Making it easier to enrich the real world

A decade ago, concepts such as Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR) were relegated to the world of science fiction and tech geeks. Today, if you have played Pokemon Go, or dabbled in immersive games on your PlayStationVR, you have already experienced two of the most exciting technologies that are taking the world by storm today.

2016 was a breakthrough year for both these technologies with public and corporate interest at an all-time high. In fact, today, every major tech giant is investing significantly in research and development centered on AR and VR. At the same time, there has been an upswing in venture capital funding in start-ups. Facebook bought out Oculus for USD 2 bn while Magic Leap, Matterport and Blippar raised close to USD 1 bn in aggregate funding . The phenomenal success of Pokemon Go proved without a doubt that there is a market for these technologies and that the demand is growing multifold. Are the producers of this technology ready to meet it head on? What is holding back mass deployment of these sophisticated technologies? Unfortunately, at this juncture, the answer is not quite what we expect. In my opinion, there are three critical elements that need to be addressed for these pervasive technologies to reach their full potential.

Supporting Ecosystem

At the moment, we lack a fully supportive ecosystem comprising powerful next-gen hardware and software, cutting edge apps, and quality AR/VR content. As we move forward, we need improved graphical processing power, image and location recognition, and the ability to track, measure and project movement in real time. Basics such as high speed, uninterrupted access to the internet and smartphones with longer lasting battery reserves are critical. We also need developers who can build on these technologies and come up with more focussed solutions with greater privacy and customization capabilities. Without this foundation in place, even significant amount of R&D in this space can yield only limited progress.

Affordability and Profitability

Then there is the crippling cost of hardware and software. If AR and VR marketers are to reach the masses, and make profits, they need state of the art technology frameworks at affordable prices. A complex AR or VR implementation in a field like medicine, or education has to be able to support advanced tracking, and projecting movement in an environment at scale. This requires highly sophisticated sensors, technology to measure and process depth, movement, images and of course superior battery power, all fitted into a pack small and light enough to carry. Then there are the additional hardware components such as headsets, audio software and more. Such technology comes at a price that makes it practically impossible to deploy for mass markets at a reasonable price or operate at a profit.

Mass Appeal

Despite the wide popularity of Pokemon Go, I would say, both AR and VR are still being marketed to a niche audience - tech savvy science geeks with high disposable incomes and no aversion to using gadgets like the Microsoft Hololens. At USD 3000 a headset, this most promising AR device is not only out of reach for most people, it is also extremely large and inconveniently sized that reminds us of the cell phones of the 90s. At the same time, the current uses of AR and VR are limited to gaming, or require highly specialized skills. If these have to penetrate every home and every office, they have to address every day needs.

The average home owner is not likely to see the point of investing in something like the HoloLens, but will see the value in a tool (perhaps on smartphone or tablet) that will allow her to visualize how a desk will look in her new study; or help her learn how to fix the leaking tap in her kitchen. In other words, developers must work on developing tools, apps, and content that will address regular, everyday pain points.

Augmented and virtual reality are exciting technologies that have tremendous potential. Digi Capital projects that by 2020 AR will be worth USD 120 billion and VR will be worth USD 30 billion. Besides entertainment, enterprise will be a key driver of these technologies. Some amazing research and innovation is already taking place within this space, 360 broadcasts of events that can be viewed through VR goggles are becoming common, all we need now is for the other factors to come together to make AR and VR global phenomena with the power to change lives.

(This article is authored by Vishwa Ranjan, Head, AR/VR, Infosys)