Where is Augmented and Virtual Reality Technology Headed?

It may seem hard to believe, but augmented and virtual reality (AR/VR) have been around for more than 30 years. These technologies found their initial applications in the military aircraft arena, with Pilot Head-Mounted Displays, flight simulations and later in entertainment and gaming.

Due to extremely high development costs, the complexities of AR/VR devices and other challenges, these technologies haven't found their way into the commercial world until recently. Augmented and virtual reality may offer different experiences, but they are currently delivered in very similar ways. So, how close are we to mass adoption?

In Jabil's recent Augmented and Virtual Reality Trends Survey, technology and business stakeholders indicated that consumer use of AR/VR will see adoption first. Most importantly, 69 percent of respondents believe AR/VR will become mainstream within five years. These technologies show great promise indeed.

Augmented and Virtual Reality: Where are we Now?

More than a decade ago, the first real smartphone hit the market and made screens an essential ingredient in our lives. As a result, it has changed how we communicate, work, travel, purchase and more.

Today, a third of American households have three or more smartphones, according to Pew Research Center, while 23 percent have three or more desktops and 17 percent have three or more tablets. We are constantly surrounded by screens. It is almost impossible to escape them.

Yet when the first validation of consumer augmented reality use came from Pokémon Go, nobody had thought about AR applications on a smartphone. Pokémon Go successfully validated the consumer mass adoption of augmented reality.

Since Pokémon Go's initial launch in 2016, new smartphone implementations have been unveiled. While companies like Snapchat and Facebook have found entertaining ways to use AR on social media platforms, others like Wayfair have developed apps to assist customers with online purchasing decisions.

In this recent example, the Wayfair app gives consumers the ability to visualize furniture in their own home, simply by holding up their smartphone in a room or area. This helps alleviate part of the fear consumers experience when shopping online for big items, such as furniture. It provides an added convenience.

Smartphones, coupled with headsets, have been the most common use of delivering VR experiences for a few years now. This has been the most accessible entry-point for consumer VR use. Virtual reality is a lot more mature than the existing augmented reality market. The required software tools and hardware platforms to create immersive VR experiences are already available. With the availability of more advanced systems such as the Oculus Rift, coupled with 360 cameras, virtual reality experiences are quickly finding new avenues into our lives.

Virtual reality is showing some effective industry use-cases as well, from real estate applications to tourism. On a recent trip to Israel, I witnessed the Jerusalem Visitor’s Bureau using VR to immerse tourists in how the city looked 5,000 years ago. These types of innovative VR experiences are unveiling in industries worldwide.

Although augmented reality is less mature than virtual reality due to technology limitations, lack of standardization and a higher price tag, it is already being utilized in industries including manufacturing, healthcare and logistics. Augmented reality experiences are typically delivered through headsets, such as Meta, ODG, Vuzix and HoloLens, and are showing early signs that the technology is set to transform commercial and industrial markets. However, there is still work to be done before these technologies can reach mainstream adoption.

Where are Augmented and Virtual Reality Devices Headed?

As we discussed earlier, there are numerous AR/VR devices on the market, including headsets, tablets, smartphones, wearables and consoles. Each device provides a different level of experience across the reality spectrum but also has specific limitations.

Many of the virtual reality headsets rely on smartphones to display the content. While these devices are a good introduction to VR, they lack the visual quality to deliver an immersive experience. Headsets tend to be bulky as well, making prolonged usage unlikely.

What is the future of our devices? How are they set to evolve with augmented and virtual reality? What if we could see through the screens we are surrounded by every day?

I think augmented and virtual reality technologies will consolidate and come in two forms in the future: tethered systems and standalone units. Tethered systems will be comprised of a unit or wearable on the head, with a wire attached to a processing unit. Standalone units will house all systems—from display to processing—within the unit and be available as a wearable.

We're already seeing early signs of these trends as manufacturers choose a mixture between standalone and tethered units. Although some standalone units are already available, these devices are more complex and difficult to implement.

Today, we're in a state of compromise with augmented and virtual reality devices. None of the existing systems give users a complete, bondless and immersive experience. Most of the systems lack a natural, wide field of view (FOV), have limited display resolution, low brightness, a short battery life and lack 3D sensing capabilities. It will be another three to five years before we will experience true, unconstrained AR/VR applications.

The AR/VR devices of the future will provide personalized, accessible and well-designed experiences. As these elements take hold, a platform shift is imminent. In my opinion, in three years we are going to see new augmented reality glasses with LTE capabilities that will become an alternative to the smartphone. With new, immersive AR capabilities, the form factor of our favorite consumer electronics will change and we'll never look back.

How are Companies Planning for the Future of AR/VR?

Although we have an idea of where the augmented and virtual reality market is headed, product companies generally seem sheepish in developing their plans. Jabil's survey shows that 51 percent haven't even started developing an initial plan. Out of those with AR/VR plans or investments, 99 percent say their plans are flexible to change with the market.

Given the volatility of the AR/VR market thus far, some companies may be waiting to act. To successfully conquer the challenges involved with building out augmented and virtual reality technologies while keeping up with market expectations and time-to-market, companies may want to consider partnering with experienced vendors who can provide end-to-end product development with comprehensive engineering capabilities.

Eighty-nine percent of companies already expect vendors to help meet AR/VR requirements—from developing plans to full manufacturing capabilities. By leveraging outside AR/VR talent and technology, companies can focus on their core strengths while also delivering an out-of-this-world, immersive experience.

Written by Alex Aharonov, Senior Business Unit Director, Jabil Green Point. This post originally appeared on the Jabil Blog.