Augmented Reality (AR) technology is a combination of the real world with the virtual world. The idea of AR was initially coined in 1968 and was used in the construction industry. (Ratnottar, 2019). However, as technology has become developed fast, more industries have taken benefit from it. The technology is almost applied to all walks of life now – the automotive industry, the medical industry, the education industry, the gaming industry, etc. It can provide a whole view of the world only with a single device. With this technology, information is extracted and copied from reality and is displayed to the audience through a simple device. Doesn’t this sound incredible?
With all the amazing inventions that AR has brought, this passage will discuss how AR has contributed to the present and how it will be developed for the future.
The Present of the Augmented Reality Technology
The 2020s is a huge turning point for the whole tech world, with the emergence of COVID-19. People’s social connections with each other were largely impacted. However, with the help of AR, people could feel that they are in the real world again. With a pair of glasses, people can walk into their relatives’ house again; people can attend a virtual lab again; people can feel the thrill of roller coasters and the fun at the theme parks again… Thanks to the technology, by the end of 2020, intensive growth records in the field of AR were seen. (Ratnottar, 2019). By the end of 2021, the number of AR users even grew from 500 million in 2020 to over 810 million. And it is estimated that over 1 billion users will use AR technology by the end of this year. (Ripert, 2022). What rapid growth!
The Promising Future of the Augmented Reality Technology
Opportunities:
AR and 5G
5G has been rapidly entering people’s lives and it provides users with a faster speed and a higher quality. The combination of AR and 5G will give the users an absolute audiovisual feast. It will also be widely adopted in the gaming, and education industry, to provide users with a smooth, high-quality, and real-situational experience. With the combination of high-speed information transmission, AR can be adopted in the medical field as well. By then, medical expertise may be together online to counter complex operations, all gathering in a virtual operating room.
AR and E-commerce
As online shopping has already been popular among youngsters, AR might be of help for online buyers. For example, without trying a cloth on physically, customers may try on a shirt that they picked virtually and see if the size suits them. It is much more efficient for both the buyers and the sellers.
Challenges:
Just like other technologies, AR may have huge contributions to our lives. However, it faces many challenges as well. The hugest challenge that the technology faces is its cost of development. Since the technology is not common, it costs a lot of money to be implemented and developed. AR customizes different environments for different needs of the customers. Hence, it is costly to develop various scenes under various situations. Another challenge that AR may face is security and humanitarian concerns. As the advancement of AR is skyrocketing, people might start to worry if this technology surpasses humans one day, and finally goes out of control. As a result, regulations shall be implemented to properly interfere with this technology.
In conclusion, the promising technology stays dynamic and will contribute to our rapid-developing world albeit challenges ahead.
Reference:
Marr, B. (2022, January 10). The 5 biggest virtual, augmented, and mixed reality trends in 2022. Forbes. Retrieved from https://www.forbes.com/sites/bernardmarr/2022/01/07/the-5-biggest-virtual-augmented-and-mixed-reality-trends-in-2022/?sh=3ef8a3a44542
Ratnottar, S. (2020, November 25). Augmented reality (AR) trends: The past, present & future predictions for 2019. Medium. Retrieved from https://towardsdatascience.com/augmented-reality-ar-trends-the-past-present-future-predictions-for-2019-8e1148345304
Ripert, D. (2022, February 2). Top 5 augmented reality trends for 2022. Entrepreneur. Retrieved from https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/412819
