Several recently released reports tend to point to a bright future for virtual reality/augmented reality (VR/AR). For example, IDC just revealed a forecast projecting worldwide shipments of AR/VR headsets will see a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 108.3 percent over the 2015-2020 forecast period.
AR and VR also look like they will loom large in the Consumer Technology Association’s “U.S. Consumer Technology Sales and Forecasts” that’s slated for release early next month. The CTA said the report will show that augmented reality/virtual reality (AR/VR) technologies saw significant growth this year, even to the point of being one of the tech sector’s “overwhelming leaders in year-to-year growth in 2016.”
However, consumer confusion does exist around the technologies — even about the very definition of VR or AR. To help take that on, CTA revealed that its AR/VR Working Group has finalized a set of industry definitions to help companies better explain the technologies to consumers. For example, “virtual reality” was defined as a technology that “creates a digital environment that replaces the user’s real-world environment,” and “augmented reality” was defined as a technology that “overlays digitally-created content into the user’s real-world environment.”
“The collaboration from across our industry to develop and align on these consumer definitions is the kind of joint effort across the value chain that will ensure the success of this brand new industry and art form,” Mark Turner, VP, corporate partnerships and strategy at Technicolor, and chairman of CTA’s AR/VR Working Group, said.
The working group includes member companies Amazon, AMD, Dolby Laboratories, the Fox Innovation Lab at Twentieth Century Fox, GoPro, HTC Vive, Intel, Meta, Microsoft, NVIDIA, Samsung, Sony, STRIVR, Technicolor, and Translink Capital.
CTA also announced CES 2017, which is set for Jan. 5-8 in Las Vegas, will offer the annual show’s largest-ever display of AR and VR. More than 70 companies will be in the Gaming & Virtual Reality Marketplace, which is about twice the number as last year. The Augmented Reality Marketplace also returns to CES 2017 with 20 exhibitors.
