Immersive technologies open up new exciting worlds, by extending our reality, and bring endless opportunities to enhance the way we work, live and play.
The global immersive market is forecast to grow rapidly to over $145bn by 2025, according to management consultancy LEK, with expansion driven by significant investment from major platforms including Facebook, Microsoft, HTC and Apple amongst others; declining technology costs; the emergence of 5G; and new working practices - including virtual meetings, conferences and training, resulting from COVID-19 restrictions.
Request your copy of our Guide to Extended Realities and 5 Ways to Get Started here.
Extended Reality (XR) is an umbrella term for all immersive technologies. The ones we already have today — augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR), and mixed reality (MR) plus those that are yet to be created. All immersive technologies extend the reality we experience by either blending the virtual and “real” worlds or by creating a fully immersive experience.
In augmented reality, virtual information and objects are overlaid on the real world. This experience enhances the real world with digital details such as images, text, and animation. You can access the experience through AR glasses or via screens, tablets, and smartphones. This means users are not isolated from the real world and can still interact and see what’s going on in front of them.
In a virtual reality experience, users are fully immersed in a simulated digital environment. Individuals must put on a VR headset or head-mounted display to get a 360-degree view of an artificial world that tells their brain that they are, e.g., walking on the moon, swimming under the ocean or have stepped into whatever new world the VR developers have created.
In mixed reality, digital and real-world objects co-exist and can interact with one another in real-time. This is the latest immersive technology and is sometimes referred to as hybrid reality. It requires an MR headset and a lot more processing power than VR or AR.
Businesses increasingly turn to immersive technology to solve problems, empower the workforce, and improve performance. Here’s our Guide to Extended Realities and 5 Ways to Get Started, request the guide here.
For those who are already taking advantage of the benefits that XR has to offer, now is the time to take things one step further with access to our global marketplace of immersive creators. And for those who are not yet adopters, now is the time to consider how XR can help your brand or business to reach audiences in a very real way. Talk to us about your XR project or idea and get started today.