At the turn of the century, the concept and initiation of virtual reality (VR) were limited to just the film and TV industry. The advent of 3D glasses is a primary successful user case of VR, as well as bespoke games with virtual reality elements. Now the possibilities are widening with software companies currently investing billions into the sector.
There are several different areas in VR currently being focused on by firms to corner a slice of the growing market. Those areas include mixed reality VR glasses, immersive VR, VR software delivery, metaverse systems, and educational experiences.
Arnie Abramyan, CEO of Advibe, uses Agile software development methodology to implement an iterative approach to the design and development of software, which helps welcome the constant changes that happen in the technological world – allowing teams to break the lengthy requirements, build, and test phases down into smaller segments, ultimately delivering working software quickly and more frequently.
He said about the growth of VR, “We’re seeing large investments across our society in the area of VR. Whether that’s through the web3 area or otherwise, there’s a lot of movement. Facebook changing to Meta was a massive sign that there will be more gambles made in the VR arena.”
“Honestly it’s a good way to go. To immerse individuals in a world, story, or scenario is a powerful device to utilize.”
Metaverse VR systems are being designed primarily for the mass social gaming experience that games such as Fortnite have popularized. Even from a hardware standpoint companies are pushing to launch their unique versions of VR headsets to support the software functions that are being introduced.
Software companies are also investing in technologies to optimize the delivery process of virtual reality. Making it cleaner from a visual/audio perspective to aid in realism and quality. Similar to the development of gaming from the PlayStation to the PlayStation 5, expect to see graphics delivery increase substantially as investment grows.
Governments have taken notice also. Wang Jiangping, an official at China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT), said at the country’s annual VR conference last month that Chinese research firm Tuoluo Research reported that funding, merger and acquisition volume in China’s VR and augmented reality (AR) industry reached 6.19 billion yuan ($871 million) in the first half of 2022, a 67 percent jump from one year ago.
Immersive VR solutions are an area that is specifically being looked at with the capacity to aid in the development of numerous sectors in the present day. Whether it’s a military application to train soldiers, helping realtors sell homes virtually, or major sports teams develop new training methods, software companies are plugging this area with the potential of new revenue sooner rather than later.
Abramyan opined, “The Agile approach breaks down a project into small units, which helps the project team to focus on high-quality development, testing, and collaboration. Conducting testing and reviews during each unit improves quality by identifying and fixing defects quickly. It’s a system that companies should use within this time, that we use, to optimize function and time. There’s so much more optimization to be done in the world of virtual reality. The opportunities are very much endless in regard to the application. But with that software development companies need to adjust their processes to make them as efficient as possible.”
Being a serial entrepreneur himself with stake holdings within industries such as Restaurants, Software, and Retail, Abramyan sees scope for VR usage across multiple industries. Abramyan’s vision is also to build a hub for public figures, social media influencers, and online personalities with podcast rooms, green rooms, recording studios, and much more. He organizes his thoughts and projects with software his company built called Swipenote which helps him save content from the internet and manage his projects.
He concluded, “The cross-functionality of trade will be very interesting to witness also. VR combined with robotics or the medical trade for example. So many elements that can be put together to create something extremely disruptive. It’s certainly an exciting time. Being present at the very beginning of legalization of the cannabis industry this emanates a similar level of anticipation in regards to potential.”
According to the International Data Corporation (IDC), global spending on augmented reality and virtual reality is expected to reach $13.8 billion this year and is also set to increase to $50.9 billion in 2026. These numbers indicate that the five-year compound annual growth rate for AR/VR spending will be 32.3%. Some of the most prominent examples of software being plunged into augmented reality include gaming, industrial maintenance, and training. Ramon T. Llamas, research director of Mobile Devices and AR/VR at IDC, said last month.
“The AR/VR market has been taking slow but sure steps in recent years and is poised to take longer strides in the years to come. Recently announced and upcoming hardware from major brands showcase clear improvement from first-generation devices. The deeper proliferation of current use cases and the addition of new ones highlight the versatility that AR/VR brings. And along with these is a whole host of services to help make them happen. The result: a maturing market ready to thrive for consumers and commercial users alike.”
