What are the emerging technologies we expect to see in 2021?

And how it will impact Augmented Reality

Published in

R2U Augmented Reality

3 min readMay 7, 2021

Drawing shows a man using a sextant, a maritime orientation instrument, to aim for a star and calculate his route, representing what actions we could take considering the innovations we expect for Augmented Reality. | Photo available in: Pixabay.com

Technology is always reinventing itself and to be one step ahead, we need to keep up with the trends. That been said, we bring out the biggest and most anticipated Augmented Reality trends we expect to see in 2021.

Among them, we mention tools and applications for smartphones, web browsers, digital platforms, and even optimization for search in Google. Check them out below:

5G Technology

5G Technology became first available in South Corea in 2019. Following its footsteps, countries like Japan, United States and China started investing in the new feature.

In other countries, like Brazil, the technology has not been completely established yet and companies are starting to prepare for it. This innovation will be phenomenal for Augmented Reality.

Those devices that run on low frequencies tend to find it difficult to download a more complex 3D model. As result, the user becomes impatient and frustrated.

With 5G technology, besides being quicker to transfer data, it will also stabilize the online connection and guarantee stronger interconnectivity between devices.

Improvements on WebXR

WebXR is an important field among the expected trends for Augmented Reality.

It makes it possible for us to work more independently instead of being required to redirect the user to the Scene Viewer.

WebXR’s main advantage is allowing better dynamics to the User Interface.

We can use buttons, informative texts and interactivity with the model inside its own experience.

Up until this moment, though, it is still a terribly slow bundle, besides not being compatible with all devices and browsers.

But we do have some news to share regarding that:

Google Chrome 90

Among the improvements brought by Google Chrome’s 90 version are the new APIs, which enhance the experience on browsers that use Augmented Reality. The APIs are:

• WebXR Depth;

• WebXR AR Lightning Estimation.

Google WebXR

Experiments with Google, a virtual lab designed to introduce the company’s future concepts, recently created Google WebXR.

Inside the bundle, they presented the following apps:

Measure Up: a tool that measures real-life objects regarding length, width, depth, volume, and so on;
Sodar: a radar that checks the 2-meter-distance between people, as it is recommended during the pandemic;
Floom: made for entertainment, it allows the user to explore Planet Earth from wherever they are, including “digging” holes until they reach the other side of the world;
Picturescape: it provides an immersive experience using Google Photos.

Godot 3.3

Godot is an open-code game tool that makes it possible to create 2D and 3D games inside a single interface.

Among other things, its 3.3 version introduces improvements in rendering and, most importantly, WebXR support.

Innovation on iPhone’s LiDAR scanner

Recently Apple had updated its software to iOS 14.5 and now it is Clips’ turn.

The company’s video app underwent an update to its 3.1 version, introducing new Augmented Reality experiences through the LiDAR scanner.

Through the scanner available on iPhone 12 Pro and iPad Pro, it is possible to alter a space using immersive visual effects and share it with other people. Amazing, right?

The updated effects were:

Prism;
Confetti;
Disco;
Dance floor;
Sparkle;
Stardust;
Hearts.

Google AR Snippets

At last but not least, there’s the possibility of search in Google and find some 3D models and direct links to Augmented Reality among its Featured Snippets, or Google’s position #0!

Highlight extracted from ARtillery blog, showing the possibility of visualizing one caracter of Start Wars films in Augmented Reality.

When you search for something and Google shows you pictures, lists or a short description, that are the Featured Snippets.

Today, we can already interact with Augmented Reality pets when searching for them using mobile devices that support the technology.

Besides popularizing even more Augmented Reality technology, it will bring an excellent opportunity to stand out from the rest.

Meanwhile

Here in R2U, we keep track of these releases and many others with excitement.

Are you an enthusiast of Immersive Experience and Expanded Reality? Have you missed something on our list? Get in touch with us!