The New Realities of Business: Augmented, Virtual and Mixed Says Hampleton Partners
Manufacturing, healthcare and retail sectors competing with entertainment in use of immersive technologies
London, 27 June 2018 – Manufacturing, healthcare and retail are at the forefront of integrating Augmented, Virtual and Mixed Reality into the workplace to help solve some of their most complex challenges, says Hampleton Partners, the international technology M&A advisory, in its latest review into global market tech trends.
AR and VR in healthcare is the hottest new sector for 2018. From genetic research and emergency room management to virtual nurses and drug discovery, patient experience can be improved and the cost of care lowered. Companies such as MindMaze are transforming healthcare, with products such as MindMotion™ which uses the world’s first virtual environment neurorehabilitation system to support early motor rehabilitation and improve patients’ recovery potential.
In manufacturing, one key example is Boeing’s introduction of Google Glass to the wire assembly process of its 78-7 Freighter. Using AR headsets, the company’s employees see the information right before their eyes, with video streaming and voice commands, making the process faster and more comfortable. Boeing’s wire assembly process was reduced by 25 percent and errors lowered to nearly zero. Importantly, employee satisfaction increased as well as efficiency.
As for retail, e-commerce giant Amazon is pursuing augmented reality tech to fuel a new focus on auto parts. Amazon already uses AR tech via its iOS and Android apps, allowing customers to project renderings of furniture and electronics on their homes.
The Hampleton Partners M&A Market Report on AR/VR details how the global market size of the Virtual Reality sector is estimated to reach $17.8bn in 2022, up from a base of $2bn in 2016 a 44.5% CAGR. As for Augmented Reality, its projected growth is even more impressive, reaching $161 bn in 2020 up from $4 bn in 2016 a CAGR of 85.4%.
Heiko Garrelfs, sector principal, Hampleton Partners, says: “The new reality for many businesses will involve augmented, virtual and mixed reality technologies to increase efficiency and improve customer service and employee engagement.
“With AR and VR’s technical roots in the gaming industry, it’s transfer to the entertainment industry was always the next likely step, but what we’re finding exciting and what we believe will fuel the major growth in this sector is its take-up by in industry and manufacturing processes. Progress is slower than the optimists had hoped, yet it seems to be stronger and more sustainable than the pessimists predicted. The reality is that many businesses now need to have a full AR/VR strategy to ensure they are not left behind.”
Key Augmented Reality Players
Top players in this sector are Magic Leap, a startup based in Florida specialising in the development of a ‘photonic chip’ which uses digitally rendered photons to supplement reality; Niantic, Google’s spin-off project focused on creating augmented reality games, such as Pokemon Go; Microsoft has developed a HoloLens headset and describes its approach as ‘mixed reality’ incorporating both AR and VR; INDE, a UK-based company developing a range of AR solutions for smartphones and large screen, with a blue-chip customer base, including Universal Studios and 20th Century Fox and Vuforia, the mastermind behind the most frequently used software development kit for AR games and apps.
Key Virtual Reality Players
Top players in this field include Google, an early mover, making ground-breaking progress. In 2013 it developed the first commercial model of smart glasses, Google Glass and then the cheapest VR headset which works with Android smartphones, it has now launched Google Daydream headset.
Also available is the Oculus Rift, one of the best-known VR headsets on the market. Oculus recently joined up with Facebook to launch Oculus Go, which allows people to experience virtual reality without a computer to help drive mass adoption of VR amongst consumers.
HTC Vive is known for its VR headset, however, it has also created an AR/VR accelerator programme, VIVE X and VIVE Studios, a developer platform. Samsung Gear VR, has a headset created in collaboration with Oculus and its own platform where headset owners can discover content, create their own with the Samsung 360 camera and share it with other uses. Space VR started an ambitious project with astronauts and ex-NASA employees to install 4K 360-degree cameras on satellites to deliver high-quality VR images of the Universe to users on Earth.
Download the Hampleton Partners Augmented & Virtual Reality M&A Market Report here for free: https://hampletonpartners.com/ar-vr-report-2018
ENDS
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Note to Editors:
Hampleton Partners’ M&A Market Reports & Whitepapers are compiled using data and information from the 451 Research database (www.451research.com).
About Hampleton Partners
Hampleton Partners is at the forefront of international mergers and acquisitions advisory for companies with technology at their core. Hampleton’s experienced deal makers have built, bought and sold over 100 fast-growing tech businesses and provide hands-on expertise and unrivalled international advice to tech entrepreneurs and the companies who are looking to accelerate growth and maximise value.
With offices in London, Frankfurt and San Francisco, Hampleton offers a global perspective with sector expertise in: Automotive Technology, IoT, AI, FinTech, Hi-Tech Industrials & Industry 4.0, Cybersecurity, VR/AR, HealthTech, Digital Marketing, Enterprise Software, SaaS & Cloud, E-commerce. Download sector reports here: https://hampletonpartners.com/research/.
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Source: RealWire