Plenary presentation at the scientific and practical conference «Augmented and Virtual Reality Technologies» at Bauman Moscow State Technical University

On April 15–16, 2026, the second scientific and practical conference «Augmented and Virtual Reality Technologies» took place. The event was held at the congress center of Bauman Moscow State Technical University. The total number of registered participants this year exceeded 170. Over the course of two days, the conference program included more than 65 presentations (+20% compared to last year). Speakers represented both academia and business. The conference agenda covered all key aspects of immersive technologies: software, technologies, devices, client scenarios, trends, and challenges for the Russian and international markets.

On the first day, during the plenary session, Igor Gulyansky, CEO of IKSAR Technologies LLC, delivered a presentation titled “How Extended Reality and Artificial Intelligence Technologies Are Transforming the Way People Work and Shaping a New Economy.”

The presentation consisted of three major sections: (1) Trends and development of the AR/XR market, (2) Industry 4.0/5.0: Building a new economy with AR/XR + AI, (3) IKSAR: AR/XR + AI in Russia.

The first section provided a detailed, data-driven demonstration of how AR/XR is becoming part of the industrial cycle. These technologies have moved from pilot projects and experiments into operational processes. There has been a significant increase in large-scale industrial deployments worldwide that are already delivering measurable benefits, especially for enterprises with high risks, complex equipment or working conditions, remote geographies, and long production cycles—this also applies to many large Russian enterprises.

The most significant new trend in 2025–2026 is the combination of AR/XR + AI. AI is now processing AR data in real time and in real-world conditions, enabling AR to respond more intelligently to situations in the physical environment.

Another notable trend is the expansion in both the range and number of AR glasses models. Their quality is improving while prices are decreasing. In 2025, more than 50 new models entered the market, compared to 15–20 in 2022. Of particular note are display-less AR glasses that have rapidly entered the consumer market. This significantly broadens their applications: users still benefit from hands-free operation, but the display is located elsewhere. The active integration of AI and speech technologies eliminates the need for a screen directly in front of the eyes for many use cases at this stage of technological development.

The second section presented an overview of the leading countries in the AR/XR + AI market. The United States (~31%) and China (~13%) remain dominant, while Germany (a leader in Industry 4.0) and, somewhat unexpectedly, Saudi Arabia also hold significant positions. In Saudi Arabia, AR is part of the national Vision 2030 digital transformation program. Saudi Aramco has launched a large innovation hub, the Fourth Industrial Revolution Center (4IRC), along with a strategic AR+AI program based there.

In the third section, Igor Gulyansky spoke about new projects based on IKSAR software combined with various types of mobile devices. Results from some projects were already achieved in Q1 2026, once again highlighting the ease of using IKSAR’s ready-made industrial technology platform. This includes pre-developed standard scenarios with rapid deployment, such as equipment inspection rounds and condition monitoring, remote expert support, inspections and audits, assembly operations, and more.

The IKSAR team expresses its gratitude to Bauman Moscow State Technical University for the invitation and wishes continued success to this conference!