Brief Reality: ITC Infotech, PTC, Oracle Join Forces for Augmented Reality Service

The common thread between this week's Brief Reality stories is that augmented reality is beginning to prove its worth as a technology that improves workflows and processes. From customer service to healthcare to manufacturing, augmented reality is helping companies improve productivity.

ITC Infotech Enlists PTC & Oracle to Offer AR Service

ITC Infotech, PTC and Oracle have entered into a joint partnership to offer an augmented reality solution for connected service.

The solution aims to leverage augmented reality in improving self-service, assisted service, and field service interactions for businesses in sectors such as retail, manufacturing, banking, airline, and hospitality.

ITC Infotech, a technology solutions provider for supply chain and services-based industries, will deliver the augmented reality solution through PTC's ThingWorx Industrial IoT and Oracle's cloud services.

"Our solution leverages leading-edge technology to offer a turnkey and quick-deploy mechanism for companies looking to reinvent their service function, not just to drive savings, but to enhance customer loyalty and gain market share through a better and improved customer experience," said L N Balaji, President – Americas, ITC Infotech, in a news release.

Publicis Presents AR Accelerator Program

In partnership with NYC Media Lab, healthcare communications agency Publicis Health will host the Digital Health Augmented Reality Startup Bootcamp to assist graduate student teams in creating their own health innovations using augmented reality.

Publicis will award $25,000 funding and development divided among the five teams that emerge from the accelerator program with a viable product.

"Publicis Health believes that augmented reality technology, which leverages the devices people already have in their pockets, will provide patients with important insights, engagement opportunities, and the resources needed to better manage their health challenges," said Richard Schwartz, SVP, Marketing and Connected Health Partnerships at Publicis Health, on the program's home page.

The program will begin the week of June 5 In New York and conclude the week of July 17.

Upskill Names Chief Operating Officer

Industrial augmented reality software provider Upskill has appointed Jeremy Kirsh as its new chief operating officer (COO).

An executive with more than two decades of leadership experience, Kirsh arrives at Upskill by way of Opower, a developer of self-service cloud software for utilities that was acquired by Oracle last year.

"Just as Opower was a disruptive force in the energy industry, Upskill is transforming the manufacturing, logistics and field service industries. The average 32-percent performance improvement global industrial companies are achieving with Upskill's AR technology is a testament to the company's operational and financial impact," said Kirsch in a news release.

Every Tuesday, Next Reality gives readers a rundown of the augmented and mixed reality news briefs from the preceding week that we didn't cover already. This way, you'll never miss anything of importance in the Next Reality landscape, and will always know what's going on with new augmented and mixed reality tech and applications. You can browse previous Brief Reality reports, too, if you'd like.