MEET OUR CODE_N CONTEST FINALISTS 2018: Holo-Light from Austria

07/17/2018 | CODE_n Alumni, CODE_n18 Startup CONTEST, Digital Transformation

The industrial sector is a constantly evolving environment. Unsurprisingly, transformative technologies such as mixed reality (MR), virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) are witnessing a boom in industrial processes and becoming an integral part of business operations while finding creative uses for optimizing processes in product design, manufacturing, visualization, training and work collaboration. CODE_n Finalist Holo-Light is a trailblazer in industrial MR solutions. Considered the first universal tool for interacting and creating content in the virtual work environment, their solution sets the standard on the market of reality technologies. Industry 4.0 companies can explore and push the boundaries of their work processes with Holo-Light’s solution, Holo-Stylus. Read our interview with CEO Florian Haspinger for more insights and check out their product video.

Iulia: What is Holo-Light all about?

Florian: Holo-Light is a leading developer of industrial mixed reality solutions. Our software and hardware solutions enable companies to optimize processes and generate competitive advantage by leveraging the benefits of mixed reality. We create practical and professional applications for leading industrial players in areas like engineering, manufacturing, design, services, utilities, and training. Our solutions are innovative, fast, and simple and have already been adopted by some of the top 500 industrial, technological, and communications companies around the globe. Quality comes from the heart, and everyone working at Holo-Light gives it their all. Our employee-focused culture provides a work environment that revolves around creativity and motivation, resulting in strong growth. Founded in 2015, Holo-Light is expanding rapidly and already has more than 30 employees. We have offices in Tyrol and Munich, with more to come.

Iulia: How did you come up with the idea?

Florian: The idea behind our Holo-Stylus arose the moment Holo-Light started developing mixed reality applications for industry. Until now, there have been no input devices available for operational use in industry, especially for 3D virtual space. Previous concepts were all stationary, unwieldy, sub-optimal in terms of accuracy, and they could not be used across different platforms. From a technological standpoint, the current AR/VR market is still highly fragmented with very few standards. The Holo-Stylus is an essential component for delivering uniform input.

Iulia: What are you trying to solve?

Florian: Until now, interacting with 3D content was based on gesture control or control units. Precision and intuitive handling were limited because gesture recognition was too primitive. In industrial use, where people might use head-mounted displays, it’s important that they can interact precisely with the holograms to keep processes running smoothly. In the virtual or augmented world and work situations, people need to be able to make the tiniest hand movements and make detailed drawings. With the Holo-Stylus, they can. Our aim was to create a user-friendly tool which allows them to create virtual content for industrial use and interact with content precisely. Holo-Stylus is compatible with all HMDs and is considered the first universal tool for interacting with and creating content in mixed and augmented reality.

Iulia: You became a member of the Microsoft Mixed Reality Partner Program last year. How has this alliance benefited your business/company so far?

Florian: Joining the Mixed Reality Partner Program has been an important milestone for us, since Microsoft HoloLens and the Windows mixed reality platform are market- leading when it comes to enterprise solutions on head-mounted displays. The program allows both parties to evangelize the market, help customers to pinpoint the right use cases, and highlight the advantages of using augmented reality in an industrial environment. We benefit from the marketing channels of Microsoft and join each other at events. As a partner, we’re introduced to product and strategy insights earlier and we can use this to deliver extraordinary experiences and services to our own customers.

Iulia: Thank you very much for the interview, Florian!

Meet Holo-Light at the new.New Festival 2018 this fall, in Stuttgart!