What is Augmented Reality or AR? This is basically where the physical and virtual world becomes one. It is considered by experts to be one of the top 10 strategic technologies on the market today. Augmented reality is an indirect or live direct view of our physical environment where parts of this real world are added by using computer generated input such as graphics, sound, video, or GPS data.
Currently there are 5 categories of companies in AR technology. There are top augmented reality development companies in each category.
AR platform companies
These companies offer a foundation as well as the toolbox for software developers that are experienced to work to create innovativeAR solutions. They offer this product to companies that can build and market their own products, or use it for custom services on the side. These include:
- Total Immersion
- Qualcomm©
- Vuforia™
- METAIO’s
- SDK
AR product and game companies
These companies develop and market their exclusive AR products such as:
- Books
- Games
They offer these for consumer retail sales. Some use mobile AR but mainly they rely on dedicated consoles. Companies in this category:
- Sphero
- POPAR
- Microsoft
- Nintendo
- Sony
DIY AR companies and universal AR viewers
These are companies that design simple and quick AR experiences offering content management tools and a limited menu of basicAR effects. The tech savvy individuals using these tools can create simple experiences such as launching a single video or simple animation.
Some of these companies include:
- Aurasma
- Layar
- Zappar
- DAQR
Custom branded app development companies
These are companies that work with the brand agencies and marketers to create custom AR answers for major campaigns or advertising, live events as well as trade shows. These companies include:
- GravityJack
- Appshaker
- Marxent
Industry-specific vertical AR solutions
This is a new category of companies offering tailor- make solutions to serve various niche businesses such as:
- Medical services
- Luxury retail
- Drug companies
- Cosmetic companies
Companies in this area include:
- Blippar – advertising
- Holition – luxury jewellery retail
- Adornably – furniture placement
Augmented reality and virtual reality are constantly changing and there is much to learn – there is also plenty of room for new companies to enter this market.
