Mixed reality (MR), the field of virtual reality, augmented reality and other platforms, where digital information is mapped on top of the physical world, is a particular passion of mine. This technology sector represents more than gaming crazes like Pokémon Go. IDC estimates that the markets for MR in distribution and services, manufacturing, and the public sector will reach over $105 billion by 2022.
But there is a catch: MR can be extremely tricky to implement in business, as it requires making the right investments in a new hardware category, creating new types of digital content and deciding what business practices need to involve MR.
That said, organizations shouldn’t be discouraged from deploying MR, but they will need to exercise care in ensuring they deploy properly.
This article will outline the main areas where things can go wrong, and what organizations can do instead to succeed, from choosing the right devices to creating the right content — and, of course, the practicality of using MR.
Answer The Question: Is It Practical?
Like any other emerging technology, organizations need to exercise prudence and make sure deployments make sense for their goals versus getting caught up in the hype. For example, professional service workers might not need to be equipped with Hololens headsets if their laptops already do a perfectly fine job. But outside the office in factories and in the field, augmented reality (AR) deployments can be invaluable.
If a medical manufacturer releases a new MRI machine, every salesperson in the field can’t be exposed to it directly because it’s thousands of pounds and requires a special shielding room. However, virtual reality (VR) headsets would enable every salesperson to interact with digital models of the new machine, become more knowledgeable of new benefits, and be more confident when selling to experienced medical workers.
Another example of a practical MR deployment is how augmented AR headsets can replace on-site training that typically requires instructors to be present for careful walkthroughs such as heavy machine repair, electrical work, welding, etc. AR can provide trainees visual overlays of diagrams, complex instructions, event recording, or “see what I see” remote collaboration with their instructor.
If an organization is concerned about the costs of needing specialized trainers to travel great distances, it should look into AR to enable the same level of training while the trainer stays remote.
Leaders will need to think critically about how MR can work for their organizations, and will need a customized approach that starts with choosing the best hardware for the job.
Choose The Right Equipment
One of the biggest barriers to MR is that the dedicated devices are expensive. For example, Microsoft Hololens currently costs $3,500 per device.
Sometimes AR software only needs an app on the smartphones employees already have, saving companies deployment and development costs. For example, a printer company could release an app that lets customers make easy fixes using their phone cameras to detect issues and see walkthroughs on replacements.
MR via smartphone has some drawbacks. One hand is stuck holding the phone, inhibiting movement. Also, if the experience is longer than 15-20 minutes, holding a phone for that long can cause muscle fatigue. More sophisticated MR experiences, such as walkthroughs of machine repair, will require both hands to complete tasks, making phones out of the question.
Furthermore, there’s more to hardware than just the device; organizations will need the right infrastructure to support content. While glasses and headgear come with top-of-line processing power, sophisticated object identification and image processing often require compute power on the edge via PCs or in the cloud to operate. While 5G promises to provide that latency, 4G/LTE can’t, and enterprises will need widespread Wi-Fi to support their deployments.
Make Sure The Content Works
MR content is much different than 2-D content, such as instructional videos, that companies are used to creating. Rather than just display information, it needs to enable users to interact with it in 3-D, take advantage of the physical environment and avoid accidentally causing discomfort to users.
This is not an easy task to take on. Let’s say a company used to train people to repair electrical systems via videos. It won’t work to copy/paste the old videos’ content into a corner of a HoloLens display. The team will need to build content that meshes with what the trainee is seeing in real time. If the user is looking at a circuit breaker box, then the display should identify each component and explain what it does.
MR content must also be user-friendly. Many mistakes can happen when developers miscalculate how people need to interact with their information. For example, users shouldn’t have to turn their heads sharply to get a VR display to show what they need. Requiring frequent and violent head turns to interact with content can exacerbate neck pain and feelings of nausea — and it has been a long-standing criticism of VR deployments.
It goes without saying that MR experiences shouldn’t hurt users. Best practices for content development often require trial and error, and inexperienced organizations should consider taking on innovation partners to help create the best possible content for their users.
Conclusion
As enterprises adopt MR technology, they can also help spur societal development. Suppose a person in a developing country wants to become an air-conditioning mechanic. Rather than moving near a training center, MR headsets could make training and certification virtually available in their home. This can power job creation and economic mobility while giving companies more workers at less cost to train. This is in addition to other philanthropic use cases such as education by remote teachers, medical training and more.
However, these societal benefits will require widespread enterprise adoption to fuel them. Much like with solar panels, increased production would drive down costs of MR devices, thus making philanthropic use cases more economically feasible. By deploying AR headsets for factory staff, a company can indirectly contribute to making the world a better place.