First Norwegian Mixed Reality Partner

Today, we’re delighted to announce that Bouvet has been accredited as a Microsoft Mixed Reality Partner. The Mixed Reality Partner Program is designed to enable and support partners that are committed to building transformative mixed reality solutions for their clients.

We live in a time where there is an incredible pace of technological change and enterprises everywhere are more focused than ever on digitilisation transformation.  The companies that are at the forefront of embracing new technology paradigms, holistically throughout their organization, will be the ones that are competitively positioned for the future. Bouvet is at the leading edge of helping companies do this.

– Our customers expect us to help them innovate and embrace new technology. As a Mixed Reality Partner, Microsoft has assessed that Bouvet is a leading partner in the building of transformative mixed reality solutions. Our customers can be confident that we can provide the expertise needed to guide and assist them on their mixed reality journey, says Matt Groom, Business Unit Leader, Bouvet.

Mixed Reality (MR)

Mixed reality is the result of blending the physical world with the digital world. It is an umbrella term that covers the whole spectrum from augmented reality (AR) to virtual reality (VR). It offers brand new opportunities for ways of working, especially through empowering first line workers who previously might not have had access to the digital revolution. The technology opens up a new market, and with the support of Microsoft, Bouvet aim to become a leading developer of mixed reality solutions.

– When we started talking about Mixed Reality in 2016, many people were skeptical as to whether this would be a profitable market. We now see that the interest is growing rapidly, and we are very excited to be developing futuristic solutions for our customers on Microsoft’s Mixed Reality platform, says Matt

 – We are delighted to see Bouvet join the Mixed Reality Partner Program as we continue to expand our Microsoft HoloLens presence within Norway. It is more important than ever, that enterprises have partners that they can trust to support their digital transformation.  Bouvet has a strong history in how they support their customers and with their new Mixed Reality Partner capability, they will be able to guide their customers on the optimal ways to leverage this new technology alongside cloud, AI, IOT and back-end systems in order to drive significant cost reductions, such as in the area of their Connected Technical solution, says Leila Martine, Microsoft, EMEA Mixed Reality Partner Program Lead

Connected Technician

In collaboration with eSmart Systems and Ringerikskraft, Bouvet have developed a solution to assist field workers within the electricity industry. The solution is called Connected Technician.

The solution consists of a HoloLens application that is used by the field worker, and a collection of Azure web components. HoloLens is a head mounted augmented reality device that runs on the Mixed Reality platform. The Connected Technician HoloLens application enables hands-free interaction, seamless communication with a remote expert (remote assistance) and instant access to relevant documentation and data, streamed from Azure. In addition, the field worker’s site visit is digitized 100%; so, after completing their assignments, no further time-consuming documentation is needed.

– Innovation is part of our DNA at eSmart Systems. With our new product, Connected Technician, we are once again innovating in a new space. The Connected Technician solution leverages not only HoloLens, but also cloud, IoT and AI through it’s integration with our Connected Grid product. To achieve this we wanted to work with a partner who was an expert in HoloLens development as well as cloud and systems integration, so Bouvet was a perfect fit. We are eager to roll this solution out to our customers this autumn and are excited to continue working with Bouvet to further develop this fantastic product, says Tore Lie, Chief Product Officer, eSmart Systems.

Connected Technician is a complete solution for field workers which simplifies and streamlines tasks that today are characterized by a lot of manual work and extensive documentation requirements. It has been an ambitious project, but the result is a comprehensive solution that truly supports the field worker in the daily tasks.

– This project has given us the feeling of participating in something big. It is exciting to find new ways to develop applications whilst helping customers in a whole new way, says a member of Bouvet’s HoloLens developer team.

The solution, developed for eSmart Systems, will go into pilot in August and before it has even officially launched, there has been a strong interest from other customers from around Europe.

Bouvet’s Mixed Reality Journey

In 2015, Bouvet began to investigate the enterprise opportunities offered by augmented reality and virtual reality. It wasn’t long before it became clear that the mixed reality platform offered what was needed to start developing applications and helping customers immediately.

– It has been a wild ride! We have played, hacked and researched to find ways of developing great solutions using mixed reality. One of the highlights has to be standing on stage with Microsoft at the Spark+AI summit in San Francisco, while they demonstrated one of our HoloLens applications, says Matt

He is referring to a HoloLens app developed by Bouvet, originally for eSmart Systems, that presents a mission analysis of their Connected Drone program. It was shown to Microsoft in Seattle who then hired Bouvet to produce a version that could be used on stage. It was shown at Spark+AI in San Francisco and at Ignite and Ready in Las Vegas this summer.

Ever since Bouvet started building their Mixed Reality team, Microsoft have offered great support.

– The Mixed Reality Partner Program was a great experience. The whole Microsoft team in London have been very supportive, especially our mentor, PJ Bowron. I think they have seen quite a few Proof of Concept HoloLens apps so were pleased to see that we had developed an end-to-end solution in Connected Technician, that was ready for real-world use, says Matt.

This is just the beginning

 – The way that mixed reality can blend the digital world with our physical world is truly magical and Microsoft’s HoloLens is by far the best way to experience this magic today. What we have developed at Bouvet up until now is just the beginning. We are very excited about working with our customers to find new and innovative uses for these tools, says Matt.