Through analysis of key players and technologies, IDTechEx’s most recent report on Augmented and Virtual Reality predicts that by 2030, the augmented, virtual, and mixed reality market will be over $30bn.
With COVID-19 limiting physical interaction, virtual communication and interaction will be the norm for many years to come. Although seen as futuristic by some, augmented, virtual, and mixed reality devices have shown they have an important part to play in many different industries.
Over the past two decades, there have been big strides in the technological development of XR products. In the early ’90s, a number of headsets were released that allowed the user to view a video on a headset from an external device. Then in the next decade, devices such as the Google Glass Explorer were released. These captured the imagination of many people, and it was one of the first “augmented reality” products available to consumers. Although this did not take off, it paved the way for other products to be developed. Later in the decade, more VR and AR products were released; for example, in 2019, Magic Leap released its first product after years of funding. Oculus also released a VR headset that does not need to be connected to a computer – the Quest – proving that VR does not need to be tethered to a computer.
For the full in-depth analysis, please see “Augmented, Mixed and Virtual Reality 2020-2030: Forecasts, Markets and Technologies.” www.IDTechEx.com/Research/WT