Business Applications for Mixed Reality

The vast majority of virtual, augmented and mixed reality software in the market right now is for entertainment.

A valid case can be made saying that games, social interactions and 360 videos are the reason for the success of these new technologies within the consumer market, but what I have yet to see, are widespread applications that leverage those technologies to benefit productivity and collaboration in the workplace, while also reducing costs for an enterprise.

Let me give you some examples:
If a person wants to learn how to drive a car, the process begins with a test and then practising driving. Maybe starting in a parking lot of a factory on Sunday, like I did when I was younger, to minimise risks of accidents and then carefully moving to the road. What if driving schools had an Immersive driving experience, where the driver can learn the movements, how to control the car, in complete safety. The driver could also be challenged to drive in different weather conditions, like snow, rain and fog, some of which might not be possible to depending on where you live, and all in total safety. Nothing will replace the real experience, by all means, but the driving school could benefit by reducing the risk to staff and students, reducing the cost of insurance, and car usage, while improving the learning experience.

Let me take you through another example, something I have been secretly working on for some time, at nsquared, and from looking at the most recent results, we are now confident to talk about it. We call it ‘nsquared screens’. It’s an Immersive application, replicating an environment very similar to control rooms which they have at NASA, airport control towers, stock market trading offices and mall security rooms. Those environments can be very pricey to set up. We have replaced the hardware setup, and recreated it as an immersive application, where you can have the data displayed in multiple “floating screens”. Not only does it become much more affordable to create and sustain a control room of this kind, but it would also come with you when you travel for business.

Mixed reality is compelling, and can be incredibly entertaining, however, if you are as passionate as we are about this technology, imagine the ramifications that Mixed Reality can have improving your professional life and the productivity of your enterprise. At nsquared we surely are in a premium position to make this happen.

Stefano Deflorio

References
Northeast Guilford High School (2018). Distracted Driving Awareness Event. [image] Available at: https://www.flickr.com/photos/ncdot/34126511795 [Accessed 16 April 2018].

Stefano Deflorio. (2017). nsquared screens.

Microsoft (2018). Microsoft Mixed Reality [image] Available at: https://winblogs.azureedge.net/win/2016/12/Windows10-MR-Devices-1024x576.jpg [Accessed 16 April 2018].