What Does the Future Hold for Virtual and Augmented Reality?

With massive changes in the way we live, work, and play over the last few years, advancements in technology are progressing faster than we can keep up. Future technology trends include blockchain, hyper-automation, and artificial intelligence, which will all shape our lives in different ways. Here, we focus on what the future holds for two increasingly popular technologies: virtual and augmented reality.

What’s the Future for Virtual Reality?

 

The term virtual reality was first heard in the mid-1980s and conjured images of bizarre goggles and clunky gloves, despite all the work that had gone into such technology. Yet, today, virtual reality has never been bigger and better.

Although VR has been chiefly used and seen as a gaming tool for younger audiences, it is now transcending into the world of business and e-commerce. VR can be used for training, collaboration while working remotely, and testing to name a few. Thankfully, they’re relatively easy to use, no matter your technological age. This is great news as VR headsets are now more affordable than ever, with some costing as little as £299. After all, while some people find it challenging to adapt to new technology and software, there is an idea behind VR that, in theory, should allow it to be accessible to all audiences. Regardless of your technological age, if you are viewing the internet in the first person, you should be able to adapt much quicker.

We can’t talk about the future of VR without talking about the metaverse. Household names like Microsoft, Disney and Samsung have already announced that they will have a presence in the metaverse. Whether there will be a single global metaverse or multiple virtual ecosystems connected by VR is yet to be seen, but the possibilities seem endless.

What’s the Future for Augmented Reality?

Augmented reality is much older than you might think, with the first 3D glasses going back to the 1960s. While he may not have been the first to explore the concept, Ivan Sutherland is recognised as the pioneer of visual simulation software. Until recent years, AR was mostly used in specialised sectors, such as the military, aviation, and industry. In recent times, with the adoption of geo-filters on social media platforms such as Snapchat, augmented reality has become something we use daily.

There are endless possibilities for the use of augmented reality, including in education, real estate, design, and medical fields. Augmented reality could revolutionise education with the potential for visual and 3D learning. Students could take part in scientific and mathematical simulations without even leaving their homes.

Applications are already being seen in property and home design with apps that allow you to place furniture in spaces with your smartphone. This is a fantastic tool for designing a space and matching colours and furniture even before buying a single item. There are many exciting advancements in AR constantly emerging, smart mirrors for retail stores, AR lenses and glasses, simulations for medical students, and the list goes on.

VR and AR are the next steps in the internet’s evolution, so we will all soon need to adapt and learn how to use these technologies. The future is bright, with predictions that VR and AR could add over £1 trillion in GDP to the global economy by 2030.