Kris and I published a couple of reports this week with GigaOM. The first report is a 16- page survey of virtual worlds applications for enterprise, and the second is a 72-page report on 3D computing technology. The latter covers a broad range of technologies including display, computing, and software. It also delves into end-markets like cinema, home entertainment, medial, education and the military. For those interested in these reports, you can check them out here:
http://pro.gigaom.com/2009/10/report-virtual-worlds-for-the-enterprise-market/
Kris and I also wrote a blog post for the GigaOM website today, and it is reprinted below. Bon appetit!
Is Augmented Reality Just the Beginning of the 3-D Revolution?
Augmented reality — a group of technologies that marry the virtual with the real world — has been around for decades, but in the past it required the use of expensive and specialized equipment. What’s different today is the proliferation of smartphones that have cameras, displays, and even GPS and other sensors on them. That’s enabled a whole host of new mobile applications — Soundwalk, Wikitude and Layar, for example — that provide examples of how online digital information and offline physical worlds could be combined. With such tools, the real and the virtual worlds have moved one step closer.
But we are set to move much further. Augmented reality will rapidly move into “mixed reality” and enable immersive applications and shared experiences that will change how computers are positioned in our lives. The latest GigaOM Pro report, “3-D Computing: From Digital Cinema to GPUs,” (subscription required) outlines some of the coming changes in:
- Display Technologies. From movie theaters and home monitors to computer displays and even mobile Internet devices, the ability to see and experience content in real 3-D — with and without glasses— will become a common feature. We predict that more than 1 million 3-D digital signs (try not to think of Minority Report) will ship by 2014.
- Interfaces. Keyboards and mice will no longer be primary modes of input. Instead, cameras will go beyond simple image or video capture and become a virtual eye, through which gestures and other physical information will be transmitted. Combined with voice understanding and scanners, acquisition and navigation in real 3-D space will become easy.
- Computing Technology. New computing demands will be placed on our systems that call for a greater emphasis in visual computing, high-speed networks and software. IBM, Apple, Google and even Microsoft are beginning to embed the frameworks required to enable real 3-D computing interfaces and applications on their platforms.
- Business Process. Online collaboration is moving from web conferencing to video and there are many successful pilots underway with enterprise virtual worlds. Vertical industries like the military, education and even health care are poised to take advantage of these technology advances to use virtual 3-D worlds to bridge time and space obstacles in their operations.
In sum, the evolution of augmented reality, and 3-D technology in general, is fostering a convergence of the real and virtual worlds unlike anything we have seen in history. We believe this convergence represents the opportunity of a lifetime for those who embrace it and find ways to harness its power and bring new, innovative products and services to the marketplace.
