Image Metrics Introduces LUNAR, the Industry-Eclipsing Complete Augmented Reality Ecosystem Powering a Multitude of AR Experiences

LUNAR enables innovative brands to add mind-blowing augmented reality effects to their marketing efforts and transform the customer experience

EL SEGUNDO, Calif.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Image Metrics, the creator of breakthrough technologies based on computer vision and facial analysis and tracking, today announces the launch of LUNAR, a scalable, augmented reality (AR) platform that gives innovative companies and brands the ability to easily add jaw-dropping AR effects to their marketing initiatives, heightening engagement with their customers and reaching massive audiences.

LUNAR makes it easier than ever for brands to embrace and harness the power of AR. In the past, companies had two primary options for providing AR content to their customers. One method utilizes an existing social media platform such as Snapchat and Facebook, however these can be cost-prohibitive and do not provide brands with the ability to own and target their audiences. Alternatively, a brand can opt to custom build an AR application with one or more platform-specific SDKs (software development kits). This option requires development time and resources to build a back end for delivery and further updates to content.

LUNAR eliminates these limitations by providing an almost instant, easy-to-integrate platform that delivers AR to devices for user engagement in a range of forms – via smartphones and tablets, kiosks, and screens in large scale settings such as festivals and stadiums. LUNAR is designed to be easily added to an existing iOS or Android app, or can be standalone.

Image Metrics built LUNAR on top of a robust, scalable and proven back end, which saves brands and developers the months of work required to build an AR ecosystem. The AR capabilities can be controlled via a centralized content management system (CMS) that seamlessly pushes content to each experience. Better still, companies can be up and running with LUNAR in as little as 48 hours.

“The beauty of LUNAR is that it significantly reduces the barrier to entry for brands, allowing them to implement and deploy best-in-class AR experiences faster and easier than ever before,” says Ron Ryder, CEO, Image Metrics. “LUNAR requires no additional engineering. It was built to easily integrate our world-class AR product into your brand, so you can focus on what matters most—building your business and delighting your customers.”

“Image Metrics understands the problems encountered in creating immersive, scalable and exciting AR products. It’s easy to underestimate what goes into building an AR experience, whether it’s dealing with the core SDK and render engine, developing content management for easy delivery, establishing scalable and secure web services or in dealing with all the problems inherent in a multi-platform environment,” explains Nick Ramsay, VP of Product. “We’ve solved all of these challenges with LUNAR.”

LUNAR features a number of technological breakthroughs. It’s the first AR product in the industry with the ability to use planar tracking, image targeting and facial tracking simultaneously, thus delivering more immersive and life-like AR experiences. Key features of LUNAR include:

• Industry-leading facial tracking powered by Image Metrics for highly accurate feature tracking and animation triggers.
• Ease of integration into apps, websites, and onsite experiences such as kiosks and live broadcast feeds.
• Scalable, secure and proven back-end that features web services and a CMS to easily deliver content to multiple experiences.
• Image targeting that allows brands to upload an image to the LUNAR server and have the AR camera recognize and trigger off that image.
• Planar tracking that adds an animated or still 3D object to the scene, so users can scale, rotate and place the object on different planes in the area.
• People segmentation technology that allows users to easily apply effects or remove the background and replace it with an image or 3D environment.
• Engagement features that direct users to brand pages and the ability to trigger web pages and interstitials of various events in the AR camera session.
• Analytics access that tracks all user interactions within the session allowing educated decisions about the content within the app.

To learn more about LUNAR, please visit www.lunar-xr.com.

About Image Metrics

Founded in 2000, Image Metrics delivers powerful and easy-to-use software to digital media, consumer electronics, interactive entertainment and other software providers that want to give their users the most compelling interactive experiences possible. Image Metrics’ proprietary algorithms make the recognition and real-time animation of nuanced expressions and emotion possible with nothing more than a camera on a laptop, tablet or smartphone. The opportunities for self-representation and personalized content control are endless. The company has operational offices in El Segundo, CA and Las Vegas, NV; with continental headquarters and research centers in Puerto Rico and Manchester UK.

Contacts

Finn Partners for Image Metrics

Michelle Sieling

415-905-4013

imagemetrics@finnpartners.com