Augmented Reality Pushes the Boundaries of Entertainment

- FinancialBuzz.com News Commentary

NEW YORK, April 1, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Augmented reality is becoming a more prominent technology in the social media sector. After Snapchat pioneered it, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest and TikTok have launched their own lenses, filters and effects. In the process, AR has shown its value not only for branding and entertainment, but also for commerce. A few recent developments from the social media world include Facebook's roll out of AR advertising, and Instagram adding try-on features. According to a report by eMarketer, the shutdown of many retail stores spurred some marketers to invest more in AR as a way to offer virtual try-on and other experiences typically only available in-store. Several social media properties now enable try-on within their apps. Scienjoy Holding Corporation (NASDAQ: SJ), Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ: MSFT), MicroVision, Inc. (NASDAQ: MVIS), Unity Software Inc. (NYSE: U), Himax Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ: HIMX)

Continued advances in AR technology and the growing adoption of the technology in consumer applications is also seen driving the need for compatible AR chipsets. As a result, companies such as Qualcomm, AMD, and Intel are responding to the situation by launching state-of-the-art AR-enabled chipsets. For instance, according to Grand View Research, in May 2018, Qualcomm launched the Snapdragon XR1 chipset, which is dedicated to the extended reality platform. Then, in December 2019, the Company unveiled its 5G-enabled Snapdragon XR2 chipset for AR and VR hardware.

Scienjoy Holding Corporation (NASDAQ: SJ) announced yesterday breaking news that, "it has established a strategic partnership with Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications (BUPT) to research multi-user augmented reality technology and its applications for live streaming content and entertainment.

As part of the agreement, Scienjoy will purchase patents for "augmented reality technologies and systems for multi-user interactions" from BUPT. Scienjoy plans to use these patents in multi-player games and multi-player live streams to enhance the user interactive experience in Scienjoy's virtual reality second life worlds.

Through partnership with BUPT, Scienjoy hopes to further promote innovation and development in the live streaming industry, and to explore research synergies between institutions of higher education and private enterprise on AR technology. This agreement represents a further deepening of the cooperation between BUPT and Scienjoy that was announced in January 2021 regarding the applications of web-based augmented reality technology (Web AR).