Imagine walking into a room to meet a client. You shake hands, take a seat, and make the pitch—just as it was pre-pandemic. Ideas are discussed and agreements are made. You conclude the meeting, remove your VR glasses, and once again you’re in the comfort of your own home.
This is the kind of future that extended reality or XR hopes to bring to many in the working world.
Now more than ever, technology is playing a key role in helping businesses and employees manage the disruption brought about by global challenges, such as the COVID-19 pandemic.
Vaccines against the COVID-19 virus are steadily being rolled out in parts of the world, but the transition to normalcy will still take some time. As governments implement and adjust health and safety measures to combat the spread of the virus, organisations have likewise learned to adapt to this new normal.
We see that businesses that have found success despite difficult times have made full use of technology to make their business processes efficient and even possible in the absence of face-to-face interaction.
XR solutions in industries, such as healthcare, retail, manufacturing, and education, for instance, are augmenting business processes and allowing decision-makers to explore new opportunities to scale their operations.
What is extended reality?
Extended reality is being used as an umbrella term to describe all the computer-generated environments that either merge the physical and virtual worlds or present an entirely virtual reality altogether. Even the realities that have yet to be created with the use of this technology will fall under XR.
The immersive technologies that exist today include augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR), and mixed reality (MR).
Let’s look at the differences among AR, VR, and MR:
Augmented reality takes virtual information and objects and overlays them onto the real world with the help of AR glasses, screens, or mobile devices. Think Pokemon Go, the mobile game that had users holding up their smartphones trying to capture Pokemon in real world locations. Snapchat and Instagram filters are also examples of AR.
Virtual reality is more of a computer-simulated reality, which requires users to put on VR headsets and other wearable devices to fully immerse in the experience. VR applications in gaming have become popular because of the technology’s ability to deliver a realistic encounter by engaging the person’s senses.
Mixed reality is the latest immersive technology that combines the qualities of AR and VR, whereby a new reality is created using both the virtual and real environments. An example is Microsoft’s Hololens, which uses multiple sensors, advanced optics, and holograms that display information and blend seamlessly in the wearer’s environment.
There are various levels of interactivity at play among the three types of XR, which is why applications of these immersive technologies extend well beyond entertainment and gaming.
Beyond entertainment: XR in business
One of the most popular applications of XR is in enhancing the customer experience. Volvo Reality, for example, allows users to test drive a Volvo vehicle using a smartphone and a flat piece of cardboard that can turn into a full virtual reality headset. Cosmetics brand Maybelline developed an AR-based feature on their website that allows users to virtually try on makeup to see how it will look like on them before they purchase—a technology that can be especially useful in a growing e-commerce market like Singapore.
Aside from giving customers a better experience, XR also enables enterprises to transform their processes to suit the changing needs of the organisation.
Microsoft’s Hololens, for instance, is geared toward enterprise applications that can facilitate enhanced collaboration.
Video conferencing can also be given an upgrade. Microsoft recently introduced Mesh, an AR and VR collaboration platform. Mesh allows participants to interact with others as holograms or avatars and collaborate, design, and train virtually using various devices.
Developments such as Mesh present more opportunities for developers to build AR and VR apps, similar to how the mobile app market grew following the pandemic.
Perhaps one of the biggest use cases of XR is in education and training. Extended reality company GIGXR launched HoloPatient, which helps healthcare professionals develop their clinical skills through holographic simulations of patients.
The technology will be especially helpful at a time when there is limited interaction between doctors and patients, much like how telemedicine enables patients to get the healthcare they need during the pandemic.
XR technology can also be an effective training tool in the workplace, especially for tasks that involve risky scenarios like in energy and construction.
Aircraft manufacturer Boeing experimented back in 2018 the possibility of using AR to provide technicians real-time, interactive 3D diagrams while they install electrical wiring—a crucial task that leaves no room for error.
Prospects for XR
The potential of XR is huge, with an estimated market size of $209 billion by 2022 compared to a mere $27 billion in 2018, according to data cited by Visual Capitalist.
Meanwhile, global market intelligence firm IDC forecasts that worldwide spending on AR and VR will accelerate out of the pandemic, rising from just $12 billion in 2020 to a whopping $72.8 billion in 2024.
The IDC says that because the disruptions caused by the pandemic have impacted supply chains, people’s spending behaviour, and workplace restrictions, enterprises are now realising that “a different set of ingredients” is required to succeed.
Businesses of today can greatly benefit from a working knowledge of emerging technologies that can help them boost workplace processes and ultimately help the bottomline.
To learn more about the fundamentals of technologies like extended reality, SMU Academy is offering a programme on Certificate in Technology Foundations, which aims to give participants the knowledge and tools they need to navigate the world of emerging technologies.
Tailored to startup founders, decision-makers, data science enthusiasts, or anyone with a keen interest in new technologies, the course is made up of six modules that will give participants a deep dive into technologies that are shaping the modern organisation.
The modules will tackle big data and data analytics, Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning and Deep Learning, extended reality, the Internet of Things (IoT), Blockchain technology, and cloud services and applications.
Learn from Singapore’s leading experts on data science, cloud computing, machine learning, and other emerging technologies.
Find out more about the programme and see what our technological future has in store.
