When developing a pedestrian bridge at Villanova University in suburban Philadelphia, an architect working with High Concrete, noticed an error in the design through a HoloLens headset; a sheltered horizontal concrete surface that would have attracted roosting birds. The architect found the error because the glasses showed him the bridge in 3D, and if it was not spotted before the bridge was built, the customer would have had more expense due to adding another material to prevent birds from nesting there. Thomas Beam, 3D building information modelling specialist at High Concrete, is stated to have said that the company was able to make a design adjustment prior to the concrete pieces being put in place.

Beam is quoted to have said that High Concrete wanted to make their clients’ experience of viewing their projects more enhanced, and they did this by purchasing the developer’s version of the HoloLens for $5000, increasing their competitive edge. In addition to improving customer experience, Beam believes that HoloLens also helps him and his colleagues to be better design partners.

On any given project, High Concrete generally works with three different people: a project owner, general contractor, and architect. The HoloLens helps the project owner to visualise the project in 3D space, it helps the general contractor to visualise the project as well as an architect, and it helps the architect (who already knows how to read contract drawings) to gain a clearer idea of what Beam and his colleagues are delivering.

Beam has also said that the headset offers a view of the texture, finish, and structure of the concrete. He hopes to see AR being used in production and quality control in future, and is quoted to have said that this would allow the company to ensure that all the reinforcements and hardware are being placed in the right location by projecting a piece into the form as a one-to-one scale.

The article mainly consists of an interview with Mark Brewer, Global Industry Director for Service Management at IFS, a global enterprise software provider, who addresses the field service industry’s interest in AR / VR.

Key points given by Brewer in the article include:

• Field service is focused on predicting failure and improving asset reliability as well as reducing service costs and enhancing customer experience
• AR and live video can be used for remote customer support, making technician dispatch unnecessary, although a field service provider is required for off-site engagement is a truck roll is needed
• Service providers can offer additional valuable resources from a centralised source more efficiently and at a reduced cost due to the ability to tag additional experts given by AR
• AR and Mixed Reality can effectively democratise knowledge
• Resource conversation and cost reductions are two important variables that maximise output in field service
• ARVR tech reduces training time for field workers as well as enabling them to virtually access the situation
• AR tech in particular increases communication with the contact centre, allowing off-site professionals to guide equipped workers
• Extra info and tools are made available via useful ARVR projections, which means workers no longer have to retrieve forgotten materials
• A study by The Service Council found that 41% of incomplete service visits would benefit from AR sessions or live video
• The same study found that 72% of respondents were already evaluating or utilising AR
• Currently, one of the most popular ARVR use cases in field service is virtual guidance
• DAQRI’s AR glasses are used by companies to interact with 3D models so they can access equipment analytics and perform service functions
• The Microsoft HoloLens has also been used by Siemen’s eHighway system project to provide workers with remote access to off-site employees, a virtual checklist, and repair diagrams
• Employee training is currently another major use case of ARVR in field service, as it provides a visual walkthrough of a process
• DAQRI AR has been used in Los Angeles to accelerate fire department team members’ training on how to fix broken headsets
• NASA has used AR tech to aid instructions on how to perform maintenance operations in space for astronauts
• Industries making more use of ARVR include manufacturing, medical, automotive, HVAC, construction and general training
• Promising hardware innovations mentioned are the Microsoft HoloLen, Oculus Rift, DAQRI AR Headsets, and Google Glass Enterprise Edition
• Interesting AR software and platforms mentioned are XMReality, Webex, XOi Technologies, GoToMeeting, PTC Vuforia, and SightCall

Brewer concludes the interview by expressing excitement for the concept of combining AR tech with IoT, enabling the ‘Digital Twin’, which is where a digital representation of a physical object can be created, allowing the way in which a unit is being operated to be monitored easier.

The market opportunity for AR goes far beyond gamers or consumers and has the potential to disrupt the enterprise market of technical and skilled workers – from engineers to architects, to healthcare professionals.

The potential for the technology is perhaps best underlined by the fact that major tech industry players are committed to developing AR marketing. For instance, global tech brands such as Apple, Microsoft, Google, and Facebook are providing deep toolsets for developers to create apps targeting the use of AR.

Many have also quietly adopted the implicit assumption that a persistent, wearable artificial reality is the next big thing, according to Epson Singapore.

As AR adoption gains momentum and an increasing number of industrial applications being launched, some businesses are expected to start incorporating smart glasses into the core of their Internet of Things (IoT) systems, in their quest to enhance worker productivity and streamline backend operations.

According to Amy Kwa, regional manager of visual products at Epson Singapore, “Deploying AR will enable processes at work to be more efficient, by enhancing the reality of the user, so they can, for example maintain an engine or a complex electrical board in an intuitive and easy manner. They’ll be able to see the internal structure of a device and act on the information in real-time.”

Smart glasses have a wide variety of features that offer new AR experiences for a broad range of commercial and industrial market applications. For instance, Epson’s latest Moverio smart glasses offer video and can benefit several sectors, including healthcare.

The glasses have proven to be helpful for surgeons and clinicians, allowing them to fully concentrate on their patients by freeing them from manually handling data, allowing them to focus on complex tasks. Dentists have also been greatly assisted by smart glasses as they are capable of providing a precise heads-up overlay of their patient’s teeth. This allows them to have better hand-eye coordination and a more precise treatment time.

Augmented Reality through smart glasses

As smart glasses evolve to become a truly seamless experience that users interact with on a daily basis, one of the most important issues for developers of AR wearables is form factor. Future generations of smart glasses are expected to be equipped with Wi-Fi capabilities, stereo 3D graphics, and enhanced processing of images and audio.

The user’s choice of smart glasses will depend on their purpose. Key considerations include their ability to deliver digital information crisply and legibly, and also whether the smart glasses are comfortable, especially when worn for long hours.

For use in applications such as healthcare or at museums, galleries and tourist destinations, smart glasses have the benefit of enhancing the overall experience for visitors. With smart glasses and AR, background data on whatever the visitor is viewing can be shown in real-time as part of the tour they are experiencing.

In other applications, operators are using smart glasses in heavy industrial jobsites that may be hot and cramped. In situations like these, it is crucial that workers remain focused as any distraction could result in safety issues. The smart glasses, in this case, need to be in the form of a headset, secured with a firm headband, so that safety is guaranteed.

Looking ahead

According to Kwa, it is likely that adoption of AR technology will reach a tipping point this year. “Developers will launch innovative new apps to grow the commercial and consumer markets, and they will be working to overcome issues such as predictive head motion tracking to reduce ‘motion to photon’ latency, as well as the constraints on power and thermal factors necessary to keep the glasses cool.”

As smart glasses become the norm, we are likely to see them entering additional industries, such as fashion. Whether smart glasses appear on the catwalks of Paris and Milan or not, the potential for AR combined with wearables is huge.

“Following the personal computer, the Internet and the smartphone, AR and smart glasses are likely to be the world’s next transformative technology,” Kwa predicted.

Report author David MacQueen said, “2013 and the launch of Google Glass really kickstarted the dedicated AR device market. Although the device was not a commercial success, the potential of AR became clear and the hype around it saw Google, Apple, Microsoft and other major players make serious investments in the AR field. 5 years on, and much of that technology has found its way onto smartphones, while dedicated AR headsets have remained a niche product.

“The major factor holding back the market for dedicated AR devices today is simply the cost of the hardware. In a typical enterprise deployment, this is not a major issue as the hardware itself is a relatively small part of the cost. The consumer market is much more price sensitive, and this is amply demonstrated by the relative success of the low cost $200 Lenovo slot-in Mirage AR headset, which drove the market to new heights in 2017. Despite the product instantly becoming the top selling AR headset of all time, it only moved the needle slightly, increasing total shipments from the tens of thousands of units to the hundreds of thousands.”

The report found that slot-in AR devices account for the majority of shipments and users today, but binocular AR units (such as HoloLens) will become increasingly important as the market evolves toward devices which offer higher quality experiences. Strategy Analytics expects total shipments to reach just under 10 million units globally by 2023, but with further growth projected beyond that as ASPs continue to decline to more consumer-friendly levels.

David Kerr, Executive Vice President, added, “AR is suited to a wide variety of use cases, and could conceivably be used to augment almost any category of application or service. As well as adding richness to existing services, it also opens up possibilities for entirely new apps and services. So despite a slow start, the potential upside is huge. But for the market to grow significantly, it is consumer (rather than enterprise) which must drive volumes.

“Key consumer use cases including gaming, marketing, and search require a device capable of delivering rich 3D graphics. The successful devices in the consumer market should be lower cost than, yet similar in functionality to, current cutting edge technology. To drive the price down to a consumer-friendly price point for an AR device with a stereoscopic 3D view, it is likely that some of the functionality (and therefore component cost) will be shifted to a smartphone. Strategy Analytics believes that smartphone OEMs are the most likely contenders to succeed in the longer term.”

Investments in customer loyalty technology and data for the ‘no strings attached’ generation of customers will be essential for the insurance sector. However, according to Virtusa, investments in Augmented and Virtual Reality are less likely to pay off in the long term.

Senthil Ravindran, executive VP and global head of xLabs at Virtusa, is quoted to have said that IoT, a current ‘hot topic’ in tech, is already contributing towards transforming the insurance sector, particularly auto-insurance. As artificial intelligence is starting to integrate into IoT, contextualised data will be able to be gathered from smart street and vehicle devices, allowing businesses to adjust premiums, instantly produce accident reports, and automatically pay claims out, all individualised to each customer.

The article claims that another key driver for insurers will be the changing nature of customer experience, as consumers increasingly prefer services that are easy to integrate into their lives while being tailored to the individual. Ravindran is quoted to have said that insurance companies need to accept that the loyalty of their clients is currently solely based on offered services, therefore insurers need to invest in technology approved by millennials to combat increasing competition.

However, Ravindran claims that a degree of cynicism concerning the maturity and business value of ARVR technology remains, therefore the chance of investors in the sector reaping significant benefits of the tech is low. He is further quoted to have said that insurance customers are unlikely to be as impressed with VR ‘gimmick[s]’ than general retail.

The research was fuelled by a sense of information overload concerning latest tech and trends, which the article claims companies can be dazzled by. The article concludes with another quote from Ravindran, instructing businesses to take the time to consider how technology can help them achieve their goals before implementing it, rather than being swept up in the newest tech trend.

The AREA have also conducted research, webinars, and case studies on ROI of AR which have been proven, therefore this should be considered by companies looking at investing in tech.  See our ROI calculator and best practice case study.

It aims to analyse the VR/AR industry, mainly from a business and legal perspective, to examine its current and likely future in the short term (1-2 years), medium term (2-5 years) and long term (5-10 years). As a result, the handbook:

• Provides guidance on current challenges
• Raises concerns to be aware of and understand, now and in the future
• Makes recommendations to leverage opportunities and mitigate concerns

For the full report analysis download the Growing VR/AR companies in the UK handbook.

The new upstream methods are as expected triggering novel business models and altering the value chain. For instance, contractors and service providers are consolidating vertically to expand their offerings to provide proprietary, all-in-one solutions. In due time, legacy rig fleets will be rationalized and integrated across a holistic automation platform, which, in turn, will stoke industry demand for open systems architecture.

“The rising relevance of digitally enabled business models will coincide with the increasing importance of data in influencing procurement decisions. The net result will be a highly transparent and quantifiable value chain,” noted Rathi. “The greatest industry impact will be felt when an AI-driven platform that automates procurement across all drilling and support activities emerges as a trusted, secure, third-party application encompassing the entire drilling ecosystem.”

The aspects of future AR development elaborated on in the article are:

• Customer Experience Driving AR Development. A report from ABI Research earlier this year showed that Augmented and Virtual Reality will be the next innovative technology to impact the retail and marketing sectors. Consumer demand for an improved shopping experience is enabling digital marketing and ecommerce vendors to enhance customer experiences with AR and VR.
• Current and Future AR Sales. Robert Radek, founder and CEO of GEON Network, has stated that AR tech is already used in a variety of markets such as gaming, commercial, ecommerce and retail. Key players mentioned include Google, Microsoft, Sony, Apple, and PTC. Radek is quoted to have said that increasing interest in ‘Augmented Reality’ and ‘AR’ as search term has been reported by Google along with estimated market growth.

Exponential growth potential can be seen in both the immediate future and long-term. Radek is said to have addressed the stagnation of AR tech sales (e.g. headsets), claiming that the cause of this is that products only address a small market of those interesting in using tech for leisure.

• AR Enters Post-Hype Development. Karen Shackman, founder of Shackman Associates New York, has stated that the key to future AR enterprise use is ensuring it is not a one-time experience. Shackman is quoted to have said that AR has the potential to enhance visitor experiences and provide marketing opportunities for companies and locals in cities like New York.

John Buzzel, president of YOU ARE HERE, has also said that any stagnation is only temporary, as AR is making is easier for enterprises to find ROI in immersive tech. It is claimed that 2018 will likely be an important year for AR due to increased mobile adoption, hardware releases, and new iOS and Android features due to valuable use cases and approached being found in AR’s practical phase following the intial hype.

Many technological developments are currently reducing AR obstacles, leading to improved ease of use, improved networking, greater utility, lower costs, enhanced developer tools, and higher performance.

• Long Term Future. The article claims that new digital standards for AR will be adopted in the long term as it becomes content and interface. AR is no longer just a feature as the biggest companies in tech invest billions. David Xing of Plott has stated that AR is on the verge of becoming XR (Extended Reality), a combination which uses VR to experience the environment and AR to change how it looks. Xing predicts that the emergence of XR will expedite the development of both AR and VR. In the short term, he believes that mobile AR will take the lead as everyone will have an accessible AR device, which will then lead to bringing the AR experience to headsets.

Companies are increasingly shifting their focus to developing mission-critical AR and VR applications in the enterprise. Areas of opportunity for senior executives across different functions listed in the article are:

• Connecting – workers can engage, share info with, and support colleagues in other locations using digital reality, e.g. engineers in a regional office can view, therefore provide guidance to field workers repairing and maintaining remote equipment.
• Knowing – digital reality can provide knowledge workers required information exactly when they need it via enabled glasses, e.g. construction engineers can view a detailed description of electrical and plumbing parts and how they fit into a wall.
• Learning – certain pioneering companies are using digital reality to place trainees in lifelike scenarios that would be logistically impossible or too expensive to recreate in the real world, e.g. UPS provides VR tests allowing new drivers to prove themselves in a virtual environment before physically driving a 5 ton delivery van.
• Exploring – potential customers can be brought closer to services, products, and experiences using digital reality, e.g. Estée Lauder released an AR virtual makeup mirror on its website that enables users to virtually try on product shades.
• Playing – there is a wide range and number of use cases of digital reality tech in storytelling, gaming, and live events. Investments in AR / VR use in gaming are expected to significantly increase in the next few years.

Aspects of computing power required to support enterprise digital reality strategies listed in the article are:

• Storage – there is a huge amount of data required to render digital reality experiences and this will only increase as technologies evolve and new functionalities emerge. Digital reality can potentially encourage modernised approached to enterprise data management, architecture, and governance.
• Core integration – headset manufacturers are developing APIs that integrate business processes and core technologies into new experiences. In future, digital reality could initiate transactions to present product, facility, or customer content.
• Analytics – currently, it is possible to track an AR headset user’s gaze and analyse data generated by this. In future, tracking analysis could potentially be used to drive advertising, although gaze-tracking for excessive amounts of time would necessitate a large amount of storage as well as powerful immersive analytics capabilities.
• Bandwidth and networking – currently, there is a lack of network operators able to deliver bandwidth speeds that AR / VR streaming and 360-degree experiences require. Developments are underway for compression algorithms, intelligent traffic management solutions, and low-latency / high-throughput capabilities for AR / VR.

Basic steps for laying the foundation of AR / VR initiatives for senior executives provided in the article are:

• Learn more about the technology – official training or a few hours spent with one of a range of development kits on the market can aid skills and vocabulary required for understanding digital reality and its value.
• Speak a new language – in addition to embracing new perspectives, designing for digital reality also requires a different vocabulary. Emerging tools and services are also needed for bringing experiences to life.
• Look around – the business goals, readiness, and efforts of senior executives’ peers should be considered. Don’t hesitate to ask for perspectives on potential use cases and opportunities from vendors, business partners, and suppliers.
• Don’t hold out for perfection – lots of digital reality innovation is being driven by the consumer market, although enterprise use cases, production deployments, and proofs of concept are increasingly emerging.

The article concludes by stating that digital reality is ready to transform how we experience the real world and interact with data. The concept of immersive technologies becoming the next big platform is now becoming more realistic.

The 5G network is claimed to be the ideal solution for connected Augmented and Virtual Reality experiences, as that allows for extreme throughout, uniform experience, and ultra-low latency.

ABI Research, market-foresight advisory firm that provides strategic guidance on transformative tech, predicts that nearly 10% of industrial smart glasses and VR devices will have a 5G connection by 2026. Marina Lu, senior analyst at ABI Research, is quoted to have said that wearing smart glasses provides a hands-free experience that enables workers to pay full attention to the work that needs doing. AR overlays a digital twin consisting of varying repair instructions based on the worker’s personal requirements on a physical object. Lu is also quoted to have said that continuous connectivity is vital for applications connecting field workers to a remote professional, as they require high-accuracy interaction and, for time-sensitive applications, low end-to-end latency. Devices can provide 4G and eventually 5G networks in remote locations where there is no Wi-Fi to enable connectivity and safety for workers.

The article lists the following connectivity vendors and telcos as those who believe AR and VR are prime use cases for the 5G network:

• Qualcomm
• Huawei
• Ericsson
• Nokia
• Verizon
• SK Telekom
• Orange

Ericsson has recently used AR troubleshooting at production sites in Estonia, and is expanding to sites in China. Engineers can use this technology to solve complex issues via fault finding data and immediate information sharing, leading to a potential 50% boost in productivity. Also, Xerox Israel has deployed AR in the field to increase remote resolution rates, first-time fix rates, and mean repair time.

Cellular connectivity is also claimed to potentially expand the AR/VR working area. Low-Power Wide-Area Networks (LPWAN) are able to support simple remote devices that lack frequent communication while maintaining energy efficiency; the combination of AR/VR and Internet of Things (IoT) improves the value chain for use in manufacturing. Huawei and Toshiba’s NB-IoT solution is an example of LPWA adoption. Flowserve, a manufacturer and aftermarket service provider of flow control products, uses real-time sensors with AR to predict pump failure, provide exact instructions for repair, and share management analytics.

Eric Abbruzzese, principal analyst at ABI Research, is quoted to have said that the key to improving AR/VR user experiences and integration in the industry market is mobility. Although this places new requirements on network services and structure, it creates new opportunities connecting the product with the factory, and understanding consumers. Abbruzzese is also quoted to have said that for users to receive info at any time and place, and to interact with their environment, ubiquitous connectivity is required, therefore new business models need to be developed to leverage connectivity capabilities.