Droiders is a developer of apps for augmented reality hardware. While the company does not develop or manufacture its own augmented reality hardware it does offer a “cardboard box” approach for smartphones to provide a test bed for potential users. Its business model is based on supplying pre-developed apps as well as unique special applications for its customers.
One market segment that is interested in AR is the medical field. Droiders has developed several apps for broadcasting video from the Google Glass device to YouTube or private networks. This approach allows for the streaming of confidential content, such as in the medical field. The company also offers applications for creating checklists and endoscopy.
As part of the augmented reality field, Droiders has over a hundred clients that have experimented with augmented reality applications. They defined interest by buying a few AR headsets and investing in relevant software applications. Interestingly, about 60% of Droiders clients are interested in completely new applications rather than existing standard applications. This shows that for many potential users AR is somewhat of a magic technology that can address issues that are not solvable with other technologies.
In discussion with Paul Gailey, marketing director at Droiders, he said that about 15% of the clients invest in more hardware sets for some form of larger roll out. This may also shed some light on the current dilemma of hardware makers in the AR field. Most potential applications have not reached the state of full deployment yet, even though there are still some under evaluation. As with many other AR firms today, Droiders sees more interest and pull from the enterprise and professional market rather than the consumer market.
Analyst Comment
While 15% of some form of success seems low at first sight, I was actually surprised about this number as this may indicate a start of use in the commercial markets in coming years. Anyone that can prove a positive ROI for this technology will basically start a more solid interest from such markets going forward. (NH)
