If you ever need confirmation that augmented reality (AR) is booming, just remember this: Unity is on board, big time.

Yes, Unity. The engine that powers more than 50% of modern video games. No small feat when you consider that the gaming industry brings in more revenue than movies and American sports, combined.

The ideal conditions, you might think, for Unity to sit back and watch the money roll in. But rather than resting on its laurels, the studio is looking beyond gaming and throwing its weight behind another market entirely: AR.

Unity has made its interest abundantly clear. Even back in 2019, it was investing heavily in AR. And the company has launched a succession of tools and tutorials to help developers create new experiences using the technology.

In this post, we'll explore why. But first, the basics…

A quick primer: what is AR?

Augmented reality (AR) is part of a broader spectrum of technologies called extended reality (XR). Put simply, XR aims to alter or enhance our perception of reality.

The technologies that make up XR can be classified by their level of immersion.

On one extreme there's virtual reality (VR), which delivers total immersion in the form of awe-inspiring virtual environments. On the other, you have assisted reality (aR), which provides useful reference and collaboration tools, but actively avoids immersion. With aR, the idea is that the technology fades into the background, allowing the user to carry on their work without giving up vital situational awareness.

AR (with a big "A") sits smack bang in the middle of these two extremes. AR technology seeks to blend the real and the virtual, conjuring up 3D objects that appear to exist and interact with our lived reality.

AR's productivity potential

You're probably aware that VR is already a lucrative industry. From 2020 to 2021, the global market for VR headsets grew by more than 90%. And stores like Steam are flooded with cutting-edge VR games that promise to transport players to riveting new worlds.

But here's the thing. While VR has some exciting potential business uses, its popularity has been driven by consumers who are keen to adopt the latest and most immersive gaming technologies. The market has spoken, and it's saying "VR is for games (mostly, anyway)".

AR is enjoying its own surge in popularity. Statista estimates there will be 1.7 billion active users of AR by 2025 – an increase of more than 290%.

And – crucially – this growth is being steered by business customers, not John and Jane Gamer. Another Statista study suggests the enterprise AR market will grow by more than 250% over the next two years.

Non-commercial markets are adopting the tech, too. In 2021, won a $22 billion contract with the US Army to equip soldiers with its pioneering HoloLens AR headsets.

It's easy to see why. For organisations of many stripes, AR technology represents a sweet spot between lived reality and virtual reality. Unlike VR, which – rightly or wrongly – is perceived as "gamey", AR lets you craft new experiences within the real world.

As organisations like Airbus and NASA are discovering, AR has the potential to deliver immersive training simulations, empower collaboration and speed up product development – all while remaining firmly grounded in reality.

Unity's stake in the technology

So why is Unity backing AR development? We reckon it's because the technology offers the clearest and most promising route to untapped markets.

After all, this is the first time in history that features like "gaming-quality" graphics and realistic 3D modelling have been attractive to business customers. These just happen to be features that Unity excels in.

It's a no brainer. Unity already has a mature platform that's full to the brim with useful AR development tools. All it has to do is remind developers, "hey, we're here. We're not just for games. We have everything you need to create immersive 3D experiences, no matter the technology."

Don't take our word for it, though. Unity sees itself as a driving force in the world of industrial XR.

As Unity's senior AR developer Dan Miller said in 2019, commercial use cases for AR technology range from "visualising the construction of a building" to "producing an overlay for medical procedures when surgeons are practising".

Then, the clincher: “in general Unity is looking outside of gaming, and we want to be there to enable these new platforms and new industries."

And enabling them they are…

What Unity is doing for AR developers

One of Unity's most vaunted features is its ability to deploy software seamlessly across multiple platforms. For instance, a developer can create a game on a PC, and then build versions for Mac, iPhone and Android, without having to worry about reworking their code.

With its AR Foundation framework, Unity is delivering the same cross-platform convenience to the world of augmented reality development.

Using the framework, developers can deploy apps across four key AR platforms: Apple's ARKit, Google's ARCore, Microsoft's HoloLens and the Magic Leap smart glasses.

Better still, the framework has future proofing built in. This means you can include features that aren't yet supported by all platforms, and be sure that the software will still work. As soon as the feature is implemented, you can easily integrate it into your software without having to build the app from scratch.

And – most importantly – AR Foundation is easy to use. By presenting a low barrier of entry for existing Unity developers, the company is all but guaranteeing enthusiastic adoption.

Is it working? While we don't have exact figures, we'd be surprised if Unity wasn't already the number one development environment for AR software. After all, it already has the PC and mobile gaming market sewn up.

It comes down to one question: where do you go when you need to create compelling 3D experiences? For many, the answer is Unity, every time.

Here's to an app-filled, AR-powered future.

Want to unlock the power of AR technology for your business? Explore our range of augmented reality devices here.