Tom Emrich 🏳️‍🌈

Both AR and VR experiences require computers to be able to perceive the world around it in order to edit your perception of reality. They do this by relying on sensors such lidar, cameras, gyroscopes, accelerometers, proximity sensors, and others on the device you wear, such as a headset, or hold in your hand, such as a smartphone.

AR can also be used to bring virtual spokespeople, celebrities, and sales people into the homes of customers where they can then provide information and even have a conversation with consumers about the product. There virtual people can be digital avatars, 2D video, or volumetric video (often called holograms).

It's a misconception that browser-based AR content is lower quality than native apps. WebAR tools, or platforms that go beyond the current WebXR browser standard, can enable high quality experiences that leverage many of the same features found in native app platforms in addition to providing the benefit of access across operating systems and devices with no app download required.

5G and Wi-Fi 6 (and on the horizon already: 6G and Wi-Fi 7) will indeed be key to enabling next level augmented reality experiences with low latency, faster download speeds, increased capacity and reliability. Additional enabling technologies to keep an eye on are ultra wideband and edge computing, both of which enable devices to react to their environment immediately, without the delay of transferring data elsewhere.

GenAI and AR are a perfect pairing. Use GenAI to generate assets, textures, and even code to help accelerate augmented reality development. You can also incorporate GenAI into your AR experience to give your user greater creative control in experience where they can use text-to-image, for example, to change the texture on a virtual object in world space, the background of an image target, or even change the sky using semantics with a simple prompt.

In addition to highlighting the advantages of augmented reality as a medium you may also wish to emphasize how augmented reality can enhance and integrate across your existing marketing mix. Augmented Reality experiences, especially WebAR or augmented reality content that can be engaged with in the browser, can be a powerful destination for digital ads, social media messages, as well as text alerts and newsletter CTAs. And the use of image target augmented reality can bring to life billboards, signage, and magazine spreads.