Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR) have been around for decades, but since the recent introduction of more affordable and high-quality devices they’re starting to change the way we shop, learn and work.
Much of the media attention has been around entertainment and gaming (Pokémon GO, anyone?), but these emerging technologies have disruptive potential across industries.
Augmented reality and virtual reality are technologies blurring the line between the real and the virtual.
Virtual Reality (VR) enables you to fully immerse yourself in a computer-simulated reality. Using a headset you can experience being in an environment different from the real world, such as to travel through space. Augmented Reality (AR) on the other hand adds a virtual layer to the real world. Other than Pokémon GO, think of your favorite Instagram puppy ears filter.
AR is likely to be far larger of a field than VR as it will allow us to be in the present while having virtual information added to the experience in real-time.
Mixed Reality (MR) is an experience blending the physical and digital reality, hereby allowing you to interact with and manipulate projected objects as if they were real.
Image via UX Planet
These immersive technologies are expected to eventually replace your smartphone and other computer devices.
🤯 Some (including Elon Musk) argue we are all living in a computer simulation.
Both technologies can be seen as new communication platforms allowing users to engage in more creative, immersive and personalized experiences. AR and VR help the impossible to become reality and are a move from storytelling to ‘story-doing’.
Companies can expose their brand or product to a wider audience as physical constraints of distance or geography are eliminated.
One of the most widely adopted use cases of digital reality is for training purposes and as a real-time collaboration tool for cross-country teams and remote workers. Just imagine being able to ‘travel’ half way around the world to see what your friend or colleague is working on and experience it as if you were there together.
Virtual workspaces and the rise of distributed teams will play an important role in the future of work.
Augmented, virtual and mixed reality are changing the way people work and live. Let’s look at how their application could disrupt the day-to-day operations of the enterprise, and how some companies have already begun experimenting with these immersive technologies.
The entertainment industry is where the first commercial augmented and virtual reality applications saw the light of day. Pokémon GO is undoubtedly the game that brought AR to a global audience. The app, launched in 2016, let players catch, battle and train popular Pokémon characters and reached over 800 million downloads. Its successor, the Harry Potter AR game, is however missing some of the same magic.
PlayStation, Nintendo and other game manufacturers have been heavily investing in creating more immersive play experiences. Thus far many of these games have been solitary, while adoption is destined to see rapid increase as soon as friends and family can be joining in. Shared experiences are the key to success. The VOID is one such great execution allowing you and your friends to explore a physical space while interacting with a dynamic, virtual world.
Live sports and music events can also be experienced remotely. Facebook debuted Oculus Venues putting you on the front row of concerts and getting you closer to the World Cup games than ever before. Or check out this video of a fire-breathing dragon flying around a baseball park.
Important: The disaster-inspired videos you’ve undoubtedly seen broadcasted by television networks such as The Weather Channel and CBS (such as this one of when they brought a tornado into the studio) are nothing more than fancy green screen and CGI. It’s not augmented nor mixed reality.
AR and VR are changing how we shop. Smart mirrors like Memory Mirror let you virtually try on dozens of outfits and change colors and patterns instantly. You can test any shade of lipstick and preview makeup looks and accessories using augmented reality apps. L’Oréal is one of the brands most actively investing in the space and has for example acquired popular AR beauty company ModiFace.
With virtual reality you can get front-row access to the hottest fashion shows on earth or step into the shoes of a stylist like Kate Young. Augmented catalogs bring products to life, unlock exclusive product information and allow you to ‘try before you buy’.
Whether extended reality will see widespread uptake in the physical store environment will however depend on the added value it can provide to customers without disrupting their shopping journey.
Virtual reality allows prospective buyers to visit a property from the comfort of their living room, thereby completely transforming the home buying experience. Just picture taking a virtual tour of your future apartment and personalizing it on the spot with your current furniture or the decoration of your dreams. Property listings that feature virtual tours have been shown to receive three to five times more leads.
Sotheby’s, one of the companies tapping into the trend, launched Curate, an augmented reality app letting consumers visualize a house as their own before purchase.
AR and VR enable realtors to reach a much greater audience with their listings and showcase properties still under development. This will not only save time for both agent and customer but could also facilitate foreign investment.
Engineers will no longer need to build physical prototypes which will drastically reduce the time it takes to move from ideation to product delivery. Ford has for example partnered with Microsoft HoloLens to visualize full scale models in 3D.
Besides productivity efficiencies, AR and VR can enhance plant floor views and overlay context-relevant instructions and analytics. Imagine a factory worker walking through the plant seeing any machine-related information in real-time, and this hands-free. Machine inspection and maintenance will become a lot more efficient.
Besides training future med students and reducing the cost of education, augmented reality can assist surgeons with projected real-time patient data.
Virtual reality enables doctors to access patients in remote locations to quickly offer medical advice and can even help people with phobias overcome their fears through simulated experiences.
Hospitalized patients on the other hand can receive a more enjoyable experience as VR has proven a viable method for reducing stress and anxiety. Kids could for example travel in a simulated world which will distract from any pain or discomfort and reduce their need for medication.
Virtual reality is considered the ultimate empathy device. Projects like Stanford’s 1,000 Cut Journey let you step into the shoes of Michael Sterling, a black male, and encounter racism as a young child, an adolescent, and a young adult. Project Empathy is an entire collection of evocative and surprising experiences that help us see the world through the eyes of another. Definitely worth checking out!
If a picture is worth 1,000 words…
Instead of reading a textbook, imagine literally walking between dinosaurs or witnessing first-hand Napoleon’s coup in the French Revolution. Microsoft HoloTour and Google Expeditions for example allow viewers to virtually explore an art gallery or museum, visit Machu Picchu, or navigate outer space, all without leaving the classroom. Froggipedia was developed using Apple ARKit and lets students view and dissect a virtual frog’s anatomy.
AR and VR allow students and trainees to delve more deeply in a subject matter and experience theories in an interactive learning environment with immersive content they might actually enjoy. All this will only aid information retention.
Augmented, virtual and mixed reality are still in an early stage and their hardware and capabilities are continuously evolving. With costs coming down, companies should think of how they could leverage these technologies to create experiences that deliver meaningful impact.
Artificial intelligence plays a fundamental role in bringing these immersive experiences to life. Deep learning algorithms and machine vision are for example necessary building blocks for the real-time recognition of objects and the processing of large volumes of data captured from the outside world. That puppy ears filter in Instagram would similarly not be possible without advanced facial recognition.
Virtual environments are also being used as playgrounds to train robots and self-driving cars. Waymo’s fleet of 25,000 vehicles have for example driven over 5 billion miles in such simulated environments.
Mixed Reality (MR)
The real-world environment is overlaid with virtual content which can interact with objects in the real-world.
Extended Reality (XR)
Umbrella term for Virtual, Augmented and Mixed Reality.
Eye tracking
A process of measuring the position and movement of eyes. It’s a key element for creating a more immersive and intuitive experience.
6DoF
Six Degrees of Freedom is what makes Virtual Reality so immersive. It allows the user to have full rotational movement around a fixed point (i.e. look around, move forward and backward), hence everything behaves as in the real world.
HMD
Head-Mounted Display. A display device worn on the head or as part of a helmet.
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Augmented reality HUD display used among others in smart motorcycle and bike helmets which provides riders with information like current speed, navigational cues, traffic alerts, and more.
Virtual reality suit initially designed to give a sense of touch when playing video games but now also used for rehabilitating patients suffering from long-term disabilities.
A digital ecosystem for surgeons and healthcare professionals to support the team in the operating room with guided steps and reference tools.
Developing an AR/VR helmet to improve efficiencies in the welding industry. The device mixes real and simulated welding using high dynamic range cameras to enhance accuracy while collecting data which will allow robots to better perform welding tasks in the future.
An educational augmented reality app which introduces children to robotics and programming through adventurous puzzles and active play.
Virtual reality music startup allowing fans to jump into live concerts and ‘stand’ in different positions to experience their favorite band’s performances in a whole new way.
A virtual reality live streaming and broadcast platform to turn VR games into shared experiences.
Apple’s augmented reality development platform allowing users to create AR experiences for iPad and iPhone. Go here to check out some of the amazing creations such as MeasureKit and Night Sky.
Google’s software development kit allowing users to build augmented reality applications.
Platform enabling users to design 3D characters and immersive environments in AR and VR without programming experience.
Google’s virtual reality platform allowing you to experience VR at low or no cost using a fold-out cardboard viewer.
Similar to Google Cardboard but for augmented reality; the package includes HeadKit (a DIY cardboard headset to frame your smartphone) and TrackKit software.
A mixed reality cardboard headset for your phone which comes with physical markers you place around the room and controllers allowing you to interact with the experience.
A competitor of Holokit and another cardboard headset providing cheap AR experiences for all.
Besides the above mentioned low-cost augmented and virtual reality devices, there’s a whole range of higher-end headsets such as the Mira Prism, Google Daydream, Samsung’s Gear VR, Oculus Rift and HTC Vive.
Those with even deeper pockets can opt for the Meta 2 ($1,495), Magic Leap One (starting at $2,295), Microsoft HoloLens ($3,000) or DAQRI smart helmet ($15,000!).
Social networks have also started open sourcing its toolkits. Facebook, for example, launched Spark AR allowing users to create their own augmented reality effects, while last year Snapchat had opened access to its Lens Studio and created the Lens Explorer to make it easier to find user-made AR lenses.
