2020: the golden age of Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality

Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality are two concepts that, although they have been strongly integrating for some time, this year will become part of our day-to-day lives in a very active way, which makes us expect that they will soon become essential.

Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality, clearly on the rise

These new realities can already be seen in architecture projects, leisure spaces, businesses or schools, among some of the sectors with the greatest penetration. But both Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality are becoming more and more relevant and still have plenty of room to grow.

2020 will be the year in which they gain much more prominence, and in the coming years these new ways of seeing reality will be integrated with great ease. According to studies, both Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality will have an economic impact worldwide of more than 1.5 trillion US dollars. (To give you an idea of that magnitude, they currently contribute 46.4 billion.)
The integration of these technologies will make it possible to develop products more efficiently, train professionals much better and improve the consumer experience. This will considerably increase the revenue of the companies that turn to them.

Furthermore, according to IDC Research España, around half of companies in Europe plan to launch an Augmented Reality or Virtual Reality strategy during this year, 2020, with estimated spending of fifteen billion euros by 2022. Figures that confirm the great revolution these technologies will bring to our lives.

Companies must now commit to new technologies such as Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality

The industries that will invest the most in these technologies are those in the retail and manufacturing sectors, as consumer spending will be higher than in any other business industry. We can even see how large companies are already betting heavily on it:

• On the one hand, there are large brands that will bet on creating their own Virtual and Augmented Reality technologies, such as Amazon, which is already developing Augmented Reality devices. Or Apple, which will launch its AR glasses with a function linked to its iPhone, and with expected commercial success.
• And on the other hand, there are companies that are already beginning to apply these tools in their commercial strategies, such as Ikea Place, the mobile app from the Swedish furniture firm that lets you select items from its catalogue and try them out “live” in our homes through Augmented Reality.

The continuous improvement of these devices, as well as new VR and AR products and applications, will make people increasingly familiar with Virtual and Augmented Reality in their everyday lives.

Change is coming with trends in Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality

Virtual Reality, as well as Augmented Reality, have the tools and the maturity needed to change everything this year, with new applications and multiple uses. Their use in entertainment offerings will be particularly notable since, for example, extreme sports can be practised without leaving home. Tourism and gastronomy are two other fields where we will see them rolled out. Even Medicine, a sector in which rehabilitation programmes can be designed using Virtual Reality, as well as the cultural sector and many other fields, with a variety of tastes and uses. That is why companies are investing more in it and consumers are more interested in these technologies.

The world is changing and organisations have to change with it in line with new trends. It is to be expected that 2020 will be the turning point at which the boom of Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality really takes place. These technologies will be used to make companies work more effectively and efficiently, applying them for example in manufacturing facilities from product design to the production line, through every stage where this is possible. Products or production lines can be perfected before production or prototyping in real time.

As we have already said, this will be the year in which VR and AR technologies receive the most attention: we are not just talking about creating new possibilities, as they will also be put into practice in many companies. In this way, 2020 will be the first of many years with a high level of growth in the use and acceptance of new technologies that have a lot to offer us, beyond what we imagine. They can meet certain existing needs that nothing else meets, but above all they are going to make our lives easier.

Companies that are able to see this and make intelligent use of these technologies will be more competitive, will satisfy their customers more easily and will increase their profits while improving their image. All of this also takes into account the advantages they bring for employees. That is why companies need to be made aware that Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality are a great opportunity to boost and improve their strategies, and this is the year in which they should start to implement the new technologies in some way, regardless of whether they already use any or not.

At INVELON Technologies we want to help companies make this leap into the new decade, full of new initiatives with Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality. Professionals must know how to adapt to the new technological era, and companies must know how to implement improvements to be more competitive.