THE NEXT COMPUTING REALITY

The next generation of human-computer interfaces (HCIs) will cross a much larger chasm than previous ones—not by making people more like computers but by making computers closer to us. Instead of looking at computer displays, users will wear the displays as head-mounted devices (HMDs) that either block out the physical world and present an entirely different reality, or overlay onto our world real-time data-driven graphics, sound and video. These visual interfaces won’t require typing on or even touching a keyboard. Instead, human control and notification will be done with hand and head gestures, haptic (skin level) feedback, and voice-recognition.

In addition to specialized applications for healthcare, real estate, retail, education, engineering and much more, HMDs will incorporate all the functions of smartphones for voice communication, texting, email, video browsing, and social platforms. Once these HMDs become unobtrusive and affordable enough, they will be standard issue for every consumer in developed countries. Depending upon the speed of innovation, it is even possible that undeveloped segments of the world may skip the handheld smartphone entirely in favor of the head-mounted one.

THE FORMS OF XR

Extended Reality (XR) is the blanket term for this new realm of immersive simulations, which is typically divided into three categories:

• Virtual Reality (VR) immerses the user in an imaginary or replicated world (or simulates the real world) in a way that completely blocks out the real physical environment.Augmented Reality (AR) layers or superimposes virtual images, video and sounds on the real world, which remains perceivable. This is most commonly seen in smartphone apps that show the real world in the phone’s camera with digital assets placed upon it. The “heads-up” displays of digital eyeglasses and windshields are other early examples of AR in practice.
• Mixed Reality (MR) is a hypothetical combination of the two, which could involve experiences like a “virtual wall” superimposed on reality that a user could actually “bump into” or bounce a virtual ball against.

XR in general broadens our visual command of the space we’re working and playing in. We are no longer conscious of, or limited by, the edges of finite screens. Further, the gestural control (via hand and head movements) used with HMDs represents a new and very powerful method of navigating a computational environment.

These interfaces are developing quickly but a number of technical issues remain to be resolved. XR visualizations are computationally intensive and require high-end hardware to produce lifelike real-time visualizations. Improvements in size, weight, battery life, and cellular technology must all be addressed for HMDs to become a widely adopted mobile computing platform.

And yet this has always been true of digital innovation. Companies should not be lulled into believing that this future is “science-fiction” and that it’s acceptable to wait and see what happens. We know what’s going to happen. As we’ve seen in previous computing incarnations, hardware will quickly catch up to software requirements.

OUR ENTERPRISE BET IS ON AR

In fact, XR has the potential for massive market disruption. We estimate that VR and AR together could become an $80B+ market by 2025. Our projections for that year include:

For the foreseeable future, HMDs will co-exist with present-day computing form-factors (desktops, laptops, tablets and smartphones). But in the medium-term HMDs will become lighter, more powerful, and less obtrusive, and will be increasingly used by all people in every walk of life.

AR IS SET TO OVERTAKE VR

Although we focus on VR and AR as the major drivers of adoption of this new computing incarnation, we believe that as processor power increases and application development becomes more sophisticated, AR will be the more fruitful realm for business because it allows the power of computing to be embedded in normal reality.

Healthcare, retail, and manufacturing will experience the highest adoption rate during that time, followed closely by construction and professional services. The top horizontal use cases we expect to see adopted by these verticals are training and education, and virtual workspaces and remote services.

As XR test-pilots continue to make headlines, work settings will also continue to shift in the wake of the pandemic, and hardware prices will continue to fall. Across hardware, software, and services, the XR market is quickly reaching maturity for enterprise use. For players looking to enter it, the time to start developing your solution is now.

Looking for more information on this growing market?

Learn more about our Enterprise Extended Reality (XR) Growth Oppotunities Brief here.