Microsoft‘s (NASDAQ: MSFT) Hololens 2 headset is the leading device for industrial applications, and Magic Leap has started shipping a headset it thinks will wow consumers. But the companies I think investors should keep an eye on in AR are Facebook (NASDAQ: FB), Snapchat (NYSE: SNAP), and Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL). Here’s why they may already be leaps and bounds ahead of the competition.

Facebook

Augmented reality hasn’t been at the forefront of investors’ minds when it comes to Facebook, but the company has been spending a lot of time building AR capability in the background. It has launched AR filters for Instagram, and build development tools like the Camera Effects Platform and Spark AR Studio for developers.

With the Facebook app and Instagram, Facebook has both the ability to reach billions of people with AR technology and the incentive to use these new tools to keep people engaged. Facebook could either develop new functionalities itself or serve as a platform distributor for others through its popular apps. Either way, Facebook has a lot of opportunities in AR.

Snapchat

Arguably the leader in augmented reality today is Snapchat, which pioneered filters and interactions using its facial recognition technology. I recently covered their $1 billion capital raise, which they said would go partly to developing AR technology.

Unlike Facebook, Snapchat is interested in getting into the hardware business, and that’s where I find the company very intriguing. Spectacles 3 are now able to capture depth in images with two cameras. The depth capability now being included in smartphones could be great for AR capture.

What would really change the game is if Snapchat started to build an AR display onto Spectacles. It could give a live image of the playful tools it has created, which could be used for myriad applications from consumer uses to advertising to industrial applications. Snapchat is quietly building some of the best AR technology in the world, and I wouldn’t sleep on it long-term.

Apple

The giant waiting in the wings in AR is Apple. The company has had AR tech in iPhones for years, but may now be moving into specific AR hardware. Developers have found code in iOS 13 that indicates Apple is working on an AR headset of some kind. We don’t know any details yet, but we know that iPhones come standard with AR capabilities, so a headset would be a logical extension.

What’s disruptive about Apple in AR is that it can overshadow competitors in a heartbeat. Magic Leap and Microsoft have worked for years to develop AR headsets and have very few in service, but Apple has the brand and retail outlets to bring an AR headset to the masses. We don’t know if it will, but it’s arguably the most important company to watch in augmented reality, and there are now hints that a headset will be here sooner than later.

A big market up for grabs

Digi-Capital estimates that mobile AR was a $3 billion market in 2018 and could be worth $70 billion to $75 billion by 2023. That’s a big market to grab hold of if companies can build the hardware and content that people want. Facebook and Snapchat have a head start in content, while Apple is an intriguing company on the platform and hardware side. Time will tell who is able to capture this massive market opportunity.

The post 3 Stocks to Watch in Augmented Reality appeared first on The Motley Fool Canada.

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The move isn’t the biggest acquisition Facebook has made and won’t be a headline deal for most investors, but it could change the future of AR and VR.

Facebook’s vision for CTRL-labs tech

CTRL-labs technology uses sensors on a bracelet (shown above) to detect what action your brain is trying to send to the muscles in your hand. In simulations, the company can predict how your hand is moving with just the wearable, not by tracking of the hand itself.

In a Facebook post following the CTRL-labs announcement, VP of AR/VR Andrew Bosworth laid out what Facebook is going to do with CTRL-labs technology like wearable devices:

The vision for this work is a wristband that lets people control their devices as a natural extension of movement. Here’s how it’ll work: You have neurons in your spinal cord that send electrical signals to your hand muscles telling them to move in specific ways such as to click a mouse or press a button. The wristband will decode those signals and translate them into a digital signal your device can understand, empowering you with control over your digital life. It captures your intention so you can share a photo with a friend using an imperceptible movement or just by, well, intending to.

He went on to say, “This is how our interactions in VR and AR can one day look.”

Companies have been trying to find ways to make AR and VR interactions more realistic, originally using a trigger to close a fist and then adding touch interfaces that approximated where fingers were on a controller. The latest advance is the Valve Index controller, which uses 87 sensors to determine where your fingers and hands are in real life.

CTRL-labs has the ability to take that to the next level by identifying a person’s intentions by sensing his or her brain signals. If the method proves successful, wearable devices on our wrists may soon replaced controllers.

What’s next for Facebook in AR/VR?

We know that Facebook’s Oculus division recently launched the $400 Oculus Quest headset in an aim to make VR accessible to a wider market. But that’s likely just the start of the advances.

The company is reportedly working on AR smart glasses that may be more accessible than VR systems because they’re an everyday device. Wearables like the CTRL-kit may be an augmentation of AR glasses or VR headsets, and may be just the beginning of technology that is able to sense intention, not just actions.

What we know today is that Facebook is investing heavily in AR and VR, and it’s acquiring companies that push the boundaries of the technology. That may keep the company a step ahead of the competition, which will be a great place for Facebook to be if AR and VR become everyday devices.

The post Facebook Makes Another Billion-Dollar Bet on AR/VR appeared first on The Motley Fool Canada.

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