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| Corico experiments with augmented reality (AR) in enhancing food presentation virtually to help people eat diet food. / Courtesy of Corico |
williams@sportforlio.com
As users flock to experience augmented reality (AR) technology through their smartphones, the majority of, if not all, the functions of AR remain underutilized.
Marisa Steans, co-founder of Seoul-based tech startup Corico, has been researching virtual environments and exploring the interaction between users and virtual characters.
"AR could be integrated in small ways into daily life," she told The Korea Times. "AR glasses are expensive for the ordinary consumer as compared to a hobbyist. Hence, we've been focusing on solving that by making it affordable for daily life use."
Steans, an American, was working as a software engineer at a Fortune 500 company in California, when she applied and got accepted into the incubation program at Seoul Global Center, now named Seoul Invest Center, in 2018.
"I had always wanted to move on from the big company and create my own startup, so this was a great opportunity for me. I was committed," she said.
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| Marisa Steans, co-founder of augmented reality (AR) startup Corico |
She met Yoon So-yoon at a hackathon in Seoul where they worked together on a few projects, and the two went on to co-found Corico together. Both hold advanced degrees in computer science, which spurred their dream of establishing Corico as its technical co-founders.
They have since grown into a team of four handling the technical development and management strategies of the young startup. The startup has been in stealth mode while they developed demos and prototypes for various facets of daily life.
As AR/mixed reality (MR) developers and AR evangelists, the team recognized that most of the problems existing in emerging industries could be mitigated through the application of AR technologies.
That is how Corico's one-liner, "AR for daily life," was born. It exists to create AR applications for mobile phones, making it accessible to the public and further pushing them toward AR glasses adoption. Corico's vision is to run these applications on future head-mounted displays (HMDs) and current mobile devices.
Corico's Use-Case in Daily Life
They realized that many people find diet food and meal supplements unsatisfying. Hence, their first prototype theorized to overlay an AR-created meal on top of real-life food and see how it could entice people to eat food which was otherwise unappetizing. However, the app posed a bit of a struggle during user testing as the user had to hold their smartphones over the food to view while eating.
They posited that, in order to fully develop it for mass consumption, the project would require a massive capital injection.
Corico application in the time of coronavirus
COVID-19 has drastically changed business operations around the globe. With measures to observe social distancing protocols, there is a constant need to adapt or die. While several startups had to pivot, exit or flash into abyss, others have hopped on the opportunity to create solutions that suit the current global pandemic.
Among one of the niche markets Corico currently focuses on is the fandom experience. Fans cannot attend concerts, social meetups or events anymore. Therefore, they've analyzed how these fan experiences could be enhanced with AR technology and meet the insatiable demand from fans around the world. The Corico app therefore enables fan interactions with their favorite entertainers, idols or content creators in real time through AR.
Launch of Boon AR
The first prototype, coupled with extensive research, has led to the creation of Corico's flagship product, Boon AR which is due to launch before the end of the year. Boon AR will focus on users' daily lives by offering promotional content on consumer products.
It promises to make the use of AR a life-enriching experience for every consumer, as well as affordable, fun and accessible on smart devices.
Steans emphasized that they've been "bootstrapping all these times and are looking to raise pre-seed funds in Korea soon." She added that they participated in the Y-Combinator startup school for the early 2020 batch.
Despite the myriad challenges experienced by all teething startups, team Corico remains upbeat on their future goals and also attracting the right partners on the journey.
Visit corico.io or @corico_official on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook for more information and to receive updates on the official release of Corico's new product.
Williams Kyei is a tech and startup writer living in Seoul. Visit his site at?www.williamskyei.com.
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