By James Blackman
London-headquartered industrial AR startup XYZ Reality has released its new AR headset, the Atom, for the construction industry. The new product (see promo video at the bottom of the page) goes with its Holosite AR platform, and follows a £20 million(US$26.8million) Series A funding round in June, led by European-focused venture firm Octopus Ventures. The company is plotting expansion in North America, and has established a new US headquarters to go with the new launch – although its whereabouts in the US are unconfirmed.
The company said it has set its “sights on global expansion”, and on 300 percent growth through 2022 and a “significant increase” in its “global market share”; there was no specific mention about the startpoint for this growth, either in terms of new sales or overall market share. But it said its Holosite platform and Atom headset have been variously deployed in “projects valued at over £1.5 billion” over the last two years, in proof trials and soft launches, with “selected customers on… complex projects like data centres, pharmaceutical facilities, and airports”.
The Atom / Holosite solution combines a safety-certified hardhat, AR displays, and in-built compute power. It enables site teams to view and position BIM (building information modelling) holograms of design models to millimetre accuracy, claims XYZ Reality. “The AR hardhat solution is making a huge dent on the 98 percent of megaprojects that overrun globally. It has brought efficiency to the building process by eliminating errors, reducing rework and delivering on time,” it said.
XYZ Reality stated: “Collaboration[s] with some of the biggest names in the construction sector, not only refined its proprietary technology, but proved XYZ Reality’s proposition as a leading, construction-dedicated technology provider.” It called the new “worldwide commercial launch” a “commercial milestone to becoming a market-leading construction-tech company”, and said: “The company is on a mission to eliminate 2D in its entirety, empowering construction teams to build it tight, first time”.
Founder and chief executive at XYZ Reality, David Mitchell said: “Technology is transforming the way the construction industry operates, enabling contractors to deliver higher-quality more efficiently. Since inception, we have seen a greater understanding of the potential of AR to achieve better outcomes and improve margins. This commercial launch is a definitive proof point of our product’s value and the substantial appetite for it across the industry, particularly on mission critical projects where the highest levels of accuracy are required.
“Our entry into North America was spearheaded by current partners who are bringing us to the all-important territory. The market presents an exciting growth opportunity and is now supported with The Atom, which has been designed to show just how easy it is to work with our technology on-site. As XYZ Reality continues to grow, and we introduce new audiences to our powerful proposition, we will show how Engineering-Grade AR is an essential tool to delivering the highest quality, best outcomes for construction professionals.”
Group head of digitally enabled lean project delivery (DePLD) at PM Group, an early-adopter of XYZ Reality’s HoloSite, Coral Butler said: “AR technology has been able to significantly increase efficiency and improve quality across multiple mission critical projects. The Atom has taken it to the next level. What’s so important is that The Atom has been developed by construction, for construction. The [XYZ] team has an acute understanding about the challenges and pressures on-site and the frustrations presented by the validation process. This tool is essential for project management, one which delivers benefits from planner through to asset owner.”
