• by Melynda Fuller , September 14, 2018

Earlier this week, 8^thWall announced the launch of its augmented reality solution for mobile web browsers called 8^thWall Web.

The new technology allows websites to run AR content directly from their sites to a viewer’s mobile device without downloading an additional app.

8^thWall Web used standards-compliant JavaScript and WebGL to implement its Simultaneous Localization and Mapping engine. Features include 6DoF Positional Tracking that allow users to explore and interact with AR content using a smartphone camera, surface detection that transforms flat surfaces into platforms for virtual object placement and lighting estimation that matches a user’s real world lighting levels to an AR scene.

8^thWall’s launch comes as the industry is expected to expand rapidly.

Over the past few years, the USA Today Network has experimented with new ways to tell stories across its stable of papers. And to great acclaim: It has won a Pulitzer and Edward R. Murrow for projects incorporating its VR work and recently incorporated AR technology into its app.

These developments come as industry experts predict AR and VR revenue will continue to rapidly increase.

A 2018 study by market intelligence firm SuperData reports consumer VR revenue is likely to reach $4.5 billion in 2018 and $19 billion by 2021. Augmented and mixed reality revenue will reach $3.2 billion, doubling. AR revenue is expected to surpass VR by 2021.

Among the fastest growing sectors of AR is mobile usage, which the firm predicts will become a primary point of revenue over the next three years. In fact, mobile AR will likely earn double that of AR and MR headsets, as mobile devices offer a similar experience to cost prohibitive headsets. 

The study, however, notes that much of the money coming from AR and VR outside the gaming industry will be generated by advertising rather than direct revenue.