Interactive education with Octagon Studio

• Focuses on a B2C business model to generate revenue
• Aim to create enjoyment and spark the love of learning

OCTAGON Studio, a tech startup, specialises in providing Augmented Reality (AR), Virtual Reality (VR), and Mixed Reality (MR) products and solutions utilising cutting-edge technology to bolster the education system in terms of engagement, interaction, efficiency, and the fun factor.

“We at Octagon Studio aim to create enjoyment and spark the love of learning, especially in children with our engaging content. When the thirst for knowledge and improvement come from within, we hope that it can serve as a guide for everyone to find their ultimate passion,” says Octagon Studio chief marketing officer Stella Setyiadi to Digital News Asia (DNA) via email.

Formed in 2013 under parent company Transport System Solutions, Octagon Studio founder and chief executive officer, Michael Healy, was looking to explore his creative side by working on something more engaging than railroads.

He joined forces with Aurelia Vina who is chief operating officer and Hasbi Asyadiq the chief technology officer and formed Octagon Studio.

Stella joined the team soon after and is now as part of a creative team of 3D artists, animators, modelers, developers and copywriters dedicated to delivering high quality AR and VR apps and products.

“We were developing augmented reality solutions intended for heavy railway tools, and while we were exploring further, we had an idea to bring this technology to the mass market in an affordable, useful, and also scalable manner,” says Stella.

She believes that education plays a crucial role in advancing human welfare but it is often considered boring and scary. Utilising this technology, they aim to bring learning to life, by creating enjoyment, and sparking the love of learning.

Octagon Studio offers various products including AR based 4D+ Flashcards for interactive education purposes. Users can experience it by downloading the AR+ mobile app on Android or iOS, scanning the flashcard, and seeing object on the flashcard will come alive.

The flashcards are available for sale on its online store and through official resellers with a price range from 10,000 rupiah to 220,000 rupiah (US$2 to US$16)

Users can also explore the world and find hidden messages behind daily things such as magazines, catalogue, posters, billboards and even calling cards.

Octagon also offers AR t-shirts which turn casual wear into augmentations. The AR garments engage the user when used in conjunction with the Wear 4D+ application.

Octagon Studio offers the Octagon VR Luna wearable headset that brings games, AR, and VR to the next level.

Business model and revenue

Based in Indonesia and Ireland, the B2C company targets parents, schools, retailers, and resellers, especially those who market educational products, toys, or tech products in general.

To reach its target audience, they have launched reseller programmes in various countries to reach out to interested parties .

“We even license our flashcards in order to be able to manufacture and localise them in other country. We frequently advertise our products on social media portals and actively join various exhibitions and trade shows across the globe,” Stella explains.

Octagon Studio generates revenue mainly from selling AR flashcards globally. In addition, it also licenses existing 3D assets, such as clothing, books and merchandise, to various industries for extra revenue.

Their current focus is to expand their own line of AR flashcards and other products.

When asked about investment, Stella says that Octagon already turns a profit without seeking any investments.

However, she would like the company to grow faster by raising Series A funding in the hopes of adding keys resources to enable them to create a more scalable AR platform to which users may contribute high quality AR content easily.

“We’re also looking to cooperate with educational experts and elevate the educational experience of our products,” she adds.

Octagon Studio has to overcome the challenges that come with introducing AR technology to parents and the education market in order to enable them to embrace AR technology as a means of improving how children learn in a positive way.

“We've been trying our best to come up with simple yet smart products which people can immediately understand and use, specifically in regards to their charm and benefits, without having to study the technology itself beforehand.

“We also have to keep up with the development of AR technology itself so as not to be left behind,” Stella explains.

There are some big players in the AR industry, but Octagon Studio differentiates itself by focusing on the B2C business compared to B2B by developing and producing its own products.

“And most of all, we are determined to maintain and keep improving our 3D quality which is our core strength in this industry. We also plan to do more expansion on our 4D+ products so there will be more series launched this year.”

The company’s team currently consists of 55 people with offices in Bandung, Bali, and Ireland. It’s various AR 4D+ apps have been downloaded over one million times.

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