Envisioning the next technology boom

A couple of days ago a tweet titled AR Will Spark the Next Big Tech Platform (article linked below) caught my eyes. I'm always interested in learning about whatever is next and I had no idea what *AR* (augmented reality) was. Or so I thought.


I'm more familiar with AR under a different name -- virtual reality (VR). Doesn't matter what slick, faddish names it's called (my designation for this augmented/virtual future == AVR) -- once you go under the hood, put on the googles, or step into the rapidly evolving immersive technologies of our time ... you enter an alternate reality created by some of our wildest imaginings and limited only by the technology of the moment.

The 1983 movie Brainstorm maps out a potential future where AVR is "...able to plug right into the old noodle." Tapping into the inner workings of the mind, our thoughts and memories may be an eventual destination -- but other topics portrayed in the movie are rapidly becoming our present reality.


Headsets will shrink in size and weight and will probably be worn like wraparound sunglasses or by something that has yet to be introduced to us. Capabilities will spike dramatically upwards while prices for the technology will come crashing down as competitors attempt to market their products to the masses.

In an AVR or *mirrorworld* environment, whatever you wish to call it, you could drive the streets of Paris or ride a gondola through the canals of Venice and find it difficult to believe you're not actually there. Change the scene by requesting a sunrise or sunset, or add a dose of rain or snow to the setting. Imagine how the visuals of video conferences will change from what we see today when people from across the nation or even the world can check into a corporation's staff meeting via holographic or other AVR means.

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AR Will Spark the Next Big Tech Platform—Call It Mirrorworld