AR and VR: The Business of Holographic-Reality
Holographic-reality has the potential to both radically, and literally change the lens through which we see the world. To the point of no return, the business of holographic reality is here to stay, it’s just a matter of how to make it easily accessible. The blending of lines between “real” life and the virtual world are underway.
MOMENTS BEYOND MEMORIES
The Verge interviewed Los Angeles-based actress and interior designer Ashley Martin Scott about her casting call that led her to 8i studios, then in Culver City, California. Scott discovered this wasn’t a typical casting call: she and four-month-old Reese were being turned into holograms, a term that’s used to describe volumetric video. 8i was looking to build up its repository of holograms, and a mom-and-baby clip seemed like a good idea for relatable content too view anytime in the future.
Volumetric video is a highly technical process, one that 8i and other companies have been working to perfect as this type of content has emerged being the “next big thing” in video for the consumer base.
“I think when you’re dealing with a newborn, it feels like that stage is going to last forever, because your days are long and your nights are longer. But it really goes by so fast,” Scott said. “So to be able to jump into that again was overwhelming.”
Apparently, the upcoming trend is for vloggers is to capture their own kids in holograms. We’re talking the next-generation of baby photos that can be revisited in headsets, on smartphones, or even in Instagram feeds.
“Everybody wants holograms of their kids,” Nicole St. Jean, 8i’s vice president of content and a former Twitter executive, told The Verge. AR and VR video is the kind of media is that it’s supposed to offer a more immersive experience, creating environments and people that feel real.
Steven Smith, the executive director of the Shoah Foundation, says, “So far, virtual reality has been very much about gaming, or has been about creating environments that you can navigate and explore and so forth,” said Steven Smith. He even mentions how VR content can be used as testimony for many purposes. Even for judicial proceedings, perhaps?
Ever evolving and changing ways of documenting history has existed for thousands of years, and our generation is no different. Augmented and virtual reality are going to become the standard way in which we document our experiences, making for richer memories to be retrieved. The research firm IDC predicts that dedicated VR and AR headsets could collectively jump up from just under 10 million units and more shipped this year, to 100 million units by 2021. The market for augmented reality content hit a pivotal turning point this fall when both Apple and Google rolled out new smartphone platforms for AR.
What used to be a gimmick will shortly become the norm. Soon as the cost of making high-quality holograms comes down, this would allow average consumers to create hyper-realistic time capsules of moments and people. Several augmented reality start-ups are turning the tech into a serious business tool. According to Inc. Magazine, Juniper Research estimated that by 2017, more than 2.5 billion AR apps will be downloaded to devices annually. The forecast can easily preclude that annual sales in the space will nearly double every year to hit over $5.2 billion — investments from both Apple and Google companies will see to it.
REVOLUTIONARY AND RESPONSIBLE RETAIL
AR and VR technology could eventually be deployed for things such as warehouse management, employee training, fashion shopping from home, and even pop-up shop design planning. Fashion is one of the most polluting industries in the world. Thanks to the revolutionary tech, sustainability takes on a new meaning and greater purpose. However, physical clothing is preferred over virtual clothes. But it’s impractical to get a real sense of shape when ordering from a web page or shopping app. Holographic technology offers a path toward a potential solution to be baked into accessible and mobile devices, as long as it’s done in a practical way.
The process of product development typically consume high volumes of resources and time just for the making of prototypes. Holographic tech can help eliminate the countless steps involved in bringing a product to market that exists due to natural trial and error, as well as cultural and language barriers. As the need for fossil fuels lessen, so does the bar of sustainability rise for small and large businesses alike.
In order to maximize the use of AR and VR tech, the internet infrastructure around the world must broaden, become stronger, and be made available for free to all consumer nations. New standards only grow and develop when made easy accessible to low and high income individuals. Companies will enjoy less product returns when a customer has the ability to easily discern the product in a more accurate form factor. The tech will open the door for greater consumer confidence in the brand, which brings about increased brand awareness.
For a premium fee, with adequate devices, and a capable internet connection, retail companies could assist their customers in real-time from remote locations too. This will provide a richer in-person like support experience. Recent studies prove that customers shop brands for experience over products.
CULTURAL SHIFT
Apple Inc. is working on a rear-facing 3-D sensor system for the iPhone in 2019, another step toward turning the handset into a leading augmented-reality device, according to people familiar with the plan.
“We’re already seeing things that will transform the way you work, play, connect and learn,” he said in the most recent call. “AR is going to change the way we use technology forever.” — Tim Cook, Apple CEO
“Right now, we’re in the middle of a cultural shift away from burnout and based on the connection between well-being and performance,” said Arianna Huffington, Founder and CEO of Thrive Global.
For the past decade, many speculated of how technology in general could cause person-to-person interaction to become extinct. But is seems that things are positively working the other way around. Both AR and VR are set to make our interactions and experiences with one another more fulfilled and unlimited. Some baby boomers have lamented the mentality of millennials in believing that the group is entitled and short of being useless. But it’s millennials who have found a way to remain connected to one another, and use the latest technology to do it.
Today’s maturation of the business of holographic-reality relies heavily upon both the seasoned and young creative entrepreneurs. But don’t be fooled, it’s the millennial entrepreneur alone who determines its expanse and relevance in the rapidly changing world of tomorrow. Besides, we already live in a holographic universe anyway.🙃
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