Exploring Future Reality

Closing Thoughts

Every few years a technology or related set of technologies emerges that changes the way we experience media– how we communicate, how we consume information, how we entertain ourselves, how we tell stories. The printing press, the telegraph, radio, TV, cable, the internet, mobile– the advance of media technologies is a given. But virtual and augmented reality technologies promise something different than past advances– a leap forward made possible by a set of powerful immersive tools for mediating our experience of the world around us.

For the media industry, virtual and augmented reality projects are, in early iterations, proving fruitful by promising unique opportunities for consumer engagement. How these new opportunities will evolve, what business models will emerge, and what creative combinations of technology and content will capture minds and markets remains to be seen.

What is clear is that the time to experiment and invest is now. Media, tech and communications companies would be wise to invest in structuring experiments and building expertise with the tools and methods that will be used to construct ‘future reality’– when digital information and experiences are incorporated into the world around us seamlessly. Fortunes will be made and lost along the way– the challenge is before us.

Exploring Future Reality is a report brought to you by NYC Media Lab. Download a PDF of the full report here.
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