The demand for immersive experiences is growing in almost every industry. Currently, the extended reality (XR) market is growing at a rate Phenomenal compound annual growth rate by 48.3%, as innovative companies continue to unearth the benefits of unique virtual landscapes.
In recent years, more business-focused use cases for the XR have begun to emerge. We now see VR (Virtual Reality) AR (Augmented Reality) and MR (Mixed Reality) as more than just ways to be entertained. These unique tools can also enable collaboration, inspire creativity, enhance training, and unlock new landscapes for companies to explore.
In such a fast-moving landscape, it’s hard to know for sure what the XR’s future might bring. However, there are some major trends that are emerging in the industry. Here are some of the most valuable trends worth exploring in 2023.
1. Avatars, Lives, and Virtual Identities
talks about “digital identityhas increased rapidly in the past couple of years, as we spend more of our lives working and communicating online. Our “digital identities” have become as important as our physical identities, influencing how we interact with others, and present ourselves in the virtual world. As a result, the creators of XR continues to search for new ways to help people “recreate” themselves in the digital realm.
Already, innovators like Microsoft and Meta are starting to take advantage of gadgets to help users create realistic avatars that they can use in virtual environments with a VR headset. These avatars could be crucial in helping people connect in a digital landscape, and facilitating more human experiences, based on a shared sense of presence.
As homes, workplaces, and other experiences continue to be built in the impending “metaverse,” the demand for more realistic virtual operations will only grow. One day looking at an avatar version of ourselves might feel like looking in a mirror.
2. Metaverse and Meta Experiences
the Metaverse It’s probably one of the most talked about trends on the XR scene to date. While still some specialists are trying to get their heads around what Metaverse In fact, most would agree that it will be an interconnected ecosystem of “digital experiences.” Basically, the metaverse will be a decentralized environment where people can communicate, work, and interact with others.
While XR technology isn’t a necessity in the metaverse, it will likely be an essential part of how we experience this new virtual world. With the right headset and hardware, people can immerse themselves in unique virtual environments like never before, interacting with others in spaces that look and feel like real life.
The metaverse will also require a rapid increase in the creation of digital assets for the XR environment. We’ve already seen countless brands invest in concepts like NFTs and digital twins designed with XR technology. As more major brands continue to invest in the metaverse, there is no doubt that we will see an increase in XR innovation related to the metaverse.
3. Blockchain in XR Technology
In a world exploring the future of concepts like the “metaverse” of decentralized digital interactions, concepts like blockchain are also gaining more attention. Although only a few tech giants have begun to invest in this landscape, interest here is growing. Blockchain solutions will allow companies to build more decentralized and secure environments for managing XR assets in the future metaverse. This can be crucial to keeping resources safe and secure.
The blockchain could also be a powerful tool to help monitor and control the metaverse in a future world for XR. With blockchain solutions, it is possible to track the movement of data and the actions of different users on a consistent basis. Companies like Tencent have already started investing heavily in new blockchain initiatives with a special focus on the metaverse and the emerging NFT economy. At the same time, concepts like “blockchain as a service” are gaining more ground.
While it’s hard to say exactly what role blockchain might play in the future of extended reality, there’s a good chance we’ll see more companies participating in this landscape in the coming years.
4. Teleportation and mixed reality
While “mixed reality” or “MR” is indeed a staple of today’s XR environment, it is one of the most underdeveloped aspects of the landscape. There are still people who struggle to know the difference between mixed reality and augmented reality. After all, both solutions are designed to bring together the real and digital worlds, to engage and delight users. However, mixed reality holds the potential to unlock endless new virtual experiences.
With other emerging innovations in technology, such as IoT, AI, and even 5G connectivity, MR should be able to continue to develop in the coming years. some companies They already imagine a future in “mixed reality” where people will be able to essentially teleport virtual versions of themselves into real-world scenarios in real time.
We’ve already seen the basics of this technology in practice, from entertainment and media companies experimenting with holograms to artists. With communications based on the Internet of Things and artificial intelligence, it may even be possible for a holographic version of an employee to interact with a device located thousands of miles away, and make changes to how it operates.
5. Edge and cloud computing
To pave the way for a new future of XR innovation, companies need more than just the right wearables and software. They also need to be able to make use of the most effective communications. In the past, XR has struggled to deliver truly immersive experiences as a result of limited bandwidth and connectivity limitations. As we move toward a future where photorealistic imaging in XR becomes more important, we will need computing systems capable of handling the load.
Fortunately, edge computing and cloud computing solutions are emerging as potential solutions to this problem. Some XR vendors have begun offering their own cloud computing infrastructure that companies can use to streamline and streamline data transfer. The edge computing solutions of the XR technology will also be enhanced by the wider deployment of more advanced mobile communications.
5G can allow for the rapid transfer of larger amounts of data to and from devices in the XR scene. This may allow for a more coherent and effective immersive reality experience overall.
6. Improved sensors and tracking
Hardware embedded in extended reality devices has come a long way in recent years. Newly emerging products such as the Meta Quest Pro feature a number of external cameras designed to capture data about the surrounding environment in real time, to help personalize the virtual experiences customers experience. Several flagship XR vendors are also experimenting with smarter eye, face, and hand tracking tools.
With more sensors optimized for collecting data from users right now, XR developers will be able to build more realistic and authentic experiences. At the same time, these sensors will help strengthen the way people communicate through XR. Facial tracking tools will be able to transmit expressions to users in a collaborative environment, for a more human-feeling interaction.
Motion tracking tools can also be aligned with other innovative concepts in the XR industry, such as haptic feedback, to make it seem as if we are interacting with solid products, rather than digital representations. This can pave the way for better training opportunities, as users can develop real muscle memories along with theoretical skills.
7. Multisensory experiences
Speaking of haptic feedback, XR solutions in general have become more focused on multisensory experiences. In the past, the primary focus of many XR companies was to maximize customers’ visual experience as much as possible. The brands have continually strived to work around issues with the displays built into AR, VR, and MR headsets. While the visual improvements and screen updates are still in progress, the innovators are also focusing on other senses.
With haptic feedback, developers can tap into our sense of touch to immerse us in an immersive environment, making us feel as if we are really there. With spatial audio software, business leaders can adjust the sound we hear based on where we are in a “virtual space” or what we’re doing. In general, the pioneers began to rethink what it really meant for a person to be immersed in a different reality.
Going forward, we may see more innovative XR companies experiment with how they can bring more of our senses into the digital space, so the future “metaverse” can feel just as real to us as any physical environment.
8. Ergonomics and user experience
One of the major issues that has prevented XR solutions from being widely adopted by businesses and consumers in the past, however, is problematic user experience. Many of the initial VR headsets that came to market were heavy, cumbersome, and difficult to wear for long periods of time. Countless people have ended up suffering from “virtual reality disease”, which has caused them to avoid using XR devices as frequently as possible.
To create a world where XR is a familiar solution for work and life, developers and creators need to focus more on the user experience. As a result, many have made great strides in the way they produce hardware for the XR space. Many headphones and wearables are now lightweight and comfortable, with various customization options to suit different users.
At the same time, upgrades to visual latency and other aspects of the XR experience are starting to make the virtual space less cluttered. Ideally, we’ll someday face a future where getting stuck in an XR meeting, or working for hours in a VR environment is no longer uncomfortable.
9. New Use Cases for XR
As mentioned above, in the past two years, the use cases for the extended reality scene have developed at an exponential rate. We’re already beginning to discover the benefits of this environment for things like training, education, and even the production of new tools. As extended reality tools become increasingly accessible and intelligent, new opportunities will continue to reveal themselves.
For example, existing XR innovations allow companies to support remote and distributed workers with hands-on training experiences they can access anywhere. Research into the educational benefits of XR has even found that VR-trained employees even complete their lessons 4 times faster from their peers. With the emergence of the metaverse and other concepts, we could be facing a future where courses and classrooms are taught entirely in the XR space.
Elsewhere, in the industrial landscape, XR solutions are used to build and monitor digital twins, create new products, and foster collaboration. However, with improvements in artificial intelligence and the Internet of Things, it may one day be possible for manufacturers and engineers to interact with machines from miles away, using sensors built into a headset. This can reduce the risks normally involved in working with heavy machinery, and eliminates the need to travel long distances.
10. XR Software Evolution
As XR continues to show its ability to improve different workflows and experiences, we’re also seeing a rise in new software solutions designed to help developers build the ultimate XR experiences. Over the past couple of years, companies have begun to offer low-code, no-code intelligent platforms where professionals can build immersive environments from scratch with almost no prior knowledge. At the same time, new solutions for industry experts are also emerging.
RT3D engines have become particularly popular for helping developers create realistic and immersive assets for use in virtual environments. Digital renderings of products generated by RT3D engines can help create more functional digital twins, who look and act like their real-world counterparts, and are influenced by constantly updated data.
Companies are also beginning to use solutions such as photogrammetry to bring more realistic looks and content assets into the virtual environment. This technology makes it easy to bring the details of real-life concepts into a virtual space. Moving into the metaverse era, these cutting-edge software solutions will likely open the door to the rapidly evolving XR landscape.