Marketshare analysis company Gartner is known for its work in charting the emerging technology scene and tracking what companies and technologies will have a wider impact. Gartner have now published its Top Ten Strategic Technology Trends for 2019.
Gartner identify a number of areas of interest, including Blockchain, artificial intelligence (AI), autonomous vehicles and immersive experiences, a category which folds in augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR) and mixed reality (MR).
The analysis defines immersive experiences as: “The spaces that surround us define ‘the computer’ rather than the individual devices. In effect, the environment is the computer.” a definition which incorporates smartphone-based AR and VR as well as headsets such as Oculus Rift, HTC Vive or MR devices like the HoloLens or Magic Leap One.
The report also notes that a rising number of devices are moving processing from centralised servers and back towards the end-user side, with techniques such as cloud services and distributed servers. The roll-out of 5G networks is likely to support this move, and has been noted elsewhere as a development that could also aid in the uptake of VR and AR technologies.
One of the major subjects of the report was regarding ethics and privacy, a topic that has been increasingly in the spotlight recently, particularly since several high-profile data breaches, including one involving Oculus parent company Facebook, something which was addressed during the Facebook F8 Conference.
The Gartner report refers to privacy and ethics as: “A growing concern for individuals, organisations and governments. People are increasingly concerned about how their personal information is being used by organisations in both the public and private sector, and the backlash will only increase for organisations that are not proactively addressing these concerns.”
For future coverage on developments in VR and AR, keep checking back with VRFocus.