Although augmented reality has been around since the late 1990s, it took until 2016 for it to achieve mainstream success with the launch of Pokémon Go, a smartphone game that merges real-world location with overlay graphics that appear as if they are physically present when viewed through a smartphone camera. Pokémon Go was an instant game-changer, leading Goldman Sachs to predict that AR could become the next big computing platform, creating new markets and disrupting existing ones.
There are various acronyms to describe immersive media. While augmented reality (AR) simply adds a layer of digital elements to the real world, virtual reality (VR) is a fully-immersive, computer-generated digital environment or artificial world. Mixed reality (MR) is a more novel concept that occupies the middle ground between AR and VR, a kind of augmented version of augmented reality. Finally, extended reality (XR) is a catch-all term for the above technologies.
With PwC estimating that the enterprise and consumer market for XR applications is worth an estimated $100 billion, the tech giants are working hard to apply the cutting-edge technology in a variety of ways.
Immersive technology in the search landscape
From Google Glass to Microsoft HoloLens, both Google and Microsoft have been working on XR devices for nearly a decade. Initially created with hands-free working environments such as surgical interventions and industrial settings in mind, these wearable technologies have become more accessible to the general population over time as their design has been tweaked and they have been made more affordable. Meta is the other big tech player that is most invested into XR, having purchased VR headset manufacturer Oculus in 2012 for $2 billion as part of the company’s long-term focus on the metaverse and related technologies.
While the wearables market slowly takes off, AR technologies with lower barriers to adoption have swiftly become more widespread, including services such as Google Lens that work on existing smartphones. Given the sizeable investment made by the tech giants into immersive technologies, it is natural that they are looking to integrate them into their current products and services, including search engines.
Looking ahead, the most immediate application of AR in search is expected to be local SEO, which will enable users to scan a building or area using their smartphone camera and retrieve information about nearby businesses, as well as ratings, reviews and information about competitors. As this AR-enhanced search takes off, it will become more essential than ever for businesses to ensure their Google My Business and other local listing panels are kept up to date.
Social media platforms including Snapchat, TikTok and Instagram have also been leveraging AR applications for some time, but the impact on search listings returned for individual and corporate profiles has so far been modest. However, as businesses and consumers continue to adapt their social media presence to new applications and devices, it is likely that more weight will be placed on AR applications and profiles in future search engine algorithm updates: this is definitely a trend to watch.
How XR is shaping the metaverse
In 2014, Mark Zuckerberg predicted that “One day, we believe this kind of immersive, augmented reality will become a part of daily life for billions of people”. Since then, Facebook’s parent company has rebranded itself as Meta, in a nod to the concept of a metaverse.
Gartner describes the metaverse as a collective virtual open space, created by the convergence of virtually enhanced physical and digital reality that is physically persistent and provides an enhanced immersive experience. It can also be thought of – perhaps too simplistically – as a three-dimensional version of the internet. The metaverse is being developed to include intrinsic elements such as digital currency and assets, a marketplace, NFTs, natural language processing applications, and a social media element to tie everything together.
AR technology is a key technological enabler for the success of the metaverse. VR headsets are currently too expensive and not portable enough to gain mainstream appeal, but AR technology can be embedded into smartphones, offering the ease of access that will be key to the widespread adoption of the metaverse.
Whether the metaverse succeeds remains to be seen, but the big tech players are betting on it and making great strides in developing the tools to build it. The XR industry is predicted to be worth $250 billion by 2028, and it looks like the technology is here to stay. For businesses and individuals looking to ensure their digital profile is accurate and appealing to consumers and investors, becoming familiar with AR technology and its use across both the internet and the metaverse is likely to become increasingly important in the months and years to come.
Privacy Policy.
Revoke consent.
© Digitalis Media Ltd. Privacy Policy.
Digitalis
We firmly believe that the internet should be available and accessible to anyone, and are committed to providing a website that is accessible to the widest possible audience, regardless of circumstance and ability.
To fulfill this, we aim to adhere as strictly as possible to the World Wide Web Consortium’s (W3C) Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.1 (WCAG 2.1) at the AA level. These guidelines explain how to make web content accessible to people with a wide array of disabilities. Complying with those guidelines helps us ensure that the website is accessible to all people: blind people, people with motor impairments, visual impairment, cognitive disabilities, and more.
This website utilizes various technologies that are meant to make it as accessible as possible at all times. We utilize an accessibility interface that allows persons with specific disabilities to adjust the website’s UI (user interface) and design it to their personal needs.
Additionally, the website utilizes an AI-based application that runs in the background and optimizes its accessibility level constantly. This application remediates the website’s HTML, adapts Its functionality and behavior for screen-readers used by the blind users, and for keyboard functions used by individuals with motor impairments.
If you’ve found a malfunction or have ideas for improvement, we’ll be happy to hear from you. You can reach out to the website’s operators by using the following email webrequests@digitalis.com
Our website implements the ARIA attributes (Accessible Rich Internet Applications) technique, alongside various different behavioral changes, to ensure blind users visiting with screen-readers are able to read, comprehend, and enjoy the website’s functions. As soon as a user with a screen-reader enters your site, they immediately receive a prompt to enter the Screen-Reader Profile so they can browse and operate your site effectively. Here’s how our website covers some of the most important screen-reader requirements, alongside console screenshots of code examples:
Screen-reader optimization: we run a background process that learns the website’s components from top to bottom, to ensure ongoing compliance even when updating the website. In this process, we provide screen-readers with meaningful data using the ARIA set of attributes. For example, we provide accurate form labels; descriptions for actionable icons (social media icons, search icons, cart icons, etc.); validation guidance for form inputs; element roles such as buttons, menus, modal dialogues (popups), and others. Additionally, the background process scans all of the website’s images and provides an accurate and meaningful image-object-recognition-based description as an ALT (alternate text) tag for images that are not described. It will also extract texts that are embedded within the image, using an OCR (optical character recognition) technology. To turn on screen-reader adjustments at any time, users need only to press the Alt+1 keyboard combination. Screen-reader users also get automatic announcements to turn the Screen-reader mode on as soon as they enter the website.
These adjustments are compatible with all popular screen readers, including JAWS and NVDA.
Keyboard navigation optimization: The background process also adjusts the website’s HTML, and adds various behaviors using JavaScript code to make the website operable by the keyboard. This includes the ability to navigate the website using the Tab and Shift+Tab keys, operate dropdowns with the arrow keys, close them with Esc, trigger buttons and links using the Enter key, navigate between radio and checkbox elements using the arrow keys, and fill them in with the Spacebar or Enter key.Additionally, keyboard users will find quick-navigation and content-skip menus, available at any time by clicking Alt+1, or as the first elements of the site while navigating with the keyboard. The background process also handles triggered popups by moving the keyboard focus towards them as soon as they appear, and not allow the focus drift outside of it.
Users can also use shortcuts such as “M” (menus), “H” (headings), “F” (forms), “B” (buttons), and “G” (graphics) to jump to specific elements.
We aim to support the widest array of browsers and assistive technologies as possible, so our users can choose the best fitting tools for them, with as few limitations as possible. Therefore, we have worked very hard to be able to support all major systems that comprise over 95% of the user market share including Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Apple Safari, Opera and Microsoft Edge, JAWS and NVDA (screen readers), both for Windows and for MAC users.
Despite our very best efforts to allow anybody to adjust the website to their needs, there may still be pages or sections that are not fully accessible, are in the process of becoming accessible, or are lacking an adequate technological solution to make them accessible. Still, we are continually improving our accessibility, adding, updating and improving its options and features, and developing and adopting new technologies. All this is meant to reach the optimal level of accessibility, following technological advancements. For any assistance, please reach out to webrequests@digitalis.com