Third Aurora pioneers codeless Augmented Reality label recognition brand-to-consumer technology

16 Nov 2020 --- Third Aurora, the Australian tech start-up behind the Winerytale augmented reality (AR) wine platform, is introducing a similar technology enabling smartphone cameras to scan packaging and project virtual content. The AR platform empowers beverage manufacturers with direct-to-consumer channels without the need for QR codes or special package printing.

The technology transforms every bottle, can or package into a potential connection point, offering manufacturers an unprecedented opportunity to engage customers from the product with content updated in real-time.

Powered by a smartphone app and browser-based platform, the technology enables three-dimensional 360 degrees animated display, interactive navigation with virtual buttons, and integrated gamification and viral social media opportunities.

“The technology doesn’t rely on QR codes – the app recognizes the shape and printing on the can or bottle and brings the display to life. That’s critical as it means there’s no need for any new packaging – it’s set up to work with the product already on the shelf,” Dave Chaffey, Third Aurora’s managing director, tells PackagingInsights.

“There are very few limits to how the technology can be applied, and it will work with virtually any material. It does rely on identifying features with a phone’s camera, so a clear unlabeled bottle, for example, won’t pass the muster.”

“Making technology accessible is our aim. It’s a ready-to-go system built for scale – a producer can add their product almost instantly. It’s as easy for Coca-Cola to add AR to the billion cans they have in circulation as it is for the small craft-brewery down the lane.”

The technology hits the market in January 2021, following the successful launch of Winerytale, a similar concept created specifically for the wine industry.Third Aurora’s technology enables interactive navigation, gamification and integrated social media.

Explosive growth expected
According to Chaffe, most analysts agree AR is set for explosive growth over the next three to five years. AR is more accessible, tech giants like Apple and Google are driving it, and social media channels are starting to advance adoptions with filters.

“A source from 2018 (International Data Corporation) suggests total spending on AR and virtual reality products and services will increase from US$11.4 billion in 2017 to nearly US$215 billion in 2021.”

“There’s a very famous case study of Treasury Wine Estates, one of the early pioneers of AR for wine, who achieved incredible results – 70 percent increase in sales, 200,000 user-generated videos, and millions of social media posts.”

Brands line up
Third Aurora’s new technology is generating strong interest from breweries around the world, soft and energy drink brands and some smaller cider and craft beer producers.

“There’s a lot of buzz, from what we’ve delivered for wine,” says Chaffey, referring to Winerytale. “That’s captured people’s imagination – there’s a lot you can do with this technology.”

Chaffey encourages interested parties to register now for early access to the product, which will commence field testing shortly.

Early brand adopters are yet to be disclosed. “We’re in talks with a few well-known brands but not at liberty to name anyone at this stage,” Chaffey tells PackagingInsights.

Label recognition
The main technical challenge in the AR technology’s development was label recognition, namely identifying any label with just a smartphone. With modern technologies like AR, there is the capability to identify and read labels without the need for a QR code or other codes, explains Chaffey.The technology transforms every bottle, can or package into a potential brand-to-consumer connection point.

“Of course, this falls down if two different packages look very similar, but the technology has reached a level where it is as good, if not better than the naked eye at discerning package differences.”

The other technical challenge was combining several cutting-edge technologies to achieve two competing goals: a consumer-focused concept and an intuitive, easy-to-manage system for manufacturers.

Third Aurora brought together Artificial Intelligence, AR, smartphone application programming interface web applications, social media, cloud information storage and data analytics.

A journey of discovery
The Australian tech start-up is fixating on outcomes and developing its AR concept further. “In our minds, it has to deliver unmatchable value for manufacturers, while enabling them to offer valued and varied experiences for consumers,” continues Chaffey.

“We’re creating a journey of discovery for consumers, and we’re looking forward to developing those journeys to provide the optimum experiences.”

“That said, our development team is working on several initiatives, including auto-translated content, location-dependent content, and data analysis. And of course, there is a clear opportunity to adapt the platform across to other industries – we’re looking forward to expanding those frontiers,” he concludes.

By Joshua Poole