Augmented reality (AR) enhances the real world with digital elements. The global AR market is expected to grow significantly in coming years. AR provides interactive experiences that improve understanding and aid decision making. It eliminates dependence on static images by integrating digital information live in the real world. The metaverse is an evolution that combines physical and virtual worlds through technologies like AR and VR, allowing users to interact as avatars. Major tech companies are investing heavily in developing metaverse and AR technologies.
2. Augmented Reality Explained
● Augmented reality (AR) is an enhanced version of the real physical world that is achieved through the
use of digital visual elements, sound, or other sensory stimuli delivered via technology. It is a growing
trend among companies involved in mobile computing and business applications in particular.
● Amid the rise of data collection and analysis, one of augmented reality’s primary goals is to highlight
specific features of the physical world, increase understanding of those features, and derive smart and
accessible insight that can be applied to real-world applications. Such big data can help inform
companies' decision-making and gain insight into consumer spending habits, among others.
● Augmented reality (AR) technology integrates digital information with the physical environment, live and
in real-time. Through the addition of graphics, sounds, haptic feedback, or even smell to the natural
world as it exists, AR can combine real life with a superimposed image or animation using the camera on
a mobile device or AR headset. As part of the wider extended reality (XR) industry, the global AR market
size is expected to grow considerably in the coming years.
3. Need for Adapting Augmented Reality- ‘A picture
speaks a thousand words.’
● The power of augmented reality grows out of the way
humans process information. We access information
through each of our five senses—but at different rates.
Vision provides us with the most information by far:
An estimated 80% to 90% of the information humans
get is accessed through vision.
● AR eliminates dependence on out-of-context and
hard-to-process 2-D information on pages and screens
while significantly improving our ability to understand
and apply knowledge in the real world.
● AR gives a better understanding of the product and
provides deeper insights which enables to make the
right purchase, without wasting precious time.
4. AR Statistical Analysis- Demand, Spendings and Trends
● In 2020, the mobile augmented reality (AR) market was worth 6.87 billion U.S. dollars. It
is forecasted to rise to 9.53 billion U.S. dollars in 2021, before jumping to over 26 billion
U.S. dollars by 2025.
● In 2020, consumer mobile augmented reality (AR) experiences spending amounted to
1.38 billion U.S. dollars. Consumer mobile AR spending is forecast to rise to 1.93 billion
U.S. dollars in 2021, before climbing to 4.18 billion U.S. dollars by 2024.
● In 2021, Snap Lenses was the biggest contributor toward the total number of mobile
augmented reality (AR) users worldwide, with over 300 million active users of this
platform. Other notable mobile AR platforms include Facebook AR and TikTok.
5. Metaverse- The Pinnacle of Augmented Reality
● Regarded as the next iteration of the internet,
the metaverse is where the physical and digital
worlds come together. As an evolution of social
technologies, the metaverse allows digital
representations of people, avatars, to interact
with each other in various settings.
● Whether it be at work, in an office, going to
concerts or sports events, or even trying on
clothes, the metaverse provides a space for
endless, interconnected virtual communities
using virtual reality (VR) headsets, augmented
reality (AR) glasses, smartphone apps, or other
devices.
6. Facebook metamorphosed to Meta
● In October 2021, Facebook announced that it had changed its
company name to Meta. The name change was announced at the
Facebook Connect AR/VR conference, reflecting the company’s
growing ambitions to grow beyond social media, notably bringing
the metaverse to life.
● Facebook and its other apps, such as Messenger, Instagram, and
WhatsApp will remain as it is, but under the Meta umbrella.
● There will be a rebranding of some of its VR products to Meta,
shifting away from the original brand name of Oculus, with the
company also revealing that it would start reporting the financial
results of its AR/VR business.
7. Meta’s Hardware Development
● The company announced that it would be investing 10 billion U.S. dollars into its Reality Labs segment in
2021 – the metaverse division tasked with creating AR/VR hardware, software, and content.
● In August 2021, Facebook unveiled the VR service Horizon Workrooms, a virtual meeting room where
people using VR headsets can gather as if they were at an in-person work meeting.
● In September, it announced a new line of eyewear with Ray-Ban which can record videos. At the
October event, Meta teased details of Project Cambria, a future AR/VR headset that is more technically
capable than current Oculus products. The company also pointed towards Project Nazare, the code
name for their first full AR glasses.
