Reality on Display VR, AR, and MR
An article on EE Times Reality on Display VR, AR, and MR suggests that the hype surrounding AR and VR is over, and developers are simply focusing on practical uses now. The article draws on recent market research and analysis and attempts to summarize the state of the immersive reality market now.
AR has proven useful for industrial and professional applications, such as providing interactive guidance in manufacturing, for reference in system repair, as an aide in medical training as well as in the practice of medicine; and in similar situations where a professional can benefit from access to all kinds of reference data. MR and XR, meanwhile, still tend to be invoked only in special cases.
The article discusses the key definitions of and differences between VR AR MR and XR in a table.
The market for VR and AR gear is projected to grow to $18.8 billion by the end of this year, according to Statista. That includes mostly headsets and glasses, but also handhelds, wearables and body cameras.
Research-And-Markets has a more expansive view of AR and VR. It takes into account enabling technologies such as 5G, artificial intelligence, edge computing, and robotics. The firm points out that advances in those areas are going to pave the way for VR and AR being adopted in a number of different areas, including media, gaming, telepresence, retail, medicine, and education.
Microsoft and Intel have been investing heavily in AR and VR and have yet to commercialize their technology.
Intel, for example, has been working on a set of technologies that capture live activity, and then replay it in such a manner that the viewer can review the action from literally any angle. The demonstrations of True View are almost always of sporting events, and after several years they are still astonishing. At CES, company executives said they might have the processing power necessary to cost-effectively commercialize the technology in two or three more microprocessor generations.
The original article has links to other use cases of immersive technology in industry.