Enterprises are optimistic about the potential of virtual and augmented reality, according to a recent report by Perkins Coie in collaboration with XR Association trade group and venture capital firm Boost VC.
Two-thirds of companies expect to increase spending on immersive technologies this year compared to 2019, the report said, with more interest in augmented reality applications than in VR.
”Augmented reality can drive real business value and the industry now has the numbers to prove it, to the point where many Fortune 100 companies are taking notice and figuring out the right use cases for their business,” said David Nedohin, Chief Customer Officer and co-founder of Scope AR, an AR-powered employee training platform.
“The C-suite is now a part of the conversation in AR deployments as we’re seeing repeatable and consistent ROI numbers from various customers,” Nedohin told Hypergrid Business.
Scope AR recently released a quick start program for companies looking to manage remote operations during the COVID-19 pandemic, and is offering its WorkLink solution for free to groups working on creating ventilators.
Outside gaming and entertainment, health care and medical applications are expected to see the most adoption, said Perkins Coie researchers, and the pandemic may help drive adoption.
According to the survey, the two biggest obstacles for the adoption of AR and VR technologies were problems with the user experience and the lack of content.
That will take time, said Juan Kuang, an analyst at Greenlight Insights.
”When hardware is comfortable and functional enough to replace more than 85 percent of traditional computing tasks, such as web browsing, we will begin to see true mass adoption,” Kuang told Hypergrid Business. ”Three to four years is certainly enough time to build a very compelling hardware platform, but is relatively little time for the massive cultural and infrastructural changes necessary for average consumers to see VR as anything other than a niche product.’
