Digi-Capital has released its “Augmented/Virtual Reality Report Q2 2015“, in which it predicts a $150 billion market for Augmented and Virtual Reality by 2020. Despite healthy competition among AR/VR players, Digi-Capital doesn’t see Augmented and Virtual Reality lifting off until next year.

Besides defining seven key drivers against which today’s players will need to deliver in order to dominate the Augmented Reality market, Digi-Capital has created a “Reality Matrix” for providing context for understanding the drivers. Interestingly, Digi-Capital distinguishes between Augmented Reality (which “gives users the equivalent of Iron Man’s holographic display with transparent virtual objects in the real world in daylight, e.g., Meta”) and mixed reality (which “gives users virtual objects that appear solid in the real world in daylight (e.g. Microsoft HoloLens, Magic Leap), or switches easily between AR and VR, e.g., ODG”). Here at the AREA, we tend to simply label all systems not designed for Virtual Reality as Augmented Reality systems.

Digi-Capital sees the mobile market as dwarfing the AR/VR market and cautions today’s AR players about the risks of competing with the likes of Apple, Lenovo, Samsung, and Huawei.

Despite excellent articles explaining their unique value, many people continue to be confused about the differences between Virtual and Augmented Reality. In this recently released infographic, the author illustrates how Virtual and Augmented Reality share enabling technologies. It is helpful to see the companies that are participating in different segments of the ecosystem. Where there are tight relationships between some of the vendors and/or brands, they are shown as grouped with a dotted line.

The illustration could be improved by separating the Virtual and Augmented Reality development environments and engineering frameworks as well as clarifying the role of businesses identified in the industry-specific segments. Perhaps the next version will also include industry associations, such as the AR for Enterprise Alliance.

According the this new three-part report published on PC Magazine Web site, getting Google Glass will not be easy for consumers, but those enterprises who go to the effort and pay top dollar will get a product that is likely to give better experiences and be more resilient to average workplace conditions. The report provides details of the system’s design, including water resistance and new options for better and safer storage while not in use, and configuration.

The final section of the report offers hints on what’s to come for future versions. The analysis concludes that one the most useful Glassware features currently available is Google Now, which delivers context-based information directly to Glass. It’s unfortunate that this reviewer did not report having the support of any Glassware for Work features and did not test the system in realistic workplace environments.

Civic Resource Group Int’l (CRGI) announced in a press release that it is making CivicAR, a mobile Augmented Reality solution for the public sector, available for governments and public sector agencies to deliver information and services directly to citizens and communities in a highly contextual and easy to use mobile environment.

The company recommends that agencies deploy CivicAR to streamline management of delivery of utilities, healthcare and education to citizens. Consumers will also be able to use the system’s applications for AR-assisted delivery of transportation, tourism and shopping information.

At the pharmaceutical industry trade show Achema 2015, Optima Pharma recorded a video of their demonstration using Augmented Reality to visualize the airflow inside a machine to analyze conditions from any perspective. The video report published on AutomationWorld website demonstrates how AR helps an operator to view live or simulated data from sensors the manufacturing systems.

The application can initially accelerate the training and testing of operators of the complex machines prior to installation or performing field service. In the future the company may provide Augmented Reality-assisted service using glasses connected to remote experts.

In its recent press release TimberTech, a provider of high-performance decking, railing, lighting and fastening solutions to the professional and personal project construction segment, announced that it has published an Augmented Reality-assisted software application to help customers visualize projects in the real world.

Designed to run on an iPad, the solution is consumer-friendly, however, it also demonstrates the potential for such solutions to offer value to construction industry professionals.

The US patent office has found sufficient uniqueness in the way Google proposes for a system to capture and process images to grant a new patent to the company. The patent describes, among other details, how a user placing their hands in, and then withdrawing their hands from, forms a frame around the portion of the world to be captured.

If this new patent recently granted to Google sounds familiar that’s because there’s a lot of similarity to other work. The most widely publicized of these was when in November 2009 Pranav Mistry, then an MIT Media Lab PhD candidate, presented the concept he called “Sixth Sense” in a TED talk.

After the patent was granted last week many observers have been speculating that this method will be used as part of the hands-free display interface in future versions of Google Glass.

Microsoft is compiling examples of HoloLens use in professional environments on a dedicated showcase page of its website. These examples are prepared in collaboration with thought leaders such as Trimble and NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory discussing the added value of having Augmented Reality-assisted systems.

The most recently issued video, also published on YouTube, features experts at Case Western Reserve University describing how medical school students and interns can benefit from using HoloLens when learning human anatomy. Although focusing on medical concepts, the same benefits can be suggested in any learning environment which can benefit from 3D graphics over the use of flat illustrations.

Following the release of the video, many observers published posts focusing on the narrow field of view of HoloLens as depicted in the video. While the limitations of the proposed system’s field of view are clear, media and bloggers fail to credit Microsoft for showing actual output and setting customer expectations at the appropriate level rather than simulating effects that cannot be achieved with current technology. More initiatives like this should be encouraged as they will fuel wider adoption of Augmented Reality in the workplace.

A post on DroidLife, a blog that follows and publishes about the Android developer community, noted that Google has received FCC permission for a device that many observers believe is the next generation of Google Glass. Codenamed GG1, the device supports 802.11a/b/g/n/ac WiFi in 2.4GHz and 5GHz. It also has Bluetooth LE and rechargeable, non-removable batteries but the filing does not specify if the device will provide hands-free personal display support.

The mysterious FCC Filing drove speculation and media attention from the likes of PC Magazine, Mashable, the Verge and others. In an article on Forbes Magazine web site, contributor Theo Priestley speculates that the device could be a model of Google Glass designed for use in enterprise. He explains possible implications for workflow scenarios and businesses in customer service industries, including a remote expert function with Augmented Reality support. He points out that there will be much competition in this segment.

The beta release of Meta Preview, the improved version of Meta’s first Augmented Reality 3D model viewer called “HoloForm,” was announced in a post on the Meta blog.

Used with Meta 1 Dev Kit, a hands-free personal display released in 2014, and in combination with the Meta SDK, Meta Preview provides more than a dozen objects preloaded as soon as the user run the app. It also offers more intuitive interaction with 3D models and support for voice commands. The code for Meta Preview is open source in order to encourage developers to reuse the code in their own applications for the Meta 1 Dev Kit.