Spatial Computing For Real — What It Means And How Will It Affect Your Life
…spatial computing as human interactions with machines that manipulate experiences in real life.
Simon Greenwold, 2003
Ever since the latest Apple announcement, the world is buzzing with the term “spatial computing”. What it is and why it has a place in our lives now is elusive — let's try to cut some clarity in that.
Spatial computing merges the physical and digital worlds. Users can interact with virtual content in their real-world environment using AR glasses or VR headsets. It creates immersive and dynamic experiences by overlaying virtual elements onto the physical space. “Spatial” in spatial computing refers to the physical space or environment that we occupy and interact with. It involves integrating digital elements into our real-world surroundings.
How the evolving Internet led us to “spatial”
The evolution of the internet can be broadly divided into three main stages, each representing a significant shift in the way people interact with and use the internet.
Web 1.0, also known as the “read-only web,” means the early days of the internet, roughly from its inception in the 1990s until the early 2000s. It consisted of static websites that offered information in a one-way manner: users could browse websites, access information, and consume content, but there was limited interactivity or user participation. Websites were predominantly created by professionals or organizations with expertise in web development, and there was minimal user-generated content. Examples of Web 1.0 technologies include HTML, basic CSS, and static web pages.
Web 2.0 — the social web. It emerged in the early 2000s and marked a significant shift in internet usage. It introduced a more interactive and participatory experience, often referred to as the “read-write web” or the “social web.” Web 2.0 platforms facilitated user-generated content, collaboration, and social interaction; it also brought about the rise of social media, blogs, wikis, and other dynamic web applications. Users became active participants, able to create and share content, engage in online communities, and collaborate with others. Web 2.0 technologies included AJAX (Asynchronous JavaScript and XML) for dynamic web content, content management systems, and social media platforms like Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter.
Web 3.0 — seamless integration between the digital and physical realms. The spatial web introduces spatial computing technologies, augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR), and mixed reality (MR) to enhance our interactions with the internet and the surrounding environment. Digital information and virtual objects are anchored to specific physical locations, allowing users to access and interact with them in real-world contexts. It enables the overlaying of digital content onto the physical world, giving rise to immersive experiences and new possibilities for communication, collaboration, and information retrieval.
Users can also navigate and interact with digital content within physical spaces. For example, using AR glasses or smartphone apps, users can access location-based information, such as restaurant reviews, navigation instructions, or historical facts, presented as virtual overlays in their field of view. They can visualize and manipulate virtual objects in real time within their physical environment, enabling interactive experiences and novel applications in areas such as gaming, education, design, and retail.
Spatial Web technologies also facilitate shared virtual spaces, where users from different physical locations can collaborate, communicate, and engage in virtual interactions. These shared spaces can range from virtual meeting rooms and social environments to fully immersive VR experiences that transcend geographical boundaries.
Spatial technology
Spatial systems use a variety of tools to facilitate human-computer interactions. AI-driven algorithms process this information and make sense of the data captured by lidar, radar and scanners. These allow computer systems to create a 3D model of the world to understand the relationships between objects and environments.
Using this information, spatial systems can give users access to data that they can use to solve and improve problems. Some spatial computing systems even use automation, allowing patches to be applied to systems without human intervention.
In the world of XR, spatial computing systems leverage information gathered from sensors and other devices to respond to human commands. For example, headsets like the new Apple Vision Pro allow users to interact more effectively with eye-tracking sensors with scalable content interfaces. Spatial technology built into the headphones allows the technology to respond to natural human actions, such as hand gestures or voice commands.
Spatial systems coordinate computer programming with interactions between people and the world. It opens the door to new physical workflows, more valuable data insights, and advanced automation capabilities.
As there will be new devices helping us explore the spatial digital era, we will experience the surrounding technology bloom. It will mean a significant shift in how brands need to communicate and build their presence. That is what the second part of this article will be about.
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