Immersal Ltd., developer of technologies for mobile augmented reality, Thursday announced the commercial release of its large-scale AR software development kit designed to allow the creation of immersive AR experiences.

With Immersal’s platform, it’s possible to design what is called large-space AR, a capability that allows AR to be used in industrial spaces, movie theaters or even city blocks easily. It does this by anchoring digital content to real world objects without the need for markers, pulling the information from the cloud so that it can be displayed to multiple users simultaneously.

“It was important for us to be the first commercial SDK company in the large-space AR,” said Immersal Chief Executive Officer Jufo Peltomaa. “Market shares are being taken right now, even before the headsets. It’s relatively easy to get some kind of a large-space AR demo working, but it’s a completely different effort to produce something commercially viable and working in practice, with real customers — and we have done just that.”

Around 250 developer companies have already put Immersal’s technology to use, including TWNKLS B.V., maker of the Ikea Place AR app, which allows customers to place virtual furniture inside real houses to get an idea of what purchases might look like.

Immersal has put feedback from these companies to use in improving and preparing its SDK product for a commercial launch.

“Immersal is one of the first SDK’s on the market that supports cross-platform markerless 6-degrees-of-freedom indoor positioning and tracking, which is a major component for next-generation augmented reality applications,” said Lex van der Sluijs, co-founder and chief technology officer of TWNKLS.

Multiple large-space AR apps have been launched alongside the SDK, for example for the movie theater chain Finnkino, part of Odeon Cinemas Group, owned by AMC. Another AR app using the SDK has been released by flyAR for Caverion Corp., a 2.2 billion euro service company that provides industrial services management for smart buildings, offices and campuses.

Less than a week ago, Immersal raised $1.01 million in a funding round and expects to close the funding in a few months by raising $8,000 more. This round has consisted of angel investments, and investments from Sisu Game Ventures and Kasvumoottori Growth Engine ecosystem funding from Finland’s public funding agency for research, Business Finland.

“Markerless, accurate large-space AR is now here to stay and the world will never be the same again,” said Peltomaa. ”Our endgame is to use the apps’ end users to collect a global, AR-enabling infrastructure, AR Cloud.”

Image: Immersal