Technological advances in Augmented (aR), Virtual (vR) and Mixed Reality (mR), (umbrella term Extended Reality or xR), are currently running well ahead of commercial applications for these technologies. When and how will this change? What are the limiting factors? Who will be the early adopters? Bryan Denyer, editor of AV News, assesses the state of the art, with additional reporting from Darren Banks VP of Partnerships at The LED Studio. The report concludes with ideas of when and how to use the various tools that xR provides, and when the technologies should be left well alone!
A lot of press coverage is devoted to technological advances in Augmented, Virtual, and Mixed Reality (umbrella term Extended Reality or xR). But the truth is, these advances are running well ahead of commercial applications for these technologies. Darren Banks of The LED Studio has witnessed this at first hand “Yes, the hardware and software technology is already at an incredibly high level, whether it be on camera technology, LED screens, or behind the camera technology, media players, tracking systems or content engines. Ultimately, the “next gen” tech is available today!”
The availability of appropriate hardware and software is not proportionate to the commercial deployment of xR technologies right now, which is not to say that there are no current commercial applications. Banks has seen some take-up in markets including: “Broadcast, advertising, film making, design and manufacturing are all applications where xR technology has been successfully used for many years. Now, with advancements in technology, we are now seeing a large uptake from customers in the themed destinations and attractions markets, as well as universities, healthcare, and R&D customers.” But which sectors will be the next to emerge? Banks believes that: “The other standout area is going to be gaming (both professional and leisure).”
Integration
In order that xR technologies can feature in both shared and immersive experiences, integration with AV solutions is a ‘must’ – headsets will only take us so far. Banks believes that: “XR technologies are integrating with traditional Audio Visual (AV) solutions to transform how people collaborate, learn, and experience content in physical spaces. Instead of flat screens and speakers, AV systems can now incorporate immersive, interactive digital elements that merge with the real world. This integration creates more dynamic and engaging experiences across various environments, from corporate meetings to themed destinations and large-scale events.”
Commercial applications with enhanced immersive customer experiences are among the most likely advantages of xR technology “Companies around the world are investing in XR to enhance product design, improve customer experiences, streamline operations, and revolutionise workforce training. But the advantages gained depend on the vertical market and the specific application of the technology.” Banks continues: “For themed destinations and attractions, the customer experience is measured in “smiles”, whereas for broadcast / film applications it can be saving on travel and location costs or reducing the carbon footprint of the business by making more use of the studio. For manufacturing and R&D, the advantage can be reducing physical number of protypes needed and speeding up the go-to-market for the product. For education and healthcare, it means a higher level of teaching can be imparted to the students or patients.”
Barriers to entry
From the examples above it is clear that the range of xR applications is potentially limitless, so what is it that is deterring potential investors? Is it the cost? Is it the lack of a provable ROI / business case? Or is it a lack of sophistication in XR solutions? Banks believes that: “It’s certainly not a lack of sophistication, as we know the technology exists far beyond current use cases. Cost plays a part for sure, but the initial outlay becomes insignificant if the ROI is strong enough. Rather than ‘Can we afford to do this’? The argument should be ‘Can we afford NOT to do this?’ It’s about building a provable ROI case and understanding what benefits XR can bring to the business.” Banks adds: “In my opinion awareness is a big barrier as customers cannot invest in something they don’t know exits. People know the buzz words of xR but mainly associate them with broadcast and film making applications -not necessarily commercial or business applications.”
Awareness of what xR technologies can do for a business or organisation is obviously an issue among end-users, but the same can be true in the channel when it comes to offering the required skill set in designing, installing, and operating xR-based solutions. Banks concurs: “Yes, the complexity of xR requires a unique combination of technical, creative, and operational expertise and even though xR has boomed since the pandemic in 2020 there is still a lack of abundant skills needed to deliver an xR studio facility. This skills gap is a major barrier to widespread xR adoption, particularly for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).”
Market suitability
Awareness and skill shortages are clearly factors limiting the adoption of xR solutions, but there also questions about solutions which distract user’s attention away from their real-world environment. If users must be completely bound up in the immersive experience to get the full experience, does this render outdoor and industrial applications inappropriate – or even dangerous? Banks agrees with this note of caution: “Yes to a degree, requiring complete immersion does render fully immersive Virtual Reality (vR) applications inappropriate and dangerous for most outdoor and industrial settings. However, other xR technologies, namely Augmented Reality (aR) and Mixed Reality (mR), are designed to enhance, rather than replace, a user’s view of the real world, making them suitable and highly valuable for these environments. The key distinction is the level of immersion.”
Future developments
So, there is no doubt that xR technologies are already at a level of readiness for commercial applications and that developments continue at pace. The leaders in this process include some of the largest tech players in the world, plus a considerable body of new entrants and smaller specialists. Banks has been monitoring these developments from the outset: “The technology leaders in the commercial xR space include major tech giants, specialised hardware companies, and prominent software platform providers such as Meta, Microsoft, Apple, Qualcomm, Unity and Epic Games.” He is convinced that there remains scope for allcomers: “Viable commercial xR solutions will be developed by both the IT majors and new, smaller players. While tech giants like Meta, Apple, and Microsoft lead in foundational hardware and platforms, startups are crucial for driving specific applications and innovation, particularly in niche and enterprise markets.”
The presence of these smaller specialist developers alongside the IT majors will drive the market for niche applications in addition to generic markets: “Early xR adoption will focus on vertical markets with high-value, high-risk, or complex processes that can be made safer and more efficient through immersive visualisation and simulation. While the entertainment industry is a leader in consumer xR, manufacturing, healthcare, and education are leading the charge for commercial xR applications.”
The aggregate market for xR tools and applications is expected to total over $460 billion in five years, compounding the exponential growth in demand for xR experienced over the past two years. According to a survey by Market & Markets Research, xR has a CAGR (compound annual growth rate) of more than 62%. This extraordinary growth is mostly the result of organisations adopting digital transformation in the enterprise sector. The primary causes driving increasing investment in xR, include:
Accessibility of more cost-effective options.
Increased adoption – disruptive technology is being accepted more readily by businesses of all sizes.
Hybrid workforce: the modern workforce, characterised by hybrid employment and the demands of younger generations for a wider range of technologies.
The best xR technology for your
application?
The best xR for your application can be determined by considering four factors:
1. Users
Always start with a solution that is user centric. Consider how the user’s life will be made easier by the solution you are offering. Who will be the final user? Is there a high learning curve before adoption or do prospective users already have experience with similar technologies? The technologies that adoptees use most frequently use should also be taken into account.
2. Situation
Consider “where” the solution will be used the majority of the time. For instance, is it on the couch being used by a customer or is it in a confined place in an elevator by a technician? You could use either mR or aR for both of these cases, but it makes more sense to utilize mR in the technician’s situation since, unlike the consumer, the technician needs a hands-free solution that visualizes contextual information.
3. Involvement
Does the user need to have a solid foundation in reality, or not? For instance, would the user be completing a training module to learn how to put together a complicated piece of equipment, or will the user be engaging in ‘hands-on’ training to learn how to perform tasks in settings where it would not be safe for the user to do so, such as surgery? In the first case, augmented reality (aR) would be the greatest solution because it makes instructions easily accessible whenever needed and can be easily viewed in relation to the user’s surroundings. Virtual reality (vR) can be the most appropriate where it is simple to replicate a setting in which a user can learn sophisticated surgery in a controlled setting. With vR, you can perform ‘flythroughs’ while completely immersed in the simulated environment, as well as obtain various points of view and display everything in real-world scale. You can choose the one that makes the most sense once you have determined your main goal.
4. The application’s goal
What purposes will the app serve, such as training, data visualisation, product design, seeing designs, etc. Your choice of technology for the solution you’re designing will be influenced by the app’s intended use. You can select between mR and vR, for instance, if you want to create an app that allows stakeholders to examine a building at life-size scale in order to review plans and materials.
When aR could aR be the solution
You should consider using augmented reality (aR) technologies when you want to blend digital content with the real world in a way that enhances understanding, engagement, or interaction. Whether you’re designing an app, a training system, or a marketing campaign, aR is best used when it adds clear value beyond what standard 2D interfaces or physical-only experiences can offer.
Here’s a breakdown of when and why to
use aR:
1. When Visualization Enhances Understanding
Use aR when users benefit from seeing information in real-world context. Examples include:
Education & training: Visualising complex systems (like anatomy, machinery, or architecture) in a 3D space.
Industrial maintenance: Overlaying repair instructions or part labels directly on equipment.
Data visualisation: Displaying data tied to physical spaces or objects (e.g., energy use per room).
2. When users need to try or preview something
aR is powerful for try-before-you-buy or spatial preview scenarios.
Examples include:
Retail: Letting customers see how furniture fits in their room (e.g., IKEA Place).
Fashion/beauty: Virtual try-on for glasses, makeup, or clothes.
Property: Viewing renovations or decor changes in real-time.
3. Increasing engagement or immersion
AR can make experiences more interactive and memorable.
Examples include:
Marketing & advertising: Interactive packaging or aR product demos.
Entertainment & games: Enhancing real-world play spaces (like Pokémon GO).
Museums & tourism: Bringing exhibits or landmarks to life with extra digital layers.
4. When spatial context matters aR excels when information depends on where or what the user is looking at.
Examples include:
Navigation: Indoor or outdoor aR wayfinding.
Construction & design: Visualising blueprints overlaid on physical sites.
Healthcare: guiding surgical procedures with overlaid anatomical data.
Information can be displayed in the real world, but it need not interact with anything there.
When complete immersion in the virtual environment is not necessary. Work can be done collaboratively in teams. aR can be employed in any setting, including industrial and commercial settings, like manufacturing with no or minimal risk to users.
When not to use aR
Avoid aR if:
A simple 2D interface or video tutorial works just as well.
The aR experience doesn’t offer meaningful interaction or context.
Users are unlikely to have the necessary hardware (e.g., aR glasses, smartphones with ARKit/ARCore support).
You can’t ensure a smooth, well-lit environment—AR tracking can fail in poor lighting or cluttered spaces.
When vR could be the solution
You should consider using virtual reality (vR) technology when immersion, visualisation, or experiential learning can create value beyond what traditional methods offer. Here’s a breakdown of when and why to use VR:
Users must be completely immersed in order to experience virtual reality i.e. completely unaware of their surroundings. Therefore, both outdoor and industrial use are inappropriate. Ideal in a regulated setting where the user has the ability to roam about and complete their virtual activities. Real-time remote interaction and collaboration.
Scale-up your 3D modelling, but without regard for context.
Examples include: Education & training
Use VR when:
Hands-on practice is needed, but real-world training is expensive, risky, or impractical (e.g., surgery, aviation, firefighting, manufacturing). You want to simulate real-life scenarios safely—like emergency procedures or medical simulations. You need to teach spatial or physical skills (e.g., mechanics, anatomy, architecture).
1. Design, engineering, & architecture
Use VR when:
You need to visualise spaces or products before they’re built.
Stakeholders benefit from walking through a design at full scale.
Collaborative reviews or design iterations require 3D context.
2. Entertainment & gaming
Use VR when:
The goal is immersion—putting the user inside the story or experience.
You’re developing experiences that benefit from physical engagement and presence.
3. Remote work & collaboration
Use VR when:
Teams benefit from a shared 3D environment for brainstorming, prototyping, or social connection.
You want to reduce “Zoom fatigue” with virtual meeting spaces that feel more natural.
4. Sales & marketing
Use VR when:
Customers benefit from trying before buying—like previewing furniture in their home or touring real estate remotely.
You want to create memorable, interactive brand experiences.
4. Healthcare & therapy
Use VR when:
Treating phobias, PTSD, or anxiety with exposure therapy in controlled environments.
Supporting pain management or rehabilitation through distraction or gamified exercises.
When Not to Use vR
Avoid vR if:
The task doesn’t require immersion (a normal screen or AR is enough).
Users might experience motion sickness or accessibility issues.
The cost and setup time outweigh the benefits.
When mR could be the solution?
Use Mixed Reality (mR) when you need to blend physical and digital environments for interactive, immersive experiences -especially in training, design, healthcare, and remote collaboration. Mixed Reality technology is ideal when you want to go beyond simple overlays (like Augmented Reality) and create environments where digital objects interact with the real world in real time.
mR shines in the following applications:
1. Training & simulation
Medical training: simulate surgeries or anatomy exploration with realistic, interactive 3D models.
Industrial training: teach complex machinery operations or safety protocols using immersive simulations.
Military and emergency response: practice scenarios in controlled, dynamic environments.
2. Design & engineering
Architecture and construction: visualize building designs in real-world settings before construction begins.
Product design: prototype and test digital models in physical space, adjusting in real time.
3. Healthcare
Surgical planning: overlay patient scans onto the body for precise navigation.
Rehabilitation: use interactive mR environments to guide physical therapy and cognitive recovery.
4. Remote Collaboration
Virtual meetings: share and manipulate 3D models or data in real time across locations.
Field support: experts can guide technicians remotely using MR annotations and visuals.
5. Retail & customer experience
Virtual try-ons: let customers see how furniture, clothes, or makeup look in their own space.
Interactive showrooms: blend physical products with digital enhancements for richer experiences.
6. Entertainment & education
Gaming: create immersive gameplay that responds to the physical environment.
Classroom learning: teach science, history, or art with interactive 3D content layered into the real world.
When NOT to use mR
If your goal is simple visual overlays (use aR instead).
If full immersion in a virtual world is needed (use vR).
If hardware costs or setup complexity outweigh the benefits.
Images by julien-tromeur–unsplash vR
