VR and AR for Business Key Concepts and Opportunities

So VR and AR for Business. And now we’re going to discuss this in a very short session. We’re going to introduce a little bit, OK, what is virtual reality, what is augmented reality, extended reality, and mixed reality. And of course, we’re not going to go into all the technical aspects. We don’t simply have the time for that. And at least, I’d like to give you a high level understanding of what it is and how you might possibly make use of it.

So what’s virtual reality? Well, you might all have already– I think this is the most famous one of the four. Basically it’s a really close set of goals, can be any type or any set. Apple is also going to bring out a new one, but you have also many others, out there in the market where you’re actually transported through that headset to a new world. So around you, you would see a completely different environment. Can be a game, it can be a learning environment, can be anything.

With augmented reality, you actually still see your current environment. So in that current environment, you’re actually going to make changes as it were and add certain items. So in that aspect, you’re actually going to augment the reality you’re actually living in with an overlay of new digital elements.

With mixed reality, you’re also going to have contact with both physical items as well as digital items. So I know the differences are very thin when it comes to augmented and mixed reality. Just know if you hear the two terms being used, that’s the minor difference that you have.

Then extended reality, or XR, is basically the umbrella term to be used for the other three. So there I’m ho** you get now a better view of what it is. So VR, you’re fully emerged in completely different digital environment. AR– you can see your environment but digital overlay basically where you’re interacting with. And then MR, there you have interactions with both physical as well as digital items in your environment.

Now what are some key concepts there to understand? Well, the middle one I already said. Basically it comes down to the headsets you’re using. Many different types of glasses have been launched in the past, some of them quite successful. I own also an Oculus myself. I love to use it. There are many other examples out there as well. Some of them failed. Also you have to put it as it is. In the past, many times, companies have tried to make it really successful. Apple also had a different headset in the past. However, its success was very limited. Why? One of the many reasons that’s often cited is, of course, the price. VR or AR can be very expensive to make use of.

However, some other things to know and to understand, of course, are autonomy and immersion. So we are being emerged in a new– immersed in a new world. The questions are, indeed, how can you interact with that world? How realistic is it? Are you indeed completely gone from the current physical environment? And how can you there interact with it?

Then something that’s also sometimes being used, which can also be of interest to you, is the degrees of freedom, where you have six or three degrees of freedom. Difference basically comes down a bit to OK, with three degrees of freedom, you are allowed to look around, while six degrees of freedom, you cannot only look around, but also move around. So of course, if you can start to move and really have that physical aspect as well, and of course, that virtual space becomes much more interesting and much more immersive than if it is just looking. Depending, of course, on your use case, looking can be more than enough.

Other than that, you have also position tracking. Basically means that any movement you make is also being registered and directly being used within that virtual environment. Things are becoming more and more advanced. Hence, its usefulness or its interest is also becoming more and more important.

Then, of course, there’s also the use of avatars. It doesn’t mean that you can interact with that digital world that you have to look like you currently look in your physical real-world environment. So an avatar is basically you can have any type of the way you look like being changed in that environment. So you have many of those VR chats and so on where you can basically be anything.

Another item which is also happening, sadly, more often to certain people depending on, of course, what you do, it’s this aspect of motion sickness and propioception. I’m ho** I’m pronouncing it right. Basically motion sickness comes down to there are certain movements happening in the virtual world which are not happening in the real world. Then, of course, there’s even distortion between how you are actually perceiving what’s happening and what’s actually happening to your body, and then you can start to get sick.

Then proprioception– I have made a writing mistake– it’s a sense actually that you have a certain location or movement or action of the body where, again, it doesn’t really take place. So in VR there you can really have that issue. What can help, of course, is if you have that six degrees of freedom in combination with, for example, haptics and pseudo-haptics. What does that mean? When you actually can feel that world, of course, feeling or sensing that world. It’s still very limited, but nevertheless, more and more suits or gloves and so on allow you to really touch things or at least give you a sense that you’re touching things. And in that sense, can also help to deal with motion sickness.

And then there’s redirected walking. Basically, it means if you are walking in that virtual world, it’s a bit the question of, how do you actually move? Because if you can make use of six degrees of freedom, and you’re in an entire forest, and you’re making use of your virtual reality glasses within your living room, probably you’re not going to live in a room that’s as big as that entire forest. So that’s the question, how do you need to move to explore that virtual world while making use of the limited space you have where you live yourself.

And then some other items which you already, of course, shortly brought up. Those sensors are very much linked to, for example, the haptics as well as the position tracking. So really what are you doing, where are you, and how is it displayed in that virtual world. Heads up display comes down to if you need to move your head in certain direction, that you get certain information through your glasses, and that real-world integration links very closely to either AR or MR. And of course, Meta I’m guessing that’s all of you live in a world where you have access to the news. And then, of course, the metaverse are really looking, how can we go towards that virtual environment and make more use of it? It’s something that’s now, or at least it was, a big hype. But still, lots of investments are taking place there as well.