Several Questions about Virtual and Augmented Reality

If you’re interested in virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR), you’ve probably asked yourself one or more of the questions you’ll find here. In many cases, there are no definitive answers available, but I tell you what I think and what many of the leading experts in the fields of virtual and augmented reality have said.

How will virtual and augmented reality affect me?
Wondering how virtual reality and augmented reality technologies will affect your life? you are not alone. Many wonder the same, and the future is uncertain, so any answer to this question will involve some guesswork.
The good news: It’s likely that neither VR nor AR will be inadvertently pressured into you for the foreseeable future. Don’t expect to come to work tomorrow and find that your computer has been completely replaced by a pair of augmented reality glasses.
Virtual reality will probably start to seep into your life around the edges. A VR arcade game might pop up at your local mall, or a tech-savvy friend might have a headset to try. With low-cost headphones starting to arrive, you may decide to buy one yourself. A lot depends on the industry you’re in, but it seems unlikely that VR will make its way into your life so much as it will gradually make its way through location-based experiences, entertainment and games.
Augmented reality has the potential to be more disruptive, and its strengths make it competitive to be implemented in the workplace before virtual reality. Similar to the early days of the PC, this may be many users’ first exposure to the technology. However, it will likely be in widespread use by industry for some time. Except for a huge leap forward for augmented reality (and depending on your industry), you’re probably still at least five years older than your peers sporting augmented reality glasses instead of a PC.
The virtual reality and augmented reality industries are not static, and growth can come by leaps and bounds. It would be foolish to make a prediction about either industry without constantly reconsidering that prediction to realign it with reality. Oculus turned the world of virtual reality upside down in 2013 with the DK1. HTC did it again with the Vive in 2016. Google and Apple turned the world of augmented reality on its head with ARCore and ARKit in 2017. Magic Leap hopes to do the same with the Creator Edition in 2018. That’s a lot of ups and downs. The only constant is change, so it’s very important to keep up with the changes if you don’t want to be left behind.

What technology will win?
The common question now that the public awareness of virtual and augmented reality has increased is which technology will win the battle of the fourth wave of technologies – VR or AR? From a business standpoint, you may want to know what technology you’re throwing your development resources behind. From a consumer’s point of view, you may want to know which hardware you should consider buying.
The realistic answer is that in the long run, both are more likely to win (i.e. become an integral part of our technology lives). VR and AR are different technologies. Although they are in the same field, they are not in direct competition with each other. There will likely not be a single winner and loser. Both have different combinations of strengths and weaknesses. In the future, the user might wear his or her augmented reality glasses while working to complete workday tasks, then come home and wear their VR headset for some evening entertainment.
Having said that, the final form factor may be a headset that can integrate the two technologies. No current device has offered this option, although many VR headsets have multiple front cameras that can be used for augmented reality experiences. Microsoft has even gone so far as to name its virtual reality headset Windows Mixed Reality, leading many to speculate that Microsoft sees the technologies merge into a single device in the future. (For its part, Microsoft has claimed that the name is due to its headphones belonging to the Windows Mixed Reality platform, which includes the HoloLens.)
A wireless headset that offers the ability to switch between full immersion in virtual reality and mixed worlds of augmented reality could be a solution that consumers flock to.
Virtual reality and augmented reality are not necessarily competitors! Each has its own set of strengths, and each technology’s strengths actually work to bolster the other’s weaknesses.

What if I don’t have a virtual/augmented reality headset?
Some websites use WebVR (a way to experience virtual reality in a browser), and some apps enable you to use your computer or phone without a headset. YouTube, for example, has a number of videos that allow you to take a look and explore in 360 degrees. However, in these apps, you don’t really experience virtual reality. You are just viewing a 360-degree world on a 2D screen.
To truly experience virtual reality, a headset is required. A number of basic headsets, such as Google Cardboard, allow you to experience virtual reality at a very low cost (often under $20). Having said that, you should be looking for the highest VR experience possible. No need to rush and buy the most expensive VR headset you can find. But look for a location-based VR experience, or even try your local mall or large retailer that has VR demo areas. The difference in quality between a simple Google Cardboard viewer and high-end headphones is huge. If you haven’t tried high quality virtual reality, this is a great experience not to be missed.
To try out a slimmer version of AR, often all you need is a recent version of an Apple or Android mobile phone or tablet. iOS and Android have released versions of ARKit and ARCore, which are versions created specifically for their mobile devices. There are a number of apps in the App Store and Google Play Store designed specifically for these technologies.

How big are consumer markets for virtual and augmented reality?
It’s hard to quantify the current market sizes for virtual and augmented reality today, let alone know what will happen to those markets in the future. Market size is difficult to determine for many reasons, including lack of accurate market analyzes, various implementations of form factors, and market segmentation. However, we can take a look at some products and techniques to help with some rough estimates.
For virtual reality, now is the perfect time to assess which direction the markets are headed. The first generation of devices held a significant amount of time in the hands of consumers. A number of second generation VR devices are available. More details will also emerge about the manufacturers’ plans for the future, and how they are adapting to the direction that markets seem to be headed.
All this should add up to media years of virtual reality. It appears that manufacturers are planning a sharp increase in VR headset sales, as sales will likely be centered around mid-range headsets. Sales of these second-generation devices should help predict the size of the VR consumer base. There may or may not be a massive explosion of VR adoption, but most people hope that the steady increase over time in headphone quality and experiences should boost the market.
It’s possible that augmented reality won’t see much of a consumer leap for a few years, outside of in-mobile implementations. Most AR devices are aimed at businesses rather than consumers. If your dream is to sell 1 billion headphone-based AR apps in the next few years, you will likely be disappointed. But do not be afraid! What headset-based augmented reality lacks in market size, it will make up for in enterprise-grade implementations. There will likely be a large influx of companies looking to take advantage of augmented reality within the next few years.
You can usually extrapolate forecasts based on current markets, consumer price point comfort, and ability to scale to mass consumption. Overall, these data points give you enough information to make a reasonable guess of the market size over the next year or two. However, there will always be the possibility of a superhero technology emerging for the game. Some company could release a mass-produced AR headset tomorrow that instantly blows those expectations out of the water.
When should I enter the virtual reality / augmented reality market as a consumer?
There is no “right” or “wrong” time to enter the VR or AR market. Evaluate each technique according to its advantages and decide which one is right for you.
Virtual reality is a more mature market on the consumer side nowadays than augmented reality. There is more competition between headphone manufacturers and more content is available via different manufacturers’ app stores. There are also a number of options at different levels of quality and price points.
AR, on the other hand, lags behind in the consumer space. Only one or two headphone/glasses manufacturers seem to be in any position to produce devices anywhere near the mass consumer range, and the price points for these devices are well beyond what most consumers are willing to pay. However, users can also get a taste of augmented reality via the apps of their mobile devices.
Ultimately, this is a decision that you must make on your own, considering how you plan to use the hardware and software. Are you looking for a high quality immersive gaming or entertainment experience? A high-quality VR headset might be a good choice. Looking for an early overview of how we will operate in the near future? One AR headset is probably your best bet.
For most of the general population, AR headphones will likely be consumer-wide after a few years. Experience augmented reality via your mobile device is likely to be sufficient for most consumers at the moment.
Virtual reality, however, is readily available for public consumption now. If you are interested in experiencing virtual reality from the comfort of your own home, there is no need to hold back on purchasing a device anymore. As with most tech devices, at this point it’s just a matter of evaluating the hardware and upcoming choices and deciding what’s right for you.
When choosing a VR/AR device (or any other technology), evaluate not only the current options, but also the upcoming ones. For example, a user searching for a VR device might focus on the current generation of devices. As with many technologies, these devices will likely be updated and improved every few years. Be sure to weigh your current choices against all upcoming options to help avoid buyer’s remorse.

When should my company enter the market?
There is no right or wrong time to enter the emerging technology market as a consumer, but there can be either a right or wrong time to enter it as a company. Enter too early or without a strong trend, and you risk being so far from the bleeding edge that the market has built itself to hold your entry. Enter too late, and you risk missing out on the market.
Now is definitely a good time to evaluate both technologies to determine their suitability for your organization’s long-term growth and development. Virtual reality is rapidly maturing as a market. In the next couple of years, you can expect to see rapid growth in this large-scale consumer and enterprise space.
Augmented reality is a bit late in availability for mass consumer adoption. AR Mobile is going to play a big role in the next few years, and augmented reality wearables will likely be a few years after that. However, augmented reality is already spreading within enterprise lines of business. Enterprise augmented reality is likely to see very steady growth, with potential spikes in some organizations such as medical, industrial, design and manufacturing.
In general, the disadvantages of incorporating technology into your market too soon pale in comparison to the barriers to entering the market too late. Although you may jump in and find yourself in a smaller market by entering too early, you may find your market cornered by competitors if you enter too late.

You should already be evaluating how these technologies can rock your industry. If you’re still unsure about the appropriateness of these technologies for your industry, running one or two small pilot projects or idea labs using virtual or augmented reality within the walls of your company can help you identify where the adoption of virtual or augmented reality could occur. Within your industry the future.
William Shakespeare wrote, “It is better to be three hours late than one minute.” The penalty your company will pay for entering the market early is rarely higher than the exorbitant price it could pay to enter the market too late. We all like being able to time the market right, but that’s impossible. Wrong on the side of being proactive rather than reactive.
Which VR headset is right for me?
Deciding on a VR headset is a question that involves a number of variables – there is no one right answer that fits all. At a high level, there are three different levels of VR hardware:
High-end “desktop” headphones: If you’re looking for the most immersive VR experience and have external hardware ready to play headphones, then one of the high-end headphones is probably right for you. These headphones provide an immersive virtual reality experience that consumers can purchase today. They are usually played on external devices such as a desktop computer. Unloading the processing work on a desktop computer allows for an intense graphic experience due to the powerful processor of a desktop computer and the availability of memory. High-end headphones can also allow for freedom of movement with room-wide tracking and feature-rich external consoles. Most of them have a very solid set of immersive games and entertainment choices.
The disadvantages of high-end headphones include the price and reliance on an external computer to run these experiences.
Current examples of top-tier headphones include the Oculus Rift, HTC Vive Pro, and Windows Mixed Reality headphones.
Mid-level Portable Headset: A mid-tier (or mobile-powered) headset delivers a powerful virtual reality experience at a much lower price than higher-end experiences. Most of these headsets require external hardware, but only a mobile phone that adheres to the requirements for a virtual reality device, many of which may already have. (The next generation of mid-tier headphones includes devices like the HTC Vive Focus or Oculus Santa Cruz, which will be self-contained and won’t require an external device.) Because these devices don’t require a desktop computer, these headphones are more portable. . Without relying on linking to an external piece of hardware or any additional sensors, these devices can be moved anywhere.
The drawback to these mobile experiences is the level of experience offered. With the limited computational power of mobile devices, the level of immersion can be lower than that of high-end headphones. The first generation of mid-range devices does not offer the same accuracy in user tracking, and the controllers are often fairly simple compared to the high-end options.
A mid-tier headset is often a good start for users who are interested in virtual reality but are not yet ready to use a high-end device. It enables users to experience the taste of virtual reality at a lower price.

Current examples at this level include Samsung Gear VR and Google Daydream.
Low-profile Portable Headphones: Low-profile headphones primarily consist of Google Cardboard and hardware designed according to Google Cardboard specifications. These low-end devices are powered by separate portable devices, making them easy to carry around.
Unlike mid-tier hardware, most of these lower-end hardware get rid of tiny details like controllers or other discrete hardware and software integrations. The hardware and software experience is just as bare bones as you can get while you’re still “VR.” These devices are often referred to as “viewers” – a good name for them, because they are primarily designed to display virtual reality experiences and worlds, with very little interaction.

Current examples include Google Cardboard, View-Master VR, and SMARTvr.
These low-profile headphones are good as a way to democratize virtual reality experiences. Cardboard is relatively inexpensive, so it can be branded and shipped to consumers at low cost. The New York Times has done just that, shipping more than 1 million branded Google Cardboard and access to the NYT VR app to its customers. Likewise, Cardboard hardware may be a good option where replacement cost or user damage is an issue, such as in elementary schools looking to experience virtual reality without breaking the bank.
There is no “wrong” choice of VR headset. Just as your mobile phone is different from your TV, mid-tier headphones have a different set of strengths and weaknesses than high-end headphones. As a simple analogy, you might love to watch a football match on your 60″ flat screen TV at home, but you can’t carry your 60″ flat screen TV anywhere you go. The portability that your mobile phone offers can be a huge advantage, and you may end up finding that you spend more time on your phone than you do in front of the TV, even though your TV offers an arguably “better” experience.
As the saying goes, “You get what you pay for.” VR in Google Cardboard is a great, low-cost introduction to virtual reality, but don’t think that if you use Google Cardboard, you have experienced the level of immersion that VR can provide. The difference in experience from Google Cardboard to a high-end VR experience can be the difference between watching a feature film on your mobile phone and watching it in a theater with full surround sound.
For augmented reality experiences, there is no good reason to buy a headset now for consumer consumption. The market for consumer-based augmented reality applications and use cases outside of mobile augmented reality have not yet reached a critical level. However, there are many reasons to buy an AR headset to create apps that target enterprise-wide consumption. For example, if you are tasked with creating an AR app for commercial or industrial use. These fields are likely to see exponential growth in the use of augmented reality. You must assess specific customer needs within that space and find an AR headset that most closely matches the requirements of that job.
With both Oculus and HTC launching dedicated, unlinked devices in 2018, and Magic Leap slated to release devices in the same time slot, be sure to compare the latest batch of apples to apples when purchasing any VR or AR hardware. The market is constantly changing, so be sure to find the device whose power matches the needs of your project.

What can hinder the growth of virtual reality and augmented reality?
The growth of these two technologies seems inevitable, but there are potential hurdles in the way that you need to be aware of that could derail one of them.
Virtual reality seems to have passed the trough of disappointment. Since there are no studies revealing massive health risks within VR, there’s likely to be little holding back its growth at this point. The worst case scenario for VR appears to be slower growth. If the second generation of headphones receives a lukewarm reception from consumers, or if the market for headphones and apps becomes more fragmented and confused, VR’s growth as a mass consumer device may slow. That wouldn’t be the death knell for VR, but stagnant market growth could mean less investment capital. Low investment capital can trigger a feedback cycle of slow improvements, resulting in slower growth, leading to slower improvements.
The growth of augmented reality, away from mobile implementations, is more constrained at the moment. Limited hardware availability for developers can lead to a lack of development resources, which can lead to a lack of content depth. The headphones’ high price point, the non-existent content ecosystem, and the lack of standardization of experience expectations when using augmented reality are all things augmented reality will face over the next few years.
Are there lasting physical effects of using virtual and augmented reality?
Many emerging technologies have faced the prospect of raising potential medical questions. As computers rapidly became mass consumer devices, medical experts wondered what effects computer screens all day long could have on us. As mobile devices began to rise into the public consciousness, concerns about electromagnetic radiation from phones themselves and cell phone towers led medical researchers to study the relationship between mobile phone radiation and cancer rates.
The same types of questions currently exist for virtual and augmented reality. Will having a screen too close to our eyes permanently damage our eyesight? Can long-term work in virtual reality always cause nausea? Could there be lasting behavioral effects from staying in these virtual worlds for an extended period of time?
Many of these medical effects are thought to be little more than short-term issues, but long-term studies still need to be done to evaluate the use of virtual or augmented reality.
Most experts agree that for now, you can be cautious and rational about potential risks, but that caution should not prevent you from using technology as you see fit. Take off the headset if you feel nauseous, and take “screen breaks” every half hour to give the eyes time to re-adapt to the real world. These are all standard rules you should actually follow regarding any screen time (VR headsets, computer screens, or mobile devices).
What is the future of virtual reality and augmented reality?
All transformative technologies have positive and negative potential. Given its ability to be immersive, virtual reality is likely to suffer from many of the same problems as other technologies today, but to a greater degree. Some of the potential issues with this new technology include addiction to virtual reality; Users are getting out of the real world and spending a lot of time in virtual reality. The possibility of users being desensitized to their actions in the real world due to the lack of consequences for their actions in the virtual world is an issue that has also been cited.

Augmented reality may have some of the same problems as virtual reality. It can also handle a few issues of its own. Who owns the rights to the digital world? Should anyone have the ability to view AR content anywhere? Could our augmented reality experiences become ever more lifelike? Could it be that we become unable to distinguish the real world from virtual enhancements?
These are interesting interests or thought projects, but greatly outweighed by the enormous potential of these technologies.
Virtual reality has the potential to reach across borders and borders. People are online like never before. Virtual reality takes this power and adds the ability to create a truly empathetic global social space. It has the potential to completely revolutionize the way we learn, how we play, and perhaps most importantly how we relate to each other.
AR has the potential to enhance our daily actions in the real world. It has the ability to help people make smarter decisions through the availability of information. It can make the world around us interactive. It can make it easier to create new connections with others through shared experiences and change the ways we currently work. You name the industry, and in ten years’ time, augmented reality may have transformed the industry as we know it.