Industry issues and solutions

Entry barriers Issues

Believe it or not, augmented reality tech dates back to 1968. It was developed at Harvard by Ivan Sutherland (named the “father of computer graphics”). The first commercial AR application appeared in 2008 in Germany for a BMW mini car. Since then, many brands and industries developed AR technology experiences, but mass individual adoption is rather unsatisfying, despite an emerging hike in recent years.

The metaverse is also a hot topic today, but nevertheless, AR and Metaverse are still mainly adopted by tech insiders or those called “gamers”. At Second Frontier we think the entry barriers for mass individual adoption are driven by the following reasons:

• Cost
  It is pretty expensive today to buy the devices required to enjoy experiences currently available in AR and Metaverse. Just to mention some costly gear: high-performance computers, smart glasses, headsets.

• Quality of displayed 3D visuals
  One of the reasons why mass individuals are not always keen to open the door of the metaverse is because of the voxel visual rendering. This means there is a correlation between the perceived low level of visuals and their rather low engagement. We say “perceived” because the actual quality of 3D visuals is just amazing nowadays. The gap usually comes from the tech needed on your device to access these crazy impressive 3D visuals. And then, you turn back to the above point related to costs!

• Accessibility
  The way mass individuals consume is adding complexity to satisfy them. They expect to do as little as possible to consume a service. Even for a fun experience, the efforts required to access it must be minimal.
  The consequence is that, as a promoter, if you want to provide an AR or metaverse experience, you need to eliminate any unnecessary actions required from the end-user. For example:

  • downloading an app
  • waiting for the app to start
  • filling out forms
  • accepting data sharing information

• Mindset
  There is some tech adverse thinking from some mass individuals, sometimes simply because their digital education is very poor. They go pretty quickly into the zone “that’s not for me, it’s too complicated”. And then we fall back into the “gamers” being the ones targeted for AR or metaverse experiences. Hopefully, this vicious circle is getting challenged nowadays, but there is big room for improvement.

At Second Frontier we aim to address all the above pitfalls. How we are going to manage them is crystal clear:

Cost
We only focus on smartphone devices with cameras which nowadays are affordable and already massively adopted by individuals.
Actually, according to Statista, the current number of smartphone users in the world today is 6.648 billion, this means 83.72% of the world’s population owns a smartphone.
If at some point in time there is a real demand or a material customer experience improvement allowed via other devices (smart glasses, headset or others), we will consider this option.

Quality of displayed 3D visuals
Firstly, mobile devices, by their nature, are very portable and easy to bring into nearly any space. But most importantly they allow geolocalization by supporting location anchors and improved motion tracking. Location anchors enable enhanced AR-based navigation solutions and this is a crucial element to boost our end-user customer journey. Indeed, this allows Second Frontier to place virtual objects with specific latitude, longitude, and altitude on the screen, relative to the positions of real-world objects.
Additionally, the rise of technologies like Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) antennas, Wi-Fi RTT and ultra-wideband (UWB) make indoor navigation much more viable than before.

Accessibility
We are going to be a web app solution so we avoid the need to download an external app for our end-users.
The steps needed for an end-user to enjoy any of our experiences will be set at the minimum. This means, once on the required URL (by scanning a QR code for example), an end-user will be able to start the experience immediately.

Mindset
This is a critical point of our solution. The mentality will firstly be hugely impacted by making it so easy to use that anybody would like to engage. If it’s easy, it’s not the preserved game field of insiders/gamers anymore.
Then, Second Frontier is going to widen the population willing to be part of the game by finding the right message, the right storytelling, to popularize AR and metaverse. Communicating about having fun with new experiences is a strong catalyst to attract more users.
Second Frontier is going to adapt its wording and avoid using technical jargon to onboard any potential end-users with no mentality friction. Additionally, the mentality is currently evolving. People’s willingness to embrace tech has never been so high.

Value Proposition: how we address market needs

Market need / Solution

1. AR and MV experiences are truly accessible to mass individuals
   SF provides a web app global solution, easily accessible for mass individuals via the camera of their mobile devices.

2. AR and MV open platforms are compatible with third-party technologies
   SF provides a unique open platform with no requirements to use a proprietary dev or software tools. This will provide businesses with turn-key tools to maximize value creation for their targeted audience.

3. AR and metaverse geolocation to maximize exclusivity and end-user engagement
   On top of AR geolocated experiences, SF provides a Metaverse geolocation capacity, allowing businesses to propose additional rarity and exclusivity for their proposed experiences. Imagine a metaverse store only available to people localized in a specific location, or where exclusive rooms from the metaverse store are only available to geolocalized people. This adds a layer to propose exclusivity and rarity to some items from the store.

4. A new media channel for businesses finding a new and fun way to interact with their audience
   SF represents a new media channel which allows users to bypass saturated digital advertisement channels like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or Google Ads. This allows less invasive promotional campaigns with more fun and more engagement for the targeted audience. At Second Frontier we think every promoter should keep on mixing the currently available metaverse platforms to have a global digital presence. The Sandbox, Decentraland or Fortnite, just to mention some of them, should definitely be part of their digital strategy. Second Frontier will be used as an additional innovative media/marketing tool to spread brands’ digital awareness.

5. End-users’ engagement allows them to get a piece of the media/advertisement revenues
   Unlike most digital social companies placing ads on end-users’ walls and keeping the revenues from doing so, SF provides a potential fair share of the revenues.
   Indeed, by renting his SF Land or asking a fee, Active SF Pioneers are in a position to target potential revenues from their SF Land.

6. AR and MV fun, accessible for individuals and not only for promoters and businesses
   Thanks to the SF platform, its ease of use and low costs, mass individuals suddenly have the capacity to display AR and Metaverse experiences.

7. Multiplayer experiences offer another level of socialization for mass individuals
   SF platform allows multiple end-users to interact with each other in the virtual and physical worlds.

8. Content finding a new communication channel
   All participants in the SF ecosystem access a new way to display their content. Brands, promoters, individuals and creators can freely display their content for their own benefit.
   Some examples of SF experiences allowing two persons to communicate:

   • a promoter having an interaction with his targeted audience
   • an end-user willing to share his art collection via a metaverse personal museum
   • an SF Content creator looking to promote himself and his work via a free access digital gallery.

9. Affordable and transparent opportunity to earn income
   SF Land represents a new potential income medium, available for anybody willing to buy digital SF Land at an affordable initial price. Additionally, the rules governing the economics are simple and registered in the blockchain with a smart contract, thus fully transparent.

10. A truly open marketplace for digital asset creators
    SF Content creators, whatever the software tool they prefer to use, will be able to sell their digital assets to promoters or end-users and get revenues from their creations.

Second Frontier participants’ benefits: quick overview:

• End-user

  • Ease of access to benefit from offered AR and MV experiences.
  • Collect SF Content (and become SF Content owner) and trade it via the SF Marketplace.
  • When access is granted by an Active SF Pioneer on its SF Land, end-users have the capacity to express their own creativity and propose AR and MV - experiences for themselves, their family, friends or anybody else.
  • Socialize with people enjoying the same experiences in the same location.
  • Get a potential piece of the advertising revenue generated via SF's new media channel by becoming an Active SF Pioneer.
  • Trade SF Content and potentially make revenues from them.

• Passive SF Pioneer

  • Collect digital assets: SF Land and SF Content.
  • Create their own SF Experiences and have fun with them on their SF Land.
  • Trade digital assets and potentially make revenues from them.
  • Get a potential piece of the advertising revenue generated via SF's new media channel by becoming an Active SF Pioneer.

• Active SF Pioneer

  • Collect digital assets: SF Land and SF Content.
  • Have fun on their SF Land via SF Experiences, whether the SF Experiences are privately created or owned and displayed by other SF ecosystem participants.
  • Trade digital assets and potentially make revenues from them.
  • Get a potential piece of the advertising revenue generated via SF's new media channel.

• SF Content creator

  • Monetize their expertise in digital asset creation via the SF Marketplace.
  • Find a new place to market their digital content creation, whatever their software tool preference.
  • Get rewarded by the SF Community Fund for the quality of their work.
  • SF Content creators can produce unique offerings, and sell them to other users to earn revenue. Earning royalties is also possible.

• Promoter

  • Access an innovative and cost-efficient communication channel.
  • Find an alternative to classic digital media channels.
  • Propose fun and gamification content through AR and Metaverse experiences to differentiate themselves from competition.
  • Access an affordable and easy method to promote their products/services via AR and Metaverse experiences.
  • Extend their business catchment area.
  • Generate traffic in specific locations for the benefit of their physical business.
  • Convenient platform and user-friendly interface to promote their brand/products/services.
  • Accelerate generation and display of geolocalized AR and Metaverse content.