Why XR?

In one word - Millennials.

Millennials are expected to form 75% of the global workforce by 2025. There are certain characteristics that are unique to this generation, one of them being ease with Technology. This is a group of people that has grown up with the Internet, through Social Networks, the Smartphone revolution and more recently AR/VR.

Another defining characteristic of this generation is their familiarity and love for Video Games. Games as a technology based medium surpasses all others in terms of the level of engagement it offers. The interactivity provided by computer games in conjunction with the immersive 3D virtual environments and a host of other attributes like multiplayer engagement, realistic physics simulations, action and rewards based design etc make it a truly unique medium that offers unparalleled Immersion to the player - players need to be dragged away from their favourite games!

XR technologies originate from this core of Video Games, thereby allowing great levels of Immersion to be made possible for the user. The content delivered through this medium using XR technologies, offer immense levels of engagement to Millennials who are already at ease with it outside of work. The potential it can unlock, if introduced within work environments, is bound to be staggering.

Approach

When looking at XR, we believe, it is important to have a longer term outlook.

While there is a lot of glamour associated with XR, it is worthwhile to have a reality check in terms of the feasibility of these technologies. Devices are still evolving at a rapid pace and multitudes of new developments are being incorporated into the fold thereby making for a very volatile time to invest in them. XR deployments are still expensive and at least a few years away from reaching mass market spread.

In such a scenario, our belief is that it is best to invest in identifying Use Cases and developing Reusable XR Content. So when device proliferation happens, the applications are already well defined and extraction of maximum benefits from the technologies would be possible.

Implementation Steps

The intuitive way to implement this approach is to start with a Proof of Concept solution, move through to a Pilot Program and then scale to a larger deployment.

POC --> Pilot Program --> Larger Deployment

The initial steps could be:

1. Get familiar with the technologies

2. Set up a small In-house team for XR exploration or find a Development Partner

3. Identify a relevant POC for your organisation - see potential use cases below

4. Implement the POC and get feedback from end users and all relevant stakeholders

5. Work towards defining a Pilot Program based on learnings & feedback from the POC

6. Move into a larger deployment scenario as the Pilot Program succeeds

POC Use Cases

Some Use Cases that we've seen providing value to businesses:

1. Operations & Maintenance Training - VR based Training, especially for Safety related scenarios

2. Field Operations - Smartphone AR/MR based Remote Assistance and On-site SOP Guidance

3. Collaborative Design Reviews - MR/VR based, for various phases, for example, in vehicle design

4. User Engagement oriented gamified XR Apps - For internal HR events, at Trade Shows/Conferences

5. VR Tours - Virtual tours of factories and other premises

6. XR Product Catalogues - For physically large products or those with large number of customisations

7. Instagram/Facebook AR filters - For consumer focussed marketing

Next Steps

Immediate ways in which you can move forward:

1. Identify an XR Champion within your organisation - Innovation Manager or similar role

2. Inform relevant Stakeholders

3. Try various XR devices and existing applications so that all stakeholders have a hands-on experience of the various experiential technologies

4. Identify a Development Partner to help take things forward