financeThe support of trading and data analysis platforms through Augmented Reality (AR) provides traders and investors with a highly developed financial technology that enables them to monitor and visualize the financial markets with an enormous depth of information. Novel or improved representations of dynamic data through heat maps or two-dimensional images, which change into 3D shapes at the push of a button or gesture, enable holographic visualization and offer completely new insights.

For example, business opportunities and cutting-edge developments can be highlighted more clearly on an intuitive interface, which enables traders to act faster. The broker explains to the investor how certain price movements affect his portfolio and which decisions are available, but they do this while the stockbroker is sitting at his desk in London and the business partner is on the move in Hong Kong. The conversation takes place in a virtual conference room, both business partners use AR headsets or glasses. Three-dimensional representations of charts, graphics, curves, and other data are floating in virtual space and can be operated interactively using gestures.

Thanks to AR / MR technology, users are no longer limited to the size of their computer, cell phone or tablet display, but benefit instead from a true 360-degree view and almost unlimited application possibilities. When wearing an AR headset or AR glasses, highly developed holographic representations of the financial data and feeds are blended into the user’s real field of vision. For example, investors who want to operate in new markets can access accurate historical data by using the tick-level data for historical insight and trading strategies back-testing function to make fact-based decisions.

Financial analysts, who want to watch certain stocks on a larger stock exchange, get a chance to visualize corresponding information with the full data depth and past performance of the past few months or years can be determined and immediately forwarded to the customer in the form of a holographic data display.

With AR, the term "mobile workplace" takes on a whole new meaning, because customers or financial advisors can speak in a virtual conference room at the same time with people on site and (via video conference) with conversation partners who are located anywhere in the world. Actions in the AR financial landscape can be treated completely confidential and protected from prying eyes. Or they can be mirrored in “viewer mode” for colleagues and customers on external computers that also work with AR technology. This enables them to analyze the financial landscape together and interact with the data.

Although all AR headsets available on the market are suitable for trading and market data analysis, the financial world is waiting for new developments that come closer to normal glasses in terms of design and wearing comfort, and thus enable longer wearing times. Depending on the device manufacturer and the situation, users can apply gesture and speech recognition, Bluetooth mice or a clicker to operate holographic objects.

With the help of software editors, with which three-dimensional order books, charts or volatility areas can be created, the software can be transferred to any “wearable” device. However, one of the core functions of AR-based trading and market data analysis platforms is the streaming of financial data from the capital markets. The result is a powerful tool that can adapt any data feed to an AR-based virtual market data structure. The historical data, collected and stored, comes from the major stock exchanges in the United States, Canada and Europe. Every single course change (tick data) is streamed live and can be exactly displayed and checked via the AR headset.

To assert themselves against the competition, banks, investment funds, hedge funds, FX brokerage houses, proprietary traders and stock exchanges are increasingly relying on AR technology. However, the driving force behind trading and data analysis via AR are currently individual traders, investors, and consultants for financial institutions around the world, simply because efficient collaboration via AR gives them a huge advantage.

By Daniela La Marca