Virtual Reality — Technology for the next generation
One of the tasks of BDO Innovation is to monitor different technologies which can affect the services we provide. Among these technologies we find Virtual Reality. This article will give a short introduction of what Virtual Reality is, the different technologies available, and give you some ideas on how it can be used in the future.
What is AR / VR / MR?
Virtual reality can be segmented into three different categories. The first, and simplest category is called “Augmented Reality” (AR). Here, 2D objects and texts are put on top of our vision, which moves together with the environment as if it is a part of it. If you’ve seen Robocop or Terminator, their view is an excellent example of what AR can do.
Since there’s little potential for entertainment using this technology, AR is viewed as a practical tool for developers which focuses on providing users with useful information. Many air force pilots are already using AR, with helmet mounted displays assisting pilots in identifying different targets.
Then there’s Virtual Reality (VR) which many of you already recognize from devices such as the Oculus Rift or HTC Vive. In VR, we put on helmets/glasses which isolate our vision from the real world. Instead a digital world is presented to us through two separate displays to give a 3D effect. In addition, gyroscopes and sensors are used to move the image we see based on how we move our head. All of this, plus many other techniques are used to make the experience feel as real as possible when using VR. The technology has a huge potential for entertainment, and as a consequence has become very popular among the gaming industry. Professionally VR is often used for training purposes. It is perfect for simulation as it allows users to be put in situations that feel more real than traditional screen displays.
Finally we have Mixed Reality (MR). The idea behind MR is that 3D digital objects are presented as being part of the real world. If you’ve tried Pokemon Go or the Snapchat selfie filters, you’ve already experienced mixed reality. Sopra Steria is the Microsoft HoloLens partner in Norway, and they have experimented using MR to assist surgeons in planning / training for their operations.
Deloitte also played around with the HoloLens for visualising big data in 2016, and wrote a report which concluded that though the technology is not mature enough for practical purposes yet, it is not far from being a tool that can provide a significant advantages for analyzing large data sets.
Based on the purposes of the different technologies, for us at BDO, Augmented Reality and Mixed Reality are the technologies we are most interested in.
Why is AR/MR so exciting for BDO?
Twenty years ago, the mobile phone began replacing our pagers, which had a large impact on the social and corporate life of a new generation. Ten years ago, the first iPhone was introduced, and today the smartphone is such a huge part of our daily lives, it’s difficult to imagine being without. Though previous generations are critical of the “always connected” lifestyle, the advantages of having a computer in your pocket with access to internet won over new generations. Now, every arrow is pointing towards a future where AR/MR is the next technology to have the same impact as smartphones had on our daily lives. We will see a generation which will have all sorts of information fed directly into their eyes, without having to look down on a phone. As the generation before us who were skeptical of the “always connected” lifestyle, we will be skeptical of having all the information constantly thrown at us… and this time, we will be the ones who will be called old for our reluctance to adapt this new technology.
As many of you know, Apple didn’t invent the smartphone. They just made the iPhone when the technology was mature enough for it to be both practical and worth the price, rather than just a gimmick. Based on the developments seen at Google, Microsoft, Facebook, Amazon, and Apple, we are at the brink of the same technological breakthrough as Apple had with the iPhone. Unity CEO John Riccitiello expects this critical point of value and mass adoption to come at the beginning of 2020.
What’s so special about now?
The development of AR and MR is heavily dependent on other technologies, such as artificial intelligence/machine learning, and big data analytics. The better computers become at recognizing and predicting our surroundings, the better the AR/MR experience will become. Since we live in a world where incredible amounts of data are being stored everywhere, the IT industry has large incentives to continue the development on these technologies.
One of the biggest drawbacks of AR/MR is that there currently are no great ways of interacting with the interface. Speech recognition is a technology that many large companies such as Google, Apple, Microsoft and Amazon have invested heavily in. If you have a good foundation of AI and speech recognition technologies available, AR/MR investment becomes the next logical leap.
Though the latest iPhones have been lacking in innovation, it is believed that Apple CEO Tim Cook wants to change that by making AR a big selling point for future iPhone models. His love for the technology is apparent, having made statements such as “AR will be as big as the iPhone”, investing in related technologies, and acquiring AR companies. Their competitor Google has already invested in the technology for a long time. Some of you might be familiar with Google Glass. The company is also constantly releasing AR updates under the radar such as the “live translate” function in the Google Translate application, where you can point your camera at text and see it translated to other languages. Rumour has it that Google is currently working on three AR glasses for corporate use.
Finally, we have Facebook. Mark Zuckerberg announced in the F8 conference that their next great venture will be AR. The platform will of course be your smartphone and it’s camera, a technology most Facebook users already have access to. The best part? They have 60 employees working on reading your mind. If AR/MR is going to be the next big thing, of course we can’t have people walking around yelling to their glasses or waving their hands around… but if you can interact with it using your mind?
Before you flip out, allow me to explain further. Facebook will not read ALL your thoughts, that would create too much noise and make it difficult to separate what you want to do and your random (dirty) thoughts. They just want to monitor the part of your brain connected to speech. In fact, this technology already exists, and is available to those with heavy speech impairments. However, Facebook wants to be able to do the same without needing the surgery.
You should already get used to the image of teenagers in 2040 walking around with glasses/lenses that feeds all kinds of useful information directly into their eyes, with all of it being controlled by their minds.
What’s in it for BDO?
For us AR/MR is an amazing opportunity to think of solutions irrelevant of the end-user platform. It does not matter if you use Windows or MacOS, or if you use Visma Business or Fiken. The numbers are the same no matter what software or device you use, and with great AI we can develop a solution that recognizes irregularities and risk through the eyes of the user, across all platforms!
It also provides us with a unique method for training. We could let our clients experience realistic scenarios through simulation, getting a better sense of the different risk and vulnerabilities a business might have. In addition, this is a technology that will heavily influence communication. Imagine no longer being restricted to sharing your screen with other users, but your vision!
The future is virtual, and we are keeping an eye on it.
