Augmented аnd Virtual Reality in Business – Part II

By Elena Miteva, Customer Support Specialist

In our previous post, we have discussed how augmented reality can be used for entertainment. Augmented and Virtual Reality also have a great application in a list of serious industries of national importance such as military, aviation, archaeology and education.

Military – AR technology is used in the military as a form of smart gadgets attached to the troops’ helmets. It allows commanders to send information or maps directly to soldiers. One such gadget is the ARC4 developed by ARA. Virtual reality plays an important role in combat training in the Army where soldiers experience a variety of simulated situations. This is achieved via a special helmet with a display. The simulators are also used in tank driving simulations before the trainee is actually allowed to drive a tank in real life.
Aviation and/augmented-аnd-virtual-reality-business-part-ii aircraft – Augmented Reality is used in the aviation industry as well. It is used in training simulations, different special operation missions, and everyday flights. They provide the pilot with all the necessary information - heading, airspeed, altitude, warnings and targeting information. Good examples of AR technology in this industry are helmet mounted display systems like the F-35’s jet fighter’s helmets and glasses (Aero Glass).
Medicine and healthcare – The applications of AR could completely transform most of the traditional medicine and turn it into an even higher level of precise practice. AR is already being used in different medical fields ranging from simple medical tests or examination to the First virtual reality live-stream operation – Medical realities. There are ideas about using Google glass to register a new patient in order to reduce the time spent on manually adding data in the system. Plus, this will eliminate the risk of human error. Gadgets like Google glass can be successfully used to remind patients to take their drugs, give them more information about the medicine itself and recommend a diet depending on the person’s health condition or diseases. Augmented reality applications have very important influence on medical training as well. A good example is ARnatomy – everyone who studies medicine needs to be fully aware of human anatomy and this app can be of great help. The usage of virtual reality as an effective therapy in healing different phobias and physiology problems has grown quite popular recently as well.
Education and science – there are many classroom AR applications which offer students help in an interactive way – , Anatomy 4D, Aurasma. Books, textbooks and other educational materials can contain additional digital information which is available in a multimedia format once they scan it with an AR device. Chemistry, math, history or even physiology could be easily visualized and understood. AR technology gives students the opportunity to attend a remote class and work together on a common project even if they are not physically at the same location. They can still interact with another student by sharing one virtual learning environment, virtual objects, and materials. The potential of Virtual and Augmented realities in education is endless and there are many advantages for the students. The technology is also applied in professions where the risk of human mistake is marked as high. Good examples are drivers, pilots, and captains.
Archaeology and museums – AR applications can be considered as a window that gives us the opportunity not only to see but to actually interact and be a part of history, to have a walk and experience the way people lived long ago during different centuries. You can find more information and interesting facts here.
Car Industry – Innovators in the car industry have implemented AR in their advertising campaigns for quite some time now. Customers are given the opportunity to view the car by having a 3D walk around the vehicle and see its real dimensions, design, and features. Using AR in the design phase of the car production process can be quite efficient and save costs to the manufacturers as they can see many variations of the car and choose the one they deem best in an early development phase. A good example of AR technology usage in this particular industry are the BMW service engineers – they can wear special AR head-mounted displays or glasses while working on a car. This way they can get instructions about what tool to use and how to proceed. These gadgets can also be used to train staff. AR technology is also applied when BMW creates digital showrooms to present their new models and show their potential in a modern way. Some manufacturers offer AR built into windscreens which can warn the driver about a potential risk on the road. Via different AR heads-up displays, information can be presented in a safe way – speed, navigation, fuel level and so on can all be shown without having the user need to look away. An interesting innovation is BMW’s mini augmented reality glasses – helping the drivers stay focused on the road and display important information in their current vision. As a special extra, these new glasses offer X-ray vision, which enables drivers to see through different parts of their car.

Modern technology such as virtual and augmented reality simplifies life in various ways and people are eager to get their hands on it. Different hi-tech gadgets have completely changed our everyday life, the way we work, study and even the way we raise our children. Today, emails are the primary means of communication in the modern workplace. We communicate faster and more efficiently than ever before, but do we still have control, or has technology started to take control over our lives? As with everything else in life, there are some disadvantages of VR and AR. A simple example is that when using virtual reality technology there are discrepancies between our body and our brain. Our body is sending signals to our brain that we are not moving, however, in virtual reality, our eyes see that we are moving which confuses the whole organism. This could lead to some negative health implications, however, if we give our body time to adapt and if we manage to use technology in a sensible and rational way we will be able to save our health and personality and still be a part of the technological revolution.
In all cases, there is a lot more that technology can give us and there is no doubt it will in the upcoming years.

Hope you enjoyed this series of articles, see you next time with a brand new topic!

See Augmented and Virtual Reality - Part I

Written by: Polina Boynova on May 3, 2017

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