Work First, Play Later
Why Industry and Enterprise Will Shape the Future of AR More than Gaming
Author: Chris Pickett
I recently had the opportunity to speak at the World Government Summit in Dubai where tech, government and other leaders around the world gathered to discuss the future of the metaverse.
While the fully immersive, fully virtual vision of the metaverse in Ready Player One is still far off and perhaps not even likely given the VR devices cut you off from those around you, participants largely agreed wider adoption of AR technology is a reasonable nearer-term expectation. Last year, the consultancy firm McKinsey & Company estimated the metaverse may generate up to $5 trillion in economic value by the end of the decade. McKinsey also found that 95 percent of business leaders anticipate the metaverse will have a positive impact on their industry.
At DigiLens, we’re betting that AR/XR technology will see its first broad adoption in the enterprise and lite-industrial space. That’s why we recently released ARGO, the first purpose-built, standalone AR/XR device designed for enterprise and industrial-lite workers. We’re confident ARGO’s superior optics and socially acceptable form will help AR technology proliferate throughout industry and then on to consumers.
The market is already sending signals that AR will evolve in this direction. As I said at the Summit, then-Facebook and now-Meta went “all in” when they bet the future of the company on becoming the standard of the metaverse. That bet may well pay off, but early signs suggest the market is skeptical of a quick and widespread adoption of AR through gaming or a more virtual iteration of the metaverse products like the Quest Pro provide.
The pandemic also showed us that people need connection and are not eager to get lost in a virtual world. Human beings flourish in communities of purpose even when separated by geography. Devices like ARGO can help people connect and collaborate in the real world and help businesses become more productive.
We’re also betting on this path because, for companies and investors, the return on investment is already obvious. For instance, instead of spending $50,000 to fly an expert to an offshore oil rig or a medical specialist to an isolated location overseas, ARGO can connect experts to people on the ground for a fraction of the cost.
As ARGO gets into the hands of more workers and companies, we’re excited to see use cases and applications we haven’t thought of yet. We’re looking forward to sharing those stories in the weeks and months ahead.