4 Challenges Of Augmented Reality Companies

Augmented Reality – The Good, Bad and Ugly

Remember Pokémon Go? Yes, the game in which we had to trace the Pokémon and capture them. Well, it turned out to be one of the biggest Augmented Reality success stories in recent times. It also presented ways in which AR can go mainstream without impacting the ease of use and overall used experience generated by such new age technology disruptions.

But to drive the business in better ways, Augmented Reality has to overcome all the challenges which it faces. So, it won’t be wrong to say that there are still miles to go for AR to be embraced at a broader level by end users. Let us check out these challenges which are still restricting AR to come into the mainstream.

Challenges of Augmented Reality

1. Technical Challenges

When it comes to organizations who are looking to get a fully functional Augmented Reality solution, they will need a lot of components. Although the development process of AR applications is no different there are certain technical challenges like Unity 3D engine, content, hardware, awareness of the common public, and education.

On these fronts, we are still lacking by quite a distance. So, until and unless we are capable of tackling these technical shortcomings, AR cannot be properly visualized in an organizational scheme of things.

4 Challenges Of Augmented Reality Companies

 

2. Devices used in AR

As mentioned earlier, AR apps are no different and can run in any of the tablet or smartphone. You can even call AR apps omnipresent. But what makes it lag are crucial hardware elements like cameras, screens, motion sensors, processors and lastly, high speed internet connectivity.

Now for a minute, let us assume that we have everything, but what about other hardware like Google Glass, HoloLens, AR headsets, and Meta, which are still far from the reach of common public to derive the delight and thrilling experience that Augmented Reality has the potential to provide?

3. Unavailability of Content for AR Apps

You have a smartphone, but you do not have any application to play- how will you feel? Yes, this is the same situation with Augmented Reality these days. We might get hardware like HoloLens and Google Glass soon but what about the content and AR applications that will provide the user with this unique experience? There is a huge demand for such interactive content and companies are still in the process of creating and generating such high engaging content on a regular basis.

So, in a nutshell, the AR ecosystem is growing gradually, but due to the lack of interactive content, people are not very motivated to adopt this new technology.

4. Lack of public awareness

This is more of a social challenge. Whenever a new technology is released it takes time to become widespread among its users. Same is the case with AR (Augmented Reality).

Common people are still not aware of the potential of AR and hence, they cannot even relate to it in their daily lives.  Therefore, it would not be wrong to say that AR is still in its nascent phase. It will take time to be fully embraced by the public.

Thus, these are the 4 challenges which Augmented Reality companies are facing these days. The focus should be that these challenges are soon overcome by devising and implementing the right business tactics.

The Future Of Augmented Reality

The Future Of AR Technology

 

Will the future be Augmented?

What if you could see things no one else could see?

What if the objects around you could communicate to you?

Sounds like the plot of a Sci-Fi movie? Well, it is the future, a future adorned with augmentation of the real world.

Augmented Reality

Augmented reality (AR) overlaps the virtual world and the real world to create a ‘fantasy-like’ experience. With AR, you can view your living room on a smartphone and see how virtual furnitures would fit into the real world. The applications are infinite and will be limited to the inventor’s imagination. They span through numerous sectors from training, marketing, education, e-commerce, retail to real estate.

The outcomes are endless and the revenue making opportunities are unimaginable. AR systems can spice up anything promotional or worth marketing. Brands such as Nike are already going full guns with AR and the future is all set to be augmented if the current trends are to be believed. And if one of the most popular apps of 2016, Pokemon Go has taught us something, it is that the reality in the future will be augmented.

AugmentedReality-PokemonGo

Augmented Reality has still got a long way to go and these are some of the challenges it might face on the road to capturing the market.

 1Marketing: Lousy marketing campaigns might completely dig the grave for this technology and unless something unique and innovative is thought upon, it might just fade away.

2. Content: Content defines the eventual outcome of any new product. If content developers fail to understand the possibilities and limitations of AR, and churn out cliched content, the future of AR might be very bleak.

3. Hardware: Making AR hardware readily available to the masses is a big concern. Eventually, if the right tool to access AR is not available in the market at affordable rates, the whole process of developing it will go down the drain.

Similar challenges were faced by the Internet, Mobile Phone, Social Media Giants but the investors stuck to the task and made the technology a necessity for the masses.

One point of view to look at AR is that it is expected to grow by 90% every year until these challenges do not saturate and hinder it. Companies are spending big bucks on AR. However, it is still under the clouds and there are many prospects on which leading tech giants are working on. Reportedly, Microsoft has paid as much as $150 million to buy IP assets related to augmented reality.

AR is also taking upper hand in the field of advertising and promotional events. Today smartphones have in-built GPS receivers, compasses and accelerometers that make it possible to know exactly where it’s located and what they are viewing. Augmented reality applications such as “Layar” utilizes these features to show people information through their camera screens about the surrounding businesses.

Click here to watch how Layar works

So, there is no doubt that investors believe in the technology and will continue to invest in its R&D consistently. AR is set to change gaming e-commerce, education or to put it in simpler terms, our everyday lives.

Augmented-Reality-advert

 

How will AR transform our future?

 1Digital Marketing: Digital Marketing of your product via ground-breaking Augmented Reality tools will ensure bigger market share. Augmented Reality is recognized as an enhanced marketing application that customers can engage with at home, in store, or on the go. Services such as  augmented packaging, on street marketing, geolocalized apps, and interactive consumer products will change the marketing trends.

2. Mapping: Geo-location and its real time display of enhanced maps will change how we navigate.  Augmented Reality can provide classified and suggestive information to the user such as nearby restaurants, bars, grocery stores, and fashion outlets.

3. Education: Educational resources are magnified by Augmented Reality systems and can be used to recreate events or transform books into 3D images all superimposed in real-time.  Augmented Reality is an excellent virtual assistant for educators in classroom settings and helps students gain a deeper understanding on the topic. By overlapping content to media, the reading experience is made more enriching.

4. Industry Applications: Industrial, military and medical applications regarding the genesis and development of a concept can be made simpler by Augmented Reality. When soldiers need information on their surroundings they can refer to detailed 3-Dimensional maps. If a doctor is performing a surgery, a live human subject can be made accessible. Occupations of all kinds can benefit from AR applications. The workforce can be trained well and also be assisted in day to day operations.

Whether you find your future-self living in a world where Christopher Nolan’s’ epic Sci-Fi film “Interstellar” spurs imagination around you or you are on the hunt for a rare Pokemon GO species, Augmented Reality is as real as it gets and it is here to stay.

 

“Reality is merely an illusion, albeit a very persistent one.” 

-Albert Einstein

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