Fig. 1: Immersive technology – New ways to interact
In recent years, we have seen a series of exponential technological advancements, innovation and invention manifested in various ways such as cloud, artificial intelligence, blockchain, augmented and virtual reality, Internet of Things (Iot), robotics, quantum computing and so on. This technological revolution represents vast potential to change the way humans live, work, learn and share today, tomorrow and the future. According to Accenture Technology Vision 2018, there is a paradigm shift in the role of the business itself: it is moving closer to the center. of people's lives. With the increasing application of digital technologies by companies around the world, the traditional boundaries between business and personal seem to no longer exist. Going beyond providing products and services, companies are applying technology to create deeper, more collaborative relationships with people.
Taking advantage of rapid advances in technology to develop increasingly innovative products and services, companies are driving phenomenal change in the social and business world. Technology-based products and services have a tremendous impact on the way people work and live today. Through these products and services, companies are driving unprecedented change around the world. But in exchange for the unlimited access and influence that companies enjoy today, people expect them to play a more responsible and ethical role. Such expectations are not just limited to customers, but encompass employees, business partners, governments and society as a whole.
Understanding AI
Artificial intelligence (AI) can be defined as a set of advanced technologies that allow machines to feel, understand, act and learn. As AI grows in its capabilities – and its impact on people's lives – companies are beginning to feel the need to “augment” their AI to act as a responsible, agile and productive member of Planet Earth.
Figure 2: In perspective 5 – Most recent dimensions of reality
In fact, the constantly evolving digital culture creates challenges and opportunities for organizations around the world. Since the beginning of the digital era, companies have evolved with each passing year. They are increasingly involved in people's lives; embracing the “People First” vision of the changing business landscape. We have reached a fusion point: companies seek to touch lives, and this can only happen by establishing partnerships with citizens and helping to make this world a better place for its inhabitants.
AI has become the virtual face of a company. Going beyond a back-end tool for the company, it is taking on more sophisticated functions in technological interfaces. From autonomous vehicles using computer vision to live translations enabled by artificial neural networks, AI is making every interface simple and intelligent – and setting a high standard for how future interactions will work.
It is increasingly realized that, to gain the trust of individuals, ecosystems and regulators in the digital economy, companies must provide a sense of security and ethics to their consumers and clients. And new products and services must provide a sense of ease and security for users.
With the growing reach of AI across society, companies are looking to capitalize on its potential to impact and transform the world. Going beyond being a technological tool, AI has reached a level where it often has as much influence as the people who use it, both inside and outside the company. For companies, this amounts to deploying AI to not only train it to perform a given task, but also to “create” it to act as a participating, contributing member of the company and society.
AI systems learn, make autonomous decisions and are no longer mere technological tools. With increasing autonomy and sophisticated capabilities, they have now become partners among people, coordinating and collaborating with people everywhere. Its influence is widespread in all spheres.
Growing Potential of Extended Reality (XR)
Immersive experiences are changing the way people connect with information, experiences and each other. The integration of AI with Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR) provides a new range of experiences and opportunities. While AR is the technology that superimposes digital information on the real world, VR immerses the user in an exclusively digital world, with the use of a head-mounted display.
Fig. 3: Perfect fusion – human-machine interaction at best
Spanning the convergence of AR and VR, Extended Reality (XR) is the first technology to “relocate” people in time and space – and it is bringing about the end of distance. XR refers to the spectrum of experiences that blurs the line between the real world and simulated environments. With immersive environments that enable employees to “be” anywhere, XR-based solutions and innovations that drive human-machine interactions are growing across the workforce and across all customer-facing products and services.
Fig. 4: Final Convergence – combining real and virtual worlds
Real estate company Redfin has made a name for itself by adopting technology, so it's no surprise that the company has embraced VR to sell homes. Powered by Matterport technology, Redfin's real-world 3D listings can be “viewed” without ever setting foot on the property. VR startup Virtual
Companies across all industries, and even entire industries, have been built around the most basic and intractable principle of “it’s needed here, but it exists there.” This challenge affects everyone, from people with busy schedules trying to buy groceries, to companies facing talent shortages because locally available skills don't meet their needs. Removing distance barriers is a determining factor in the adoption of XR solutions.
After years of relative stagnation, the corporate training sector is expected to grow at 10% CAGR from 2017 to 2020. Its growth is driven by the need to train or reskill increasingly distributed and distant workers for a decidedly digital future, making the mature employee training for transformation with XR. Companies can bring instructors “off-site” from anywhere or have students virtually “travel” to an instructor; training scenarios can be set up anywhere and then run, repeated and adjusted to provide first-hand experience of different situations. XR eliminates the distance not only between student and teacher, but also between concept and practice.
Fig. 5: Transforming the workplace – XR eliminates distance
By placing people directly in any environment trainers can imagine, XR offers first-hand experience with challenging or potentially dangerous situations without real-world risks.
XR will also help companies address the biggest workforce challenge they face: the gap between them and the talent they need to grow. Technology supports an on-demand workforce approach, which not only saves recruiting costs but also helps companies engage a growing pool of talent who want flexibility. Through immersive experiences, companies can leverage knowledge across thousands of skills anywhere in the world.
Additionally, as XR-based remote control of physical systems becomes commonplace, companies will be able to hire manufacturing, assembly and robotics experts from a global pool of the best candidates, regardless of where they live.
Revolutionary workforce training and expanded access to expertise are just the beginning of what XR can accomplish for business, and are viable — and immediately beneficial — options for the enterprise today. Adopting immersive technologies for training benefits companies, from the recruitment process to upskilling long-term employees.
XR is helping to bridge the gap between employees and the information they need to get their work done. In factories, it is reducing the need for written instructions: GE Renewable Energy is using AR to provide assembly information, improving worker productivity in wind turbine wiring by 34%.
Consumers are also making purchasing decisions based on information provided through XR technologies. Audi uses VR to allow potential customers to design and tour their own personalized vehicle, while BMW offers an AR-based exploration of its models, even allowing people “inside” the car to explore.
Emerging XR tools express data in 3D environments, closer to how humans actually see and imagine scenarios. This paves the way for new types of visualizations – and new discoveries. Body VR creates interactive 3D constructions of traditionally 2D medical images, such as CT scans and MRIs, to provide a more intuitive view of medical conditions. Similarly, Oxford researchers have created VR models of genetic data to better visualize what happens in living cells.
Additionally, XR has also demonstrated value in unlearning: Researchers have observed compelling results using VR therapy to treat post-traumatic stress disorder in military veterans, allowing patients to confront triggering stressors while talking about their responses with therapists. In real time.
Conclusion
Throughout history, technologies have evolved to minimize the gap – from the wheel to the Internet, technology bridges the gap. Today, the real estate industry is experimenting with virtual home tours; Soon, XR will transform what developers build to include optimizations for remote work, allowing people to do their work from anywhere. In the distant future, they will integrate features that will allow people to dynamically move from an office environment one moment to a retail store for shopping the next, without physically moving an inch.
As XR technology makes immersive experiences commonplace, it eliminates distance, minimizing their relevance. Today, XR is still evolving, and challenges related to delayed processing and content creation continue to be barriers to its full maturity. As current technical limitations are addressed, XR will only grow in capability and impact. To prepare for a world where the most powerful experiences may be virtual, companies must focus today on tactical uses of them. Making well-planned forays into immersive experiences now will help develop the capabilities needed to transform entire industries tomorrow.