In the eyes of Robert Scoble, as well as his co-panelists Nonny De La Peña and Shawn Dubravac, virtual reality and mixed reality are slated to become an industry revolutionizing force.
Scoble said that Apple is set to completely outsell the current generation of AR and VR technology when they release a pair of augmented reality glasses, as well as a new iPhone with a 3D mapping sensor, later this year.
As of this time, Sony has sold around three million VR headsets, while Occulus and Vive have only sold about one million each.
The panelists highlighted several scenarios where VR and AR will completely change the current way we look at things.
Shopping from home would allow you to preview items in a 3D virtual reality environment. Flat images and product descriptions would be outdone.
“Brick and mortar shops are in trouble,” De La Peña said.
The panelists believe that the current retail space is under invested in the technology.
In the future, when you shop in stores, you’ll wear AR glasses that will display information about products. Sensors will detect when you take items off of shelves, and they’ll automatically add it to a virtual shopping cart, much like ordering online.
Sensors will also completely change the gambling industry. People will be able to bet on how high opening tip-offs of basketball games are, or on which team jumped the most during a game.
Police would also use these sensors to 3D map entire crime scenes. This would allow jurors to witness the entire crime scene, instead of just looking at simple images.
In the case of the medical field, doctors and nurses will wear AR glasses to assist during surgeries. Real-time data will be displayed, allowing the surgeons to multitask and guide each other.
Scobles said that he believes AR will become a staple of modern life within one year, although Gary Vanderchuck, who contributed to Scobles’s latest book, didn’t necessarily agree.
@jonzmikly @Scobleizer depends on how u score its usage – I compare it to internet 2002 usage, #’s .. meaning it’s “real”
— Gary Vaynerchuk (@garyvee) March 14, 2017