Jobs will be Changed by Augmented Reality
Maybe there should be a site that maintains a list of jobs which will be changed by availability of Augmented Realty-assisted systems. In this post on the BBC Future blog, Rose Eveleth compiles a few use cases for enterprise Augmented Reality that range from tasks routinely performed in a dentist’s office to those performed on oil sand pipelines and in Lockheed Martin’s fighter jet assembly plants.
Some of the systems described, for example, the use of AR on tablets for installing a clamp onto a pipe without any prior experience, and smart glasses for dentists to use x-rays when examining patients being designed by EyeCAD Connect. Such systems are already available for commercial use.
The post is helpful for those who are unfamiliar with Augmented Reality because it describes use cases, as well as a few of the common obstacles, in a realistic manner. For example, the author points out that use case selection is critical to the success of enterprise AR. Deciding exactly which tasks could benefit from Augmented Reality is not as easy as it might sound. Many tasks are easily performed without technology assistance.
The other obstacle that is raised through an interview with Gabe Batstone, CEO of AREA member Contextere (formerly CEO of NGRAIN, also an AREA member), is the human resistance to change. When it is not clear if the use case can benefit from adding Augmented Reality, it’s difficult to persuade anyone that they need it. On the other hand, when the use case involves highly complex or unique information, such as the x-rays of a patient, the human obstacles are significantly lower.
Perhaps, when enterprise Augmented Realty will be more mature, it will be easier to publish a post listing the jobs that are not changed by Augmented Reality than a list of those the technology has changed.