Topic — Software
Published
Written By Alison DeNisco Rayome
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Augmented reality developers are in increasing demand as applications of the technology begin to hit the enterprise. Here are the skills they need.
Augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) are slowly but surely gaining more business use cases as the technology develops, leading to an increased demand for skilled developers who can create apps for the enterprise.
While VR has perhaps made the largest impact on the consumer side thanks to gaming, enterprise AR adoption is further ahead than consumer AR in terms of maturity, Tuong Nguyen, a principal research analyst at Gartner, told TechRepublic.
SEE: Mixed reality in business (ZDNet/TechRepublic special feature) | Download the free PDF version (TechRepublic)
The top three business use cases for AR currently include task itemization (think a tool that gives you a list of what to do on the warehouse floor), design and collaboration (like furniture placement for architectural or aesthetic fit), and video guidance (such as talking to someone and outlining what to do on your screen to finish a job or learn a skill), Nguyen said.
When it comes to VR, new hardware on the market aimed at professionals like the HTC Vive Pro and the Oculus for Business bundle could be used for enhancing worker productivity and job training in fields like manufacturing and design, healthcare, transportation, and retail.
Are you a developer interested in breaking into a career in the space? On Tuesday, SlashData released a report that collected insights from more than 26,000 developers to help enterprises better understand the AR/VR talent market.
Here are the seven most popular programming languages for AR and VR development.
- C#
- C/C++
- Java
- JavaScript
- Python
- Visual development tools
- Swift
SEE: Virtual and augmented reality policy (TechRepublic Premium)
To learn a new programming language, developers have several options. You can teach yourself without taking a formal course, or you can explore a number of free or low-cost online courses and programs. Coding bootcamps are also an option–but as with any program, make sure to do your research before signing up.
No matter your education background, it’s key for developers have a portfolio of work to show employers what they’re capable of.
“The reality of getting hired as a developer is that it’s way easier to get hired if you show the company what you have done,” Nick Larsen, a data engineer at Stack Overflow, wrote in a blog post. “A portfolio of projects and products you have made credible contributions to is worth more than years of experience or schooling.”
The big takeaways for tech leaders:
- AR and VR technologies are slowly becoming more widely adopted in the enterprise, with use cases around training and productivity emerging.
- C#, C/C++, and Java are the most popular programming languages among AR developers, according to SlashData.
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- VR and AR: The Business Reality
- How to become a developer: A cheat sheet
- Businesses still to warm to VR and AR, with just 24,000 headsets bought last year
Alison DeNisco Rayome
Alison DeNisco Rayome is a senior editor at CNET, leading a team covering software, apps and services. She was previously a senior editor at CNET's sister site TechRepublic.
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