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March3,2017
DeborahWeinswig,ManagingDirector,FungGlobalRetail&[email protected]:917.655.6790HK:852.6119.1779CN:86.186.1420.3016Copyright©2017TheFungGroup.Allrightsreserved.
Mobile World Congress Day 4: VR and AR Technology to Converge, a Look at Google’s Project Tango and Our Selection of Startups
1) DuringDay4ofthe2017MobileWorldCongress,theFungGlobalRetail&TechnologyteamattendedanexpertpaneldiscussingthechallengesofARandVRadoption.
2) WealsosawthelatesttechnologiesfromGoogle,whichintroduceditsTangoARplatform,andNTTDoCoMo,whichdemonstratedAIusedtoforecasttaxidemandinTokyo.
3) Thefivenotableearly-stagecompanieswepickedoutatMWCand4YFNare:BrandYourShoes,Combyne,CopSonic,LechalandAiQSmartClothing.
Day4wasthefinaldayofthe2017MobileWorldCongress,and intoday’sreport,wefocusontwotechnologiesthatwesawinabundanceontheshowfloor,VirtualReality(VR)andAugmentedReality(AR).Wealsohighlightsomeoftheinterestingearly-stagecompaniesweinteractedwiththatwebelieveshowretailpromise.
VRandARHoldGreatPromise,ButStillNeedTimetoExciteInapanelbymoderatedbyDavidMacQueenfromStrategyAnalytics,HugoSwart(Qualcomm),EricTrabold(Avegant)andTonyChao(AppliedVentures)discussedthehardwarechallengesforVRandARadoptionaswellastheirpredictionsonthedevelopmentofthetwotechnologiesgoingforward.
Thepanelistsagreedthatwearelikelytoseestandaloneheadmounteddisplay(HMD)VRdeviceslaterthisyearasthenextstepintheevolutionofmobileVRhardware.However,thetechnologyisstillboundbythelimitationsofGPUspeed,display
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March3,2017
DeborahWeinswig,ManagingDirector,FungGlobalRetail&[email protected]:917.655.6790HK:852.6119.1779CN:86.186.1420.3016Copyright©2017TheFungGroup.Allrightsreserved.
capabilitiesandbatterlifebeforeitcanbemadeavailablethroughastandalonemobiledevicethatallowsfreedomofmovementanduseoveraprolongedperiodoftime.
TraboldfromAvegantdiscussedthescreenlesstechnologybehindAvegant’sfirstproductGlyph,whichisaportablepersonaltheaterdevicethatwaslaunchedattheConsumerElectronicsShow(CES).ThetechnologyoffersonewaythedisplayissuecouldbesolvedforVRcontentrendering,asitusesmuchlesspowerthantraditionaldisplays,whileprovidingahigher-qualityviewingexperience.
SwartfromQualcommdiscussedhisbeliefthatthefutureofARandVRisforthetechnologiestoconvergefromauserexperienceviewpoint—entirescenesofdigitalcontentwillbeaccessedthroughamobiledevicewithaqualitythatwillbenearlyindistinguishablefromreality,whilefullVRimmersionislikelytobecomejustone“mode”ofthetechnologythatisusedoccasionally.Inthissense,VRandARholdgreatpromisetoaugmentrealityasweknowit,however,alltheexpertsseemedtoagreethatthisfutureisstillalongwayout.
Source:FungGlobalRetail&Technology
Google’sAR:ARetailUseCaseDuringthelastdayofMWC,weexperiencedGoogle’sTangotechnologyinretail:thecustomermakesaproductselectionandthedigitalitemissuperimposedonthephysicalenvironmentinaccurateproportionsandcorrectorientationviaAR.ThetechnologyworkedsmoothlyandtheexperiencebenefitedfromthedisplayqualitiesofGoogle’snewsmartphone.Inthisusecase,ARtechnologyonmobileallowscustomerstobrowse,viewandpurchaseamuchwiderrangeofproductsthanthebusinessphysicallyhasinstock.
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March3,2017
DeborahWeinswig,ManagingDirector,FungGlobalRetail&[email protected]:917.655.6790HK:852.6119.1779CN:86.186.1420.3016Copyright©2017TheFungGroup.Allrightsreserved.
Source:FungGlobalRetail&Technology
NTTDoCoMoShowcasedAIforforecastingTaxiDemandinRealTimeBycombininghistoricaldataoftaxidemandwithlocationandexternaldatasuchaspopulationstaticsandweatherforecasts,NTTDoCoMo’sAIproductforecaststaxidemandinTokyo.StartedinJune2016,theprojecthasbeenonfieldtrialsinceDecember2016.TheAIcanpredicttaxidemandoverthenext30minutesina500squaremeterareawithaccuracythataveraged92.9%.Thecompanyclaimsthereisa49%increaseinsalesperformancebetweenthosetaxisequippedwiththeforecastingtechnologyandthosethatdonotmakeuseofit.
OurStartupListAiQSmartClothing:AiQSmartClothingisaTaiwanesetechnologyandapparelcompanywitharangeofproducts,includingtextileRFID,textileheating,washableLEDsandhealthtrackingsolutions.
BrandYourShoes:ThestartuphasbuiltaB2Bdigitalplatformforcompaniestobrandandcustomizefootwear.AllproductsareproducedlocallyinSpain,andtheminimumorderquantityis30pieces.BrandYourShoeshasalreadyproducedfootwearforcompaniessuchasSAP,AllianzandBioderma.
Source:FungGlobalRetail&Technology
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March3,2017
DeborahWeinswig,ManagingDirector,FungGlobalRetail&[email protected]:917.655.6790HK:852.6119.1779CN:86.186.1420.3016Copyright©2017TheFungGroup.Allrightsreserved.
Combyne:Combyneisafashionappthatletsusersstoreanddiscoverstyles.Oncetheycreateanoutfit,userscanshareitwiththeirfollowerstogainfeedback.Thestylesavailableontheappcomefromover800brandsandonlinestoresandtheproducthasgottenpositivereviewsontheiOSappstoresinceitslaunchin2016.
CopSonic:ThisFrenchcompanyhasdevelopedanultrasonicalternativetonearfieldcommunication(NFC).Thetechnologyallowsthetransmissionofdatathroughsoundwaves,whichmeansitonlyusesthespeakersandmicrophonesofsmartdevices.Retailusecasesofthetechnologyincludeidentityverification,paymentsandgeofencing.
Lechal:AnotherfootwearcompanywefoundontheMWCfloorisLechal.Thecompanyproducesawearablecomponentthatcanbeintegratedinthesoleoftheshoeoritslaces,whichallowsGPSnavigation(viavibration)andfitnesstracking.Theproductwasoriginallydesignedforpeoplewhoarevisuallyimpaired,buthasnowbeenmadeavailabletoallconsumers.LechalhasalreadypartneredwithshoebrandHi-TecforitsHi-TecNavigatorShoes.
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March3,2017
DeborahWeinswig,ManagingDirector,FungGlobalRetail&[email protected]:917.655.6790HK:852.6119.1779CN:86.186.1420.3016Copyright©2017TheFungGroup.Allrightsreserved.
DeborahWeinswig,CPAManagingDirectorFungGlobalRetail&TechnologyNewYork:917.655.6790HongKong:852.6119.1779China:86.186.1420.3016deborahweinswig@fung1937.comKirilPopovSeniorAnalyst
SimicChanSeniorResearchAssociate
HongKong:8thFloor,LiFungTower888CheungShaWanRoad,KowloonHongKongTel:85223004406London:242-246MaryleboneRoadLondon,NW16JQUnitedKingdomTel:44(0)2076168988NewYork:1359Broadway,9thFloorNewYork,NY10018Tel:6468397017FungGlobalRetailTech.com
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