A talk from the Enterprise Track at AWE USA 2019 - the World's #1 XR Conference & Expo in Santa Clara, California May 29-31, 2019. Preparing your team for a new XR platform; 7 key take-aways Hans Wernke | Inhance Digital Rodrick Lekey | Inhance Digital The launch of a new XR platform often creates a great deal of excitement among institutional users and developers alike. After all, products such as Oculus, HoloLens and Magic Leap help us significantly improve the way we tell stories, train employees and address persistent maintenance challenges. However, for developers, each product launch presents its own unique challenges. The team has to familiarize itself with a new SDK, a new device and often a completely different way of structuring content. In this session, Rodrick Lekey and Hans Wernke, of Inhance Digital, an LA-based interactive marketing agency with 21+ years of experience, will share the first-hand perspective of such a team of developers. What did we learn? What challenges did we experience? What would we do differently the next time around? https://awexr.com

1. Preparing your team for a new XR platform

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Who are we?
• 21 Years of experience working with top Fortune 100 clients in Aerospace/Defense,
Healthcare/Pharma, Energy/Oil & Gas, and other high-science, engineering, and advanced technology
industries
• Hollywood film and interactive entertainment industry level animation and interactive design
• End to end digital agency from creative concept, through design, development and installation
• Rapid prototyping and proof of concept demonstrations
• Experts in interactive, mobile, augmented, mixed and virtual reality solutions
• Robust team of creative innovators, digital strategist, content experts, software engineers,
technologists

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Why be an early adopter?
Our clients crave innovation
New solutions to old problems
New ways to tell client stories
Great opportunity to challenge your team
GearVR, Daydream, HTC Vive,
Oculus Go, HoloLens, ARKit, Magic Leap

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But, at the same time….
You are paying to beta-test the software and the hardware
There's not a big community to help you
If you find an issue in the SDK, you have to hope that it will be fixed in the
next release
The API is not final so you may have to rewrite a lot of code later
You may spend time fixing a problem that may be addressed in the next
version of the SDK or engine

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Imagine baking a new cake….
With ingredients you have not heard
of…..
while writing the recipe….
and while somebody else is building
the oven.

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For each new platform
Our ultimate goal:
ship a commercial application within six months of the release of the product

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What did we learn?

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I Check the SDK
Testing simple input and assumptions in an emulator can put you a huge
step ahead if the device is not readily available
Read all documentation very closely; features are different from device to
device

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II Check the specs
You should know at least:
• CPU/GPU/RAM
• Storage
• Battery life
• Connectivity
• Ports/Charger type
• Field of view (for AR/MR)

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III But validate them
Create benchmark applications as soon as possible
Very rarely provided by the hardware manufacturer
Test Dynamic Loading, Lots of models, LoD, materials with different passes,
transparency
Combinations of the above to get the best information

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IV Port an application running on a similar platform
Old target: ARKit 1.0, ARCore -> New target: ARKit 2.0
Old target: HoloLens -> New target: ML1, HL2 (Emulator)
Goal : focus on new possibilities and quickly discover limitations
Pros : not a lot of code to modify
Cons : assets not optimized

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V Identify and address hardware challenges
Challenge : IPD of devices might not be right from person to person without
calibration
Solution : Ensure IPD setting to world average 63 mm and ensure navigation is
still accessible without perfect depth
Challenge : Different devices have different capabilities, ARKit, ARCore 2.0
persistence
Solution : Ensure your app can be run without persistence, but take advantage
when you can

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VI Identify and address software issues
Challenge : No out-of-box sharing service
Solution : Build your own! But…don’t reinvent the wheel; try something
generic and cross platform (WebSockets, TCP, HTTP)
Challenge : Architectures change with devices; x86, x64, ARM
Solution : When building new plugins, keep it generic; try not to rely too
much on 3rd party DLLs you don’t have the source code for

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VII Train your entire team; not just the developer
Make sure ALL departments try the device
UX needs to understand the different types of input
Design and 3D needs to understand the additive nature some displays
E.G. Black = Transparent in HL and ML

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VIII Develop, build, test, document
Test everything in headset: new features, new assets...
Constantly monitor performances: poor framerate = poor spatial
performance
Have unfamiliar people test as well: what might feel natural to you
might not be for a new user
Make sure you document your findings in a wiki / shared document

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IX Stay up to date; stay informed
Always update to the latest SDK/OS (but not in mission critical times)
Check the new developers' samples
Check the forums and ask questions
Check the new apps

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X Educate your clients
Make sure clients understand how your platform’s spatial model is created
Identify and communicate “gotcha’s” or quirks of the device
Understand the procurement methods of devices (limits per order, different
versions)
Create great documentation on initial setup

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XI Delivery
Manuals are very important
- Device setup
- Application installation
- Network diagrams
- Device PINs of Login Information (if applicable)
- Troubleshooting
These manuals should be vetted by QA and be accessible to non-
technical people
The manual will also serve as a document for you or your client’s IT
department

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Share your experiences
What have you learned?