Telecoms firm KDDI Corporation and STYLY parent company “Psychic VR Lab” announced plans on Tuesday to launch its XRScape solution on February 1 in a new partnership.
Powered by STYLY’s immersive content creation and distribution platform, XRScape enables advertisers, marketing teams, and event organisers to place augmented reality (AR) immersive content anywhere in urban environments for citywide promotions.
XRScape digital adverts give brands an efficient alternative to real-world billboards, enabling companies to superimpose them on pre-existing real-world signs and allow XRScape digital posts to stand out from real-world counterparts.
Also, geocaching integration enables brands to hold digital events, promotions, and showcases in spaces as large as an entire city.
Last year, Meta, then Facebook, faced intense backlash over the firm’s in-game VR adverts. In response, Meta removed the adverts, with Andrew Bosworth, Chief Technology Officer for Meta, apologising for the misstep at the time.
SATCH X by STYLY and KDDI
The news comes as KDDI debuts its “SATCH X powered by STYLY” smartphone app that enables individuals to visualise AR adverts by holding smartphone cameras over a geo-tagged urban locations to see XRScape digital signage.
SATCH X is a 5G-enabled application, meaning smartphone users can stream high-quality real-time 3D (RT3D) content instantly to their mobile device.
This allows advertisers to place engaging 3D digital assets anywhere in a supported city. For Example, the platform’s Character Greetings experience launches an RT3D digital human that interacts with user and poses for photos.
KDDI’s smartphone app uses a QR code reader to enable citywide content and additionally uses ‘markerless spatial recognition’ and functions that display AR immersive experiences specifically designed by STYLY content creators.
Currently, Japanese shopping mall company PARCO is supporting XRScape AR adverts at two of its Tokyo locations – Nakashibu Street and Rooftop Park – located on the first and tenth floor of its Shibuya location.
At the moment, KDDI is offering immersive content distribution at various Japanese cities such as Tokyo, Osaka, Nagoya, Sapporo, Fukuoka, and Kyoto, with more global locations planned.
More from STYLY
In other news, Psychic VR Lab announced support for real-world AR overlaying in December last year, which provides backing for AR content creation and distribution on STYLY.
The Psychic VR Lab update introduced many new tools for STYLY’s upcoming AR adverts, including 3D city mapping, GPS data, QR code integration, and cross-platform distribution.
Additionally, the STYLY team is planning to introduce powerful Metaverse content creation tools to support individuals creating and distributing their immersive content.
Also, STYLY is working hard to provide immersive content creators with opportunities to showcase their work via the world-renowned NEWVIEW Project and school.
Originally, STYLY was a browser-based platform, but became a cross-platform app on various leading digital storefronts, including but limited to Meta Quest, VIVEPORT, and Nreal. Most recently, STYLY debuted on HTC VIVE’s innovative Flow VR smart glasses.
