Augmented Reality (AR) has been one of the hottest and most-discussed technologies over the last decade. When executed well, AR adds contextual information and deepens people’s understanding of “reality” by overlaying 3D/2D computer graphics onto videos and display screens. Many experts are predicting an AR boom in the next 5 years over a wide range of applications, including entertainment, education, manufacturing, healthcare, retail, and travel, among others.

Of these many potential uses, outdoor AR is an emerging sector that opens up new possibilities for location-based services. Adding a new digital layer on top of the existing world, outdoor AR will forever change the way we interact with information and open up new ways to transform our surrounding environment. The only limits are our imagination.

While the potential for outdoor AR is huge, it requires new infrastructure. Both startups and big corporations are racing to develop new mapping techniques to position graphics in the real world. Some players are betting on generating content through crowdsourcing, while others still prefer a “walled garden” approach to retain full control over data.

• Which approach is going to be the most competitive in the long term?
• What will it take to witness the power of AR at scale?
• What precautions need to be taken to address privacy concerns?