Wave Engine evolves, learn about the history of our industrial and business graphics engine

In February 2013, Plain Concepts presented Wave Engine 1.0. The first version of a dream (and a lot of work behind it) that took shape and became a reality. Since then, our graphics engine for companies has been evolving day after day, positioning itself as the best option to take advantage of the potential of augmented and virtual reality, creating new scenarios and environments. Wave can now meet the demands of any project, constantly adapting to the market thanks to our proactive R&D and industry-focused cross-platform integration, providing the necessary tools to make the right decisions.

This constant evolution has brought us to a point where we want to go one step further and open a new chapter in this story. We can’t tell you yet what it will be, but first, to understand everything, we have to start from the beginning: this is the story of Wave Engine!

Eight years revolutionizing virtual worlds, eight years of Wave Engine

Almost a decade of innovation and improvement is a lot, so we explain the most important moments reflected in this infographic in more detail.

Wave Engine Key versions

• February 2013: Wave Engine, the first cross-platform and C#-based version, is born.
• In September 2015, Wave Engine 2.0 was released, marking a giant leap forward, including new image effects, a completely revamped visual editor and rendering system, Kinect compatibility…
• June 2019 was the time of reinvention of the engine thanks to the addition of new graphics APIs, a completely revamped architecture and runtime, and HoloLens 2 support.
• We closed 2020 with Wave Engine 3.1, with support for .NET5, web browsers (Wasm) and graphics APIs (Vulkan, DirectX12 and Metal).
• September 2021 marks this “period” in the history of Wave Engine with its 3.3 version, the best one to date, with many internal changes and compatibility with WINUI3.

Holograms and Online Experiences

• The start of 2017 came together with Chema Alonso and the presentation of Aura with HoloLens virtual images projected at the Mobile World Congress.
• In November 2019, Microsoft Ignite took place, and we collaborated on the Keynote, featuring a 3D holographic leopard leaping onto the stage.
• In May 2020, it was time for Microsoft Build. During a pandemic, we developed Virtual Stage, an application that harnesses the power of Azure Kinect and the latest advances in AI to record speakers in their homes as if they were in a recording studio.
• Months later, in the summer of 2020, we collaborated with Microsoft on Project Paidia, a mini-game that demonstrates collaborative AI between players and NPCs in games, using WebAssembly and WebGL.
• One of our most recent collaborations with Microsoft was at Ignite 2021. We offered event attendees an interactive web experience moving a 3D drone to train AI models, using the cell phone as a “second screen” controller.

Best features and changes

• In November 2014, we reached Wave Engine 1.4 featuring the Oculus Rift and Vuforia extensions. This extension for HoloLens allowed us to develop Augmented Reality applications with our graphics engine. It was just the beginning of our journey with HoloLens.
• In June 2018, we launched Wave Engine 2.5, with which we gave developers the ability to create augmented reality applications for any compatible device.
• March 2020 was the moment when Wave projects could be run in web browsers through .NET WebAssembly technology (Wasm).
• Subsequently, we released version 3.2, with a new GPU-based particle system and dynamic shadows.

Best Demos and projects

• The beginning of 2015 was also an excellent start for Wave Engine’s significant projects, such as the Excalibur Project, a tool developed for Repsol that reduces the risk of error and optimizes the process of detecting and extracting oilfields.
• Shortly after that, we presented DU SmartHome at Gitex Technology Weekend 2015 and the Electronic Trade Show and Exhibition in Dubai. It was an application that used Oculus Rift and integrated LeapMotion.
• One month later, we created a global map of real-time Twitter mentions of Real Madrid soccer club, all controlled by gestures with a Kinect device.
• In March 2017, we launched Airbus Catia VR Viewer, a new way to view 3D models of aircraft parts, using Oculus VR headsets.
• And to end 2017, we created Dolby ATMOS, a 3D music experience app for Dolby developers, allowing you to choose your instruments and listen to an atmospheric symphony.
• The first part of 2018 would come from the hand of Movistar HomeVR, a VR social observation project for the Mobile Congress, where the future of streaming content was showcased.
• A few months later, in June, a crucial moment of technological advancement for medicine would arrive: Augmented Reality biopsies using HoloLens. We developed a guided biopsy application for HoloLens that projects the 3D scanned medical image of the patient.
• In April 2020, we introduced our Electrical Panel, a virtual guide that allows non-specialized operators to perform maintenance tasks on an electrical panel while wearing the HoloLens.
• In early 2021, we introduced a Wave Engine graphical application for creating a Digital Twin, using real-time data from the cloud.
• November 2021… TOP SECRET!

It is not easy to summarize so many years of work and achievements, and this is just a tiny part of our journey. Something fundamental will happen, and we are looking forward to telling you all the details, so don’t miss the details of everything we will be publishing in our networks.

Wave Engine has constantly been evolving… But now, it will change forever. Discover Evergine!