A Massive Market Opportunity
Every aspect of how we live our lives will likely be impacted by virtual reality and augmented reality over the coming years. From the way we are entertained, to how we are educated, receive medical treatment, and perform our jobs, these new ways of experiencing life in a more immersive and engaging environment is coming in a big wave that has only just begun, and will touch nearly all of us in the next 5 years. Analysts estimate a market size of nearly $150 billion by 2020 spanning across hardware, software, gaming, film, ecommerce, data, entertainment, education and enterprise. In 2016 alone, it’s estimated there will be over $1 billion in sales of HMDs (head mounted devices) sold by some of the largest technology companies in the world, Microsoft, Samsung, Facebook’s Oculus, and HTC are just a few of the hundreds of companies already building the next wave of immersive VR and AR technology.
The Wild-Wild-West Ecosystem
Over the last year, I’ve had the opportunity to be an early pioneer in the augmented reality ecosystem. As the Founder and CEO of Aisle411, an indoor location and mobile technology software company, the company started work in 2014 creating 3D augmented reality indoor navigation with the Google Project Tango technology. After building early solutions for major leading retailers, it quickly became apparent, that once a customer “tastes” augmented reality, they want more. After being asked to develop new solutions in VR and AR, I learned that this market is still “the wild-wild-west” - fragmented across the globe, with hundreds of developers building dozens of unique solutions, all that will impact both billions of dollars spent by companies and consumers, but will also transform the psychology of how people view the world and communicate for decades to come.
The Global Trade Association for VR and AR
With the massive market opportunity in mind and a fragmented global ecosystem, I’m announcing officially today the launch of The VR/AR Association, a global trade association for the virtual reality and augmented reality marketplace. The association goals are to accelerate growth, knowledge and connections at a global scale across all verticals of the industry.
With the collaboration of industry experts, the VR/AR Association has developed its mission as follows:
The VR/AR Association Mission Statement:
The VR/AR Association is an international organization designed to foster collaboration between innovative companies and people in the virtual reality and augmented reality ecosystem that accelerates growth, fosters research and education, helps develop industry standards, connects member organizations and promotes the services of member companies.
Chapters
The VR/AR Association (The VRARA) is launching chapters in over eight major cities across the globe in 2016 to allow for local networking and knowledge sharing at meetup events among solution providers, content creators, and the brands and customers looking to utilize VR and AR for their business. The VRARA supports a cohesive global network of member based chapters that together allow for accelerated connections and knowledge sharing within the industry. I’m excited to shortly announce some of the industry’s best in VR and AR and some of the best brands in the world as participants at the launch events starting in late Q1 2016.
Anyone will be welcome to attend the VRARA chapter events, while members of the association will enjoy additional benefits related to unique research, reports and case studies developed among members, discounts to industry events, promotion opportunities and direct access to other members.
Become a Member and Share the Experience
The opportunity to collaborate on a global scale in one of the biggest market opportunities we’ll likely see in our lifetime is an exciting vision. I hope that everyone interested will share in the opportunity by participating in the VR/AR Association.
Anyone interested in learning more, becoming a member, or becoming a chapter president, please email me at nathan@thevrara.com
Sincerely,
Nathan Pettyjohn, Founder of The VR/AR Association
