VR, AR and MR Will Be The Most Disruptive Technologies of the Next Decade

IDTechEx forecasts that the market for virtual, augmented and mixed reality technologies will reach over $30 billion by 2030.

A timeline of some of the major AR and VR headsets of the past.
A timeline of some of the major AR and VR headsets of the past.
IDTechEx

Virtual, augmented and mixed reality technologies have continued to receive high levels of funding and investment during the past decade, and this is predicted to continue into the next. IDTechEx forecasts that the market for these technologies will reach over $30 billion by 2030. Virtual reality alone is expected to grow to $8 billion.

Augmented, Mixed and Virtual Reality 2020-2030” reviews and analyzes over 100 products and details of over 80 companies to create detailed conclusions about the future of this market. A more detailed technology analysis of “Optics and Displays in AR, VR and MR 2020-2030: Technologies, Players and Markets” provide further insights and deep analysis of this technology. Key questions answered in these reports include:

  • What are the major drivers for optic or display choice in an AR/MR or VR device?
  • What are the major drivers in the adoption of AR/MR and VR devices? Which use cases benefit the most from this technology?
  • How will the sales of VR and AR/MR devices evolve from 2020-2030 and what are the drivers behind future growth?

The reports indicate virtual, augmented and mixed reality technologies will impact many different industries and their use cases are wide reaching. For example, one way that virtual reality has been used is in planning for urban development.

An article in the Financial Times highlighted how virtual reality technologies were used by the City of London Corporation to help with planning decisions for future office areas. The City of London collaboration was between the City of London Corporation, Innovate UK, New London Architecture (NLA) and VU.CITY. The level of detail captured by the project is down to a 2-cm accuracy in a nearly 3-km square area.

This was a first for an area of this size and aims to help planners realize what “plans offer in terms of space, enhancement of the public realm and to the City,” according to Alastair Moss, chair of the Planning and Transportation Committee at the City of London Corporation. The ability to plan cities with virtual reality technology will allow for more highly advanced urban planning solutions.

Recently the versatility of mixed and augmented reality products came to the forefront with an Imperial led project at the Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust. COVID put the spotlight on this hands-free, interactive technology, and it is unlikely that this focus will change for some time. There will be a need for this technology in many new use cases, which previously did not require hands-free or remote capabilities.

Information provided by IDTechEX and substantially edited for content by Becky Schultz.

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