Due in part to the social isolation caused by the epidemic and in part because Mark Zuckerberg appeared to bet the future of Meta (formerly Facebook) on it, the metaverse—and by implication the mixed-reality headgear we might employ to access it—had its moment in the spotlight in 2021. Nevertheless, much of the excitement surrounding the concept of an immersive virtual public place has vanished as it has become apparent that the necessary technology, software, and standards are just not now available.
Consumer interest in augmented and virtual reality appeared to wane as the general public’s attention shifted. According to NPD Group statistics, for instance, sales of VR headsets in the U.S. fell 2% year over year (as of early December 2022) after rising by 100% the year before. Yet, both large and small tech businesses continue to pour a lot of money and top-notch expertise into spatial computing tools and experiences.
Despite losing $10 billion on its Reality Laboratories venture in 2021, Meta has stated that it plans to keep investing at the same rate to further its goals in VR, AR, and the metaverse. With its new Quest Pro headset, the business set the bar for VR headset technology. It featured significantly improved pass-through imaging, fresh eye-tracking technology, and upgraded hand controls.
Others on our list focused on particular facets of the AR/VR ecosystem. In terms of content, spatial computing was used by Archer’s Mark, Innersloth, PatchXR, and Rendever to revitalise previously 2D experiences. The use of AR/VR in businesses has been improved thanks to work by Unity and Varjo. With its AR mapping layer, which will enable developers to anchor virtual items at fixed positions in the real world, Niantic achieved astounding scalability. In order to interact with its tech-savvy customers, Coca-Cola discovered a combination of social media and augmented reality.
Apple, which purportedly has hundreds of engineers working covertly on its own mixed-reality platform, is the wildcard in the spread of mixed reality. Until all the moving elements required for a popular metaverse are ready to go, it might take years. As we wait, we may anticipate continued advancements in the technology and software required for fun, if scaled-down, spatial computing experiences.
Company 1: UNITY – In order to combine data with digital twins:
Digital twins of numerous major airports have been created thanks to collaboration between management companies and Unity, a company best known for its leading 3D game engine. The Vancouver Airport Authority is one of them, and its digital twin was introduced in March 2022. The system allows airport staff to visualise many aspects of real-time operations and may be used for training, optimization, future planning, simulations, and testing. It also collects data from sensors installed throughout the airport as well as historical data. Administrators and planners are now able to respond to events that may have an impact on passenger experience or safety by making data-driven decisions.
For example, the airline might predict an increase in vehicle traffic in the area, predict its possible implications (such longer wait times for security), and then make plans appropriately. In September 2022, Unity unveiled its most ambitious digital twin project, creating a virtual 800-square-mile region in collaboration with the Orlando Economic Partnership to assist the city with a variety of urban planning tasks, including addressing climate change, undertaking building and utility projects, and improving transportation. Although Unity doesn’t separate its earnings from its digital twin work, the firm had $1.4 billion in revenue in 2022, up 25% from the previous year.
Company 2: COCA-COLA : To spice up the cultural dialogue with intriguing new flavours:
In 2022, a lot of businesses used social media to differentiate themselves from the competition, but few (if any) did so in a way that Coke’s Coca-Cola Creations did. The corporation started releasing enigmatic new flavours in February 2022 along with elaborate (but relatively inexpensive) marketing campaigns intended to spark societal discourse. Starlight was the first soda to be released, and according to the manufacturer, it had a space flavour. It featured an Ava Max augmented reality concert that could only be accessible by scanning a QR code on a Starlight can. The show appeared to be taking place on a transparent stage on a space station when a user accomplished this.
Coke followed up with Sugar Byte in April, claiming that it tasted like pixels. This flavour launched in Fortnite with a game that was playable within its world and was aimed at gamers. The actual soda, like Starlight, was only ever distributed in extremely small amounts, first in Latin America and then the US. The exclusivity of the product heightened online conversation.
In June 2022, an exclusive partnership with DJ Marshmello came about. In July, Coca-Cola conducted a Twitch takeover, making this promotion the first advertisement that Twitch users viewed. Viewers were sent to a vibrant, morphing video that resembled a cross between a mood ring and a lava lamp when they scanned the QR code on these cans while listening to a new Marshmello song. A shared AR artwork and a digital wardrobe collaboration for users’ avatars were included in another new taste, Dreamworld, which debuted in August.
The CEO of Coke, James Quincey, repeatedly assured investors throughout the year that Creations exceeded expectations and had “tremendous traction” and engagement, despite the fact that Coke has not published data on the campaign’s effectiveness. Coca-Cola boosted its case volume globally by 5% in 2022.
Company 3: META – Making a “genuine” mixed-reality headgear is necessary.
Meta’s new Quest Pro VR headset costs $1,499, which is $1100 more than its well-liked Quest 2 VR headgear. Yet from a technical standpoint, the Pro improves some of the capabilities that are just lacking in the Quest 2 but will be necessary in a truly mixed-reality device. For instance, the Pro’s considerably better “pass-through” image allows wearers to see the real environment in front of them much more clearly (and in colour), allowing graphics to be more convincingly blended into that real world.
Eye-tracking is a feature of the Quest Pro that, among other things, enables the wearer’s avatar to glance around and make eye contact with other people’s avatars while they are chatting. The battery life of the Meta Quest Pro is only two hours, and it is somewhat awkward and uncomfortable. Still, it’s a sign of things to come for mixed reality headsets. Critics have attacked Meta for spending $5 billion in the fourth quarter of 2022 and an estimated $49 billion since 2012 to develop a new platform where it could control both the hardware and software.
The business now has what might be the most advanced standalone VR and mixed-reality gadget on the market today—and is still committing enormous resources to future development—despite previously stating that “efficiency” is a key emphasis for 2023.
Company 4: Google – for utilising 3D images to facilitate communication
Google’s approach to a post-pandemic world where distant work has altered how we communicate is Project Starline. Google set out to create a cutting-edge 3D teleconferencing booth that makes remote meetings seem much more like actual, in-person conversation since remote meetings, like 2D Zoom sessions, have their obvious shortcomings. According to the business, the experience is made feasible by advances in human 3D imaging, 3D video signal compression for effective transmission, and the 3D displays required to represent humans in a life-size and lifelike manner.
Project Starline booths were made available by Google to several significant businesses, such as WeWork and Salesforce, in 2022 so that staff members could start testing and offering feedback on the experience. Google has so far just discussed the technology’s performance; it hasn’t discussed the hardware itself or how much it may cost, if it decides to sell it. It’s conceivable that Google views the Starline technology as a novel, headset-free mixed reality method that it can develop as a pillar technology to be used in upcoming AR/VR products: Project Starline and headset-based AR/VR initiatives also fall under the purview of Google Labs.
Company 5: INNERSLOTH for introducing VR to Among Us
Just a few games have benefited from a VR conversion as much as Innersloth’s Among Us. Similar to earlier 2D versions of the game, which according to NPD data are still among the best-selling titles, players (represented as small armless cartoon astronauts) collaborate to fix a spaceship while being aware that one or more of the “crew members” are actually “imposters” out to destroy the ship and kill everyone on board.
By placing the game play in a first-person point of view within the immersive 3D surroundings of the ship, Among Us VR, developed by Innersloth with assistance from Schell Games and published in November 2022, heightens the anxiety. Although the threat may be behind a wall or around the next bend, players can see what is directly in front of them. Players may hear footsteps menacingly approaching, the squish and thunk of a crew member being killed in another area of the ship, or the close voices of other crew members desperately trying to figure out who the imposters are before it’s too late. These and other sounds can be heard in Among Us VR.
Company 6: NIANTIC for expanding an augmented reality global map
Niantic officially unveiled its “Lightship Virtual Positioning System” at their developer conference in May 2022. This system is a virtual world map that enables AR developers to anchor 3D images to real-world locations. For instance, as part of a treasure hunt game, a developer might conceal a digital prize close to a famous statue. These items are permanent, so when users leave and come back, they can still be found attached to the same physical location.
The Niantic map is crucial because without it, developers would be forced to create VR headset-only games similar to Pokémon Go. The map is quickly expanding and increasing. There were 30,000 VPS-activated public places when it first went live in the spring of last year, principally in San Francisco, London, Tokyo, Los Angeles, New York City, and Seattle. More than 140,000 VPS-activated public sites in 125 cities around the world are available on the map as of December 2022.
Company 7: RENDEVER – In order to assist elders with VR
Rendever uses virtual reality to encourage senior adults to be active and mentally healthy. The Somerville, Massachusetts-based VR content firm runs a platform that offers nursing homes and other senior living facilities specialised 3D immersive experiences. The content enables users to virtually go to places on their bucket list and relive historical events like weddings. The experiences offered by Rendever are intended to combat the emotions of isolation and loneliness that its target market frequently encounters as well as to delay the onset of dementia by stimulating users’ thoughts.
The business debuted RendeverFit in 2022, a VR programme that mixes sociability, mental stimulation, and physical training. With its three distinct modules—Cycle, Paddle, and Paint—for seniors to “get the advantages of physical activity without feeling like they’re working out,” it is comprised. The five-year-old business claims to have already provided more than one million VR experiences, and in 2022, it added 3,000 new users. It’s a skillful use of the new technology for good, as heartwarming movies of elderly people experiencing 3D memories for the first time testifies.
Company 8: ARCHER’S MARK – for using VR to relive history
The Sundance Film Festival’s New Frontiers programme featured the world premiere of Archer’s Mark’s “On the Morning You Wake (to the End of the World): Take Shelter” in January 2022. Participants can relive the terrifying morning in Hawaii on January 13, 2018, when locals started receiving text messages announcing a nuclear assault on the island, thanks to the production studio’s narrative VR work. The five-minute VR tale may be the first to use actual emergency alerts in a fully immersive 3D setting to capture the fear and confusion of a true historical event. “Take Shelter” raises an important query: Why does the Sword of Damocles of nuclear weapons still hang so close to the ground?
Company 9:VARJO – To make VR cloud streaming for businesses easier
Varjo originally produced high-end mixed reality (XR) headsets for businesses, but it has since expanded to offer solutions that make it easier for such companies to provide XR content to their workforce (such as designers). In order to stream high-resolution mixed-reality content down to less powerful PCs and headsets across an organisation, the Finnish company Varjo introduced the “Varjo Reality Cloud” in April 2022. Doing this one seat at a time is complicated, data-intensive, expensive, and requires hardware with lots of processing power.
New user security and onboarding take place on the cloud. As a result, participating in an XR collaboration session is more similar to participating in a Zoom call, which has drawn interest from companies in the automotive industry like Kia, Rivian, and Volvo. In November 2022, Varjo stated that their cloud service could now stream high-definition XR video propelled by Epic Games‘ Unreal Engine and Unity’s game engine.
Company 10: PATCHXR for innovating virtual reality instruments
It’s a lot of fun to experiment with virtual instruments in a digital audio programme like Apple’s Garageband, but because it’s a 2D experience, it may get complicated when more instruments are added. The player is encircled by virtual musical instruments in the July 2022 release of PatchXR’s Patchworld experience for Meta Quest 2.
Even just as a creation tool for electronic music, it’s surprisingly capable. In strange virtual environments, users can choose (or create) their own musical instruments and play them alone or with friends. In addition, they can sing, record the performance, and incorporate creative effects. The best part is that everything is made simple by the vast 3D space. One of the ready-to-play environments can be immediately entered to begin creating and remixing. On the Quest app store, 87% of reviewers gave the $30 app five stars, giving it a rating of five.
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