China's JD.com, Google launch international AR contest

NEW YORK - Chinese leading online retailer JD.com has partnered with Google's augmented reality (AR) building platform ARCore to kick off an international competition in China on Tuesday, which will gather global developers to compete in creating innovative AR applications for the retail industry.

The competition, titled the JD-AR & ARCore by Google Innovative Consumer Application Competition, aims to explore how AR can be used to attract and retain both online and offline customers, and to optimize omnichannel targeted marketing in different retail scenarios, JD.com said in a public statement.

Applications for the contest can be submitted from April 2 to May 25.

In their applications, developers are required to solve real-life problems put forth by the competition's partner brands, including US multinational retail corporation Walmart, US infant formula manufacturer Mead Johnson, and JD.com's retail experience shops.

Top teams are eligible for investments in their projects by venture capitals, as well as membership in the JD-AR Alliance, which provides resources and standards for AR technology development, certification from ARCore, exposure to investors and brands, and the opportunity to have their solutions implemented into JD's applications.

"JD is pleased to partner with ARCore by Google to connect the world's most talented AR developers with leading retail brands to develop new, innovative solutions," said Tony Tan, head of AR/VR at JD.com.

Carrie Shiung, Google AR/VR China Country Lead, also said the collaboration with JD.com would help expand the company's presence in the dynamic Chinese market.

"China is increasingly becoming a world leader in advanced fields such as AR, and this competition will allow us to discover new talent in the growing AR industry," Shiung said.

First launched in February 2018, ARCore is Google's platform for developers to build AR apps that can understand various environments and place objects and information in them.

Last year, Google invested 550 million dollars in JD.com as part of a strategic partnership.