Mark Billinghurst emerged as a pivotal figure in augmented reality during the 2000s, most notably for co-developing the ARToolKit with Hirokazu Kato. His innovative approach to combining real-world views with interactive digital information laid the groundwork for future advancements in the field of AR and kickstarted a new era in human-computer interaction, making AR technologies more accessible and practical for use across various domains.

Billinghurst has published over 650 research papers, and is one of the most cited AR researchers. He is best known for his pivotal work in shared spaces, exploration in collaborative augmented reality as well as empathic computing. 

His contributions also include the invention of the AR “MagicBook,” which won him multiple awards. Additionally, Billinghurst pioneered multimodal input – combining natural language and AI techniques to allow human-computer interaction with an intuitive mix of voice, gesture, speech, gaze and body motion.