NR50: Welcome to Next Reality's 50 People to Watch in Augmented & Mixed Reality

Those of us that work with or around augmented and mixed reality have seen a powerful shift in the last year as the popularity and interest have grown in the field. With Microsoft's HoloLens release, the popularity of Pokémon GO, and the constant rumor mill known as Magic Leap, the terms augmented reality and mixed reality have started to become a part of the modern vernacular more and more each passing day.

While this growth continues, companies like Ousterhout Design Group, Daqri, and Occipital are working hard to get their head-mounted displays on the market. There's also the soon-to-be-released ASUS Zenfone AR Android smartphone that supports Tango and Google Daydream. All of these devices — and the functionality they add — will become more common and eventually have a lasting effect on the zeitgeist.

With such new technology, many people are unaware of the people behind it making waves in the field, so we'll be rolling out Next Reality's 50 People to Watch in Augmented and Mixed Reality next week. This list will recognize the people that are making a difference in the augmented and mixed reality world, whether it be through community building, software development, hardware creation, or finance and investment. These people are doing small parts of a larger whole that will help this industry to grow to its full potential.

Starting today, and continuing over the next four days, we will be releasing lists of individual areas of focus in the AR and MR fields and the people that excel in these sections:

• Monday, May 1:AR/MR Finance and Investment People
• Tuesday, May 2:AR/MR Influencers
• Wednesday, May 3:AR/MR Developers
• Thursday, May 4:People Behind Mobile Augmented Reality
• Friday, May 5:People Leading AR/MR Head-Mounted Displays

On the following Monday, May 8, we will release the completed list of Next Reality's 50 People to Watch in Augmented and Mixed Reality. Then, on Tuesday, May 9, we will begin releasing a weekly series of in-depth profiles as well as Q&As for the people on the NR50 list.

As these lists are released, make sure and let us know what you think we got right, what we got wrong, and who we missed that should be there. You can leave us a comment on any of these lists, hit us up on our social media outlets below, or you can email me directly at jasonodom23@gmail.com.

• Follow Next Reality on Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube
• Follow WonderHowTo on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Google+

Cover image of Timoni West via VRScout/YouTube