Lucid AI and software removing barriers to a world with mainstream 3D experiences and VR shopping

Lucid is scaling its core 3D software technology into more mobile and smart devices featuring dual or multi-cameras. Lucid’s proprietary real-time 3D Fusion technology, which mimics how the brain processes and learns from what humans see with two eyes, will enable device manufacturers to leverage dual and multi cameras to capture 3D and depth.

Lucid has become profitable and is in strong growth mode, with revenues up 10x from a year ago.

* 300 million smartphones were shipped with dual cameras in 2017
* analysts predict a 400 percent growth year over year in the phone market, reaching 50 percent penetration by 2020. This will be about 3 billion in 2020. Although Google Pixel uses algorithms while using a more powerful single camera for a smartphone.

Nextbigfuture interviewed Lucid Co-Founder and CEO Han Jin. Lucid designed the world’s first VR180 3D camera, the LucidCam.

Nextbigfuture question about Alibaba attempting to increase ecommerce sales using 3D and Virtual Reality

In 2016, Alibaba was announcing things with Gnome Labs where they were trying to use VR to enhance sales of certain products. I have not seen much follow up on that. This would seem to be a win for your Oculus class VR or AR without the headset to enable quicker and seamless 3D views of products. You would not have overcome any barriers of making an addictive game. You would need to find the products where 3D provides enhanced conversion rates for sales. It could also be in showrooms where you provide upselling of features or enhance the close for higher value products. Do you have any data or info on this aspect?

Han Jin Answer

That is correct, the main value Lucid is bringing is an acceleration for the industry by breaking or removing its barriers.

Convergence Discussion – robots breaking out of the factory and warehouse

Lucid’s software for 3D without the need for smartphones, drones and robots is coming at a time when GPS in smartphones and other devices is heading to decimeter accuracy and soon centimeter and millimeter accuracy.

target=blank>Xiaomi – one of the fastest growing mobile brands – launched the world’s first dual-frequency GNSS smartphone. Fitted with a Broadcom BCM47755 chip, the Xiaomi Mi 8, launched on May 31, is the world’s first smartphone providing up to decimeter-level accuracy for location-based services and vehicle navigation. This uses the L5 satellite signal to increase the accuracy of GPS.

Xiaomi has launched the world’s first dual-frequency GNSS smartphone, the Mi 8. This smartphone represents a breakthrough in GNSS technology as it is the first commercial deployment of Broadcom’s revolutionary BCM47755 chip.

Lucid 3D software depth perception combined with the Broadcom BCM47755 chip mean that drones, cars and robots will know where they are to high precision and they will be able to use two cameras to rapidly scan the environment to know where other things are. This will make programming drones and robots far easier. It could break robots out of the factory and warehouse for many more applications.

Lucid’s pure software solution will work with dual cameras mobile phones and other devices.

Other dual camera devices are
* robots
* drones
* VR/AR and security cameras
* cars

Human-like depth perception can eliminate the need for expensive and space-consuming hardware solutions such as depth sensors other systems. AI and data on top of dual cameras can mimic the way humans see with learning and inference.

Lucid software can convert the data from two cameras into 3D information for real-time mapping and for capturing a scene with depth information. This enables rapid creation of 3D models and more rapid creation of 3D video games.

* In-house developed pure software depth technology based on AI leveraging concepts of how the brain processes and learns to perceive the environment.
* Easy-integratable Android SDK dynamic and customizable for any dual camera independent of baseline, field of view or resolution as long as there is overlapping performance.

Lucid is already incorporating its software into devices from several mobile phone, camera and robot makers as well as working with laptop, drone and chip makers to enhance their next generation products. With the LucidCam the company started its research of replicating human vision capabilities, at a time when dual camera devices were a small minority of the market. “The depth information that is captured through the addition of the second camera is what separates a device from recommending you similar clothes to knowing much more, such as the precise size, shape, style, fit, and texture. This leads to a much bigger benefit for consumers, and thus belongs in many more products than just the LucidCam,” said Jin.

When Lucid was founded Jin and his team began by creating robot eyes and instead of building out the whole robot decided to focus on the eyes as a camera. Today the company is using the previously embedded software technology to enhance any dual camera device by inserting a unique “vision profile” during the manufacturing process. This vision profile is similar to a personalized prescription anyone receives from an optometrist following an eye exam. “Like a baseball player who can train to improve his vision, the vision profile in dual cameras will also continue to get better through continuous learning. In this way devices attain exceptional visual perception without sophisticated hardware,” said Jin.

Lucid’s 3D Fusion technology uses AI and machine learning coupled with historic data in the cloud to provide added vision intelligence to ultimately deliver the most accurate 3D/depth perception. This solution is ideal for any real-time 3D/depth enabled applications and supports even live feeds into holographic displays. The technology has been refined over the past three years and has been integrated seamlessly into several devices which are already commercially available and selling in the millions of units globally. By offering a software only solution to serve the growing demand for 3D and depth in the industry, Lucid is helping manufacturers significantly reduce their hardware costs and development efforts.