Over the past two years, growth in Augmented Reality has increased due to investment from the big tech giants such as Google, Apple, Microsoft and Amazon – that growth is set to accelerate in 2020. The installed user base for AR supported mobile devices also reached record numbers in May this year and revenue is set to hit $75 billion. [1] We have seen many trends and use cases at events such as the Augmented World Expo and Consumer Electronics Show. Here are five of the best we have seen –
Trend #1: Augmented Reality making shopping easier and more immersive
Augmented Reality is already being experimented with by some retail outlets such as Ikea, Lacoste, Tesco and some others. [2] However, in a recent Gartner report, they predicted that 100 million consumers will shop in AR, online and in-store by 2020 relying on 5G to take it to the next level. So get ready to see more retailers utilising AR to enrich customer experiences and make shopping easier.
Trend #2: AR for navigation solutions
Both indoor and outdoor AR assisted navigation is set to be more prominent in 2020. Earlier in 2019 Google was testing augmented reality navigation in maps, however, has since used its years of Street View images to overlay giant floating arrows to point the way with the help of GPS. Indoor navigation is the next step in AR navigation helping consumers find their favourite shops in shopping centres and navigating around exhibitions.
Trend #3: Augmented Reality enhanced by Artificial Intelligence
Integrating AI with Augmented Reality is set to be a game-changer. AI can enable AR to interact with the physical environment in a multidimensional way. Allowing capabilities such as object tagging with the AR system predicting the correct interface given the environment, intelligently in real-time. But this is just the start for AI and AR when businesses discover its capabilities expect to see more innovative content and consumer experiences.
Trend #4: AR in the automotive industry
AR is coming to automobiles to make your journey safer, help with navigation and provide additional data for the driver. Nissan has plans for a “three-dimensional augmented reality co-drivers who’ll answer questions and provide information about the road ahead. Whilst Mercedes have already implemented AR with the latest A-Class and GLE laying nav instructions over objects in a live camera view. Mercedes have plans to move this from a dashboard screen into the windshield, as demonstrated with their DICE concept. Exciting times for the automotive industry!
Trend #5: Apple rumoured to finally launch AR Glasses
Apple has already invested heavily in AR with its ARKit that already works on most of its iPhones and iPads. However, they are finally rumoured to be launching its set of AR glasses in early 2020 which could potentially bring a whole new product category to the market. Other companies, like Facebook, are partnering with third-party companies such as Ray-Ban, to produce similar headsets.
SixPorts will be keeping a close eye on all these developments but in the meantime, if you would like to discuss your own Augmented Reality plans even if it is an idea, just drop us an email at hello@sixports.com.
References
https://mobidev.biz/blog/augmented-reality-future-trends-2018-2020
https://www.enginecreative.co.uk/blog/augmented-reality-shopping-and-the-future-of-retail/
https://www.cnet.com/roadshow/news/augmented-reality-is-coming-to-your-car/
https://www.techradar.com/news/nissan-uses-5g-to-put-an-augmented-reality-co-driver-in-your-passenger-seat
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b_sj7Tr9h5I