Today is the start of the Dublin Augmented Reality Marketing Conference, so we asked one of the keynote speakers, and Augmented Reality expert Dave Lorenzini to tell us about more about the potential for AR to disrupt the events industry.

For those who’ve never heard of it before, what is Augmented Reality?

So Augmented Reality technology simply “adds” things to a person’s view of the world.

“AR” is a a broad term that covers everything from broadcast graphics overlaid onto live TV, to mobile apps that make print or products come alive when viewed through your phone or more recently, experiences on smart glasses that overlay graphics & info into the scene before you.

Why is it an exciting technology?

It’s that last bit where things get really interesting. When AR jumps from phones to glasses, it’s game on in the real world, and every industry will see an immediate and lasting impact.

AR is not a fad or advertising gimmick.  This is something every organisation needs to get ready for now, because AR + smart glasses + connected devices (aka “the internet of things”) will combine to create the next net (web 3.0) in the world around us, right before our eyes.

How long until this is as widely used and adopted as, say, wearables or even mobiles?

2016 is when we’ll see key products from Google, Microsoft, Oculus and others hitting the market that will result in millions of HMD’s (head mounted displays) sold, driven largely by early adopting consumers and specific vertical market adoption.

By 2020, the world will have “perfect (augmented) vision”, with affordable eyewear delivering movie quality special effects and information that looks so real, you’ll have to lift your glasses to see if something is really there.

The quality of the experience and easy, natural user interfaces will drive further adoption, surpassing a billion users and billions in revenue from new forms of visual information, search, assistance, gaming, entertainment and commerce.

What is holding it back right now?

There’s a fog of friction clouding the scene today that’s about to lift.  Having to pull out your phone and point it at something to get an augmented experience, however amazing, requires motivation, but with affordable, fashionable smart glasses, you get that payoff effortlessly, just by looking around…that changes everything.

We’re also missing the “real world markup tools” and spatial framework (think more game engine than map) that will allow us to bring interactive AR or holographic content into to the world around us.

The first Internet didn’t take off until we had “what you see is what you get” web publishing tools, and the next net will suffer the same fate until we can do voice and gesture driven content creation with new “what you say is what you see” (WYSIWYS) technology…then things will get crazy, fast.

What kinds of opportunities will it enable for events and event marketers?

Event marketers can use sponsorable AR & VR attractions to generate revenue and attention for their events today.

At EFX (eventfx.co) we specialize in helping event organisers use “Experiential AR” exhibits like branded “magic mirror” kiosks and Kinect powered video walls to stop people in their tracks, generate co-branded social shares and convert leads, following attendees home with mobile versions.

Organisers can use also use 360 pano (VR) technology to deliver interactive and immersive views that will attract attendees to a special venue or extend the reach of their events in some amazing ways.

Where can people learn more about the development of AR and keep up to date as it evolves?

There are some key events coming up where you can see this first hand.

In Europe, the main AR Marketing Conference is in Dublin Ireland on April 29th (http://armarketingconference.com), and the Main AR Show in the U.S. is in Santa Clara June 8-10 at http://augmentedworldexpo.com.

On twitter, you can follow @davelorenzini, @thepersuaders, and @ARealityEvent and tune into ardirt.com‘s podcast for the latest and greatest of what’s to come…where only thing for certain is that you won’t believe your eyes.

Summary 

It certainly sounds like AR has revolutionary potential, so it will be exciting to see how organisers and event marketers test out its application and adopt the technology in the near future. This is one tech trend we’ll keep an eye on!

Let us know if you’re at the Dublin AR Marketing Conference and what lessons you’ve learned today.