News: DAQRI Expands to the Software Side of Enterprise AR with Worksense App Suite

Not content to just be a provider of rugged smartglasses for enterprise users, DAQRI has made the jump into the AR software side of the industry with its new Worksense productivity suite.

With Worksense, DAQRI provides five apps that offer functionality typically seen in enterprise AR platforms from the likes of Upskill, Scope AR, RE'FLEKT, Atheer, and others. The platform covers work guide instructions with DAQRI Guide, remote collaboration in DAQRI Show, and visualization of data from connected devices and equipment via DAQRI Tag.

Among the suite's lineup are a pair of apps that manage to differentiate DAQRI from the AR enterprise crowd. DAQRI Scan offers customers 3D scanning capabilities, giving them the ability to capture 3D models of products or equipment for use in 3D engines like Unity and Sketchup, as well as software platforms from Autodesk and Siemens. And DAQRI Model: BIM Edition converts building information models (BIMs) used by architects, engineers, and construction professionals into immersive 3D models rendered at full scale.

"DAQRI is improving communication and quality in construction by bringing 3D models to life on project sites by integrating with Autodesk's BIM 360 construction management platform," said Sarah Hodges, director of Autodesk's Construction Business Line, in a statement. "We've worked closely for some time with the DAQRI team to develop professional-grade augmented reality, and we are thrilled to share this new visualization capability with our customers."

A preview of the suite is available via the DAQRI Worksense Early Adopter program, which interested customers can register for at DAQRI's website. The aforementioned DAQRI Show is also available now, with the other apps arriving over the coming months.

"Augmented reality in an enterprise or industrial context needs to be able to clearly improve the solutions to existing problems in order to gain adoption, this will then lead the leveraging of richer functions in AR as it matures," said Ian Hughes, a senior analyst at 451 Research, in the same company release from DAQRI on Wednesday. "It is also important for any implementation to integrate with existing systems and data. The DAQRI Worksense Suite provides common task solutions, such as remote worker support or guided work instructions, but also adds richer elements such as 3D environment scanning and model viewing in-situ. Connectors to enterprise systems are also available in the suite."

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A perpetual license of the standard version of Worksense will be bundled with DAQRI Smart Glasses, and the company will also offer a professional subscription that includes the hardware, software, and enterprise-focused features such as team collaboration and analytics, as well as a device upgrade option during active subscriptions. The professional package is available for $549 per month for a 24-month subscription, but DAQRI is selling subscriptions at a discounted price of $389 through May 31, 2018.

As mobile carriers have taught us, companies looking to boost sales can sometimes successfully sell a device at a discount in the interest of making money on monthly service fees. Now, with a software offering and subscription model, DAQRI has a similar funnel for repeatable revenue rather than a one-time hardware purchase.

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