A bit more than 3 years ago I had a crazy idea. That in and of itself is not that uncommon for me- I have crazy ideas all the time- it’s one of my best qualities. Rarely though are they ideas that I can do something about or have an ability to pursue in a wide open and undefined space.
My idea was to build an Augmented Reality universe- a place where anyone can experience and participate in AR without having the specialized glasses that allow us to see both the real world and a digital overlay simultaneously. The problem was and is that those glasses don’t yet exist. I, like millions of other tech enthusiasts around the planet, am super excited about eventually getting those glasses and the experience they will bring- seeing digital art, ads, and avatars everywhere as you walk around in your daily life.
My big realization then was that we could build this universe without needing to wait for the advanced devices. Instead of using AR glasses, we could simply use our phones, which are already in our hands all the time. It’s simply one more use for them, making them an entry point into another dimension of AR all around us. For this, the hardware was already sufficient, and was improving rapidly with the coming launch of Apple’s LiDAR enabled iPhone 12pro and proMax.
The original idea was to create a place that everyone could come to see and share AR, whether with the rest of the world or in smaller private groups. The simplest way to describe the vision was to create the YouTube of AR. I envisioned game companies making previously impossible AR games, content creators expressing their individuality on and in urban geographies, and a myriad of internet driven utility apps that allow a person to do something previously impossible with an object or place in their line of site (Just look at it and click it!). I believed then and still do now that almost everything we’ll do with the future glasses can be done today with the phones that we already carry. All we have to do is open an app.
So I got some people together and we got to work! Very quickly we had a prototype but we’ve been steadily improving the platform until now when it’s finally ready for people to jump on and try out in large scale. It’s not perfect, and we recognize some of the limitations detract from the experience (occlusion is an ongoing issue), but for people that love new tech and especially AR, I think they will be quite excited as they start exploring. We also have released our SDK so if you’re a game or app developer you should think about how you could put your creation into the AR universe. And of course, there will be a store where creators can sell their games, apps, art, or other AR creations to others. At this moment MMITA has covered much of Hong Kong with AR and we’re going to start on other cities in the next couple of weeks- stay tuned for more news about that!
Thank you for trying out our app and platform as we’re just getting started! If you haven’t tried it yet please do check it out and download it at www.mmita.com. We’re on most of the Apple App and Google Play stores around the world. Please tell us what you think and give us feedback as you experiment. Use the on-board messaging system to reach us directly. And if you are a hard core AR enthusiast and want to join our Astral Expeditionary Force (AEF), our pioneering group that leads new cities and helps test new features in the field, please send us an email at AEF@mmita.com or contact us through the site.
Lastly, a lot of people ask me about the name MMITA. The Astral Plane is a perfect metaphor for AR- a whole dimension that exists around you but just beyond your sight. Some people hate the name but frankly I don’t care. I love it and I think it’s cool. It sums up the heart of all of it! If you love AR I’ll see you there! Come and Meet Me In The Astral!
Gene