The Irish immersive technology sector, which covers games development, and technologies such as virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR), is worth an estimated €43m and has significant potential for growth, according to a report commissioned by Immersive Technologies Skillnet, Animation Skillnet and Screen Skillnet.
The Irish Immersive Economy report, ordered by the Dublin Business lnnovation Centre-backed (DBIC) bodies, found that 63% of businesses operating in the sector expect to grow in the next 12 months, with 80% of companies now exporting to Europe and internationally.
Investment in the sector is also robust with a majority of organisations surveyed certain they will either make a major investment (22.2%) or explore new applications (40.5%), with a further 18.5% seeing a possibility of investing in the next year.
In terms of barriers to growth, surveyed companies identified shortages in talent (44.9%), funding (44.1%), knowledge (31.5%) and time (31.5%), as well as a lack of an ecosystem (29.9%).
Tracey Donnery, executive director of Skillnet Ireland, said that for Ireland to become a global leader in immersive technologies, the industry needs to ensure that the talent base companies hire from "reflects not just current business demands but the challenges of future growth in existing and new markets".
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"Central to achieving our potential in this space will be developing a robust skills and talent pipeline, a world class research and development framework, and relevant business supports to start-ups and scaling up existing businesses.”
Susan Talbot, network manager of Immersive Technologies Skillnet, added that the report had given the industry "a baseline for future research," that it would help to "align thinking and aid key decision markers moving forward," and ensure "a continued industry-led approach in building Ireland's immersive talent pool.”
"This important report was commissioned to gain a better understanding of Ireland’s emerging immersive technology ecosystem and talent needs," said Camille Donegan, director of Eirmersive and creative director of Solas VR.
"It responds to a growing demand from industry itself to articulate Ireland’s unique voice and contribution to the national and global immersive technology marketplace. The report will also help inform how key government stakeholders can go further in supporting the needs of this emerging sector.”
The report also shows the sectors where immersive technologies are finding the widest application, including education and research, software development, and training and skills, and gives a number of case studies where organisations have benefitted.
For instance, BioPharmaChem Skillnet recently collaborated with TU Dublin to develop a VR programme called Powder Handling for Pharma Manufacturing that allows participants to learn power handling essentials in a low-risk environment, reducing training costs.
MeetingRoom, a secure and scalable end-to-end VR enterprise solution to encourage collaboration, has also been used by many organisations where staff are unlikely to return to the workplace full-time for workshops, brainstorming, site tours and audits in place of standard video calls.
(Pic: Getty Images)
