Top 8 VR & AR Trends for 2022

Augmented and virtual reality are beginning to take off more and more. Where a few years ago it was still a fun gimmick for companies looking for something innovative, it is now a real addition to reality. In this blog, we list a number of VR/AR trends that we expect to see in 2022.

According toresearch by Statista, it is predicted that the global AR- and VR-markt will grow to 209 billion dollars in 2022. Additionally, it is expected that global AR- and VR-applicatie sales/downloads will grow to 5.5 billion dollars.

In recent years, AR- and VR-applicaties have been increasingly applied to practical use-cases. Think, for example, of virtually walking through a house or virtually trying on new sunglasses using your phone's camera. When more (and especially better) applications are developed, the total AR- and VR-markt will automatically grow.

Here are the Top 8 AR- & VR-trends for 2022:

In virtual reality, it is possible to practice realistic scenarios in a safe environment. This can save costs and time. For example, a virtual reality training is not dependent on a complicated training environment; you only need a virtual reality-bril and a place to set it up.

A good example of this is theONERO-X Flashover case. This VR-trainingskoffer contains a built-in computer with a touchscreen and 4 Oculus Quest 2-brillen. The computer has software installed that allows firefighters to practice extinguishing a fire. Besides the VR-apparatuur, there is also a realistically feeling fire hose in the case (considering the weight and dimensions of a real fire hose). This way, firefighters can practice extinguishing a fire in virtual reality without the danger of a real fire drill.

Nowadays, you see it more and more often: you can download an app on your phone, and when you look through your phone's camera, something is projected into the real world. This can be done in a fun way (like aaugmented reality Christmas surprise) but can also have very practical applications for businesses and shops.

For example, furniture stores can use this application byscanning a sofa into the virtual environment. When you are looking for a new sofa for your living room, you can use your phone to place the sofa virtually in your living room. This way, you can immediately see if the colour matches the wallpaper and if the dimensions fit well in the room.

A showroom is often a large space where a wide range of the provider's products are displayed. First, you need a large space for this, but you also need all the equipment to put in the showroom. With virtual reality, it is possible to make the showroom completely virtual. You are no longer dependent on physical space and can (virtually) show all the items you have in your range.

Car manufacturer KIA is already well on its way with this application. They offervirtual showroomsfor their latest car models. Even without the new car physically in the space, it is still possible to see the car, check the colour, view the interior, and walk around the car. And if you like what you see? Then you can, of course, make an appointment to see the car physically.

With augmented reality navigation, something is projected to help you as a user reach a destination more easily. This can be done via your mobile phone's camera, but it can also be done, for example, via a projection on the ground.

Perhaps the best-known example of this is IKEA. Most people will recognise it: when you walk through IKEA, you see various arrows on the ground. These are very simply projected onto the ground via a small projector in the ceiling. This is a very efficient way to ensure that people know exactly which route to take through the store.

At locations where you have never been before (for example, alarge airport), AR navigation can also be handy. For example, look through your phone's camera and see on-screen directions - or a route - to walk to your destination.

More and more shops offer the possibility to try something on online. From t-shirt and trousers to glasses and watches. This often uses your phone or laptop's camera. It scans the head or body and can then place the product to be tried on you. This way, you can immediately see if the shape of those sunglasses or the colour of the t-shirt suits you.

For example, the online glasses shopCharlie Templeuses this principle on their webshop. They do not have a physical shop where customers can try on the glasses, so they rely on online sales. To reduce the number of returns, it is possible to try on the glasses or sunglasses (online) in advance to see if they fit your face.

With avirtual reality house tour, it is possible to take a tour of a house via a VR-bril. This saves a lot of travel time by not having to drive back and forth to a house. With a realistic scan, it is possible to capture the house in the virtual environment down to the smallest details.

A virtual reality house-tour can be created in two ways: a complete virtual reality simulation where the user can almost physically move through the space and also touch objects, or a more static 360-degree photo/video where the user can "teleport" through the space (this method is also used in Google Maps). With the softwareMatterport, it is very easy to create a 360-degree photo/video of the space using a 360-degree camera, such as the Insta360 Pro 2. This 360 graden-content can then be played on a virtual reality headset, giving you a very realistic representation of the space.

Augmented reality filters are becoming increasingly popular. Especially the mobile apps Snapchat and Instagram use filters as an addition to photos and videos. This can be done in a subtle way (for example, removing wrinkles to make photos look better), but it can also be done in the craziest ways. For example, there is a Snapchat-filter that shows in an (almost eerily) realistic way how you will look when youare older. These filters are developed in such a way that they can give a particularly realistic representation based on the physical features of the face (such as the eyes, cheekbones, and shape of the mouth).

Take this a step further, and you quickly end up with deepfakes. This technology uses a smart algorithm to make a photo or video of a person take on a life of its own. For example, with deepfakes, it is possible to make someone say something they have never said before, such as thedeepfake speech by Mark Rutteabout the climate crisis.

What do you do if you have an exclusive new product and you want as many people as possible to try it out? Then you can also bring the product to virtual reality. This way, many more people can see, touch, and try the product simultaneously. And again, if you like it in virtual reality, you can, of course, try the product in real life afterwards.

An example of this is thenew Dyson hairdryer. With a virtual reality-bril, it is possible to try out the latest hairdryer. The application is developed in such a way that the hairdryer looks realistic and that what you are drying moves in a very realistic way.