2016 promises to be the tipping point, as VR technologies reach a critical mass of functionality, reliability, ease of use, affordability, and availability. Movie studios are partnering with VR vendors to bring content to market. News organizations are similarly working with VR companies to bring immersive experiences of news directly into the home, including live events. And the stage is set for broad adoption of VR beyond entertainment and gaming – to the day when VR will help change the physical interface between man and machine, propelling a world so far only envisioned in science fiction. At the same time, the use of augmented reality (AR) is expanding. Whereas VR replaces the actual physical world, AR is a live direct or indirect view of a physical, real-world environment whose elements are augmented (or supplemented) by computer-generated sensory input such as sound, video, graphics or GPS data. With the help of advanced AR technology (e.g., adding computer vision and object recognition), the information about the surrounding real world of the user becomes interactive and can be manipulated digitally.
