/ 11.06.2012 11:36AM
Juniper Forecast: Augmented Reality Mobile Apps to Generate Nearly $300 Million in 2013
Technical limitations persist, constraining enterprise adoption
HAMPSHIRE, U.K. -- A new report from Juniper Research indicated
augmented reality applications will generate close to $300 million in global revenues
next year.
The report found that while the traditional pay-per-download payment model will
continue to account for the largest share of revenues in the medium term,
retailer engagement with AR suggested that ad spend increased dramatically in
2012 and is poised for further strong growth next year.
It also found that many retailers now perceived AR as a key means of increasing
engagement with consumers, both as a means of providing additional product
information or in the form of branded virtual games and activities.
The report cautioned
that while lack of consumer awareness of AR remained a key hurdle which needed
to be overcome, it was by no means the only barrier to growth. It argued that
technological limitations of AR-enablers such as the phone camera, GPS, digital
compasses and markerless tracking meant that in many cases, the AR experience
was failing to live up to consumer expectations.
The report claimed that even some higher-end smartphone cameras lacked
sufficient sensitivity to trigger an AR experience unless light conditions were
optimal. Furthermore, the need to recalibrate digital compasses – allied to
poor in-building functionality of GPS – means that under certain circumstances
the level of location accuracy would not be sufficient for many potential
corporate applications. As a result, the report stated that enterprise adoption
would be limited in the medium term.
Juniper says its research suggested that more than 2.5 billion AR apps will be
downloaded annually by 2017. The firm said AR is increasingly being deployed in
prototype wearable devices, with Google Glass the most high-profile innovation.
On the less high-profile side, AllThingsD
reports on an augmented reality hat from Scottish start-up Zapper that makes
the wearer appear to be either President Obama or Gov. Mitt Romney. On the
retail side, Venture
Beat reports that IBM is offering a mobile AR app that allows shoppers
to pan grocery store shelves with their smartphones to check for coupons and
other info.