With the arrival of 5G in our lives, we know that technology and how we use it is taking a strong turn. Its increased data speed, reduced latency, the increase of connected devices and even the creation of autonomous vehicles or smart cities, are some of the great changes that we will gradually see.
For years we have been hearing about virtual and augmented reality, but it is only with the arrival of the 5G era that these two applications really begin to acquire greater relevance in society. These technologies will help us to conceive the world in a different way, and some sectors are already preparing to apply the different uses of these technologies in their daily lives, for example in education, health, tourism, or entertainment. For example, anyone will be able to experience a soccer match or concert from their couch, feeling as if they were in the stadium.
To understand the difference between one application and the other, and using the commercial area of a company as an example, both will be able to provide great value in different ways:
The role of augmented reality will be to help enhance the user experience inside the store, while virtual reality will be instrumental in driving it online.
Virtual reality transports the user to a 100% virtual and fictitious world, that is, it simulates a sensory experience within an artificial environment without having contact with the outside world using virtual reality glasses, suits, or gloves to provide a better experience.
Augmented reality complements the real environment with digital objects. This allows, for example, to see how a piece of furniture would look in a room. The Pokémon GO game is one of the best known, which allows you to walk the streets of the city capturing Pokémon that are not there.
Mixed reality unifies augmented and virtual reality and generates a unique experience. The function of mixed reality is to take the best of AR and VR to allow the user to interact with real objects in a virtual world, to be fully involved in a virtual world, or to reproduce virtual elements in the real environment.
Brands like Coca-Cola have already implemented this strategy for their digital transformation, where they integrated augmented reality in some of the company’s facilities to inspect equipment, service calls and routine audits. The idea was to optimize processes and solve problems with a technician using AR glasses and thus transmit, in real time, what he sees and hears to an expert watching on a computer screen from anywhere in the world.
The possibility of AR and VR applications that are increasingly ready to be integrated into organizational processes, strategies and structures are many and several of them will surely be of great help for the business growth of any organization. Here are some examples of where VR and AR are already being applied:
– A better and different tourism experience
– Remote surgery and phobia treatment
– Immersive education and increased interaction in schools, colleges and universities.
– Concerts, festivals, and immersive sports
– Consolidation of AR Cloud, a 3D and real time map of the world at scale, constantly being updated.
Undoubtedly, any company that comes to count in their processes, strategies or structures with one or both applications will surely generate a competitive advantage compared to most companies that still do not even think about the possibility of getting involved in this technological trend, which now in 2021 is already making its way in a very strong way to create more immersive user experiences, and thus better position themselves, either to buy or simply to be entertaine
