How AR and VR Technology Could Transform Entertainment and E-Commerce

Augmented and virtual reality have dominated conversations of immersive technologies over the past few years. So, let’s take a look at a few ways AR and VR could transform entertainment and e-commerce in the future. 

Mixed Reality Entertainment

Put simply, AR and VR are two different – albeit similar – technologies. VR creates a new reality in the virtual realm, whereas AR adds digital elements to the real world. Mix the two together, and you have the potential for an immersive experience that integrates the real and virtual world, which is known as mixed reality.

Let’s take a look at an example of how mixed reality could be applied – online casinos. Offerings like bingo at Paddy Power already use technologies like random number generators (RNGs), live streaming technology, and video content to offer both real-time and on-demand bingo games, leveraging the technology to make gameplay more fair and authentic.

In the future, AR and VR could be applied to such games using headsets so the player feel as though they are in the room with the bingo caller and other players, whether it is a live game or on-demand alike. With this in mind, mixed reality has the potential to make entertainment and virtual experiences more authentic and immersive when combined with tailored technologies like live streaming, generative AI, RNGs, and more. 

Virtual Sports 

Some aspects of AR and VR have, admittedly, already begun to be integrated into sports entertainment, with some networks offering live streams of games that are compatible with VR headsets, or advertising on sports stadiums using AR.

That said, although the technology has been leveraged for viewing sports, AR and VR are yet to successfully replicate playing sports – but, this might come sooner than we think. A Tokyo start-up, Psychic VR has recently released a project called Air Race X. What makes this project so unique is its attempt to partially digitise an in person sport by combining real life scenarios and performances into a virtual production.

Psychic VR took the sport of air racing – where only one pilot could fly a course at any one time – and captured their performance data. Then, the flight paths were digitally recreated and streamed live, giving the impression that all pilots had physically raced against one another in real time. Though the launch did have mixed results, in the future the implications could be plentiful. 

Immersive E-Commerce 

Despite the rise in online shopping, the number of people who still shop in bricks-and-mortar stores might surprise you. In the Uk, according to Statista, while 35% of consumers say they prefer to shop mostly online, 26% still prefer to shop mostly in-store. In fact, in Ireland and Australia, among others, more people prefer to shop in-store than online. But, why?

Well, although online shopping comes with its conveniences, so does in-person shopping. You can try on clothes, make sure they fit, feel the material, and so on. However, with AR and VR, online shoppers could one day be able to do all of this from their home through visual and sensory technologies, getting a physical experience of trying on the clothes before making their online purchase. 

And there you have it – just a few ways in which AR and VR are beginning to be applied to iGaming, sports streaming, and shopping, making the experiences more authentic and immersive. As for what the future holds in reality, we’ll have to wait and see.