Want to see the future? Put on those weird goggles

Augmented reality and virtual reality is seen to be adopted across industries by 2025.

If you've slipped on some of those sometimes-weird-looking binoculars that immerse you into a whole new world of VR and AR, you've just taken a peek into how the future will look like for both businesses and individuals.
A new research conducted by Frost & Sullivan in collaboration with Gitex Technology Week 2016 revealed that the next 10 years of augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) technology development are set to redefine the future of both business and consumer processes and interactions in the GCC.
Organisations in the region are leveraging the new technology to enhance end-user experiences, the report states.
AR - contextual information on mobile devices, projections or wearables - and VR, which provides a fully-immersive digital environment, will be adopted across industries by 2025, the report predicts.
Research reports corroborate predictions that the AR and VR market is booming, with IDC reporting that AR and VR hardware revenue is topping $2 billion globally for the first time this year.
The company further predicts that device shipments are set to grow 11-fold to 110 million by 2020.
And aside from the devices that are sprinkled in the market that provide AR and VR experiences - or if you're still wondering what good it'll do to you - Gitex Technology Week 2016 will be ready to fill you in from October 16-20.
In response to the interest in AR and VR technology in the GCC, the 36th edition of the region's premier IT event will showcase the largest area - 560sqm - in show history for AR and VR technologies. From AR-enabled surgery to VR-powered education, experts from across industries will take the stage at Gitex Technology Week this year to share their innovative use cases of AR and VR technologies and provide a glimpse into the future of this game-changing technology.
"AR and VR will be a giant step in transforming and democratising education and businesses, especially in medicine, where immersive technology can facilitate education and access-at-a-distance for medical care," said Dr Rafael Grossmann, who will be headlining Gitex's Healthcare Monday, an industry vertical conference dedicated to healthcare technology.
- alvin@khaleejtimes.com