Source: TheDrum
Among the recent technological innovations, like smartglasses, that have the potential to penetrate to the mainstream in the consumer and commercial segments, currently augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) headsets are poised to reach $117.40bn in sales by 2022 according to a research published by Markets and Markets.
With factors contributing to the growth of the industry like higher adoption rates of smartphones enabled with AR devices and increasing interest from the retail and e-commerce sectors, the VR market is expected to reach $33.90bn by 2022.
The AR market in particular, is affected by not only consumer demand but by commercial/retail and medical industries as well. It’s applications provide digital information and 3D visualization of physical objects and therefore have potential to be highly useful, or entertaining, in various fields. In the case of industrial applications, which has accounted for over 25% of the AR market share in 2015, “several industry players are developing AR for the industrial sector to leverage the full potential,” as was explained by Global Market Insights.
“Rising demand to handle complex machinery, assemble and maintenance will propel augmented reality industry growth. AR technology also has started to help mitigate the reluctance towards conventional showroom visit with virtual experience and improved user experience.”
Chief executive officer Tim Cook of tech giant Apple for example continues to hint that the company is investing and sees massive potential in the field of AR. Cook compared it to the smartphone in an interview with The Independent. He said: “I regard it as a big idea like the smartphone. The smartphone is for everyone. We don’t have to think the iPhone is about a certain demographic, or country or vertical market; it’s for everyone. I think AR is that big. It’s huge. I get excited because of the things that could be done that could improve a lot of lives and be entertaining.”
