Trends in Augmented Reality

Augmented Reality

What is AR?

While virtual reality (VR) transports a person into a three-dimensional environment, AR is about integrating the virtual world’s audio and visual content into the user’s environment.

The biggest benefit of AR is accessibility. To partake in offering AR, one only needs a compatible device (PC, Mobile, TV, etc) instead of a specific piece of hardware like VR headsets. This ease of use has prompted a tremendous acceptance rate for this technology.

AR is widely used in several fields – Architecture, Education, Ecommerce, Fitness, Gaming, Military Training.

Pivotal Moments in History

1) 1968 marked the inception of the AR revolution, with a computer scientist at Harvard creating an AR head-mounted display system called ‘The Sword of Damocles’

2) The first fully immersive AR system was created for the USA air force in 1992

3) The first AR game – AR Quake was released in 2000. It required a head-mounted display, and a backpack carrying a computer and gyroscopes

4) The debut of AR apps for phones commenced in 2005, one of the first was AR Tennis for Nokia Phones.

5) Niantic & Nintendo launched Pokemon Go in 2016. It was quickly posited as the biggest mobile game of that period due to its innovative use of AR technologies.

Post the huge success of Pokemon Go, several games were launched to capitalise on the supposed proclivity that the gaming audience had developed for AR.

Current size + forecasts

The forecast for AR Gaming is quite buoyant. This is partly because the imminent arrival of 5G will allow for better optimization of the existing technologies. Moreover, AR technology is quite compatible with smartphone devices. As mobile gaming continues to establish its dominance as a platform, AR games' representation will also increase.

Growth Inducing Factors:

1) Accessibility: To indulge only needs to have a compatible smartphone to indulge in AR games, due to their prime market being smartphone users, AR games are designed for portability.

2) Social Factors: Unlike VR games, AR games are designed to have some semblance of a socially collaborative (Minecraft Earth) or socially competitive (Pokemon Go) framework.

3) Greater Immersion: AR entails superimposing the game’s environment on the real world. Due to the player’s familiarity with their native environment, AR can offer more immersion.

Indian Position

Stepping aside from gaming temporarily, AR has started being received very warmly. Companies like LensKart, Loreal, and Byjus have promulgated the use of Augmented Reality in their industries.

In gaming, the bullishness in assessing AR’s Indian future persists. Due to the inherently accessible and social nature of AR games, India emerged as the third largest market for the most popular AR game – Pokemon Go.

However, it is important to note that despite the huge customer base the game acquired in India, the general audience isn’t too willing to shell out call for progression, or accessing new game avenues.