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  AR and VR: The future of work and play?

Virtual reality and its more outward-looking cousin augmented reality are set to transform both entertainment and employment, but it's still early days.

AR和VR：工作和娱乐的未来？

虚拟现实及其更加外向的堂兄增强现实将改变娱乐和就业，但它仍处于早期阶段。

 

Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR) are often mentioned in the same breath, but there are significant differences between the two technologies -- although they also share many features.

虚拟现实（VR）和增强现实（AR）经常被同时提及，但两种技术之间存在显着差异 - 尽管它们也共享许多功能。

VR typically immerses the user in a virtual world via a headset that largely isolates you from the real world. AR, on the other hand, inserts virtual objects and information into the real world, augmenting your experience of it via a headset that, ideally, is as discreet as possible.

VR通常通过耳机将用户沉浸在虚拟世界中，这在很大程度上将您与现实世界隔离开来。另一方面，AR将虚拟对象和信息插入现实世界，通过耳机增强您的体验，理想情况下，耳机尽可能谨慎。

Although VR opens up potentially unlimited virtual worlds, it's a spatially restricted experience as far as the user is concerned. You won't be straying far from a powerful PC when using a cutting-edge immersive VR system such as the Oculus Rift or HTC's Vive Pre, for example. And although less immersive ('ambient') smartphone-based systems such as Google Cardboard and Samsung's Gear VR are available, you're hardly likely to walk down the street wearing one.

尽管VR打开了潜在无限的虚拟世界，但就用户而言，它是一种空间受限的体验。例如，当使用Oculus Rift或HTC的Vive Pre等先进的沉浸式VR系统时，您不会偏离功能强大的PC。虽然可以使用基于智能手机的系统，如Google Cardboard和三星的Gear VR，但你几乎不可能穿着它走在街上。

By contrast, AR, almost by definition, requires that user be able to move around relatively freely in the real world. That's why Microsoft designed its HoloLens to be a self-contained, battery-powered 'mixed reality' platform, and why the field-worker-focused DAQRI Smart Helmet is similarly autonomous. Meanwhile, at the even more mobile end of the scale, Google Glass -- now discontinued, but reportedly undergoing a revamp called Project Aura -- has inspired a number of 'smart glasses'-style AR headsets, including the Meta 1. 'Smart headphones' with a display component, such as Opinvent's Android-based ORA-X, are another truly mobile AR form factor.

相比之下，AR几乎按照定义要求用户能够在现实世界中相对自由地移动。这就是为什么微软将其HoloLens设计为一个独立的，电池供电的“混合现实”平台，以及为什么以现场工作者为中心的DAQRI Smart Helmet同样具有自主性。与此同时，在规模更大的移动终端，谷歌眼镜 - 现已停产，但据报道正在进行名为Project Aura的改造 - 激发了许多'智能眼镜'式AR耳机，包括Meta 1.'Smart带有显示组件的耳机，例如Opinvent的基于Android的ORA-X，是另一种真正的移动AR外形。

The simplest way to implement AR is passively via markers, such as QR codes or PTC/Vuforia's just-announced VuMark system, that trigger the access and presentation of relevant information. Where markers are not available, more computationally demanding image recognition (especially with positional tracking of the user) is required.

实现AR的最简单方法是通过标记（例如QR码或PTC / Vuforia刚刚宣布的VuMark系统）被动地触发相关信息的访问和呈现。在没有标记的情况下，需要更加计算要求的图像识别（尤其是对用户的位置跟踪）。

The canonical use case for virtual reality is gaming (and other forms of entertainment), but professional applications are emerging for both VR and AR in areas like healthcare, architecture, education, product design, manufacturing, retailing, transportation, logistics, exploration and the military. Other articles in this special report will explore some of these in detail.

虚拟现实的规范用例是游戏（以及其他形式的娱乐），但在医疗保健，建筑，教育，产品设计，制造，零售，运输，物流，勘探等领域，VR和AR都出现了专业应用。军事。本特别报告中的其他文章将详细探讨其中的一些内容。

The amount of noise currently surrounding VR and AR -- there was plenty of volume at the recent CES mega-show in Las Vegas, for example -- can obscure the fact that these technologies are still a long way from the mainstream. Take this author's experience, for example: I first heard about virtual reality in the late 1980s, when pioneers like Jaron Lanier were evangelising the term and exploring its possibilities. But I have yet to use VR or AR for anything resembling 'work' to this day, and don't expect to -- outside of writing reviews -- for several years to come.

目前VR和AR周围的噪音量 - 例如，在拉斯维加斯举行的CES大型展会上有大量的音量 - 可能会掩盖这些技术距离主流还有很长一段路的事实。以这位作者的经验为例：我在20世纪80年代后期首次听说过虚拟现实，当时像Jaron Lanier这样的先驱者正在传播这个术语并探索其可能性。但是到目前为止，我还没有使用VR或AR来做任何类似“工作”的事情，并且在未来几年内不会期望 - 在撰写评论之外 - 。

The pace of development is undoubtedly hotting up though, as the progress of both VR and AR through Gartner's Hype Cycle for Emerging Technologies in recent years demonstrates:

然而，随着近年来Gartner的新兴技术炒作周期的VR和AR的进展表明，发展速度无疑正在升温：

According to Gartner, virtual reality and augmented reality have both negotiated the over-hyped 'Peak of inflated expectations': VR is about to begin the climb up the 'Slope of enlightenment' towards mainstream acceptance and the 'Plateau of productivity', while AR is still heading towards the 'Trough of disillusionment', which is about to be vacated by VR. Both technologies are expected to reach maturity within 5-10 years.

根据Gartner的说法，虚拟现实和增强现实都已经谈判过度夸大的“夸大的期望峰值”：VR即将开始攀升到“主流接受度和'生产力高原'的'启蒙斜率'，而AR 仍然朝着“幻灭的低谷”前进，即将被VR腾空。 预计这两种技术将在5到10年内达到成熟。

Google Trends' analysis of searches for the two terms, meanwhile, shows that VR was dominant until mid-2009, when AR superseded it for a few years, before returning to prominence after 2014:

与此同时，谷歌趋势对两个术语搜索的分析表明，VR在2009年中期之前一直占据主导地位，当时AR已经取代了几年，之后在2014年之后恢复突出：

So, VR is ahead on the adoption curve, with AR hot on its heels. But it's still relatively early days for both technologies -- which, as we shall see, may in time converge.

因此，VR领先于采用曲线，AR紧随其后。但对于这两种技术来说，现在还处于相对早期阶段 - 正如我们将要看到的那样，这些技术可能会及时融合。

Technology

Virtual reality is all about convincing the brain that a computer-generated 3D environment delivered to your eyes via a headset is 'real' -- a concept known as 'presence' in VR circles. Anything that doesn't look 'right' to our visual system may deliver a sub-par experience, or even cause dizziness, disorientation, nausea and headaches. This is less of a problem with AR, because you can still see the real world.

技术

虚拟现实就是让大脑相信通过耳机传送到您眼睛的计算机生成的3D环境是“真实的” - 在VR圈子中称为“存在”的概念。任何对我们的视觉系统看起来“不正确”的东西都可能会产生低于标准的体验，甚至会引起头晕，迷失方向，恶心和头痛。这不是AR的问题，因为你仍然可以看到现实世界。

According to Oculus VR's chief scientist Michael Abrash, the components of presence (and minimum requirements) are: field of view (≥80 degrees); resolution (≥1080p); pixel persistence (≤3ms); refresh rate (60-95Hz); global display (all pixels illuminated simultaneously, unless low-latency eye tracking is used); optics (1 or at most 2 lenses per eye); optical calibration; tracking (rock-solid xyz and orientation); and latency (20-25ms, motion-to-last-photon). Any implementation in which one of these requirements is seriously lacking will compromise the illusion of reality.

根据Oculus VR的首席科学家Michael Abrash的说法，存在的成分（和最低要求）是：视野（≥80度）;分辨率（≥1080p）;像素持久性（≤3ms）;刷新率（60-95Hz）;全局显示（所有像素同时亮起，除非使用低延迟眼动追踪）;光学（每只眼睛1个或最多2个镜片）;光学校准;跟踪（坚如磐石的xyz和方向）;和延迟（20-25ms，运动到最后光子）。任何严重缺乏这些要求之一的实施都会损害现实的幻觉。

Last year (Q3 2015), industry specialist Digi-Capital undertook a detailed technical audit of the available VR and AR platforms, measuring 26 benchmarks across 7 'critical success factors' -- mobility, vision, immersion, usability, flexibility, wearability and affordability. Best-in-class benchmarks for each technology are summarised below:

去年（2015年第3季度），行业专家Digi-Capital对可用的VR和AR平台进行了详细的技术审核，测量了7个关键成功因素的26个基准 - 移动性，视觉，沉浸感，可用性，灵活性，耐用性和可承受性。每种技术的最佳基准总结如下：

As Digi-Capital points out, these are benchmarks from different companies' products, so they're not yet available in any individual device -- when they are, "That will be AR/VR's defining iPhone moment," says the analyst firm.

Here are brief descriptions of some of today's leading VR and AR platforms in different categories:

HTC Vive PreImmersive VR

正如Digi-Capital所指出的那样，这些都是来自不同公司产品的基准，因此它们尚未在任何单个设备中提供 - 当它们出现时，“这将是AR / VR定义的iPhone时刻，”该分析公司表示。

 

以下是一些当前领先的VR和AR平台的简要描述：

 

HTC Vive Pre

身临其境的VR

The most-cited 'product in 'best-of' listings at the recent CES 2016 was HTC's immersive VR system, created in conjunction with game developer Valve. The current incarnation, Vive Pre, is a second-generation developer kit; preorders for the April consumer launch kick off on 29 February.

在最近的2016年国际消费电子展上，被引用次数最多的“最佳”产品是HTC的沉浸式VR系统，与游戏开发商Valve合作创建。目前的版本，Vive Pre，是第二代开发人员套件; 4月份消费者推出的预订将于2月29日开始。

The Vive Pre delivers a state-of-the-art VR experience, with the key added feature is that it's a room-scale (4.5m x 4.5m/15ft x 15ft) system: you're still tethered to a powerful host PC (requirements TBA), but HTC's Chaperone system allows you to overlay enough of the real world on demand -- via a combination of wireless 'Lighthouse' base stations and a camera mounted on the sensor-laden headset -- to avoid bumping into the furniture as you negotiate the tracking space.

Vive Pre提供最先进的VR体验，其中增加的关键功能是它是一个房间规模（4.5mx 4.5m / 15ft x 15ft）系统：您仍然可以连接到功能强大的主机PC（要求TBA），但HTC的Chaperone系统允许您根据需要覆盖足够的现实世界 - 通过无线'Lighthouse'基站和安装在载有传感器的耳机上的摄像头的组合 - 以避免碰到家具你协商跟踪空间。

Vive Pre uses two 1,080-by-1,200 OLED displays with a refresh rate of 90Hz and a 110-degree field of view, and includes the Lighthouse base stations plus a pair of handheld controllers (which are also tracked by the base stations). Launch pricing has yet to be announced, but is expected to be around $500-$600.

Vive Pre使用两个1,080×1,200 OLED显示器，刷新率为90Hz，视野为110度，包括Lighthouse基站和一对手持控制器（也由基站跟踪）。发布定价尚未公布，但预计将在500-600美元左右。

Microsoft HoloLens

The best-known immersive AR system is probably Microsoft's HoloLens, a self-contained 'smart-glasses'-style headset containing a Windows 10 computer with battery life currently estimated at between 2.5 and 5.5 hours.

最着名的沉浸式AR系统可能是微软的HoloLens，这是一款独立的“智能眼镜”式耳机，内置一台Windows 10电脑，电池寿命目前估计在2.5到5.5小时之间。

First unveiled in January 2015, HoloLens uses an array of optics, sensors, cameras and microphones to create virtual 2D or 3D objects ('holograms'), track your eye movements and gestures, and respond to voice commands as you interact with the resulting 'mixed reality' environment -- which also includes impressive spatial sound capabilities. As well as the standard CPU/GPU combo, the HoloLens computer includes an Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) and a Holographic Processing Unit (HPU) that handles eye-tracking, gesture information and environment mapping.

首次亮相于2015年1月，HoloLens使用一系列光学器件，传感器，相机和麦克风来创建虚拟的2D或3D物体（“全息图”），跟踪您的眼睛运动和手势，并在与您产生的交互时响应语音命令。混合现实环境 - 其中还包括令人印象深刻的空间声音功能。除标准CPU / GPU组合外，HoloLens计算机还包括一个惯性测量单元（IMU）和一个处理眼动追踪，手势信息和环境映射的全息处理单元（HPU）。

Currently, HoloLens holograms only appear within a 'magic window' that occupies a limited portion of your field of view -- something that wasn't evident in Microsoft's early gaming-heavy keynote demos, and is unlikely to change substantially before launch. Gamers may be disappointed, but this will be less of a problem for business applications, which are a key target market for HoloLens.

目前，HoloLens全息图仅出现在占据视野有限部分的“魔术窗口”中 - 这在微软早期的游戏重点主题演示中并不明显，并且在发布之前不太可能发生重大变化。游戏玩家可能会感到失望，但对于商业应用来说这不会是一个问题，因为商业应用是HoloLens的主要目标市场。

HoloLens developer kits will be available to Windows Insider members in the US and Canada during Q1 2016 for $3,000. Microsoft also recently opened an experience center at its flagship New York store, where developers can try out the platform. The final launch date and price for HoloLens have yet to be announced.

HoloLens开发人员套件将于2016年第一季度在美国和加拿大的Windows Insider会员中以3000美元的价格提供。微软最近还在旗舰店纽约开设了一个体验中心，开发人员可以在这里试用该平台。 HoloLens的最终发布日期和价格尚未公布。

Samsung Gear VR

 

Among the VR headsets that use a smartphone as both its display and computing engine, the best-known is Samsung's Gear VR (80/$99.99), which was developed in conjunction with Facebook-owned Oculus.

在使用智能手机作为其显示和计算引擎的VR耳机中，最着名的是三星的Gear VR（80英镑/ 99.99美元），它是与Facebook旗下的Oculus共同开发的。

An update from the more expensive Innovator Edition, the Gear VR, which works with a range of high-end Samsung smartphones (Galaxy Note 5, S6 Edge+, S6 and S6 Edge), is a nicely-designed 318g dual-lens headset that can accommodate glasses-wearers. It includes a Micro-USB pass-through port for charging the phone, a focus adjustment wheel and a volume control; for navigation, there's a touchpad and a back button.

 

来自更昂贵的Innovator Edition的更新，Gear VR，与一系列高端三星智能手机（Galaxy Note 5，S6 Edge +，S6和S6 Edge）配合使用，是一款设计精美的318g双镜头耳机，可以适应眼镜佩戴者。它包括一个用于为手机充电的Micro-USB直通端口，一个焦点调节轮和一个音量控制器;对于导航，有一个触摸板和一个后退按钮。

The 2,560-by-1,440-pixel Super AMOLED screens on Samsung's high-end handsets deliver good resolution, although the refresh rate is only 60Hz. The field of view is 96 degrees, which is good enough for 'presence' (see above), but there's no spatial tracking of your head position: Google's Project Tango is currently the only smartphone platform with the required 3D motion tracking and depth sensing technology (Lenovo is set to be the first to deliver a Tango-based handset later in 2016).

三星高端手机上的2,560×1,440像素Super AMOLED屏幕提供了良好的分辨率，但刷新率仅为60Hz。视野为96度，足以“存在”（见上文），但没有空间跟踪您的头部位置：Google的Project Tango是目前唯一具备所需3D运动跟踪和深度感应技术的智能手机平台（联想将在2016年晚些时候率先推出基于Tango的手机）。

As far as software is concerned, Gear VR is almost exclusively consumer-focused at the moment (gaming and 360-degree video), but business applications are likely to appear in due course.

 

就软件而言，Gear VR目前几乎完全以消费者为中心（游戏和360度视频），但商业应用可能会在适当的时候出现。

DAQRI Smart Helmet

Of all the AR headsets available, DAQRI's Smart Helmet, which was officially unveiled at this year's CES, looks the most businesslike -- in an industrial, blue-collar sort of way.

在所有可用的AR耳机中，DAQRI的智能头盔在今年的CES上正式亮相，看起来最具商业性 - 以工业蓝领的方式。

A combination of hard hat, Robocop-style helmet and safety goggles, the 1kg Smart Helmet is designed for 'all-day wearability', and has the battery life to match. The helmet's computer is based on a 6th-generation Intel Core m7 processor, and the sensor array includes an IntelRealSense R200 360-degree depth-sensing camera, a high-definition 13-megapixel camera, a low-res camera for use with the IMU (Inertial Measurement Unit) for helmet positioning, and a thermal camera. The ruggedised see-through AR display uses a high-definition LCoS engine and has a 100-degree field of view.

 

1kg智能头盔结合了安全帽，Robocop风格的头盔和护目镜，专为“全天穿着”而设计，并具有相匹配的电池寿命。 头盔的计算机基于第六代英特尔酷睿m7处理器，传感器阵列包括一个英特尔实感R200 360度深度感应摄像头，一个高清1300万像素摄像头，一个低分辨率摄像头，用于 用于头盔定位的IMU（惯性测量单元）和热成像仪。 坚固耐用的透视AR显示屏采用高清LCoS引擎，具有100度视野。

The DAQRI Smart Helmet will be available this quarter (Q1 2016), with prices depending on the number of units involved and the software package that goes with them.

DAQRI智能头盔将于本季度（2016年第一季度）上市，价格取决于所涉及的设备数量以及随附的软件包。

The VR and AR markets

UK-based analyst/consulting firm Beecham Research has recently examined the enterprise AR market with specific reference to blue-collar workers, publishing a report in January entitled Augmented Reality and Wearable Technology - an operational tool for the enterprise.

VR和AR市场

总部位于英国的分析师/咨询公司Beecham Research最近研究了企业AR市场，特别提到了蓝领工人，1月份发布了一份题为“增强现实和可穿戴技术”的报告，该报告是企业的一种操作工具。

According to the report's author Matthew Duke-Woolley, a lot of potential enterprise AR adopters are currently playing their cards close to the chest: "They don't really want to publicise what they're finding, because it's a cut-throat business -- in logistics, for example, the margins are quite tight, so if you can get a 10 or 15 percent cost advantage in your process, you stand a really good chance of beating the opposition."

根据报告的作者Matthew Duke-Woolley的说法，许多潜在的企业AR采用者目前正在接近他们的牌：“他们并不真的想要宣传他们所发现的东西，因为这是一个苛刻的业务 - - 例如，在物流方面，利润率相当紧张，因此如果你能在你的过程中获得10％或15％的成本优势，那么你就很有可能击败对手。“

Nonetheless, there are plenty of pilot AR programmes underway, says Duke-Woolley -- particularly in business operations, logistics and retail "because these are areas where access to knowledge systems is going to be most beneficial." But AR will also be important for communication and collaboration in all of the main business-to-business sectors, he adds.

尽管如此，Duke-Woolley表示正在进行大量试点AR计划，特别是在商业运营，物流和零售方面，“因为这些领域对知识系统的访问最为有利。”但他补充说，AR对于所有主要的企业对企业部门的沟通和协作也很重要。

To give a flavour of business AR in action, Duke-Woolley cites this video from SAP and smart-glasses manufacturer Vuzix, which shows a field-service engineer using a smart headset for outdoor vehicle navigation, indoor personal navigation, task list display and the identification of an individual part that needs attention:

为了展示商业AR的风格，Duke-Woolley引用了来自SAP和智能眼镜制造商Vuzix的视频，该视频展示了一名现场服务工程师使用智能耳机进行户外车辆导航，室内个人导航，任务列表显示和确定需要注意的个别部分：

The market for these kinds of applications is certainly hotting up. In November last year ThingWorx developer PTC acquired AR platform specialst Vuforia from Qualcomm for $65 million. Last week, the companies made a bid to become the enterprise AR standard, introducing a new VuMark system for accessing AR content and extending Vuforia's platform support to include Windows 10. Here's what Vuforia's ecosystem currently looks like:

这类应用的市场肯定是热门的。 去年11月，ThingWorx开发商PTC以6500万美元的价格从Qualcomm手中收购了AR平台最专业的Vuforia。 上周，两家公司试图成为企业AR标准，推出了一个新的VuMark系统，用于访问AR内容并扩展Vuforia的平台支持，包括Windows 10.这就是Vuforia目前的生态系统：

You can see the announcements and demos from PTC's ThingEvent presentation here.

您可以在此处查看PTC ThingEvent演示文稿中的公告和演示。

So how far can AR go? "Augmented reality has the potential to completely eclipse the market value of virtual reality," says Duke-Woolley, who notes that "the problem with virtual reality is that it takes you out of the real world, and that's not really a very good application for work."

AR可以走多远？ “增强现实有可能完全蚕食虚拟现实的市场价值，”Duke-Woolley说道，“虚拟现实的问题在于它将你带出现实世界，这不是一个非常好的应用程序工作。“

Whereas the virtual reality market is awaiting its 'killer app' (most likely a game or some other form of immersive entertainment), that's not so much the case with AR. "With augmented reality, there need to be more hardware iterations," says Duke-Woolley. "The software is very advanced, but because there's relatively low adoption of the hardware at the moment, it's not worth it for the hardware companies to iterate as often."

虽然虚拟现实市场正在等待其“杀手级应用”（很可能是游戏或其他形式的沉浸式娱乐），但AR的情况并非如此。 “随着增强现实，需要更多的硬件迭代，”Duke-Woolley说。 “该软件非常先进，但由于目前硬件采用率相对较低，因此硬件公司不必经常迭代。”

As far as value is concerned, Beecham Research's report forecasts that the 'blue collar' portion of the augmented reality market -- omitting any consumer components -- could reach $800 million by 2020. That's more conservative than Juniper Research, which last year placed a $2.4 billion value on the enterprise AR market in 2019 -- up from $214 million in 2015.

就价值而言，Beecham Research的报告预测，增强现实市场的“蓝领”部分 - 省略任何消费者组件 - 到2020年可能达到8亿美元。这比Juniper Research更为保守，Juniper Research去年提出了2019年企业增强现实市场价值24亿美元 - 高于2015年的2.14亿美元。

Digi-Capital, meanwhile, sees an overall VR/AR market totalling $120 billion by 2020, with AR outpacing VR around 2019 and accounting for 75 percent of the market ($90 billion). Here are the expected revenue shares for the two sectors in 2020:

与此同时，Digi-Capital预计到2020年整体VR / AR市场总额将达到1200亿美元，其中AR在2019年左右超过VR，占市场的75％（900亿美元）。以下是2020年两个行业的预期收入份额：

As you can see, the 'Enterprise AR' segment of Digi-Capital's chart is a fraction of the $90 billion total -- but still a long way ahead of Beecham Research's conservative $800 million estimate. Both analyst firms agree on one thing, though: augmented reality is a much bigger potential market than virtual reality.

正如您所看到的，Digi-Capital图表中的“企业AR”部分仅占总额900亿美元的一小部分 - 但仍远远超过Beecham Research保守的8亿美元预测。不过，两家分析公司都同意一件事：增强现实是一个比虚拟现实更大的潜在市场。

Outlook

Over time, the lines between VR and AR are likely to blur: immersive VR headsets will admit the real world via video-pass-through or other methods (for safety purposes and mixed reality capabilities) and should eventually be able to lose the wired tether to a host PC. Meanwhile, AR platforms will be able to deliver increasingly immersive experiences as headset-mountable technology gets smaller, faster and more power-frugal.

外表

随着时间的推移，VR和AR之间的界限可能会变得模糊：沉浸式VR头戴式耳机将通过视频传递或其他方法（出于安全目的和混合现实功能）接纳现实世界，最终应该能够丢失有线绳索到主机PC。同时，AR平台将能够提供越来越沉浸式的体验，因为耳机可安装技术变得更小，更快，更节能。

Perhaps one day we'll all wear discreet but powerful and long-lasting wireless headsets that combine the functions not only of today's VR and AR gear, but also our smartphones. Before that day arrives, over the next 5-10 years, we'll see avid gamers spend increasing amounts of time strapped into immersive VR headsets, and mobile professionals sporting AR smart glasses or helmets that help them complete their work quicker and more efficiently.

也许有一天，我们都会佩戴谨慎但功能强大且持久耐用的无线耳机，这些耳机不仅结合了当今VR和AR设备的功能，还融合了我们的智能手机。在那一天到来之前，在接下来的5到10年内，我们会看到狂热的游戏玩家花费越来越多的时间绑在沉浸式VR头戴式耳机上，而移动专业人士则戴着AR智能眼镜或头盔，帮助他们更快更有效地完成工作。

One more thing: there's an elephant in the VR/AR room, by the name of Apple. True to form, the company has offered nothing explicit on its plans for this market, although there are plenty of clues for the legions of Apple-watchers to pore over. Something car-related is a distinct possibility, for example, given the existence of the CarPlay platform and Apple's 2015 purchase of Metaio, a Volkswagen offshoot that develops AR software.

还有一件事：VR / AR房间里有一头大象，名叫Apple。事实上，该公司没有明确提供有关这个市场的计划，尽管有很多线索可以让苹果观察家们大肆宣传。汽车相关的东西是一个明显的可能性，例如，考虑到CarPlay平台的存在以及Apple 2015年购买的Metaio，这是开发AR软件的大众汽车分支。

Apple's most recent comment on the subject came from CEO Tim Cook at the Q1 2016 earnings call last week, when he was asked (by Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster): "I know you can't talk about new products, but...any high-level thoughts on the virtual reality theme: do you think this is more of a geeky niche, or something that could go mainstream?" Cook's response was: "No I don't think that it's a niche. I think it can be...it's really cool and has some interesting applications."

苹果最近对该主题发表的评论来自于上周2016年第一季度财报电话会议主席蒂姆·库克（Tim Cook），当时有人问Piper Jaffray分析师Gene Munster：“我知道你不能谈论新产品，但......关于虚拟现实主题的任何高层次想法：你认为这更像是一个令人讨厌的利基，还是可以成为主流的东西？“库克的回答是：“不，我不认为这是一个利基。我认为它可以......它真的很酷，并且有一些有趣的应用。”

As the VR/AR market takes shape through 2016 and beyond, Apple will eventually break cover -- and what could be more natural for the company whose late co-founder was famously described as operating in a 'reality distortion field'?

随着VR / AR市场在2016年及以后形成，苹果最终会打破封面 - 而对于那些已故的联合创始人被称为在“现实扭曲领域”运营的公司而言，这更为自然？