Rochester technology team looks for the next killer app – Post-Bulletin

A small Rochester technology team thinks the hot gee-whiz technology of augmented and virtual reality has the potential for lot more than just fun and games.

Virtual reality refers to an immersive technology that usually uses a headset to create the illusion that a person is inside a software-created scene.

Augment reality is used to describe the newer process of using software to combine projected images with real physical spaces. The most common example is the Pokemon Go game, where players would find cartoon "creatures" on city streets by looking through the camera on their phones. Facebook and Snapchat have also rolled out AR filters that automatically add cat ears, halos or whatever to people in photos and videos.

Rochester couple, Hunter and Traci Downs, hope to use this new, rapidly improving technology to do much more than just create the next Pokemon Go or a new first-person shooter video game.

They have filled their Area 10 Labs office with the latest AR and VR devices and software from Google, Apple, Microsoft, Oculus, HTC and others.

"Everybody's struggling to find the killer app for these things," said Hunter Downs said gesturing at the cameras and headsets scattered around Area 10's office on the second floor of the Conley Maas building in downtown Rochester.

Apple just released a new collection of software development tools last week called ARKit that uses "world tracking" which can use the iPhone or iPad's camera and motion sensors to "pin" virtual objects to specific point.

Downs, who has worked to combine technology with humans for many years, sees a lot of potential for uses in training of all kinds for the technology that Apple, Google and others are spending "billions and billions" of dollars to develop.

While engineer Adam Salmi's image was displayed in a virtual operating room as he stood in front of green screen, AJ Montpetit talked about the vast possibilities of the technology.

"Through a worldwide network, you can bring people together and create a virtual classroom. Two students from different sides of the planet could stand next to a doctor, who is somewhere else, and help him do a surgery," he said as Salmi's image moved on the computer screen.

'You have to experience it'

So how does it feel to have your eyes and ears covered to create an artificial "reality"?

"There's almost no way to explain it. You have to experience it," Salmi said.

That description fits for a lot of the projects that the Downses and Area 10 have been involved with over the years,

They have a lot of experience working with highly technical and novel projects to solve specific problems, usually linked to the health care field. In 2013, Area 10 started working with Mayo Clinic and currently have seven projects in the works with them.

They have worked with the Department of Defense, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the Defense Advance Research Projects Administration, the University of Virginia and many other clients. They have helped create technology to allow completely paralyzed people communicate via only brain waves, devices to detect fatigue in soldiers, flight helmets to track consciousness and many other projects.

They have 14 active companies with five that have completely spun off from Area 10. Plus the Downses have non-tech businesses, like the Cafe Steam coffee shop and the Collider co-working center.

While they lived in Hawaii, their company grew to having more that 30 employees. However, that changed when they moved to Rochester in 2013 and opened a new office here in 2014.

"I didn't like it as much as when we had small team," said Hunter Downs.

The current version of Area 10 has six staffers with experts in hardware, design and software, including the owners.

"The best thing for us with a small group with this breadth of talent is that we can move faster than the giants like Google and Apple," he said. "We can crank things out rapidly. We can usually go from concept to prototype as quickly as 12 weeks."

Area 10 has a number of projects in the works including medical monitoring sensors powered by a patient's breathing, wheelchair sensors to help prevent pressure sores in paralyzed patients and designing a new, inexpensive microscope for cash-strapped schools to use in classrooms.

A reverse development process

So why is the team playing with AR and VR technology?

Downs admits that Area 10 usually starts with a problem and then finds a technological solution, so this is kind of the reverse of their typical process.

However, the major investments by Apple, Microsoft and Google attracted their attention and the technology has the potential to open the door to new markets. Pokemon Go generated $600 million in revenue in three months during its heyday. By 2021, the AR/VR market is estimated to grow to be worth $108 billion.

Area 10 recently contracted with the Destination Medical Center initiative's Economic Development Agency to create an interactive map of downtown Rochester to show where new development is slated to be built. In the short time since they created the map, the technology has improved to allow for more detailed maps with more features.

Beyond mapping and virtual training, Area 10 is also looking at using AR and VR to improve patient experience in hospitals. Studies have shown that patients in rooms with windows show more improvement and quicker healing than ones not near a window.

"Of course, not everyone can have a window in their room. So we're looking at VR to see if it can be used to replicate those results without an actual window," Downs said.

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Rochester technology team looks for the next killer app - Post-Bulletin