With VR/AR, we're going to experience music, art, content and data in context with our lives. A quick search of the GOV.UK Contracts Finder site and the Digital Marketplace suggests that, in the last half-decade, there have been just 17 public-sector tenders for virtual reality projects or products. But six of these were in the first half of 2019. This includes a £700,000 project from Highways England to deliver a virtual training environment, and a three-year framework launched by housing association London and Quadrant, which will use VR/AR technology in the planning of new buildings. A wide range of universities have invested in VR or AR environments to support the teaching of engineering and other subjects. The Ministry of Defense also recently spent money on a “VR demonstrator” to showcase the technologies of the future that will play a key role in the defense sector.
This report features UK-based immersive tech pioneers in the media, advertising/marketing, gaming, enterprise training, computer vision, geolocation, telepresence, education, retail/ecommerce, journalism, healthcare, art/entertainment sectors, among others. Thanks to their involvement with the VRARA in the UK and beyond (VRARA has over 4200 companies, brands, schools registered and over 27000 professionals), we continue to demonstrate how VR and AR will change people's lives, businesses and grow the economy through innovation. This connection and collaboration seems particularly important now, as we face the UK leaving the EU, and with the potential of VR and AR to expand into a $60 billion market by 2023.
If you're not a member yet, please join us in creating this magical future. As Jay Samit puts it: "the best way to predict the future is to spend time with those creating it." And if you or your organisation plan on using VR and AR, then the VRARA and its members would love to hear about it, and we encourage you to get in touch. We can help. Email us at london@thevrara.com
