Augmented Reality or AR is a new buzzword that has been flying around the world. But is it really that new? Technically, it’s not. The Science Fiction world has been working on hyping it up for a very long time. AR with the addition of virtual reality, or AR, has been played around millions of times already with one of the most prominent examples being the film trilogy The Matrix where the whole of humanity is living in a virtual reality created by the AI. 

Most of these ideas were mostly attributed to human imagination though. It was how the author perceived the augmented and virtual reality to work in real life. However, with the development of the technology sector during the last decade or so now we have an opportunity to not only indulge in Hollywood variations but put on the actual virtual reality headsets and delve into the worlds unknown. The video gaming industry has been one of the most prominent pushes for this technological advancement. Tech pieces such as Oculus Rift, HTC Vive, Steam VR, and even Sony’s comparatively cheaper VR headset are all derived from such pieces of SciFi fantasy.

VR and AR in Businesses

It’s not just the entertainment sector though. Businesses quickly realized that there is a huge possibility to integrate these technological marvels into their day jobs and enhance the whole process for their customers in a very meaningful way. One such instance is the real estate companies that are building houses and apartments. Until now, there was either a picture of previously built houses or some 3D generated badly looking preset ideas that the designer would come up with. Now, there are some companies that utilize the Augmented Reality technology to show their potential customers how their house is going to look in real life even though there is nothing but a black carcass built. This also helps the buyers customize their own houses and make sure that the design is suited to their expectations.

Not all of the projects need to look and sound so expensive though. Some are quite modest and enhance our daily tasks in a very meaningful way. For example, QR code scanning tools that our smartphones come built-in with are one such example. This is a computer-generated (CG) content that interacts with the real-life world that can do numerous things like opening links to videos, websites, sharing some information, or even validating purchases and such. 

Cryptocurrency exchanges are utilizing such technology for their transfers. Instead of copying and pasting or retyping the crypto wallet’s addresses now all, one needs to do is scan a QR code that will automatically jumpstart the whole process. Overal with the novel coronavirus pandemic the contactless payment methods have come to the frontiers of human lives and QR codes are a big part of it as well.

Video Gaming Industry

Obviously larger application of Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality is both integrated with the entertainment industry. The video gaming industry sees huge opportunities here. This once SciFi market grew into a $14.7 billion industry in 2017 and is expected to morph into a much larger one by the end of 2022 with some experts expecting the market cap to reach $200 billion. One of the most critically acclaimed examples is the Pokemon GO game that was developed for our smartphones. This is an AR technology that studies the geolocation and spawns different monsters across the world. People with this application on their phones could just walk around the street and play the game trying to catch them. Not only that but certain buildings (via AR) were converted into training grounds where different teams could battle it out with their caught pokemon.

Casinos have also taken a huge interest in this technology. Online gambling is seeing a surge in popularity and how best to enhance the experience than to offer players to actually sit and play their favorite games in a virtually generated reality with other players around the table and dealer standing right next to them? Although one thing to note is that VR headsets cost quite a lot of money and we have to see how proper VR gambling in the future is going to hold up. But a number of casinos have already started heavily investing in such endeavors. From a technological standpoint, it should be quite possible without any problems though. The main concern up until now has been the power of Graphical Processing Units (GPUs) present in our devices that have to render all of the action simultaneously on two screens and the Central Processing Units (CPUs) to sync them up to not cause migraines, headaches, and even the feeling of puking. But with the release of new GTX 30 series video cards from Nvidia and equivalent from AMD the gambling industry requirements stay absolutely within the frames of reality.

Virtual Reality is also a big addition to this very same market. With triple-A titles like Half-Life: Alyx coming out offering a full-blown VR experience inside of a video game with extreme details like giving the ability to play on the virtually generated piano with your own fingers, drawing on the wall with a market, and even playing billiard. Not every game needs to be so graphically demanding though. A good number of people can just boot up their moderately strong PCs, put on the VR headset, and indulge in a game of a VR Chat where people interact with each other, go to bars, sing, play, and have fun in much the same way as we do in real life.

Future Prospects of Fintech and AR

Fintech is not just a foreign exchange market, cryptocurrencies, stocks, and commodities. There are a number of applications that this technology could have. For example, healthcare is where the benefits would be quite obvious. Imagine doctors just putting on their AR glasses and viewing patient information just by looking at them. Getting relevant information about the conditions and previous deceases in real life is going to aid doctors in their performance.

Other applications may be for people who need to process a big number of data. Imagine someone wearing a Microsoft HoloLens or another such device while skimming through work-related data while the Artificial Intelligence (AI) is analyzing everything and pulling up shorter, readable versions right in front of him or her. The visual representation of data has been proved to be much easier to grasp for the human brain. This means that the whole mess of gathered data can be transferred into viewable and intractable charts right in front of you for a better viewing experience.

There are a good number of other applications as well. Enter virtual meetings, maps that show the way in real life, augmenting retail experience by outlining preselected items so there’s no more need to search for it, the list of possibilities can go on forever.

Conclusion | Can AR and VR Actually Advance Fintech?

All in all, the AR with the addition of VR can actually enhance a good number of experiences that will aid future fintech development. It can optimize processes, let designers draw up sketches right in front of you via virtual meetings, enhance data analysis tools, data visualization, and a number of other things.