5 Future Predictions for the Virtual and Augmented Reality Industry

17 Mar , 2018 News Mark Metry

5 Future Predictions for the Virtual and Augmented Reality Industry
We are living in a very interesting time in human history. Many transformative technologies are being developed right now as you are reading this article.
 
Many of these innovations are promising us ways to change the way we live life in a more productive and connected manner. It’s estimated that in the 2020’s these technologies will converge into a synergistic human man machine.
 
Today, I have for you the top 5 predictions of the future for the virtual and augmented reality industry. I would love to get your feedback on these predictions and hear your metaverse ideas!

1. Standalone Headsets Are the Mainstream VR Devices

This one is pretty simple and may seem quite obvious. Facebook is launching the Oculus Go this year (hopefully) for an extremely low price of $200. Facebook is the technology empire to do this and fuel VR for the masses.
 
According to John Carmack, Oculus CTO noted that the Oculus Go will perform “significantly better” than the Samsung Gear. Oculus has also partnered with Xioami to create an Oculus Go version for China coined the “Mi VR Standalone” that looks almost identical to the Go.
 
I wrote another feature on VeeR of the 6 Best Standalone Virtual Reality (VR) Headsets in 2018. Oculus isn’t the first and many more manufacturers are following the trend and coming out with their own standalone devices. The pinnacle of standalone performance is HTC Vive’s Focus headset that that uses “world-scale” and is similar to the HTC vive, a powerful headset tethered to a PC.
 
Depending on the success of the Oculus Go will decide how the industry moves forward. Facebook is going to use their technology infrastructure to make virtual reality popular, and I believe will open a VR standalone race between varies companies if the public decides the devices are good enough for the price.
Mi VR Standalone vs Oculus Go

2. Emergence of Augmented Reality will Fuel Virtual Reality

Augmented reality is VR’s sister industry. Based on statistics the augmented/mixed reality industry will be MUCH larger than VR by 2023. Virtual reality’s reboot started in 2012 with Oculus’ Kickstarter being successfully funded and purchased by Facebook. Why? VR from a time standpoint is much more time-consuming than augmented reality.

Additionally, Magic Leap is one of the most funded startups in history. ML promises a mixed reality device that is coming soon for creators this year. Many speculate and say VR won’t take off because it can’t be used in public or in tandem with other activities. I believe this is a narrow point of view and doesn’t address all of the uses that VR will mostly be used in entertainment, and other completely immersive scenarios.

Common usage of augmented reality will lead people to fully immersive virtual reality experiences. By the time AR picks up in the coming years, VR content and experiences will be much better and appeal more to mainstream audiences rather than the current niche uses.

3. Limitless Unfathomable Experiences

 
I interviewed Jay Samit on the Humans 2.0 Podcast. Jay is a major influencer in the world of mixed reality technology. He brought up a very interesting point during our conversation. He said when the iPhone came out, nobody had any idea what kind of mobile applications we could use. The early app store was filled with fart and gun apps with no real utility or purpose.
 
Point being, even if VR / AR is being used for mundane trivial applications today, it doesn’t mean it will look that way in 5 years.
 
Due to limited processing power virtual reality experiences are quite limited. Imagine the future metaverse as a limitless world of intention and thought. Virtual Reality is an idea of fully immersive technology-mediated dream worlds. Rendered mind spaces where the only limit is your imagination.
 
My favorite example of an unfathomable VR experience today is GE Healthcare’s virtual reality speciality software. It can help radiologists, doctors, and surgeons better read the human body, perform diagnoses and make their decisions. The VR app lets Doctors step inside internal organs and navigate, travel forward from side to side, and even search for polyps and other tumors.

4. 5G Networks Are the Gateway

Today, VR/AR developers are limited by various factors like thermal efficiency, sensor, multimedia technologies and other technical factors.
 
Slowly but surely computer architecture innovations, such as heterogeneous computing, have improved power and thermal efficiency. Integration efficiency has improved due to better transistors and Moore’s Law. Optimized algorithms, such as motion tracking, run better on the hardware.
 
However, the real gateway for amazing unlimited experiences for VR/AR in an increasingly mobile world…is 5G networks. According to NBC news, 5G networks are projected to bring three benefits to the masses.
 
  • Faster speed: Data transfer speeds are projected to be about 10 times higher with 5G than is possible with 4G. Expect significantly faster transmission of images, videos and immersive content. With 4G/LTE, downloading a high-definition movie might take about 10 minutes. With 5G, it is reported to take less than a second.
  • Shorter delays: Though it’s not always noticeable, there is often a brief lag in time from when data is sent to when it’s received. 5G should reduce this so-called latency, making it possible, for example, to watch high-speed virtual reality video with no delays or glitches.
  • Increased connectivity: Cell towers equipped with 5G technology would have greatly increased capacity over 4G/LTE. Which means more people with devices should be able to communicate at the same time without any volume lag errors.
5G is the fuel that will lead to extraordinary innovation in not just virtual and augmented reality, but also broader technologies like IoT and how we connect with each other on the internet.
 
5G Networks

5. Industry will Develop Universal Protocols and Frameworks

Virtual reality can be a bit confusing and even intimidating for newcomers looking to join. Most frequently, I hear issues about compatibility and how content is distributed and even how VR games look and feel with controls.

Just like the Web has brought out API’s SDKs, OS, virtual reality is converging into a collected and unified platform. Voluntary guidelines and standards are sure to improve the industry for consumers and developers.

Organizations are on the move to achieve this future goal like the VRARA, IEEE, VRSB, and the Virtual Reality Industry Forum (VRIF). IEEE announced that a working group will establish definitions, categories of VR and AR devices, and standards for quality, user interfaces, and file formats.

What are your predictions for VR & AR in the coming years?

Let us know in the comments section below or on any social media channel!

For more information on virtual reality stay up to date here at VeeR.Tv

1 Response

  1. Steve Rogger says:
    2018-08-08 at 7:49 AM

    The augmented reality is applied to the loyalty work where the potential for the industry interaction that is going to make the work easier and make the experience very closely.

    Reply

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