A new report from Juniper Research, an organization that provides research and analytical services to the global hi-tech communications sector, has found that an increasing number of leading brands, retailers and mobile vendors are investing in mobile augmented reality (AR) applications, with global revenues expected to approach $1.5 billion by 2015.
The report found that the installed base of AR capable smartphones had increased from 8 million in 2009 to more than 100 million in 2010. The AR technology attracts an ever growing number of important players in the mobile industry and it has started spreading in the mobile industry thanks to players such as Samsung, Qualcomm as well as big brands like Carlsberg and Coca Cola.
According to report author Dr Windsor Holden, “One of the key benefits from this heightened activity is the fact that it generates press interest and public awareness: even if consumers don’t necessarily understand how it works, they can see real life examples of AR in action. Likewise, it serves to generate wider interest amongst brands and developers who can see potential applications for AR technology; it educates the market.”
www.youtube.com/watch?v=mPHWeIfr_r0
However, the report warned that both developers and consumers had yet to be convinced that AR apps were more than “gimmicks” or offered much in the way of customer retention, given that many early deployments featured an AR element that had been added at the last minute to a pre-existing app, or else the use of AR was limited and failed to engage with the end user.
The figure hereunder illustrates the total Mobile AR Market ($m) Split by 7 Categories 2010-2015 (source: Juniper Research).
Forecasts and observations from Juniper Research provide a valuable reference for anyone wishing to undertake a mobile AR project. Inglobe Technologies, by supporting developers and industries with suitable development tools and solutions, believes that the best opportunities can be grasped only through a careful and accurate design of AR apps and services.
The Mobile Augmented White Paper is available to download from the Juniper website (http://juniperresearch.com/whitepapers/a_new_reality_for_mobile) together with further details of the study.
This post is also available in: Italian
