Story  ______  Trends in Development of AR Technology

Share  

 

Imagination to Reality: Augmented Reality Opens a World of Fun

In the future, people will be able to use their smartphones to seen the inner layouts of buildings and various other information, akin to futuristic scenes that often appear in SF movies. Making this possible is AR (augmented reality) technology. According to a survey conducted by the market research agency Digi-Capital in January 2016, the AR market scale will grow from USD 1 billion in 2016 to USD 120 billion in 2020, reaching a size much larger than the market for VR (virtual reality). An IDC study also projects that the sales and revenues of AR devices will significantly increase. Following VR and AI (artificial intelligence), AR technology is becoming the main engine of the Fourth Industrial Revolution. It is therefore worth exploring the characteristics of AR technology and domestic and international trends of technology development.

Virtual World Constructed in Real World

AR technology creates real-time augmentation of virtual information in a physical space, allowing users to interact with the augmented virtual information to improve the efficiency of work.
According to Ronald Azuma, AR is defined as systems that have the following three characteristics: (1) a combination of real-world elements and virtual images; (2) interaction in real time; (3) positioning within a 3D space.
AR studies began with the development of the world’s first see-through HMD (head-mounted display) by Ivan Sutherland in the 1960s, and they accelerated when Boeing coined the term “augmented reality” in 1990.
AR platforms have evolved from desktop computers to smartphones. In particular, not only can a camera be embedded in a smartphone, but also a wide array of sensors such as miniature and light GPS, a compass, a magnetic sensor, an acceleration sensor, a touch sensor, a proximity sensor, an illumination sensor, WiFi, and RFID. Based on these characteristics, smartphones have emerged as a notable AR platform to provide additional information in real time to help identify users’ location and understand their command or intention.
Unlike VR games, AR games such as Pokemon Go, which became a global phenomenon after its release in 2016, do not require users to purchase HMD devices in addition to the consoles, computers, or mobile devices to play the games. As a result, AR games have better accessibility and do not accompany side effects such as dizziness. They can be played immediately after downloading smartphone applications, making it easy to attract users and demonstrating high applicability to various industries.

Development of AR Devices in United States and Japan

AR devices are being actively developed across the world, most notably by Vuzix, Microsoft, Apple, and Google in the United States.
In 2013, Vuzix released Vuzix M100, the world’s first commercialized glasses-type AR device with Android OS and functions similar to those of Google Glass.
Microsoft released HoloLens, a hybrid of HMD and glasses-type device, and then introduced Holopotation, a more advanced model. Holopotation performs 3D scanning of an object standing remotely and creates a hologram image before the user’s eyes, enabling imaginary teleporting in the real world.
In 2014, Google officially released Google Glass, a glasses-shaped wearable device using AR technology. This product vividly visualizes a number of smartphone functions including weather, real-time image sharing, maps, and messaging. The user-version sales were suspended in January 2015, however, due to numerous issues such as short battery life, heating, and leakage of personal information.
To strengthen its AR business, Apple acquired several startup companies such as Metaio and FlyBy Media. The company also merged with AI tech companies such as Perception and Vocal IQ to improve the existing AR performance.
Meta developed Meta 2, a goggle-shaped AR device to recognize the surrounding environment with a 3D sensor and allow users to move the augmented objects with hand gestures.
Most notable product from Japan is SmartEyeglass developed by Sony. eleased in 10 countries, the product perceives the surroundings with a 3M-pixel camera, embedded in a see-through AR device, and displays various information expressed with single 8-bit color onto the display with 85% transparency.

Heart of AR: Software and Content

Microsoft released RoomAlive, the technology to create augmented reality to utilize a physical space such as rooms. As the technology for action recognition, the company’s Kinect sensor perceives the motions of game players. Meanwhile, six ProCams project computer graphics images on the walls, floor, and ceiling to turn the entire room into a virtual game space.
Niantic launched an Android app “Field Trip” to explore interesting places in the local area. A subsequent AR spy game “Ingress,” also released exclusively for Android users, the players in two groups compete against each other to occupy a virtual land called “portal.” This game served as a springboard for Pokemon Go, which was released in July 2016 to become a global megaseller as an AR game. Pokemon Go demonstrated tremendous progress as the AR technology, a combination of digital technology and reality, overcame the perception that AR is only a toy for early adopters.
The trend of developing AR software and content in Korea is represented by the AR content released by M Game and SK Telecom. In 2016, M Game released “Taekwon Heroes AR,” a mobile AR card battle game. In the meantime, SK Telecom introduced T-AR, an AR platform, in July 2014. When a smartphone user scans a children’s book, the information technology automatically recognizes the pictures and connects to related audio, video, or animation content.

Toward a Powerhouse of AR Technology

Various efforts must be made to further develop the AR industry in Korea. First, it is essential to create open-source tools and content service platforms to help small Korean companies share their content, thereby continuously supplying killer content with high quality, a key to popularization of the AR industry. Second, domestic and international M&A and investment must be boosted to develop and improve AR technology.
Third, it is necessary to produce not only outstanding developers of AR technology, but also creative and talented leaders to converge humanities and social sciences, cultural studies and arts, and science and technology. Fourth, entry to global markets must be encouraged to increase economy of scale. Since Korea’s AR market is small in size and therefore has limited potential for growth, Korean companies need to turn their eyes to the global market to strengthen their competitive edge and boost revenues.
Fifth, AR technology has potential for convergence across industries of medicine, education, shopping, and commerce. It is therefore imperative to discover niche markets and develop more sophisticated technology to predominate markets.

Authors: Hwang Soo Chun (Principal Researcher, Economic of Technology Research Group); Mi-Kyung Han (Principal Researcher/Director, Real & Emotional Sense Convergence Service Research Section); Jong Hyun Jang (Principal Researcher/Executive Director, Giga Service Research Department)