In a new whitepaper recently published by ABI Research analysts, nearly 35 trends have been identified that are projected to shape the market of technology along with 35 more that, despite not attracting significant amounts of commentary and speculation, are still somewhat likely to cause ripples over the course of the next year.
The fallout from prevention measures for the pandemic, in addition to the process of transitioning to an endemic disease with heavy weighing political tensions, will significantly influence this year’s fortunes. More than 20 million users will leverage a combination of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in order to extend their usage of augmented reality (AR) in 2022.
The Increasing Presence of AI
Many enterprises have been leaning towards it to extract the most amount of value from services, hardware, and platforms. The specific use of AR has missed much of this momentum due to its nascent state. However, this has begun to rapidly change in recent years. Machine vision for AI is in place, and yet it will continue to grow in capability with increasing captured information enabling superior analytics and potential for insight on platforms. Automation and prediction add substantial value for all organizations, and the increased data flow to and from AR devices in combination with AI creates a melting pot for frontend and backend systems.
AI is key to enabling user interaction of AR with the physical environment in a multitude of dimensions. Object tracking and recognition, eye tracking, gestural input, and recognition for voice commands allow for the manipulation of both 2D and 3D objects in the digital space with human eyes, words, and hands. Furthermore, AI enables the tagging of real-world objects to enable a system that predicts the correct interface for people in a given environment.
Through such kinds of possibilities, AR/AI allows for new levels of creativity and insight. The result is a blended or mixed reality in a single physical environment. Imagine a customer who can see a sofa in their living room before making a purchase. With examples like this, AI can enable and interpret an AR platform to act based on a real-world environment. This results in a more relevant and immersive experience to enlighten the journey of the customer.
Such journeys are becoming more common, as AR/AI is growing as part of mainstream culture, powering many modern technologies. From the filtering and identification of email spam to finding similar Pins to checking handwritten checks before a mobile deposit, AI is already extremely integrated into our world, whether it’s recognized or not. Still, this is only the beginning. It is critical for experience makers, creatives, and businesses to understand the best practices that surround the technology and leverage it to produce innovative experiences. By doing so, content creators and brands will be able to deliver more compelling and relevant experiences for the broader audience.
AR experiences have already surfaced in a number of industries, including but not limited to education, retail, and art. Through diversity in applications and approaches, such industries are leading the transition and creating the ultimate opportunities for engagement with users, consumers, and students. The latest development in AR has charted new paths for pre-purchase experiences and consumer interaction.
Apple’s Solution
This year has been observed as the likely release of the first foray for Apple into head-mounted displays (HMDs), but that appears increasingly less likely as a result of supply chain slowdowns with the general readiness signs of the market. Even if a product were to ship in 2022, it would be significantly later in the year and will not have time to be observed as impactful.
The first product that has been slated to arrive from Apple is likely to be an enterprise-level device in the same vein as the Microsoft Hololens as a testbed for various services that have yet to properly venture in. Although competition is ramping up primarily from Meta, market readiness and supply chain issues continue to serve as universal barriers. Consequently, Apple will likely not feel any competitive pressure this year.
The Day One Project
A non-partisan federation consisting of the best and brightest American scientists has released a summary for its day one project to address the challenges of continuing labor market divides as a byproduct of automation. This group believes that AR/AI’s capabilities to deliver tailored training to meet the needs of every people with unique preferences and background. In a memo, they have proposed a two-staged approach that can be adopted to prepare workers for future jobs.
The first stage is designed to launch a series of pilot programs to leverage AR/AI together in a way that targets training to specific communities, and the second establishes a national prize competition that solicits proposals to deliver and build a lifelong platform for the country.
Pilot programs would be overseen by specific task forces that comprise representatives from individual government agencies like the General Services Administration, the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, and the Departments of Defense, Energy, and Labor, to name several.
Through a partnership with trusted employment training and assistance programs, universities, as well as unions, would collaborate with technology companies experienced in the AR industry for the purposes of education.
For example, pilots targeted at the transition of military personnel and their respective families could engage the White House Joining Forces initiative and the Defense Transition Assistance Program to provide key insights into the types of employment that would be most useful for this particular group of people. It could also partner with Microsoft, which recently signed a contract to provide AR headsets to the U.S. Army for use in training.
A national prize competition could solicit various proposals from all sectors to design and deliver a lifelong learning platform that would then integrate data in real-time whilst simultaneously leveraging the capabilities of AI to identify skill shortages and surpluses and match those seeking jobs with tailored training. Data powering this awareness platform could be sourced from several federal agencies.
Outro
The intriguing partnership of AI and AR is a match that is truly made in digital heaven. Applications are substantially improved to enhance the customer experience, and companies are developing new ways to enhance the technologies. Despite the fact that each exists as a separate entity, they rely heavily on one another to allow the manipulation of virtual objects. It is anticipated that demand for these applications will soar in the next several years.