Content, Cost, User Experience Key to Future of AR and VR, New Survey Finds

Augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) have taken major steps forward this year with the groundbreaking launch of Pokémon GO in July 2016 and the release of several VR headsets. 

As the startup world convenes in San Francisco this week at TechCrunch Disrupt 2016, Perkins Coie and Upload are releasing a new survey on the future of AR/VR. The report is based on insight from 653 survey respondents, including AR/VR startup founders, executives with established technology companies and investors.

The survey findings show an industry poised for substantial growth in the years ahead—provided it gets past a few hurdles. Respondents said the industry needs to develop more high-quality and robust content, prices need to go down and the user experience needs to improve (e.g., bulky hardware and technical glitches). On the positive side, investors indicated plans to progress to larger funding rounds over the next 12 months, and respondents saw great promise for the near-term growth of mobile VR technologies.

Perhaps because AR/VR is still a relatively young industry, only four percent of respondents said legal risks were the biggest obstacle to growth. However, executives with AR/VR startups and established technology companies did express concern about specific legal risks, including technology and intellectual property licensing, product liability, health and safety, consumer privacy and data security.

Visit complete Perkins Coie and Upload Augmented and Virtual Reality Survey report, please visit: https://www.perkinscoie.com/vr.

Kirk Soderquist and Jason Schneiderman are co-chairs of Perkins Coie's Interactive Entertainment practice, and Of Counsel, Don Karl is based in Los Angeles. The practice represents several AR and VR market leaders in identifying, anticipating and resolving legal issues raised by this developing technology, including content strategy execution, commercialization, IP protection, product liability and corporate financings.