DeepSight has vision for future of augmented reality

Infusing leading edge technology to enhance the reality around us, DeepSight (Réalité Augmentée) Inc. is reshaping how industries interact with digital content through its cutting-edge AR software solutions.

Setting out to revolutionize the way individuals and businesses engage with their environments, the Montreal-based software development company has built a platform leveraging augmented reality (AR) artificial intelligence (AI) and smart glasses.

Source: DeepSight

At the core of DeepSight’s mission lies a commitment to revolutionizing the way individuals and businesses engage with their environments. Leveraging state-of-the-art technology and a deep understanding of user experience, the company has positioned itself as a trailblazer in the AR landscape.

In 2024, the firm has commercialized five main modules: Studio, Holo, Console, DS Connect and Knowledge Capture. The Holo module is a native app, device agnostic, available on the Microsoft Hololens 2 and iOS mobile devices. The firm is planning on integrating the new Apple Vision Pro as a compatible headset and it should be ready this summer.

3D smart glasses

“We are looking at other 3D smart glasses such as XReal and Magic Leap 2, but we want to be sure they are industrial proof,” said DeepSight CEO and co-founder, Nicolas Bearzatto. The Holo app allows users to view the augmented content created in the Studio (a no-code web app often compared to MS Powerpoint for its user-friendly environment).

While most AR/VR/XR platforms run on two main 3D engines – Unity or Unreal, DeepSight decided early on that it did not want to rely on external engines as they were not designed specifically for AR applications and hardware. So, the firm took a longer journey and built their own: the DeepSight Engine.

Source: DeepSight

“This allows us to be completely independent and efficient in terms of product development and, more importantly, not to rely on major pricing model changes that could ultimately affect our processes and clients,” says Bearzatto. “Also, it gives us the power to improve the performances of the 3D experiences lived in the smart glasses, that are not designed for heavy virtual environment used in VR. Finally, it allows us to be device agnostic and gives the freedom of choice in terms of hardware for each clients wants to use DeepSight.”

In the early stages as a start-up, DeepSight joined Centech, one of Quebec’s major incubators, and participated in two of its main programs: ‘Acceleration’ and ‘Propulsion’. DeepSight was quickly matched with some of Montreal’s top entrepreneurs, including Richard Chenier, Martin Enault and Dominic Gagnon of Connect & Go, an integrated attractions management platform.

DeepSight CEO and co-founder, Nicolas Bearzatto. Source: DeepSight

“This allowed us to be coached and challenged by some of the most successful mentors in Canada, as well as spending time with other start-ups founders,” said Bearzatto. “It takes a while to get through the ecosystem, but as a tech entrepreneur, you must get involved because there’s so many opportunities to get financial and commercial help.”

Bearzatto says that he is already seeing a shift in the market since the release of Apple Vision Pro. Companies in many industries are now understanding the power of this technology and real use cases are being demonstrated by DeepSight’s clients.

Help reduce the skills gap

“We envision our platform being deployed in the manufacturing industry as a whole to help reduce the skills gap between expert leaving to retirement and a young generation of frontline workers coming in with different experiences and cultural baggage/languages,” said Bearzatto. “We are also seeing a major use case of our technology with some OEMs to help limit traveling time of technicians with remote support (using smart glasses or tablets).”

Today, DeepSight is working with market leaders such as Galderma (pharmaceutical manufacturing), St-Hubert (agro-food), Agnico Eagle (mining industry), L. Fournier & Fils (transportation), just to name a few. The AR technology is helping these companies train their operators and technicians more rapidly, in a more efficient way and reducing the risks of accidents and errors, according to Bearzatto.

Product development works hard every day

“The status quo and fear of change are probably the main challenges we are still facing today. We are introducing a disruptive technology in a process that hasn’t change since the 1950s (training production line workers with job-shadowing and paper catalogs), Bearzatto noted. “To push through, we have had to make our platform as easy to use as possible, from the content creation side in the Studio up to the use of smart glasses/tablets (Holo) and the data dashboard (Console). Our product development works hard every day to take care of the complex programming to improve the platform while creating the best and easiest user experience possible for our clients.”

Source: DeepSight

Growing rapidly, Bearzatto says that his team is “very lucky” to have DeepSight’s offices in Montreal, situated within the vibrant Old Port location. In the early stages, he paired up with a childhood friend Francis Dubé, who is the company’s CTO today.

“We started in small cubicle office – and now we hold almost the entire floor,” Bearzatto enthused.

Decided to build our own solution

DeepSight employs 15 in total, which includes a leadership team of five, plus eight software developers and computer engineers (full-stacks and Core C++ developers) and seven people in the customer journey (Sales and partnerships employees, a customer success team and management). The firm has plans to continue growing, as it intends to hire another C++ developer /machine learning specialist and a marketing manager in coming months.

“We are still active in the tech ecosystem and leaning on advisors’ and counselors’ feedback and coaching,” Bearzatto said. “DeepSight is the fruit of the union between two friends, combined by our interest in new technology like AR and the desire to impact the world around us positively,” he explained. “Back when we started, no company offered a simple way to generate meaningful AR content, so we decided to build our own solution. It is a long and difficult journey to develop complex technology solutions and so we had to create a strong culture of high-performers and creative minds.”

Teaming up with IBM

Lending support to the firm’s momentum in the AI space, DeepSight recently partnered with tech giant IBM, which will integrate its advanced AI technology into DeepSight’s AR-powered learning platform to support manufacturing businesses in training the next generation of operators. The platform provides real-time training and guidance for completing projects with precision and efficiency.

This partnership marks a significant advancement in addressing the challenges posed by an aging workforce in the manufacturing industry. With more than one-fifth of the working-age population nearing retirement in Canada, the impending skills gap threatens production efficiency and knowledge retention.

Workers receive real-time auditory instructions

“With our partnership with IBM, we are unlocking a powerful immersive learning experience that saves time, reduces costs, and maintains production flow. By accelerating skill development for the workforce, we are setting a new standard in innovation.” said Jean Pinsonneault, director of partnerships & alliances at DeepSight.

With DeepSight’s innovative platform powered by IBM’s AI technology, however, organizations can now streamline training processes, reduce costs, and maintain production flow. Workers receive real-time auditory instructions in their own languages and on-screen text guidance through AR headsets or tablets, enabling them to acquire skills more rapidly and effectively.

“When businesses automate repetitive tasks with AI, they’re able to overcome skills gaps and quickly optimize processes for digital transformation,” added Peter McKay, director of ecosystems at IBM Canada. “IBM’s advanced AI technology, integrated within DeepSight’s platform, enables organizations to train, validate, and deploy machine learning models seamlessly.”