A recent study from ABI Research finds that “handheld platforms will transform the Augmented Reality ecosystem, with revenue associated with Augmented Reality growing from about $6 million in 2008 to more than $350 million in 2014.”

 

Augmented Reality, as mentioned in a report from TMCnet, enables smartphones to display super-local Web content to tell users everything they need to know about a particular place where they are at any given moment. 

 

The technology finds customized applications in industrial automation, theme parks, sports television, military displays, and online marketing.

 

According to ABI Research (News - Alert), AR technology has opened up new opportunities in mobile handset market. The availability of video cameras, processors, Global Positioning System data, compasses, and accelerometers on smartphone handset platforms have accelerated the evolution of AR technology.

 

The research agency specifically points out applications such as personal navigation applications for the Apple iPhone and Android (News - Alert) platforms, where AR technology finds the best use due to the intuitive nature of the real-time display.

 

AR technology was first emerged with Google Android. Apple (News - Alert) augmented its iPhone with AR in June. The two companies have also joined forces to make it possible for software developers to overlay images on the phone’s camera view.

 

“The new capabilities of handset platforms create an explosive opportunity for Augmented Reality technology,” says Joe Madden, author of the study. “Existing technology suppliers will have to adapt, as rapid growth will transform the Augmented Reality ecosystem.”

 

Augmented Reality: Adding Information to Our View of the World finds that as advertisers learn to insert tags into navigation displays, mobile advertising revenue will grow slowly, representing a large portion of sectoral revenues in the 2013-2014 timeframe.

 

Madden predicts that today’s customized, direct business-to-business AR supply chain will continue to see incremental growth in military, automotive, and entertainment applications, but those businesses will be overshadowed by the mass-market dynamics of mobile handset application sales and advertising revenue streams.

 

Another concept evolving around AR technology is the development of global databases to store a wide variety of geo-tag (News - Alert) information. ABI Research predicts that governments, businesses, and individuals all will contribute information into such databases, so end-users will be able to view information on notable buildings, retail sales, or special events, or simply to mark locations of interest.

 

The only impediment for the growth of AR applications market, according to Madden, is the technological barriers. For example, he says, GPS location accuracy is not adequate currently for many applications, requiring additional techniques to refine location precision for shopping applications, or for game applications in which virtual objects must be placed precisely on the display near corresponding real objects.