By Mike Carnevale, Founder and Creative Director at CARNEVALE
SkyLens in Focus at AES 2024
Our team returned to the Augmented Enterprise Summit (AES) 2024 with several improvements over last year’s exhibit. We focused on our work in the rapidly growing space of Real-Time Data Lenses, which are extended reality (XR) applications that superimpose dynamic, real-time data over physical environments. These experiences enable workers to view information in their native context, visualize opportunities, and accelerate decisions.
Attendees demo SkyLens at the CARNEVALE booth at AES 2024 in Dallas
Picture yourself walking through the aisles of a big-box retail store, viewing real-time inventory and sales data. Or imagine standing on-site above a shale reservoir, observing geological data to better understand subsurface conditions.
Bringing these solutions to life requires a unique combination of capabilities that CARNEVALE offers. Our team has traditional enterprise developers who integrate with legacy systems and APIs, and spatial developers who merge environmental data, like video feeds and surface meshes, with visualizations. Our XR designers craft a best-in-class user experience that meets business requirements. And our experienced project managers seamlessly tie all these elements together with predictability and transparency.
Left to right: Samantha Robinson, Project Manager; Mike Carnevale, Founder and Creative Director; Lee McKenzie, lead AR/VR Developer
To help AES attendees visualize the concept of Real-Time Data Lenses, we launched SkyLens in the Meta Store. This Quest 3 app allows users to view superimposed live weather data (wind, temperature, barometric pressure, UV index, etc.) and live aerospace data (aircraft and satellites) in both AR and VR.
Helping Enterprise Companies Build the Future
Our time at AES confirmed that CARNEVALE is rare. We are a custom software design and development company that stands out amongst an overabundance of off-the-shelf platform offerings. Many of these booths at AES showcased software products like VR training, XR repair guidance, and device and 3D asset management tools. Hardware vendors ranged from major headset manufacturers (Meta, Vive, XREAL) to niche products like Haply Robotics and Looking Glass displays.
But, most organizations developing XR tools for internal use rely on in-house teams of developers, many of whom juggle multiple roles: creating 3D artwork, building interfaces, integrating with existing systems, and more. Large-scale traditional development agencies often lack fluency in this space, struggling to deliver the compelling experiences that XR technology promises. This is ultimately disappointing for stakeholders. But, building the future doesn’t have to be costly or inefficient.
We bring a rare mix of XR developers, 3D artists, and UX design capability in this space, partnering with in-house teams and backed by our extensive experience working with enterprise organizations. This market differentiation and our Real-Time Data Lens demo generated three full days of productive conversations about the future of XR accelerating business growth.
Growth Below the Radar
VR training is now pervasive and is becoming normalized. From retail spaces to factory floors, we’re training workers quicker and more effectively. While AI has taken over the headlines, XR adoption and investment continue to grow steadily. Unencumbered by media hype and consumer market expectations, the XR community is flourishing out of the spotlight.
Exhibitors shared far more hands-on demos compared to last year. Fortune 50 companies presented more case studies on how they use XR tools to reduce data friction, increase safety, identify opportunities, and ultimately impact their bottom line. There is a powerful, shared sense among developers, content creators, and enterprise buyers that the collective work happening in this space is foundational for a future in which digital layers will seamlessly enhance our vision and productivity.
An Epic Year of New Hardware
Over the past year, there have been tremendous leaps forward in XR hardware, highlighted by the arrival of Apple’s long-awaited Apple Vision Pro. It’s the highest-end mainstream device in the category. An aesthetically stunning headset, it is easy to use and packed with power and technology. However, it is still priced out of reach for casual users.
Meta, Vive, and others continue to invest and evolve their devices. The Quest 3, launched last October, is still relatively new. An upgraded version, the Quest 3s, was released last month, offering similar specifications at a better price. Mark Zuckerberg also unveiled Orion, a pair of Buddy Holly-inspired frames that signal Meta’s continued investment in defining the future of XR. Vive, a one-time market leader, released the Focus Vision, an industrial-ready device with serious security credentials, rugged construction, and competitive display and performance.
But, not every company launched new hardware or plans to update outdated platforms.
Hololens 2 Sunset Opportunities
Companies that have invested in Microsoft’s Hololens 2 platform are now searching for alternatives as Microsoft has ended its production, with no expected successor. Unfortunately for these organizations, it’s not as simple as choosing between the Vision Pro or the Quest line.
The Hololens form factor features a transparent visor that projects digital augmentations onto the user’s field of view. This allows users to maintain situational awareness, particularly important in environments like factories, outdoor terrain, or surgical theaters. Both the Apple Vision Pro and Meta Quest devices are opaque headsets, providing a VR or AR experience. In AR mode, these devices use front-facing cameras to pass a video feed through to internal displays, layering digital enhancements over the video. This is a significant difference from Microsoft’s see-through Hololens 2.
Mission-critical applications often require users to have a direct line of sight to the real world, which neither Meta nor Apple currently offer. Meta’s Orion glasses are on the right track, but they could be a decade away from hitting the shelves. Apple is rumored to be releasing their glasses in 2026. In the meantime, companies like XREAL, which offer AR glasses in a lighter and more compact form factor, have a significant opportunity.
Surging Forward into the Future
While XR represents only a subset of our work—alongside connected product experiences and advanced applications—we anticipate continued growth and innovation in this space. The market continues to benefit from the convergence of rapidly evolving technologies like sensors, displays, cameras, batteries, processors, cloud services, manufacturing techniques, and 3D creator tools. Advancements in any one of these components lead to exciting new opportunities for XR products.
We love and value our role as an extension of some of the world’s largest brands’ R&D teams. We partner with these brands to bring their customers dimensional, connected, and advanced experiences today. As the leading edge of consumer technologies surges forward into the future, we and our clients are excited to continue pushing the boundaries of what’s possible.
