Most of us understand the basics of AR, but do we really know just how influential it has been and will become? Here at the DMB were big on AR and think it is the future. Here are some facts about the growth of AR, what we can expect from it in the coming years, and where it will take us as consumers and smartphone users.

The History of AR
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- TV weather reports adopted the first application of AR on TV in 1975
- The term ‘virtual reality’ was first coined in 1989 by Jaron Lanier
- The first AR apps came to smartphones in 2008
- In 2010 the annual revenue generated by mobile AR apps and services was 2 million dollars.
- In 2011 118 million AR apps were downloaded to smartphones and tablets
- In 2013 there were 60 million mobile AR users
- AR generated half a billion dollars in global revenue in 2013
Tesco, Meta, Volkswagen, and Ikea are just a few of the companies who introduced AR apps in 2013

It is obvious that AR is big business, and one that is growing fast every year. We have barely scratched the surface of AR yet, and lots more exciting developments await us in the coming decades. Keep your eyes peeled.

I’ve seen two competing visions for a future in which virtual objects are merged seamlessly with the real world. Both were impressive in part, but they also made me wonder whether augmented reality will become a successful commercial reality anytime soon.

HoloLens is also really good at having virtual objects follow the user around. As I chatted with a Microsoft employee over Skype, the simple diagram he drew about how to connect a light switch hovered in the air near the electrical box on the wall, while his video-chat window remained in my field of view, even as I moved about. This fits neatly with the idea that augmented reality could help employees in the field make repairs to things like air conditioners (see “Augmented Reality Gets to Work”).+

A key difference compared to Magic Leap was that I was able to walk around some 3-D objects, such as an X-Wing fighter sitting in front of me; it looked fairly solid up close, though not intricately detailed. I was also able to modify 3-D objects, which was pretty cool. Using my gaze, gestures, and voice commands, I enlarged, copied, colored, and changed the angular position of a fish that was part of the ocean scene, for instance. And I could move objects from one spot to another, like a cartoonish pony I seated on a couch between the two HoloLens team members who were in the room with me for a mixed-reality photo.