream.
With more and more industries adding up to the list of IoT adopters — education, smart health, automotive — and with Apple cutting off the price constraint, it's only reasonable to expect wearable devices/apps explode in 2018.
… to expect to see more apps for wearable devices (and not just watches) and an increasingly powerful impact of IoT on mobile app development.
Considering that smartphones are needed for controlling IoT devices...
2. Android Instant Apps, One of the Growing Mobile App Development Trends in 2018
It's a fact: Android Instant Apps will be one of those (not so) new trends in mobile app development to be growing like a beanstalk this year!
The reasons behind this anticipated growth have a too powerful impact on the users not to turn from a predicted scenario into a... reality of the digital realm:
they're conveniently easy to use: no installation required and yet they're more on the native app's side and they work like websites
they use fewer resources
they can be accessed from anywhere (WITHOUT installation)
In other words: the border between the realm of apps and the landscape of websites gets even more... blurrier this year.
3. Accelerated Mobile Pages
A huge “hit” ever since its “debut”, in 2016, Google's AMP is definitely on the up and up in 2018, too.
And no wonder why this open-source initiative — accelerated mobile pages — still “runs the show” and continues to “seduce” mobile app developers:
it's a publishing technology (HTML's stripped-down version) geared at boosting mobile pages' performance
… practically it injects both sites (on mobile devices) and web apps with high speed
… keeping the bouncing rate to a minimum
Now, these are strong enough advantages for this trend to be one of the high-impact mobile app development trends in 2018.
4. Predictive Analytics Gains an Increasingly Powerful Influence on Mobile UI/UX
What do you think about joining the “gang” of tech giants in the mobile app industry (Google, IBM, Apple, Facebook) and jump on this trend in 2018?
Why bother? Well, because:
we'll be witnessing a shift from mobile apps as “mere” utilities to apps as integral components of your workflow
this advanced software is the “offspring” of AI and machine learning
… with a major impact on your customer journey via your mobile app's UI/UX
… since it provides valuable predictions related to your business (by leveraging the available data) for you to capitalize on (and to do what it takes to enhance your app users' experience)
5. On-Demand Apps Will Ride The Tide of Popularity
How could they not? After all, they're making people's lives easier by simplifying their day-to-day activities, such as:
looking for laundry services
ordering food
looking for cleaning services
looking for rideshare and taxi services
And not only that on-demand apps will be in... high-demand this year. They'll be one of those mobile app development trends in 2018 expected to “bloom” with new cool features and functionalities:
business bots
UI/UX enhancements
predictive analysis
m-commerce facilities
6. Blockchain: Newer Mobile App Development Trends in 2018 With Huge Potential
Blockchain has been intriguing, “seducing” and gaining so much good press, that it can't but continue to grow, as a trend, in 2018, too.
And it's no surprise why:
it provides companies with a shared, unalterable ledger storing their information (transaction histories or bitcoins) presented in the form of blocks
… “unalterable” meaning that the info can't be modified unless all the subsequent blocks get modified; which would automatically lead to the entire network's collision
A principle of “openness” that continues to “seduce” legit businesses. Businesses that do seize the huge potential of providing transparent access to the blockchain.
7. Dare to/Continue to Bid on Cloud Integration This Year
The future of mobile apps and their development is one where the benefits of cloud technology are being (finally) leveraged to their full potential.
And here I'm talking about benefits such as:
better storage
reduced costs in hosting and equipment
improved page loading times
streamlined operations
increased productivity and collaboration
And nonetheless: developing mobile apps over the cloud will enable them (the apps) to run seamlessly across multiple platforms.
Now that's superpower, don't you think? A huge “leap” into the future of mobile app development software!
8. AR/VR Will Have an Even Higher Impact on App Development Strategies
These 2 technologies are already too well rooted in the long-term future of mobile apps that they can't go anywhere else but... UP.
AR and VR continued to be developers' trump cards for creating jaw-dropping mobile app experiences. Even so more this year, with all the compatible hardware expected to invade the market.
And it's not just the gaming sector that will benefit from augmented reality graphics and videos presented in VR, but others will fall under its “spell”, as well.
Here I can only think of the huge potential that these 2 technologies have in the retail sector.
Speaking of which, are you think what I'm thinking? About Amazon Go and all the doors that it has opened for other similar apps to steal the spotlight this year?
End of the list!
These are, judging by the stats, forecasts, and expert opinions that we've analyzed, the 8 high-impact mobile app development trends in 2018.
Also, judging by all the enhancements in hardware:
button-less mobile devices
more and more powerful chips
… and the emergence of a new level of digital speed — 5G — I can't but be certain that these 8 trends here will get turbocharged in 2018.
Adriana Cacoveanu / Feb 05'2018
Welcome to... Dockerland, a place of never-ending confusions! The most frustrating one of them all — for every novice planning to explore Docker — being the “Docker Image vs Container” dilemma.
“What, aren't they one and the same concept?”
But you know that this is a rhetorical question: you just sense that they're 2 distinct concepts...
Yet, you can't really identify the differences:
How are Docker containers and images different after all?
Now let's clear up the Docker Image vs Container confusion once and for all:
First Things First: What's a Docker Image?
A file (or file-like... thing) that gets built from a Dockerfile, by running a "build" command.
Moreover — and this is particularly important in defining a Docker image and setting it apart from containers — it's an inert, immutable type of file. A template-like file (you could also imagine it as a snapshot of a container).
It's only when started, with the docker command, that a docker image starts producing a container.
And since images in Docker tend to grow quite large, they're built on a layered structure (multiple players of other images). This way, only a small “load” of data gets sent when loading images over the network.
Wrapping Up:
you can take the docker image as an application that you'd like to run
a docker image can't be “running” or be “started”; once the “docker run” command is... run (obviously!), the image grows into a docker container, so... mind the inevitable confusion
Which Leads Us to The Question: “What's a Docker Container Then?”
The not 100% accurate, yet generally accepted (even if halfheartedly) definition is:
“A container is a running instance of an image”
Now, let me detail...
Practically, the very act of running a Docker image produces a Docker container. You won't find a more straightforward explanation than this one!
And containers are (or they should be) the very reason why “learning Docker” turned into one of your top resolutions for 2018 in the first place. For they're:
lightweight
using fewer resources
portable
easy-to-be-deployed
… ways of running and managing your applications.
If you're fond of analogies, here's one that will undoubtedly help you come up with a clear answer to your “Docker container vs image” dilemma:
If a Docker image was a class, then a Docker container would be an instance of a class (a runtime object).
Wrapping up now:
once you start an image in Docker (so once you use the “docker run” command) you basically have a running container of this image in question
a container is created by adding a top writable layer to a Docker image and thus by initializing multiple settings (container name, ID, network ports etc.)
and it's due to that very writable layer, storing all the changes applied, that you can have multiple containers running off the same image; each and every one of them preserving its own distinct data state
Docker Image vs Container: Key Difference Revealed
The most significant difference clearing up the confusion is the following:
There is a top writable layer setting Docker images and Docker containers apart
It's that very layer, storing all write operation corresponding to the containers in question, which:
gets deleted along once/if the container, itself, gets deleted, while the underlying image remains intact
enables multiple containers to share the very same underlying image
Now to better explain the key differences founding this dichotomy, let's reduce everything to a simple, clear-enough (hopefully) formula:
a docker image + a docker run command = a docker container (meaning a running instance of the docker image)
… a container equipped with its own writable layer and which can get listed via a "docker ps" command
Is everything any clearer and simpler to you now?
Or Maybe a Metaphor Example Suits You Best?
In addition to my “class vs instance of a class” analogy, let me try now explaining this tricky Docker dichotomy by using a metaphor... or two:
Let's say you have a film and a VHS of (which stands for our “image” in Docker). Then, imagine you'd place that VHS into your “virtual” VCR. In this case, the VCR stands for your Docker container. Better?
Or you could see the Docker image as an executable file on a disk (an app's file); once you run your application, it promptly creates an instance running in its memory. Now that very instance is our metaphorical Docker container.
Have I managed to clear up your confusion or just... deepen it instead?
Docker Image vs Dockerfile: How Do You Set Them Apart in “Dockerland”?
Now, let me rewind to the stage where we can't even be talking about containers (not just yet). Where not even Docker images are yet built: the Dockerfile stage.
You can take a Dockerfile as a... recipe for creating Docker images.
And here's how the “cooking of an image” takes place:
a Docker command is run in that Dockerfile
and so an image gets built
Clear as daylight: a Dockerfile is a... file that you create which, in return, creates a Docker image when you run a separate build command.
The END! Do be honest now: have I managed to clear up your “Docker Image vs Container” confusion?
If so, then “solving the puzzle” around this dichotomy will make a huge jump start on your Docker learning plan for 2018. Happy learning!
Silviu Serdaru / Jan 23'2018
Ready to.... stare into your crystal ball? To turn your visionary "superpower" on and... get a glimpse of the future of ecommerce? Not the distant future, but the future of 2018. And hopefully, identify the 10 ecommerce trends in 2018 that you should integrate into your digital marketing strategy and start capitalizing on.
ASAP, needless to add! Way before they even grow into powerful trends and competition in the digital marketing arena becomes a... throat-cutting one.
No need actually! For I've already sneaked a peek into the near future for you (no need to take out your crystal ball anymore, you can jump straight to turning information into gold). And I've identified the trends in the ecommerce industry that will rule in 2018!
Here are your “10 ecommerce commandments”:
1. Unlock Customer Reviews' Full Potential (Even the Negative Ones')
Not joking: pushing forward, right into the spotlight, exclusively the positive customer reviews will just lower users' trust in your brand (ironically enough).
Perfection generates suspicion, right?
So, always “bet on”... transparency.
Well, of course, it goes without saying that a significant “load” of honest high scores does have a huge impact on your conversion rate and on your brand's overall reputation.
Now getting back to customer marketing as one of the huge ecommerce trends in 2018: it's a strong proof that you're valuing your users' feedback.
Which leads to recurrent shopping and attracts prospects like a magnet: you'll be regarded as a trustworthy, transparency-valuing brand, that does “give ear to” its own customers' feedback.
In other words: strive to encourage your customers to review their shopping experiences with you. For instance, a redeemable voucher/discount could make a powerful incentive, don't you think?
2. Add an Augmented Reality Dimension to the Shopping Experience
From a shopping experience to... experiencing shopping. Seize the difference?
If the use of VR/AR technology for retail purposes ignited in 2017, it will simply... explode in 2018. It will continue to be one of the most influential ecommerce trends in 2018.
So you'd better join brands' “race” for coming up with innovative visual ways of showcasing their products. And, thus, make it possible for your customers to interact with your products while enjoying that true-to-life feeling that... might just turn them into buyers.
Whether it's:
a virtual tour of your brick and mortar store
a new AR feature integrated into your online store, rivaling Ikea's own “Place” app
any other functionality for turning your users' shopping experiences into virtual interactions
… you'd better hurry up and start brainstorming ideas
3. Influencer Marketing Will Only Get More... Influential in 2018
That's right, influencer marketing will continue to dominate the retail landscape this year. It's an increasingly valuable resource for you to tap into.
In 2018 even so more, since influencer marketing software comes to streamline your efforts in this direction:
it's built to point out to you — the online store owner/digital marketer — precisely the suitable methods to use depending on the specific leads that you're targeting.
Now, this is gold!
4. Community-Led Marketing: One of the Rising Ecommerce Trends in 2018
Watch for the “community-lend brands”! Or, even, better: become one!
And it's customers themselves — communities of customers, that start seeing themselves as “brand representatives” — that will be pushing these newly emerging brands right in the very first line this year.
How can you, too, capitalize on community-led marketing?
Here are a few sure strategies to turn your customers into your own brand's advocates. Into your marketing strategy's driving force:
set up the perfect contexts on your social media channels for your customers to actually discuss your products
encourage them to share their honest experiences after trying/using your products (user-generated content turned into an incentive for new prospects!)
allow them to actually test your products and let them answer other prospects' questions on your Instagram or Facebook account
A customer-centric approach with a focus on user-generated content! Or valuing user feedback to such extent, that customers eagerly turn into your brand's advocates.
This is what community-led marketing comes down to, and this is precisely why it will turn into one of the most powerful online shopping trends in 2018!
5. Don't JUST Be Present on Multiple Channels: Be Consistent!
“About 85% of online shoppers start a purchase on one device and finish on another” (Google)
Need I add more? Your “cluster” of presences on multiple platforms should turn into ONE consistent presence on them all. Into one seamless visual and UI experience for your customers.
And how do you achieve consistency while going omnichannel, omni-device and after you've integrated all your presences on different channels?
Here are a few common sense tips and tricks:
from navigation
to payment gateways
to the design itself
to all the branding elements
and social media content
… make sure you stick to the same self-imposed guidelines. It's one and the same entity that your customers should feel like they're interacting with, not one having... multiple personalities.
End of Part 1! Till we meet again to analyze together the other powerful trends identified for you, do take your time to ponder on these first 5 ecommerce trends in 2018.
Have you anticipated them already? Are they relevant enough to your own ecommerce business? Do you find them powerful enough for “fueling” your online marketing strategy this year or are you still a bit skeptical that they're more than just buzzwords?
Serge Karpyuk / Jan 18'2018
Native Apps: They're Not Going Anywhere... Not Anytime Soon
In other words, in the "progressive web apps vs native apps" competition PWAs make an alternative, not a replacement for native apps.
For native apps are here to stay and still offer plenty of advantages themselves, too, (while progressive web apps do have their own limitations to consider, as well) for companies and developers not to give them up anytime soon.
And here are just some of the key reasons why they continue to steal the spotlight. Reasons that might help you find your own answer to the “PWA or native app?” question:
big brands, already having their own native apps running on their preferred platforms, don't feel the same pressure as low-budgeted companies to switch to PWAs; it's some sort of “inertia-driven stubbornness”
app developers with a wide experience with IOS or Android don't feel like replacing their familiar work routines with a PWA-specific one, even if the latter is less complex
let's admit it: the web-based app development does come with its own limitations that still need to be addressed
Progressive Web Apps vs Native Apps: 6 Reasons to Go With a Native App
As PWAs exploit some of the native apps' drawbacks, so do the latter turn some of their “rivals'” limitations into their own strong points.
For instance:
PWAS might be widely adopted thanks to their universal compatibility, hassle-free user experience and short development time, yet they're not capable to interact with the devices that they run on
native apps can do that; moreover, they're perfectly adapted to leverage a mobile device's smart functionalities
also, PWAs run in web browsers, which, might turn into a disadvantage: it could slow them down
… whereas native apps, being installed on the given devices, first things first, will inevitably load a lot faster; there's no longer a browser intermediating the process
Now, let's dig out other strong reasons for... going native:
1. No Ifs and Buts: They're Faster
As previously mentioned: with the web browser acting as an intermediary, progressive web apps can't compete with their native “rivals” in terms of performance.
As opposed to PWAs, native apps are installed on the devices that they run on.
Therefore, not only that their code practically “lives” there, but it's platform-bound. Written with the requirements of that specific mobile operating system in mind.
2. They Come With Built-In NFC Support
The “Near Field Communication” support is vital for certain businesses. So, do consider this native apps' advantage (or this PWAS' shortcoming, depending on how you want to put it) before you give a final answer to your “progressive web apps vs native apps” dilemma.
If it's of critical importance for you that your customers should be able to pay for your services with their phones, then you need to go native. There's no way around this!
PWAS can't yet interact with the NFC chip enabling this type of payment.
3. They Provide a Quality Control Guarantee
All the app stores' “bureaucracy” might be discouraging enough, yet there are good intentions — resulting in a quality guarantee — behind all those steps to take:
filling out forms, reading specific forums, following strict app development guidelines, waiting for your app's review process to be carried out etc., etc.
Instead of seeing them strictly as... highly restrictive, take them as multiple filters that clear your app of any malicious code.
As for PWAS, just think about it:
The easier it is for anyone to access your app by just visiting the web page hosting it, the easier it is for a hacker, as well, to exploit the vulnerabilities of that connection.
4. GEO-fencing: A Superpower Placed in Your Hands
And this is no exaggeration, especially if it's a retail app that you're planning to develop.
Just give it a moment of thought:
GEO-fencing will enable you (your marketing team) to define virtual “boundaries” in the real world; once a customer's mobile device enters or exits that defined area, a push notification gets triggered.
A powerful functionality to ponder on when you're facing a “progressive web apps vs native apps” decision-making challenge. A smart functionality that native apps can easily exploit, while PWAs can't.
5. They Can Leverage a Device's “Smart” Capabilities
And this is one of the major advantages of native apps over progressive web apps!
They interact with the mobile devices that they're installed on, meaning that they use their smart features to their full potential. Features such as:
proximity sensor
wave lock: you don't want your users' phone screens to go black right in the middle of a video you've inserted in your app, now do you?
ambient light
6. They Easily Interact With Other Apps
Take for instance this highly frequent scenario:
A user tries to set up his/her account within your app and he's given the option to enter his Facebook login details
It's the perfect example of native apps interacting with one another. And this is but just one example of inter-app communication that helps users save valuable time.
So, What Kind of App Should You Develop After All?
“ The one that best serves your needs.”
So, get them clearly defined first things first:
Do you need to develop a basic customer service/retail app? And, moreover, you're both budget and time-limited, as well? Then a progressive web app might just be the perfect fit for your project's needs.
Is it a mobile app exploiting smartphones' advanced functionalities to the fullest that you need to build? Then you should consider opting for a native app: it's fast — which will definitely impact the overall user experience — it integrates with multiple payment gateways and it harnesses the power of “smart” features (Geo-fencing, NFS, wave lock etc.)
Also, when trying to pick your winner in the “progressive web apps vs native apps” contest, consider the expected future advancements, as well:
mobile devices will get injected with more and more advanced technologies, tilting the balance in native apps' favor
progressive web apps will continue to be constantly supercharged with new and new functionalities, that go beyond a web browser's standard ones (integration with Bluetooth, with NFC, with smart devices' hardware features)
That being said: the choice is yours to make! I've only pointed out the main criteria and the key benefits/limitations for you to weigh and to compare, so you can make a fully informed decision.
Silviu Serdaru / Jan 12'2018
The paradox of choice, right? Didn't it use to be so much easier back in the old days, when you had just one option at hand? "You wanted to go mobile, you just knew this meant “pumping” money into a native app." Clear as a day! But what do you now, when you're facing a "progressive web apps vs native apps" situation?
Which app development approach is the perfect fit for you? For the nature of your business and for your app project's specific needs?
PWAS seem to be “stealing the show” these days: first they intrigue, next they “seduce” with the hard-to-resist-to promise that they deliver:
Empowering small businesses to compete against the "giants" in the mobile app development arena!
And still: native apps won't be going anywhere anytime soon!
Moreover, they'll get even more robust and faster, as the devices that they run on get more and more advanced. And as they'll continue to leverage their great advantage over progressive web apps:
Leveraging mobile devices' smart features and capabilities and thus delivering an enriched user experience.
Now, to put an end to your “turmoil”, I've come up with a sort of “inventory” listing the set of benefits that you can reap from choosing one type of app over the other.
Here it goes:
But First: What's a PWA? And How Is It Different from a Native App?
“An app running inside the user's web browser, that he/she doesn't need to download and install beforehand. And which, moreover, is injected with native app-like functionalities and wrapped in a seamless user interface.”
This should be a clarifying enough answer to your “What's a PWA?” question.
Bottom line, the key difference between PWAs and native apps is:
The first ones run inside web browsers, while the latter run on the mobile devices that they're installed on.
The concept behind this revolutionary approach to app development is both daring and ambitious:
Cutting down the overhead and the discouraging complexities usually associated with a native app's development process.
And thus:
reducing time and costs
eliminating the step where your users download it from an app store
Progressive Web Apps vs Native Apps: Top 7 Benefits From Choosing a PWA
For it all comes down to benefits, right? What's in it for you if you choose one app development approach over the other?
The level popularity that one type of app has gained falls shortly behind the very set of benefits that you get.
Now here are the most valuable ones to consider when you're having a “PWA vs native app” dilemma:
1. You'll Reach Out to A Significantly Wider Audience, With Fewer Resources
As compared to developing an Android-focused or an IOS-focused native app, a PWA will practically grant you access to all platforms. It's a “develop once, run everywhere”, type of situation:
A PWA is a “platform-agnostic” type of app.
Needless to add that your progressive web app's extreme versatility will help you reach the widest audience way quicker and with minimal costs.
2. You'll Reduce The App Development Cycle Times
And this is, undoubtedly, that heavy-weighting advantage tilting the “progressive web apps vs native apps” balance in PWAs' favor. The very reason why progressive web apps gained so much attention in the first place.
With native apps' development process “famous” for:
all the headaches it causes
all the complexities specific to any platform-bound solution
all the time-consuming steps to take: crafting some eye-catching screenshots, writing down the description, identifying the right keywords and strategically sprinkle them across the description...
... PWAs emerged in a highly favorable context and they “exploited” precisely the overhead associated with a native app development cycle.
So, they managed to “lure” developers unsurprisingly easily by:
eliminating most of those complexities from the app development process
eliminating the need to build multiple platform-bound versions of the same app
Also, it goes without saying that reduced development times translate into reduced costs.
3. It's a Unified User Experience That Your App Will Deliver
The advantage of being platform-agnostic bubbles up to the user experience itself.
Having a unique version of your PWA running on all platforms, accessible to all customers, it'll be easier for you to deliver the same user experience to your entire user-base.
4. A Hassle-Free User Experience Requiring the Minimum of Effort
Compare the 2 following scenarios:
a. a hypothetical user visits a certain app store, chooses an app, waits for it to download and then goes through all the steps required for installing it on his/her mobile device
b. a hypothetical user lands on a website and gets to use the app right there, almost instantly, with no prior installation; moreover, if he/she wishes, he can save the link as an icon on his device's home screen
Isn't it obvious why, in a "progressive web apps vs native apps" competition, the advantage of easy access will always outweigh most of the native apps' benefits?
In a few words:
you, as the app owner, get to deliver the content you wish to deliver with utmost ease
while your users access it using the fewest numbers of steps
… and high accessibility translates into a higher level of user engagement
A win-win situation!
5. Users No Longer Need to Install The Latest Updates Themselves
A major convenience both for you and for your apps' users:
you'll get to easily keep them up to date with all the changes that you might apply to your services
with no updates to run and no need to re-download the app, users always get the latest version of your app, upgraded with the most recent functionality features that you will have added to
6. Extended Compatibility: All It Takes Is a Modern Web Browser
That's right since PWAs run on HTML 5 — the standard for web content — a modern web browser on his/her mobile device is all that a hypothetical user needs for accessing your app.
Talking about maximizing your app's reach, right?
7. You'll Cut Down Costs For Building and Marketing Your App
You can get a progressive web app up and running (and marketed) in no time! With considerably fewer resources of time and money to invest.
So, if:
you're facing a limited budget
you're in the retail or hospitality business
… the benefit of bringing your customer service app to your customers quickly and in a cost-effective way is just... priceless.
The END! Well, not the end on my post on the progressive web apps vs native apps “competition”, but the end of the list of reasons why you should consider going with a PWA instead of a native app.
Stay tuned, for in the second part of this post I'll be:
putting the spotlight on mobile native apps
revealing to you all the benefits that you can enjoy from choosing this type of app development approach
Silviu Serdaru / Jan 12'2018
“Build the next big thing in terms of AR apps!” Is this goal on top of your New Year's resolutions list? Well, then right now you must be wondering: “With so many tempting augmented reality tools out there to choose from, which one's best for my own AR solution?"
A frustratingly ambiguous answer could be:
"The one that best serves your AR app development needs."
Meaning that whatever AR platform you'll be choosing, it should:
meet your project's requirements
serve the goals that you will have set up for it
And yet, this “matching” of the AR libraries at your disposal with your project's specific development needs is your “mission” and yours only.
Nevertheless, we can still help you streamline your selection process.
How? By shortlisting 6 of the most popular augmented reality development tools in 2017 with a great potential to grow even more influential in 2018.
Here they come:
1. Kudan AR
An augmented reality SDK that “pioneered” the network intelligent vision (bringing together AI and IoT).
And which sets itself apart from the other augmented reality tools in our shortlist here due to its robust single-camera SLAM.
In other words: Kudan AR supports mapping tracking and simultaneous localization.
Built for both iOS and Android-based apps, Kudan AR supports markerless tracking (meaning that it uses features such as edges, corners, and textures) and, moreover, it's designed to recognize an unlimited number of images.
Where do you add that it doesn't get “greedy” using too much of your app's memory to store its files and (big advantage!) it's significantly faster than other AR SDKs.
Summing up its key features and functionalities now:
2D/3D Recognition in the same application
supports markerless tracking
supports Simultaneous localization and mapping (SLAM) tracking technology
2. Vuforia, By Far One of the Most Popular Augmented Reality Tools
Call it a "complete tool" for developing AR apps!
It practically “empowers” you to create any kind of AR solution for any type of device, any platform! A visually arresting augmented reality app or game “packed” with cutting-edge functionality.
Yet, it does have its own shortcomings, too, the most “discouraging” one being that its free version comes with Vuforia watermarks and limited functionality.
Even so, the balance between great features and innovative capabilities and shortcomings is titled so that it favours the first ones. Let us detail:
it's supercharged with smart terrain functionality for reconstructing a terrain and therefore a whole 3D map of the environment in real-time
the same, above-mentioned functionality, will empower you (or your app development team) to create some fully interactive user experiences where the app's elements interact with the physical world
it's extended tracking feature enables your future AR app to deliver a 100% realistic visual experience even when the target elements are out of view (in other words users will be able to simultaneously engage themselves in the gameplay and still visualize the vehicles for instance)
And now summing up Vuforia's most notable features:
it comes with virtual buttons, which allow you to switch between various surfaces, which play the roles of your true-to-life, natural-looking touch screens
mixed reality and eyewear support (that's right, Microsoft HoloLens here included)
cloud recognition (and on-device, as well), meaning that it's capable to use either a local or a cloud database during the image recognition process
Vuforia Object Scanner
it comes with Vumarks (Vuforia barcodes), which act both as data encoders and as markers
it's built to recognize both 2D and 3D objects
text recognition: Vuforia's designed to recognize over 100.000 words (and, moreover, you're enabled to use your own custom vocabulary, as well)
3. Wikitude
The third augmented reality development kit on our list is actually an “all-in-one” platform in fact. One which brings together:
Instant tracking + 3D markerless technology + Geo-location + Object/Image recognition and tracking
And all these top-notch AR features bundled up in one single AR app development kit can only mean 2 things:
you get to build both marker AR mobile apps
... and location-based ones
Available for iOS, Android, and Glassware, Wikitude is one of those commercial augmented reality tools. It does come in a trial version, as well, but do expect it to “surprise” you with a series of limitations, such as its logo showing up in the cam view.
And now, let's go through its attention-worthy features and functionalities:
it provides you with Wikitude Studio, which makes AR app development a breeze, literally, since it requires no programming skills whatsoever: just drag the elements onto the studio screen and... put together your app
Wikitude SDK is currently available for Android, iOS and the Glassware platform
on-device and cloud recognition
instant (3D) tracking (it will display virtual objects and map out environments without using markers)
extended tracking
geolocation support: your AR mobile app can get enhanced with location-based services, as well
4. ARToolKit
ARToolKit is, in fact, a group of augmented reality tools that you can use for building your app.
And its heavy-weighing pro, that helped it make it to our list here, is that it's... an open-source code! That's right, you gain free access to its library, so you'll be able to tailor its source code to your AR app's specific development needs.
Nevertheless, this comes with a drawback: limited documentation! So, do keep this in mind when you're on a lookout for the most appropriate AR platform for your app project.
And now, let's list its other “seductive” features besides its open-source nature:
simultaneous tracking: basically you get to “empower” your AR apps to track multiple objects at the same time
both single and dual camera support
integration with GPS (a vital feature if it's a location-based AR app that you're developing)
it supports various platforms, ranging from iOS and Android to Windows, macOS, Linux...
5. Apple ARkit, One of The Revolutionary AR Frameworks
And it was pretty much around the time when iOS 11 introduced ARKit in the digital arena that app developers' “mad race” to build their own next big thing started.
Did you start planning your own AR solution around the same time?
Running on Apple 9, Apple 10, and A11 processors, Apple ARkit empowers you to create and deliver augmented reality experiences to your users both on iPhone and iPad (obviously!).
Now let us highlight the top-notch functionalities that will empower your app development team to put together not “just” AR experiences, but some truly realistic, immersive ones:
VIO (Visual Inertial Odometry) combines core motion data with camera sensor data, enabling your future AR app to accurately track the environment
it's capable to detect horizontal surfaces (e.g. floors and tables) and objects on smaller feature points
it's equipped for plane, scale, and ambient lighting estimation
fast motion tracking
it can be used with third-party tools such as Unreal Engine and Unity, with SceneKit and Metal
6. EasyAR
Here's another SDK “overloaded” with cutting-edge functionalities on our augmented reality tools list here!
And even if you go with the free version of the EasyAR kit (which won't provide you with certain of its functionalities, such as SLAM, 3D tracking, and screen recording), you still get an impressive load of features:
cloud recognition
1000 on-device targets storage
unlimited recognition queries
And where do you add that getting it up and running is just a matter of registering your account and generating your Bundle ID's plugin key.
Its list of top features would have to include:
cloud recognition
app cloud packaging
3D object recognition
environment tracking
The END! These are the 6 augmented reality tools that you should consider selecting from if you're decided to go ahead and build your first AR solution this year. Good luck checking them off your New Year's resolutions list!
Adriana Cacoveanu / Jan 03'2018
I know that one of the tips from my previous post was to start preparing for the event a month before or so. And yet: there's no such thing as “too early” preps for the Web Summit 2018
The future belongs to those who plan ahead, especially if you're a startup founder!
Nevertheless, irrespective of a company's size or for how long it's been on the market there's plenty of networking potential to be seized and to be leveraged at the conference. For everyone.
So, why not start your pre-conference preparation by going through my handful of valuable advice and top tips based on my experience there representing OPTASY? Tips on how to create your own networking opportunities and how to fully “exploit” them.
Hence, today I'll be sharing with you some of my experience at the Web Summit from a company's perspective, along with insights and advice from the standpoint of OPTASY's assignee there (me).
1. Do Your Pre-Conference Homework Like a Pro'
Plenty of research here included!
My advice, from the previous post on this topic, to take your time to properly prepare for the event applies, all the more, if you're attending the Web Summit 20918 as a company.
With so many big names and start-ups striving to maximize their opportunities to build connections and meet potential partners — before and while at the conference— reaching out to people and scheduling meetings long time in advance becomes... common sense.
Read bios, make yourself a list of the people you'd love to “chat” with and... drop them a line. Make contact, schedule valuable meetings...
2. … and Do Show Up At Meetings With All Your Homework Properly Done
By “homework” I do mean 2 things:
improvisation is definitely overrated; instead of relying solely on your personal charm and persuasion skills to win them over, try to collect (and to memorize) as much key information about the people (and their companies) you'll meet as possible: projects, shared values, success story, objectives, approach to disruptive technologies etc.
don't deliver them just plain, rigid numbers and statistics, but tell a story, your company's unique story; in this respect, again, don't rely exclusively on your spontaneity, but craft and repeatedly polish your story long time in advance
3. Write Down Notes After Every Single Meeting: They Are True Lifesavers
“Specific” notes I should add. You can even write them down (the notes) right on the business cards that you'll receive.
OK, so you may not be interested, at first, in someone's plans to travel around the world or in his golden retriever's name, but, believe me:
These seemingly insignificant details will turn out to be powerful information once the summit ends and you go back to the office!
This is the kind of personal information that will “fuel” your follow-up emails to those people, helping you add that personal touch that's not to be underestimated.
Take these on-the-spot notes as the surest way to remember all those people that you'll chat with. To quickly put a face on each name written on a business card.
4. Follow Up on The Very Same Day
The best way to “carve” a meeting in your interlocutor's memory is to send him/her a follow-up email the very same day. One where you express, once again, your intention to help him/his company.
Patience might be a virtue, but when it comes to fully exploiting your networking opportunities at the Web Summit 2018, quick reactions, real-time follow-ups, are a must.
5. Be Alert, Meet and Mingle
Once at the web summit: sharpen all your senses!
Keep your eyes “wide shut”, ready to:
“detect” any “big” company/startup celebrity name on a badge
listen to people chatting around you
mingle with the crowd
Networking opportunities are “floating” there, everywhere, the cafeteria here included!
6. Set Up a Goal and Never Lose Sight of It
Why do you plan to/will be attending the Web Summit 2018? What are you hoping to get out of your attendance to this major tech conference?
Is it for getting your company's name out there? Is it it for promoting your brilliant, innovative business idea? Is it for meeting potential clients/finding investors?
Or are you looking for an inspiring mentor maybe?
Just don't show up there without a goal! With nothing but pure... enthusiasm.
Define your main objective long time in advance and build your powerful strategy around it!
7. Try Out Different Networking Methods While at the Web Summit 2018
Remember: your time in the spotlight, when you get the chance to exhibit, lasts for just one day.
Therefore, it's crucial that you plan out the other 2 days left in detail. A highly effective approach to planning is to try a mix of different networking strategies:
hand out fliers
take a tour of all the booths there
go to your scheduled meetings
attend conferences and try reaching out to speakers after
And, most of all, as you “juggle” with all these networking methods, stay creative and you'll stand you! You'll get noticed!
8. Don't Formalize: Meet People Over a Drink
And speaking of “meeting and mingling”, don't hesitate to invite your interlocutors to chit-chat over a drink at one of those night events at the Web Summit 2018.
Turn the Pub Crawls, get togethers and, most of all, private dinner parties into some great (if not the very best) opportunities to make connections.
Mingle with the crowd, a glass in your hand, and interact while trying to have some fun, too. To enjoy your experience there, as a (startup) company attendee!
And this is it! OPTASY's 8-step guide on how to network like a champ', how to seize and value all the opportunities of making new, valuable connections, as a company, at the Web Summit 2018. Good luck with that!
Serge Karpyuk / Dec 08'2017
My first time at the Web Summit! And it's been almost... “surreal”, I'm still having trouble believing that I did, indeed, attend it (has it been a month already?).
You go over all the numbers (60000 names, 1200 speakers etc.), you scan through the overwhelmingly long list of participants (packed with awe-inspiring names) and you start to feel just like a... kid going to Disneyland for the first time:
Am I really going to attend these talks?
Be in the same room (even if in the very last row... these are just details) with all these... tech and business giants?
Get close to all these inspiring innovators (I know, I know: I start to sound like a fanatic)?
And last but definitely not least: get to immense myself in this astonishing city?
Of course, once you go through the list over and over again, you use the app day and night and you burst with over-excitement, you gradually... cool down and start doing your homework.
To properly prep for meeting all these influencers. For you do want to make the most of your staying there and not waste anyone's time.
But before I go on with my list of tips and advice on how to prepare for a Web Summit — whether you're a startup founder or a tech enthusiast — allow me to share with you some glimpses of my actual experience:
1. Got There Pumped Up for the Event and Left Head Over Heels in Love With... Lisbon!
For it's simply... breathtaking!
Lisbon lures you in to explore it, then it crawls into your heart and... gets stuck to it!
The cosmopolitan city basking in the sun has been the host of “the best technology conference on the planet” for the second year in a row. And this after the conference had spent its “childhood” in Dublin and... well... got a bit... too much for the Irish capital city.
And organizers couldn't have picked a better “host”:
the city of Lisbon had the capacity to easily accommodate the heavy influx of participants
it took me about 40 minutes to get from the venue to the city centre, by subway
I got (thank God!) stable internet connection throughout my staying there
there were no discouragingly large crowds gathered around the exhibit stands
2. Attended Talks and Conferences: My Top Favorites
For even though some more experienced Web Summit participants might advise you to watch the speeches on YouTube — and instead, while there, to network like there's no tomorrow (or a next web summit to attend) — I stuck to my own schedule.
It would have been inconceivable for me not to attend the conferences and talks that I was so looking forward to.
And here's a short list of the ones that I loved best:
Stephen's Hawking's Talk on Disruptive Technology, on how “Artificial intelligence comes, and this can become both a major success and the main failure of mankind “, that if it's not geared exclusively at SERVING humanity (and not the other way around)
Bryan Johnson's (the CEO of Kernel) Talk on Prioritizing Humanity, above all, and the stringent need for people to learn to adapt to the newly emerging tasks that disruptive technologies assign to them
Margrethe Vestager's, The European Union's Commissioner for Competition, Talk on Fair Play and Tech (filled with self-evident examples of invasive usages of technology and of tech giants engaging in tax invasion)
Dana Settle's (Greycroft) and Jim Breyer's (Breyer Capital) Speech answering the legitimate “Where to Invest in 2018?” question: in core technologies, practical and simple apps, (e.g. virtual, personal health assistants) in AI, machine learning; a talk with a focus on China as the world's second largest AI development center
3. And Now: My Top Pre-Event Preparation Tips and Tricks
Let me switch from what might look like me bragging about my experience at the Lisbon Web Summit 2017, to me sharing some practical tips with you.
Some advice on how to properly plan out your attendance and prepare like a pro' for the event:
First of all: start your pre-conference preparations long time in advance (a month before or so)
Next, download the Web Summit app; and this is a true power placed in your hands if you know just to harness its full potential
Then, it's time you do your homework: delve deep into the wide list of participants (luckily you'll find them all right there, listed in the app), scan them through, read bios, do your research work and reach out to them (be perseverant), make connections, schedule meetings
The event's app will be your most reliable ally thanks to its conveniently easy-to-use and time-saving filters: don't be afraid to use them
Rely on keyword search, as well, and put together a list including ONLY those people whom you'd just die to meet and chat with, who inspire you, whose story you're fascinated with, who are most likely to provide you with information that's 100% relevant for your industry
Put together a schedule of meetings, for once you get there... you risk to be swept by the “whirlpool”. It will help you stay focused, stay organized and maximize all your networking opportunities once you're at the summit
In short: there's no easy way to properly prep for the Web Summit 2018; no quick trick or secret recipe to making connections and scheduling meetings so that you land in Lisbon with a solid strategy at hand, that you'll just need to... execute to perfection.
It's all about kneeing deep in the discouragingly rich database of participants, running a rigorous selection and reaching out to people.
4. Web Summit 2018: My Advice on How to Make the Most of It
So, with your list of contacts plus your schedule of meetings in one pocket and your Web Summit app in the other one you... arrive in Lisbon.
Now what?
Here are a few tips and tricks on how to get the most out of your next/first web summit attendance:
Schedule all the talks and conferences that you want to attend; in this respect, the recommendation feature and the event calendar — 2 of the app's key features — make some really powerful tools
Next, remember that people connect more easily outside conference halls and that networking at Web Summit doesn't end at sunset; be ready to attend some of the night events (parties here included!) scheduled for the Night Summit; pub-crawl, interact, make connections while you're having some well-deserved fun, as well, after a full, hectic day
But probably the only really “strict” advice to follow while at the Web Summit is: Be creative! Don't be shy to reach out to people, you'll be surprised to discover that some of them are really willing to share their experiences/expertise (for that's why they go there after all, to network with people passionate about innovation, with disruptive technologies enthusiasts, like you, after all), to create your own networking opportunities
And this is my (first) Web Summit experience in a few words and my tips for you if you're planning to hit the 2018's tech conference!
Stay tuned! In our next post we'll be sharing with you a tried-and-tested step-by-step guide on how to network like rockstar — as a startup company — at Web Summit 2018!
Serge Karpyuk / Dec 06'2017
Long gone are the days when AR and VR used to be associated (strictly) to roller coaster simulations, the gaming industry or true-to-life aerial experiences. Today we can be talking about an ever-wider range of innovative use cases for augmented reality in enterprises.
About a niche technology turning... mainstream and, moreover, going beyond purely entertainment purposes.
Moreover, AR's potential for improving performance, boosting efficiency and enriching customer experience has long ceased to be a “privilege” of the top most valuable brands.
And since it's ceased to be an “exclusive” technology, why not harness its potential? Why not capitalizing on AR's potential in your own organization, too?
“What specific use case best suits my particular business needs?”
... you might be wondering.
Here are some of the most interesting current uses of augmented reality in enterprises:
1. Remote Workforce Supercharged With AR Power
Just take this scenario:
You have two teams working on the same project — an in-house one and a remote one — and you get to leverage AR's power to actually immerse your remote team in the project.
… to bring together all your employees, scattered around the globe, in a collaboration enhanced by that strong feeling of “being there” that AR instils.
Or you can go for the second scenario: use AR to easily monitor out of location employees.
And this feature gains a critical importance if we're considering 3 specific types of employees working “off-site”:
engineers on an oil-rig
medical first respondents
linesmen on power lines
2. Step-By-Step Guidance Overlaid on Work Areas via AR Displays
Another one of those efficiency-boosting (translated into manufacturing error rate cut down by almost 90%) use cases for augmented reality in an enterprise is overlaying instructions.
Practically via an AR display the manufacturer — take one manufacturing an aeroplane wing or one assembling an automobile, for instance — gets hyper-explicit guidance overlaid precisely on his work area.
With instructions being conveniently visualized, overlaid right on the work area, the employee practically gets step-by-step guidance for carrying out his tasks of high precision with utmost accuracy.
Where human error possibility should be whipped out of the process, AR comes to bring out-of-this-world precision into the real world!
3. Using AR Geared at Improving Warehousing and Logistics Efficiency
A potential that DHL knew just how to exploit to their benefit: streamlining warehouse pick-and-place operations through the use of smart glasses which are pointing out the shorter routes for the employees to take; and implicitly cutting down the error rate, too.
An unbelievable efficiency booster that you, too, can leverage in your organization for cutting down costs on logistics and warehousing resources and reducing human error.
4. Enriching Your Design/Engineering Team's Experience
By their powers combined, AR and VR will help you:
enrich your customers' experiences by bringing design concepts to life; take a scenario where a family planning to renovate one of their bathrooms can walk right in its virtual replica and visualize precisely how it's going to look
enrich your designers'/architects/engineers' experiences: 3D objects/environments represented on two-dimensional screens vs 3D representations in real size; practically engineers/architects/construction workers/designers get to visualize their work in progress and spot the areas that need adjustments with far more accuracy and in a timely manner
It's one of those use cases for augmented reality that will empower you to increase your team's performance and create richer, immersive customer experiences.
5. Real-Time Data Vizualization
… at an enterprise level.
And this is one of those scenarios where you get to turn AR into a... superpower.
Just think about it:
Visualizing data in real-time and, moreover, projecting these data visualizations onto different surfaces will not only:
enhance a more in-depth understanding of that specific data
... but even enable larger groups of managers to collaborate far more effectively and make data-driven decisions based on a shared understanding of that data
And this is one of those augmented reality business use cases that can go as far as projecting board-room-seized 3 D views of your business! There you can get an even more accurate view of your entire data infrastructure, with all its strong and “sore points” to focus your efforts on!
6. Augmented Reality Training: One of The Most Valuable Use Cases for Augmented Reality
Will you join the AR revolution in staff training and professional development?
And since nothing beats practical examples, here are some current uses of AR as a powerful training tool:
using AR to quickly empower staff to get a grip on using highly complex equipment, machinery
using AR to enhance the learning of complex concepts
using AR to enhance collaboration during staff training via virtual, true-to-life presentations, field tests etc.
using AR to a supercharge a “learning by doing” type of training, where real-life situations would be too dangerous to (re)create: such as performing surgery or flying a plane
using AR to recreate specific environments/scenarios/reality augmented workplaces in order to improve your employee's “soft skills” (public speaking, dispute resolution, decision making under stress); you even get to tailor your AR training to each team member's profile
To sum up: using AR in training processes helps you “unleash” all that potential of creativity and efficiency otherwise limited by the “conventional” type of trainings.
Take AR as far as your imagination takes it and create your own use cases for augmented reality suitable for:
your team(s)' specific needs
your organization's specific goals for maximizing your team's potential
Final Thoughts
Now guess what: all the above-mentioned use cases for augmented reality are not “lab experiments” or “projects about the far future to come”. They're being implemented, as we speak, in real-life workplaces.
AR technology is now commercially available and has become and is continuing to get even more accessible. And its potential for enhancing both the customer and the employee experience is huge.
… you just need to “power” it with content — your unique content — and to harness its potential in use cases of augmented reality perfectly suitable for your own organization!
Adriana Cacoveanu / Dec 05'2017