Enklu
Democratizing AR-based Spatial Training

As the labor demands grow across enterprises, employee training needs to be fast-paced and dynamic. This is something that the traditional training methods fail to meet. Considering that even the aging workforce needs to transfer their knowledge to the next generation, there is a need for rapid innovations from a tech and automation standpoint to spur a whole new class of products that provide efficient experiential learning in the form of spatial applications in mixed reality. With an increasing emphasis on engagement for millennial and Gen Z employees, businesses are modernizing their training strategies by combining digital information with physical world context. This is where AR is proving its value as a widely preferred workforce training technology. AR engages trainees with real-world interactions, enables clear communication and collaboration. It effectively replaces the mundane and monotonous learning process with interactive and lively experiences. AR provides that opportunity for hands-on learning in a structured, interactive way. In fact, the benefits of AR in employee training have such significance that 91 percent of employers intend to adopt spatial training simulations within the next five years.

Despite such benefits and potential, the adoption of AR in training has been slow and has mostly been the forte of big companies. This is primarily due to the high technical expertise, cost, and complexity associated with implementing spatial training simulations.

Democratizing the prowess of AR by addressing such challenges is Enklu.

Enklu was founded in 2016 by a gaming industry veteran, Ray Kallmeyer, who realized the potential of AR in employee training after having successfully used it to train the newly on-boarded players with the gaming mechanics. “Augmented Reality can be used to train someone with the same level of engagement as a video game,” says Kallmeyer. Understanding that the “social media” generation is primed to learn things in an augmented ecosystem, Kallmeyer established Enklu, an AR platform that empowers instructors to create, manage, and distribute spatial training.

Simplifying AR-based content creation

Enklu helps people and businesses build and operate spatial apps at scale with a cloud-native SaaS platform that runs on the latest AR and VR hardware and allows non-technical designers to create, manage, and distribute spatial apps with no coding. This online cloud-based platform is a new form of physically integrated digital application, which users say is like fitting a video game tutorial on top of everyday operations to make them more engaging and fulfilling. With a mission to empower creators with the transparent technology of AR, Enklu lets users create AR interactions in a no-code environment and position them in the real world faster. Fostering remote collaboration, Enklu syncs AR-based training assets in real-time. It features space-scanning, live editing, drag and drops interactions, an automated asset pipeline, and an extendable user interface for customization.

Enklu empowers instructors to create AR and VR training simulations, SOPs, and other training content with ease. Offering a hands-on training experience, Enklu increases trainee workplace score up to 70 percent and improves retention rate to 65 percent. “Enklu enables companies to improve their workforce’s confidence and competence at a cost-effective rate with product explorers and step-by-step 3D guides in augmented reality,” asserts Kallmeyer.

In addition to its core product, Enklu also provides end-to-end solutions, including Spatial application development, hardware sales and management, content hosting and distribution, platform training, and live operations. Kallmeyer adds, “From concept to prototype through full-scale deployment, Enklu is there to ensure your success at every step.”

Our mission is empower creators with transparent technology that fades into the background

A class apart

What truly differentiates Enklu from the rest of the market players is the adaptability of its platform. It uses industry-standard CAD formats and integrates within existing enterprises’ security profiles. Enklu has designed its platform to be completely user-friendly, requiring very little assistance and technical expertise to go up and running with it. As an assertion to this, Kallmeyer says, “It’s accessible to non-technical subject matter experts, which means that your current staff can build with Enklu and you don’t need an external development team, which is going to drive up costs and prevent you from scaling it out.”

The platform can reduce publishing time from about 15 minutes to 15 milliseconds, making a huge difference in the amount of quality AR content created. It proves to be particularly advantageous for organizations with training scenarios that are not scalable or risky in real world environments.

Scripting exemplary success stories

Enklu’s extensive capabilities have enabled it to gain significant traction in multi-user training simulations for corporate training, team-building exercises, and employee alignment. The company caters to legions of clients from various sectors, including automotive, construction, manufacturing, education, and healthcare.

One of the company’s clients, Kai-Ming—a provider of free preschool services to children—needed to on-board substitute teachers. They wanted to create some virtual scenarios to assess the substitute teachers. The Enklu platform helped the client assess the substitute teachers by running them through intense emergency preparation scenarios while keeping kids and their parents in a safe environment. The substitute teachers were then monitored by experienced teachers and were given real-time feedback based on their behavior with the digital characters. This helped the employer ensure that the substitute teacher has developed the required skills in a safe environment before stepping into the real-world setting. The company has got a 67 NPS score from one of the world’s largest auto manufacturers. As a gold tier mixed reality partner with Microsoft, Enklu has served more than a hundred thousand real world users with interactive spatial apps from the HoloLens 2.

Promising and Strategic Roadmap

Having proved to be of significant value across several use cases, Enklu is indeed the most engaging AR platform that enterprises can employ. Enklu has gained massive success with its core product line so far, working with organizations as large as Sprint and as innovative as Concordia University’s new Simulation Center focused on experiential learning. Keeping up with the momentum, the company plans to add purpose-built product offerings for AR-based content creation for spatial training. As the world returns to the “new normal,” Enklu is focusing on empowering creators to have an active voice in the creation of 3D training. “We are a values driven company and we believe our values should reflect in the kinds of clients we serve, the products we build, and the people we work with. Our vision is a new generation of technology which considers the human first and enables people to be more present with each other and their environment,” Kallmeyer concludes.