One of the SXSW panels I haven’t stopped thinking about was Augmented Reality For Marketers: Future of Consumer Interactions with John Havens from Porter Novelli and Lynne d Johnson from R/GA.

For those unfamiliar, augmented reality (AR) puts a virtual layer on our physical experience and adds value to the user by layering digital data atop our physical experience. It often offers the user a near-serendipitous experience.

According to Juniper Research, AR will reach revenues of $1.5 billion by 2015. In order to get there, said the panelists, AR services and apps must offer utility and ease of use for users. We have to get beyond the gimmicks and into value-exchange in this technology. For marketers to start adopting AR for their brands, we need a steadily rising base of user awareness and measurable ROI.

Right now, we’re at a gimmicky, experimentation stage in the adoption process, but we’re moving into a more useful and natural stage. The ultimate goal is to offer inarguable value. Remember when everyone thought Twitter and Facebook were just fads? Personally, I think AR is closer to broad adoption but we think.

The panelists shared loads of examples, and I’ve tried to assemble as many as possible below.

This Zoo Records Hidden Sound Records AR campaign combined QR codes with tagged songs:

Acer ran an AR advertisement through Dabs.com that had a strong call to action. Seventy percent of those who went to the site chose to try the AR experience and 13 percent purchased the product. It was a gimmicky, but it converted to sales:

The Tissot watch company had an experience where the user could hold their watch up to a web cam and try on watches:

This LEGO AR kiosk puts the gimmick side of AR to good use by letting the user see the completed project:

Layar is leading the charge with real-world AR applications that make life easier and will ultimately make AR more acceptable to users and marketers:

BMW’s AR data goggles teach users how to do maintenance on their vehicles:

The Converse Sampler App allows the user to try on shoes, see them on his or her foot and purchase the footwear through the application:

General Motors (client) is working on an AR window shield called the Enhanced Vision System, basically a heads-up display:

Word Lens is an example of using AR for real-time translation:

Instead of using words, Google Goggles allows you to search the web through photos:

Foreign television games shows, like Galileo, are using AR. Another is Bamzooki, a game show where players race virtual robots across real streets and rooftops:

And lastly, could this be the future of AR?

Okay, so lots of good examples here. What’s next? Augmented reality contacts, eye tracking, education opportunities and innovation in facial recognition. This technology exists across the globe and will soon be refined and marketed to U.S. consumers. Soon.

And after that? As AR is adopted, there will be future concerns for consumers about privacy and for marketers and brands about “virtual air rights.” For example, the wall across from your company could be “virtually” spray painted “XX Company Sucks,” and only people using AR technology could see it. Who owns that wall’s digital footprint? Who polices virtual graffiti? These are the panels we’ll attend at South by Southwest 2016.

That may seem like science fiction, but the panelists say the AR trend’s velocity is inarguable.

“If you think you’re never going to wear AR goggles because they look stupid, I say ‘Yes you are,’” said presenter John Havens. “Yes you are. And because you take your phone out of your pocket 700 times a day, going hands-free will be welcomed. AR will quickly become the GPS for your virtual life.”

Consumers will readily adopt the AR trend because it will move beyond novelty and into utility. For example, your dining experience can be augmented. Your phone will know your personal cholesterol and health statistics and by looking at your plate via AR, it will be able to tell you how much exercise you’ll need to do if you eat that food.

As another example, your dating experience can be augmented. No longer will you have to stalk your blind date using Google and text search. You will be able to hold your AR-enabled camera up and see everyone’s data in a bar. Forget printing Twitter handles on business cards. You will simply be able to look at someone through your AR contacts and blink to follow them.

Between networking, art, eating, dating and navigation, AR is moving from “tchotchke throwaway” to “utilitarian need.”

Essentially, we are shifting from a closed Internet to an open outernet. Your phone is your mouse, and the Web is all around. You just need the lenses to see it. And according to the panelists, we will eagerly wear them. Soon, we will “see” the potential ourselves.