Artivive recently beat over 600 competing entries to become the first Austrian start-up to join the Berkeley SkyDeck program (considered one of the top ten accelerator programs in the world). The latest six-month cycle begins in January and also includes a six-digit investment amount.

Artivive supply a flexible tool for museums and artists which essentially allows them to integrate Augmented Reality into their existing content with minimal fuss. The aim, explains CEO Codin Popescu, was to give artists a quick and frictionless way to combine analogue and digital art.

“For an artist to create in augmented reality they previously had to build their own isolated solutions, which required technical skills and resources, but now those artists can take visitors on a journey in time and explain what lies behind, enhance the art with illustrations or show how the artworks were made. For museums, exhibitions, galleries and other art institutions it offers a new and innovative way for the audience to interact with the exhibits,” he says.

Artivive supply a flexible tool for museums and artists which allows them to integrate Augmented Reality into their existing content
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The company was started only two years ago by Popescu and his Co-founder Sergiu Ardelean, and is incredibly diverse. Although their main base is in Vienna, they also have a presence in Beijing and Tel Aviv as well as partners in Mexico and Mongolia. Also, half of its 25 employees are women, which is still a sad rarity in the tech world.

To experience any linked work of art in its digitally enhanced format, all the user needs to do is load the app onto their smartphone or tablet, then point it at the chosen piece.

The interesting thing about watching such companies gain prominence in Silicon Valley is that it proves immersive tech is fostering a diverse and thriving global ecosystem
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The Artivive app has proven popular so far, with more than 5500 artists in 65 countries currently using the platform
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Immersive technologies seem like a natural fit with the art-browsing experience since most people experience it on two levels. This dual-level experience means that we’re simultaneously admiring objects in front of you, while at the same time absorbing additional information about them provided by the curators in various forms – from the labels and cards on display next to the objects and cases, to the out-dated audio guides most institutions still offer, to using your smartphone to Google a certain artist, technique, style or piece. It’s therefore little wonder that the app has proven popular so far, with more than 5500 artists in 65 countries currently using the platform.

Immersive technologies seem like a natural fit with the art-browsing experience since most people experience it on two levels
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Artivive will take the opportunity offered by the SkyDeck program to open an office in Berkeley and make inroads in the U.S. arts and cultural market, building on their success back at home in Vienna, where they’ve worked with many of the city’s top museums such as the Belvedere and MAK – The Austrian Museum of Applied Arts / Contemporary Art as well as international venues. For the Albertina Museum in Vienna they also created digital content for the exhibition “Film Stills” and integrated AR experiences to the permanent collection “Monet to Picasso”

Artivive will take the opportunity offered by the SkyDeck program to open an office in Berkeley
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We want to build a movement around augmented reality art
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The interesting thing about watching such companies gain prominence in Silicon Valley is that it proves immersive tech is fostering a diverse and thriving ecosystem that isn’t limited to the usual suspects. There is appetite for innovating in the space from all corners of the globe, and that can only be a good thing.

“We want to become the go-to solution for artists, galleries and creators and change the way art is created and consumed while building a community and movement around augmented reality art, Popescu concludes”

For companies looking to get into Immersive technologies our VR Consultancy service offers comprehensive support in strategic deployment of Virtual, Augmented and Mixed Reality

Alice Bonasio is a VR Consultant and Tech Trends’ Editor in Chief. She also regularly writes for Fast Company, Ars Technica, Quartz, Wired and others. Connect with her on LinkedIn and follow @alicebonasio on Twitter.

The post Putting AR into Art appeared first on Tech Trends.

Artists and galleries are embracing immersive technology to create an emotional connection to their audiences.

Art has been a relative latecomer to the digital revolution – at least where we’re referring to the traditional/classic end of the spectrum – people are used to associating the value of art to seeing it in person, hence the fact that museums and art galleries still rely on special exhibitions for a large share of their revenue. At the time of the app’s first launch ArtFinder Co-founder Chris Thorpe told the Guardian that “The emphasis on art history and institutes has taken away the visceral, emotional experience of art. That experience and excitement should make you what to know more and deepen your engagement with it.”

Art has been a relative latecomer to the digital revolution
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Artfinder built an IMDB-style searchable digital catalogue with hundreds of thousands of paintings, sculptures, and art-related media. The site also contains essays on artists, artworks and artistic movements, making it a useful (and free) reference resource for art discovery, while social open up new opportunities for enjoying art. It allows you to virtually collect and share your favourite artworks, and as users build up a profile that reflects their particular tastes, the system also generates further recommendations of artists and pieces that they might like.

Artfinder built an IMDB-style searchable digital catalogue with hundreds of thousands of paintings, sculptures, and art-related media
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Thorpe believes this element of recommendations when combined with geo-location, adds a crucial element of serendipity to art discovery and keeps that physical connection to the real world which is so crucial to connecting emotionally with a piece of artwork.

“It means that when you’re in Gateshead, the ArtFinder app can suggest that you go to the Baltic. But on a finer grain, because we know where the pictures are held, we can say the next time you’re at Moma, remember to see Starry Night by Van Gogh.”

Enhanced Experiences

For Artivive CEO Codin Popescu, however the experiential element will always be central to how people enjoy and relate to artworks. The key, he believes, is to use immersive technologies such as Augmented Reality to seamlessly add digital elements to those existing and well-loved experiences, making them richer and more accessible in the process.

They want to become the go-to solution for artists, galleries and creators and change the way art is created and consumed while building a community and movement around augmented reality art.

I met Popescu at the Pioneers conference in Vienna in May, where Artivive had won the “Best Austrian Startup” category in the event’s competition. He told me that although his company was only founded in 2017, it had already accrued over 60,000 downloads, with users spending a collective 1.3 million minutes engaging with art via the app. In the past year alone, over 2000 artists in 65 countries have used the platform, supporting over 100 exhibitions 1.5+ million scans nearly 5k original artworks.

“For an artist to create in augmented reality they previously had to build their own isolated solutions, which required technical skills and resources, but now those artists can take visitors on a journey in time and explain what lies behind, enhance the art with illustrations or show how the artworks were made. For museums, exhibitions, galleries and other art institutions it offers a new and innovative way for the audience to interact with the exhibits.”

They so far worked with many of the top museums in Vienna such as the Belvedere and MAK – The Austrian Museum of Applied Arts / Contemporary Art as well as many international venues. For the Albertina Museum in Vienna they also created digital content for the exhibition “Film Stills” and integrated AR experiences to the permanent collection “Monet to Picasso”

Artivive has worked with many of the top museums in Vienna such as the Belvedere and MAK
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One of the examples in which this has already changed the gallery-visitor’s experience is that instead of the enormous and outdated audio guides upon which galleries have traditionally relied – and which many still cling on to – visitors can now navigate multi-sensory personalized experiences on their own mobile devices.

The fact that in such a short time Artivive boosts a turnover of over €150,000 also shows the monetizing potential for the technology, as does the fact that main platforms are making deliberate moves to supporting the sector. At Google I/O this year one of the most popular demos I went to showcased how ARCore could be used to augment both 2D and 3D artworks.

Artivive has accrued over 60,000 downloads, with users spending a collective 1.3 million minutes engaging with art via the app
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Bridging the Physical and Digital

“Art is at the very top of the luxury pyramid,” says Sebastian Cwilich, co-founder of Artsy, an online platform started in 2012 for learning about and collecting art, which recently launched an AR feature that allows users to  virtually “hang” works from their nearly one million artwork database onto their own walls. In helping buyers visualize the pieces in context they are overcoming one of the key challenges of buying art online—not being able to see the work in person.

Digital natives relate differently to the art market, since technology allows you to source your materials from a practically endless database unrestricted by geographical borders.

This year’s Hiscox Online Art Trade Report revealed that online art market broaden buyer’s interest in cross-collecting, and art buyers are generally turning channel neutral, with mobile commerce gaining traction.

Blockchain-powered platform called Maecenas matches art owners with investors, increasing transparency and reducing costs. Crucially, it democratizes the process by allowing smaller investors to buy a fractional share in pieces valued at $1 million or more.

Digital natives relate differently to the art market
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Whatever combination of technologies proves most disruptive to the entrenched practices of art production and marketing, the art business needs to find ways of engaging the next generation of buyers
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Magnus, the app that bills itself as the “Shazam for art” adds to this transparency-led empowerment by letting users snap a picture of any artwork and instantly find out information such as title, artist name, price and exhibition history. Founded in April 2016 by German entrepreneur Magnus Resch and managed to attract investment from the likes of Leonardo DiCaprio, but it has also faced serious issues as many galleries accused it of essentially stealing their data under false pretenses. This protectionism and grey areas around image usage rights perhaps explains the somewhat slower progress of art-based tech in relation to other creative industries.

The bottom line is that whatever combination of technologies proves most disruptive to the entrenched practices of art production and marketing, the art business needs to find ways of engaging the next generation of buyers. And these are people who must be reached in their own turf – which is bound to be predominantly digital rather than analog.

This article was originally published on Forbes

Augmented Reality Will Reinvent How We Experience Arthttps://t.co/hoKCxQUpNw

— Forbes Tech News (@ForbesTech) June 20, 2018

For companies looking to get into Immersive technologies such as VR/AR/MR/XR our Virtual Reality Consultancy services offer guidance and support on how best to incorporate these into your brand strategy.

Alice Bonasio is a VR and Digital Transformation Consultant and Tech Trends’ Editor in Chief. She also regularly writes for Fast Company, Ars Technica, Quartz, Wired and others. Connect with her on LinkedIn and follow @alicebonasio on Twitter.

The post Experiencing Art With Augmented Reality appeared first on Tech Trends.

After an epic month, Tech Trends will be in Vienna for this years’ Pioneers conference.

Founded in 2009 the Pioneers conference has become a highlight of the European tech start-up calendar. It takes place every year in the 500-year-old Hofburg Imperial Palace in Vienna and brings together a community of 2,500 founders, investors, executives and public sector representatives from over 100 nations.

Founded in 2009, the Pioneers conference has become a highlight of the European tech calendar
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Pioneers takes place in the 500-year-old Hofburg Imperial Palace in Vienna and brings together a community of 2,500 founders, investors, executives and public sector representatives from over 100 nations
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This year’s theme is Blurred Frontiers and the announced speaker line-up so far includes Amazon Vice President & CTO Werner Vogels, Lighting Labs Co- Founder and CEO Elizabeth Stark and Lilium Co-Founder and Head of Calculation & Design Patrick Nathen.

Pioneers establishes and facilitates direct, meaningful business relationships between startups, corporate executives, and investors to foster growth and innovation. It is the ultimate One-Stop-Hub for global tech innovators to access high- value, curated and qualified data of early and Series A European startups.

Stay tuned for the latest news by following @techtrends_tech and tweet us with the #pioneers hashtag
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Tech Trends at Pioneers

Undoubtedly one of the headline acts on the first day of Pioneers’18 will be geneticist Josef Penninger, who will dissect some of the life sciences’ extreme potential in a keynote entitled: The Age of Impact: Why Curiosity Leads The Way. This renowned researcher, who is founding director of the Institute of Molecular Biotechnology of the Austrian Academy of Sciences in Vienna, will be discussing how humans can be made stronger from the inside out.

 

And with Penninger moving to Vancouver later in the year to take over the leadership of the Life Sciences Institute at the University of British Columbia, it could be one of the last few chances to see him speak in his native Europe.

 

Penninger will not be the only game-changing life sciences hero on the Arena Stage at the Hofburg. The second afternoon will see Olivier Oullier, President of pioneering EEG company Emotiv, showcase the fascinating concept of a ‘wearable for your brain’ in his keynote talk. He’ll dive into how neurofeedback will empower individuals to understand their own brain and accelerate brain research globally.

 

We’ll continue to delve into the grey zone between the life sciences and artificial intelligence as Insilico Medicine CEO Dr Alex Zhavoronkov showcases how Artificial Intelligence can contribute to humans living not only longer, but more healthily so. Insilico is a leader in the next-generation AI and blockchain technologies for drug discovery, biomarker development and aging research.

 

Moderating this session with Dr Zhavoronkov on the second afternoon of Pioneers’18 will be Danny Crichton, the Editorial Manager at TechCrunch. And it will be a busy day for him, because he’ll also be chairing our Found in Translation discussion, which will unpack how Artificial Intelligence can break down international language barriers with real-time translation. The stars here will be Waverly Labs CEO Andrew Ochoa and Unbabel CEO Vasco Pedro, whom Pioneers’17 visitors will remember from his Arena Stage appearance last year.

 

The session will examine just how far translation technology has moved on with the help of AI in the last 12 months, specifically exploring Unbabel’s automated video subtitling service and the Waverly Labs translation earbuds.

 

Crichton will also have a role to play on day one, as one of a four-strong panel judging a selection of three startups in our Pitch the Media session on the Amplify Stage. This takes the form of a panel discussion and interactive workshop, in which the startups try to convince the media to cover their stories – and then learn how to do it better!

 

The other members of this session’s jury will be TechTrends Deputy Editor Tom Atkinson, Startup Europe Research Director Natalie Novick, and Heatmap’s Alice Bonasio, who in addition to Editing Tech Trends and contributing to the likes of Wired and Ars Technica is also the author of VRgins: Love, Sex and Relationships in the Virtual Age.

Tech Trends is an official media partners of Pioneers Festival 2018
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Alice Bonasio is a VR Consultant and Tech Trends’ Editor in Chief. She also regularly writes for Fast Company, Ars Technica, Quartz, Wired and others. Connect with her on LinkedIn and follow @alicebonasio on Twitter

The post Tech Trends at #pioneers 2018 appeared first on Tech Trends.