13 Apr 2022
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Sam Sprigg
XR Trends 2022: The Move Towards the Metaverse
Augmented Reality
Virtual Reality
Metaverse
XR Trends
With AWE USA 2022 now less than two months away, we thought it would be a great time to start our new blog series that looks into some of the top trends across the XR industry for the coming year. Each week, we’ll dive into a new trend that will:
- Demonstrate how XR technology is shaping the future of various industries.
- Examine where the technology is currently being utilized.
- Look at the benefits that AR and VR offer to practically any industry vertical.
- Cover how the needs of these industries are in turn helping to drive AR/VR innovation within the tech sector.
Extended Reality (XR), the collective term that applies to all things Augmented Reality (AR), Virtual Reality (VR) and Mixed Reality (MR), has seen an explosion in usage in recent years. This has been driven in part by the pandemic, with XR technology offering a solution to businesses searching for more engaging and immersive ways to keep workers connected whilst working remotely. Not only has XR helped to temporarily fill the global need for virtual work and co-presence, it has also demonstrated its business value with AR/VR/MR solutions proving to be a viable approach to improving how companies are run. Today, XR technology continues to show how it can increase ROI, cut costs, drive productivity, enhance knowledge retention and improve safety, among many other benefits.
Whether or not you understand what it is yet, chances are that you’ve definitely heard the term “metaverse” being thrown around. In fact, there are currently several slightly differing definitions for the word, which only adds to the confusion. One (very) basic definition though would be to describe the metaverse as the next evolution of the internet that embodies spatial computing in order to merge the physical and digital worlds.
Anyway, where does XR come in with regards to the metaverse?
Well, it is XR and Web3 technology that will drive the metaverse and how we interact with digital information, as well as our digital identities, assets, and belongings. Virtual, Augmented and Mixed Reality tech will each have their own part to play in shaping the metaverse. Whether it is through immersive virtual worlds and games for users to explore in VR, augmenting our physical surroundings and day-to-day life with information overlays using AR, or being able to sit across the table from a hologram of family, friends or colleagues using MR, the merging of our physical and digital lives would not be possible without the underlying XR technology.
Like it or not, the term "metaverse" seems to be here to stay, and any company or individual wanting to keep up with the XR industry (whether as a solutions provider or end user of XR hardware and software) will have to prepare for, if not whole-heartedly embrace the metaverse in whatever shape or form it eventually manifests in. However, the tricky part in the short-term will be trying to see through companies that are simply using the metaverse as a buzzword to gain extra marketing points.
AWE USA 2022’s Main Stage track is going to be packed full of Metaverse-related content, so make sure you don’t miss out on the world’s leading AR/VR conference, where you can learn how companies are finding the best ways to implement their metaverse strategies for the coming years.
The cost of VR headsets and AR smart glasses is also continuing to fall, whilst the quality of devices is only getting better, which is leading to increased adoption of XR technology as a whole. With a focus for many still on the gaming aspect of things, particularly when it comes to VR, consumers are of course helping to drive this uptick in device ownership. As we will discuss later in the series, this consumer-driven trend will continue, with more VR and AR games being released on platforms such as Meta’s Quest 2, as well as mobile augmented reality games and experiences for the market of almost 7 billion smartphone users around the world.
Still, it is not only gaming that will be a popular XR trend for 2022, as there are several more use cases and applications for the technology. In this week's first blog post, we are starting with:
How XR technology is underpinning the global move towards the Metaverse
Whether or not you understand what it is yet, chances are that you’ve definitely heard the term “metaverse” being thrown around. In fact, there are currently several slightly differing definitions for the word, which only adds to the confusion. One (very) basic definition though would be to describe the metaverse as the next evolution of the internet that embodies spatial computing in order to merge the physical and digital worlds.
Anyway, where does XR come in with regards to the metaverse?
Well, it is XR and Web3 technology that will drive the metaverse and how we interact with digital information, as well as our digital identities, assets, and belongings. Virtual, Augmented and Mixed Reality tech will each have their own part to play in shaping the metaverse. Whether it is through immersive virtual worlds and games for users to explore in VR, augmenting our physical surroundings and day-to-day life with information overlays using AR, or being able to sit across the table from a hologram of family, friends or colleagues using MR, the merging of our physical and digital lives would not be possible without the underlying XR technology.
Like it or not, the term "metaverse" seems to be here to stay, and any company or individual wanting to keep up with the XR industry (whether as a solutions provider or end user of XR hardware and software) will have to prepare for, if not whole-heartedly embrace the metaverse in whatever shape or form it eventually manifests in. However, the tricky part in the short-term will be trying to see through companies that are simply using the metaverse as a buzzword to gain extra marketing points.
AWE USA 2022’s Main Stage track is going to be packed full of Metaverse-related content, so make sure you don’t miss out on the world’s leading AR/VR conference, where you can learn how companies are finding the best ways to implement their metaverse strategies for the coming years.
Some of the best Main Stage talks focusing on the Metaverse this year at AWE USA 2022 include:
- Personal Metaverse! How to Create, Share and Monetize a Personal Metaverse in a Matter of Minutes
- The Keys to Creation on Roblox, in VR and the Metaverse
- Humanity First Approach to Building the Metaverse
- Marco Tempest – The Metaverse in My Carry-on Bag
- The Military Metaverse is Here
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