James Phang

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Where Will AR and VR Have the Greatest Impact?

Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR) have the potential to change business sectors. With many VR headsets such as the Oculus Quest 2, HTC Vive Pro 2 and Sony Playstation VR available to consumers, businesses can take advantage of these technologies to enhance their businesses to improve productivity and customer experiences. Here are four sectors that AR and VR will transform in the future.

Education

AR and VR will have the biggest impact on the education sector with the potential to bring lessons to life. Students will be able to see dinosaurs or have a trip into space within the school environment. VR and AR will not only benefit the education sector in schools and universities but in workplace training environments. In sectors that require technical training, employees can go through VR simulations such as water pipe maintenance or vehicle maintenance to improve knowledge and provide a practice environment. By providing simulation training sessions, employees will be able to practice real-life scenarios in a safe environment.

Retail

In the retail sector, there have been companies that have started to make use of AR and VR technologies such as Amazon and Ikea. They allow customers to view furniture via AR in their own homes to see if they fit the vacant space and complement their current colour scheme. Clothing retailers can help shoppers by allowing them to display items on themselves via AR. This can reduce disappointment and returns. DIY stores can help their customers choose the right colour when decorating by allowing them to apply the colour choices on walls via AR to see where customers like the colour before purchasing.

Manufacturing

AR could have a big impact on manufacturing by providing visual aids and instructions to follow on the factory floors. VR can provide training applications to help reduce accidents and improve productivity. VR can help technicians to help design parts or structures and see whether they fit within the available space and work as expected.

Medicine

AR and VR could make the medical sector revolutionary and help doctors and patients alike. The use of AR and VR can help student doctors train in anatomy and perform operations without the risk of death. AR technology can be used to locate veins for intravenous injections which can be difficult to locate in elderly patients. Even experienced doctors can make use of VR technology to practice innovative techniques or procedures.

Summary

Like many new technologies, they can change the way businesses work and operate. The improvements in AR and VR technologies can help the sectors highlighted above to be more efficient. It is up to companies to embrace these technologies and spend time researching how these technologies could benefit their business to boost productivity and customer experiences.