The Business Case For Mixed Reality
How might augmented reality break into mainstream consumer use? The options are endless…
Virtual reality has been on the cusp of breaking into the mainstream for decades, and yet this immersive digital environment has yet to really capture the public’s imagination. Instead, a hybrid of the real and virtual worlds known as augmented or mixed reality is increasingly being heralded as a viable alternative to virtual reality.
Augmented Reality Takes Stage
The unsuccessful Google Glass project provided an early example of projecting digital data onto everyday surroundings, with information beamed onto spectacles to augment normal sight. A new opportunity for augmented reality to achieve mainstream acceptance has come courtesy of Microsoft, whose HoloLens will make its debut later this month.
What are the options? You can go for creating an environment that resembles Tony Stark’s workshop in the Iron Man movies. Or you could possibly take the line successfully showcased by Pokémon Go’s wildly popular mobile app. However, what we do see is that augmented reality (AR) poses none of the spatial dangers of a virtual world. Table edges and sleeping pets remain fully visible, with hologram-like graphics being projected over them – sometimes to incredible effect.
Gaming and Beyond
The HoloLens headset currently resembles the sort of bulky wraparound plastic mask used by existing VR devices, but this is unsurprising given the technology’s formative stage of development. The buzz around mixed reality (as Microsoft prefers to call AR) is focused more on how this infrastructure might be implemented in day-to-day environments. Beyond the inevitable gaming applications, there are huge commercial opportunities for augmented reality. Indeed, since HoloLens was launched in America eight months ago, applications have already been developed by clients as diverse as NASA and Audi.
The communications industry could be transformed by AR, and Microsoft recently showcased a Skype call with an electrician who could view a faulty socket through a customer’s HoloLens headset. Without needing to be present, the tradesperson could draw virtual lines around the socket and identify essential tools from a kit laid out nearby. This concept of remote guidance is already being deployed by a leading lift manufacturer, allowing engineers to get live feedback from off-site colleagues regarding on-site repairs.
Expanding the Scope
It doesn’t take much imagination to conceive other uses for AR. Surgeons could coordinate operations without needing to travel to different hospitals. Homeowners may be able to check new furniture fits into available spaces from the comfort of their sofas, and firefighters could get building layouts projected onto their visors to determine optimal entry and exit routes. Retailers are excited about the scope for displaying offers or product information when a customer enters their store (or walks past)However, this highlights the risk of AR being tainted by association with aggressive product promotion. Few people will pay for new hardware if a leading function turns out to be in-your-face billboard advertising.
What’s Next?
The steep price of a HoloLens will probably deter most people from adding it to their Christmas list this year, quite apart from the device’s neck-straining design. However, early adopters will be boldly going into a world of untapped potential and exciting possibilities. Industries with an aesthetic component to their work (such as designers or manufacturers) should start to consider whether AR can be used to promote their products or services, and app developers may wish to take a crash course in augmented reality programming. While VR could struggle to overcome the challenges posed by adoption in everyday environments, its augmented cousin might achieve mainstream success by the end of this decade.