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Tuesday, March 19, 2024
March 19, 2024

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Skyview grads work on smart glasses that act on hand gestures

Portland company founded by Vancouver men target users in commercial 'enterprise' market

By , Columbian Business Editor
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Ty Frackiewicz, left, and Ryan Fink, co-founders of OnTheGo Platforms, demonstrate how to use gesture software called Ari.
Ty Frackiewicz, left, and Ryan Fink, co-founders of OnTheGo Platforms, demonstrate how to use gesture software called Ari. The two men, both graduates of Vancouver's Skyview High School, see great potential for gesture software in workplace use of smart glasses. Photo Gallery

Obituaries are being written this month for Google Glass in response to Google’s decision to halt production of its current version of its much-hyped wearable computer.

Some say it’s only a matter of time before consumers embrace smart glasses technology once designers reduce its geeky appearance and improve its functionality. But for now, one Portland company founded by two Vancouver men that’s creating software for smart glasses has shifted its focus away from the consumer market to a more narrow “enterprise” market of commercial smart glass users.

Ryan Fink, CEO of OnTheGo Platforms, sees vast potential for smart glasses in work environments. His company is ready to serve that market with its software that recognizes simple hand gestures to activate the computer functions. The software can be used by smart glass users in workplaces who wear gloves or who work in the field or loud environments, he says.

Fink, who created OnTheGo Platforms with fellow Skyview High School graduate Ty Frackiewicz in 2012, said he understands Google’s decision this month to stop producing Google Glass for the time being. “Smart glasses aren’t ready for the mainstream yet,” he acknowledged. “They’re still pretty goofy looking.”

Also, the software side of the smart glass industry has struggled to develop simple, unobtrusive tools to activate computers embedded in the glasses. Some functions are voice activated, but randomly saying the word “Google” to launch the computer can obviously come across as awkward or strange. The devices don’t easily respond to heavily accented voices or work well in loud environments, Fink said. Activations requiring the use of hands or fingerprints can be inconvenient or impossible, particularly when a person is wearing gloves, he said.

OnTheGo has found a niche with its gesture-based software and is a leader in that technology, Fink says. The company’s software is called Ari, short for Augmented Reality Interface.

Already it has developed an app called BrainWave, available in beta to Android users, which allows users to control music and song selection from streaming music players including Pandora and Spotify with hand gestures. It’s this technology, Fink says, that can be applied to hands-free smart glasses in workplaces that could include restaurants, medical services, and repairs on power lines or wind turbines.

The company is conducting pilot testing with what Fink called “a very popular fast food chain” to use smart glasses with the Ari software to train employes on how to make different food items. The goal is to simplify and cut down on training costs, Fink said.

Fink sees countless other uses for the company’s software in such activities. “In the next three years there’s a massive opportunity,” he said.

OnTheGo last year raised $1.25 million in venture capital funding for product development and ramping up staffing, The company, based in Portland’s Pearl District, has six employees and expects to double in size this year, Fink said.

Now it has formed partnerships with a number of technology companies including Epson, Vizux, and ODG, and it is soliciting for developers to create apps using its Ari software. It also expects to seek out additional funding.

Fink, who married last fall and recently purchased a home in Felida, says he’s not interested in selling majority ownership until the company achieves a breakthrough in demand for its software. “This year is going to year we want to run as fast as we can,” he said.

Even with Google putting the brakes on Google Glass development for the time being, Fink thinks Google raised the profile of smart glasses work in the wearable product it brought to public attention in 2012. That’s when skydivers wearing Google Glass landed at San Francisco’s Moscone Center, joining Google co-founder Sergey Brin on stage at a product convention. Public awareness since then has advanced the development of the technology and of app-based software for smart glasses, he said.

Scott Milam, a Vancouver investor in OnTheGo Platforms, said the slow public acceptance of smart glass has forced the company to adapt and to wait longer for financial returns. In the long run, Milam said, “I see nothing but an upside” for the technology once the glasses look better and the computers are able to offer more information to rival what’s available on smart phones.

“I think the younger generation is going to jump on this stuff,” he said. “They’re the ones who want to get the phone out of their hands.”

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Columbian Business Editor