Mixed Reality

Mixed reality (MR) was defined in 1994 by Paul Milgram and Fumio Kishino as "...anywhere between the extrema of the virtuality continuum". Microsoft has adopted the term for its own platform, Windows Mixed Reality, to help group Virtual and Augmented reality. The technology has been accessible to developers and businesses for a few years now, yet, the clear majority of applications belonging to this not-so-new market are still mainly composed by single person experiences.

This is surely appropriate for a lot of business cases, such as visualisation of data that should only be accessible by the interested party, or training on specific single-user scenarios.

It is also not surprising that a person wearing a headset, gives the impression of “digital isolation” and inspires the idea that MR is more suitable for solo experiences and one-to-environment interactions. An impression that is often misleading.

If we talk about games and entertainment, for example, several multi-player experiences show that it is possible to create immersive and engaging virtual experiences, where users interact with each other and share the same content.

In the business environment, however, not only does there seem to be a resistance for adopting MR, but it is evident to us, that there is a lack of understanding of how this technology could improve collaboration and productivity within teams, possibly involving clients as well.

What could these scenarios be? The list is literally never-ending.

Obviously, any kind of situation that requires cooperation and involves expensive set-ups or dangerous situations, could potentially be recreated in a digital version. Reducing costs and risks is surely an objective of most companies, if not all, and MR could easily be leveraged to achieve better results with lower risks and costs.

Thinking out of the box is paramount for business oriented people (and developers), wishing to work with bleeding edge technologies. Developers who want to engage and experiment in building mixed reality applications, for cooperative scenarios can really go wild, since not much has so far hit the public eye in a significant way. At nsquared, we have brainstormed several scenarios related to what we do best: facilitating cooperation in the work space and improving the outcomes of business meetings.

Our development facility, featuring multiple Microsoft HoloLens’ and immersive headsets allowed us to experiment and develop several ideas and solutions that would be compelling to many businesses using meeting spaces, multi-user interaction, and visual data. Difficult to explain in words, even more difficult to understand the potential of this technology unless you try first hand.

If you are interested in seeing how mixed reality could change the way you do business, contact us and book a hands-on demonstration.

nsquared solutions

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].

Augmented Reality: what could be, should be

Tony Stark operates his Iron Man suit from his office, Aloy from Horizon Zero Dawn overrides Tall Necks, and Shuri drives a car remotely in Black Panther. Pokémon GO overlays your environment to show creatures, and Vuforia allows you to see and interact with digital content. All of these are powered by Augmented Reality, though the first three fictional examples are a bit different, aren’t they: they physically influence the real world, not just overlay it, or provide additional data. This is what needs to change about Augmented Reality development.

Just as the remote control revolutionised the use of the television, augmented reality should revolutionise our lives: allowing us to potentially remote control everything! Wave your hand at the TV to change the channel, or grip and turn your hand mid-air towards your air conditioner to turn it up or down. These kinds of gestures can surpass things like voice control because they are universal – no translation needed!

In Sydney, Australia, at nsquared solutions, I work with the team to create some truly amazing applications and experiences. We turn what was the ‘future’, into the ‘modern’, and show businesses and people how they can work together better, by harnessing technology to its full purpose, so to make our lives easier, and allow people to be more collaborative.

More recently I’ve been working on an application called nsquared space planner, which is usable with both the Microsoft HoloLens, and the new Mixed Reality Immersive Headsets. Though, it provides the user with a different experience, depending on their device. The core premise to the app is to help people design and plan their spaces. The app provides you with various furniture options (over forty), which can be placed in your space, so that you can see what it might look like in your space, in actual scale. The included tools allow for changing the various material styles of the furniture, and the ease of placing them in the world, using position and rotation. In this way, it helps people be more productive, by taking away the logistical headaches that would otherwise be associated with such a task.

What if you could take it a step further though, and whilst overlaying your surroundings, also interact with the real world? Make that lamp brighter or turn the stereo up! Have your Italian friend speak to you and receive live translation. Or mute your smartphone, because you’re too busy having fun – I mean, planning and designing your space.

The good news is that this is all very possible. We are already doing it at nsquared, in Sydney! Object shape, and image, recognition is available to devices like the HoloLens. So is translation of hundreds of languages, and the ability to interact with your lamp remotely.

So, the next time you are watching Tony Stark transform his environment with augmented reality, you will be able to also, and it won’t be so futuristic. From now on, let’s aim to work together better. 

Elliot Moule

References
Coogler R, Black Panther (Marvel Studios 2018).
Favreau J, Iron Man (Marvel Studios 2008).
nsquared space planner, (nsquared solutions, 2018).
Tatsuo N, Pokemon GO (Niantic 2016).
van der Leeuw M, Horizon Zero Dawn (Guerilla Games 2017).
Vuforia (PTC Inc 2011).