Immersive Technology is No Longer the Future — It’s the Present

By Matt Fedorovich, National Lead, Immersive Technology at Insight

Over the years, we’ve seen immersive technology — augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) — evolve in fits and starts. From Google’s pioneering efforts with Google Glass to Facebook delivering stand-alone VR experiences, industries of all stripes have dabbled in immersive technology, prodding to see where its potential lies.

But whereas we were just “kicking the tires” of immersive tech at the start of 2020, we’re now forging full steam ahead, catalyzed by the COVID-19 pandemic and the urgent need for remote service and collaboration solutions.

While many sectors stand to benefit from rapid advancement of AR/VR technology in an age of social distancing, I would argue that healthcare, manufacturing and retail are among its greatest potential beneficiaries. Here’s why:

· Healthcare. The pandemic has stretched hospital capacity thin, from decreasing available beds for patients to running medical staff ragged. But technology like Microsoft’s HoloLens 2 helps healthcare professionals harness the power of AR to connect with experts worldwide to safely evaluate and treat challenging cases. Mixed reality devices like HoloLens allow practitioners to share their exact view with other experts when working with patients, without requiring additional devices and minimizing the number of people at the patients’ bedsides. AR/VR can also help medical professionals visualize procedures from afar and offer guidance and support.

· Manufacturing. One of the core benefits of immersive tech during this pandemic is its ability to enable remote support in the manufacturing sector. Manufacturing companies are essential businesses, and ensuring their equipment is running smoothly and efficiently is critical to minimizing disruptions. In less fraught times, when equipment experienced a malfunction, typically an experienced technician is dispatched to repair the device. However, with the pandemic continuing to curtail travel and limiting the number of employees on-site at many facilities, AR/VR can help connect technicians with on-premise workers to repair malfunctioning equipment. As in the healthcare setting, mixed reality devices allow the technicians to see what the on-the-ground employee sees — and guide them through the process of getting things up and running again — from a safe distance.

· Retail. While the retail sector was already taking steps towards using AR and VR to enhance the customer experience before the pandemic, it has taken on heightened importance as retailers slowly begin to open their doors to consumers again. Immersive technology has myriad applications in the retail setting, but in the immediate term, one of its most valuable uses is helping retailers visualize and set up their stores in a way that is both safe and appealing for returning customers. For more interactive, hands-on experiences — think buying expensive jewelry or a watch, where proximity is practically unavoidable — AR/VR may allow the sales staff to display merchandise to customers one-on-one while avoiding contact.

So if this is the present of immersive technology — helping organizations and businesses stay on track in very unusual times — what is its future now?

There are any number of answers to that question. We’ll see immersive tech make waves in the education field as schools find ways to offer hybrid learning models without sacrificing collaboration. We’ll see a strong consumer play from device manufacturers in the near future. But the future I’m most excited about is the concept of “digital twinning”. Digital twinning is essentially the merging of IoT, data and AI with immersive technology to create a full-scale, 3D digital replica of a given facility, offering an enhanced experience to the user.

For example, imagine creating a digital twin of a manufacturing warehouse. When an employee dons the AR/VR headset and enters the warehouse for the day, the digital twin enables the headset to spatially detect where the employee is in the facility, and can then prompt them with their tasks for the day or otherwise offer important information. Sensors, cameras, and location-based data will be accessible, right from their field of view.

Looking at the past, present and future of immersive tech, then, we’re starting to see the shape of its full potential: It is not just for consumer entertainment or engagement, and it is not likely to recede in value as the pandemic subsides. Rather, I believe it is set to become an essential part of the fabric of day-to-day life and business, helping us build a safer, more connected and more productive world.

If you’d like to learn more from Matt about the power of mixed reality using the HoloLens 2, watch his TechTalk on the subject.

Matt Fedorovich leads the Immersive Technology team at Insight. With more than 10 years of experience in gaming, mobile and spatial computing, Matt focuses on bringing the latest virtual, augmented and mixed reality solutions to enterprise clients. He believes eliminating the barrier to entry for the next dimension of computing is key to realizing impactful business value and promoting a deep integration of natural spatial interfaces.