Getting Started with Extended Reality (XR)
Extended Reality (XR) could be an invaluable tool for your business, enhancing collaboration, improving processes, and cutting costs, but it can be difficult to know where to start when it comes to implementing XR. In this edition of the 3D Focus, we’ll be discussing how to get started with Extended Reality.???
The use of Augmented Reality (AR) , Mixed Reality (MR) , and Virtual Reality (VR) (which collectively make up XR) in engineering and manufacturing is still in its infancy, but it has seen a steady rate of growth and adoption over the past few years.??
Integrating this innovative technology into existing workflows involves investment, and can be time consuming; however, in the long run, it will improve processes; saving you money and cutting lead times. But what do you need to consider if you're thinking about jumping on the XR bandwagon??
It’s Not About the Devices Anymore…??
In the early days of XR, the market has been driven by new headsets, many from familiar names like Google, HTC Vive, Magic Leap, Meta, Microsoft, Varjo and now Apple - along with dozens of start-ups. As with other technologies, these devices are now into their 2nd or 3rd iterations. With each iteration, they are becoming smarter, more powerful, and easier to use, and also the price point is dropping for entry models, meaning that certainly at the lower end of the scale, price is not a barrier to adoption of XR.?
…It’s About the Use Case?
Although your use case may dictate the type of technology required (e.g., Virtual Reality for Training, Augmented Reality for Inspection, or Mixed Reality for real-time Layouts), the result is that businesses are moving away from focusing on the technology and devices, and instead are planning the best way to deploy XR.?
Companies are now?assembling teams to research how XR technologies can be applied to the designing and manufacturing process. Leading companies recognise that their customers expect them to be innovators in this area, and many early adopters have now deployed XR solutions.?
To make the most out of XR, you need to have a relevant use case. Without a strong use case, there won’t be any traction. But how do you deploy XR??
Research and Educate?
People talk in grandiose terms about having an XR strategy, but you can’t have a strategy on XR unless you understand the technology and where it’s going to benefit your business. Investing in the learning process to gain an understanding of how XR will impact your business can be very valuable and provide a good foundation to develop an XR strategy.?
One of the key things to recognize is that since an XR strategy must be use case driven, it needs to be led by end user departments. However, those departments may need support, so IT or innovation groups who are often looking at XR as a technology may also need to be involved.?
Creating the correct business case?
So, the first thing companies should focus on is understanding what area of their business XR could help them in; whether it’s design, manufacturing, inspection, training, or remote assistance. What’s the right decision on a device today will change in 12 months so it’s important to focus on the use case.?
Companies need to implement a use case that can be run on many different devices and should try to be device and data neutral i.e., develop a solution that can work with multiple types of data and devices to ensure it is future-proofed and expandable.??
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Once you’ve got the knowledge and an understanding of what the technology could address, you need to stand back and choose your use case. Because having a good use case will create a good business case, and without a good business case, won’t get budget for the investment that you’re going to need to make.?
Off the shelf or do it yourself??
The other thing to think about is what type of solution is best for you. You can go to solution providers and buy out-of-the-box technologies, you can develop your own XR software, or contract somebody to develop it for you. This is another key decision that needs to be made early on.?
If you want an ‘out of the box’ solution, do some research on solution providers in relation to your use case. Speak with them, try out their technology. You will have to make an early investment in hardware, but it will give you a good understanding of what is needed.??
Making the fundamental decisions of ‘are we looking to take something off the shelf, or are we looking to develop it?’ early on will then guide how much effort, time, and support you need from IT and/or internal development groups.?
Start small?
It’s best to start by choosing a use case and break it down into small elements that will improve your business; then focus on applying XR to those. By selecting a practical use case, and choosing elements of it that can be delivered quickly, you can prove the benefit to the business. If you are too broad in your approach and try to address everything at once you will likely fall short.?
Don’t get left behind!?
With so many of us working from home, and teams being geographically spread out, the remote collaboration capabilities of XR are more relevant than ever.??
Today, some organisations have already made significant progress. They have adopted this technology and integrated it into their processes; using it every day and relying on it to perform at a higher level. Growth and adoption is still accelerating as more people are exposed to the benefits it brings.?
The XR industry is still evolving, so software and hardware will continually be changing. There will always be bigger, better apps and devices – that’s the nature of technology. But with hardware being more affordable today, it’s a good time to start investing in XR and investigating how it could enhance your business.?
About TheoremXR
TheoremXR provides a fully automated process enabling you to quickly and easily use your existing 3D CAD data in Extended Reality (XR) to address a number of different use cases, including?Design Review ,?Factory Layout ,?Training ,??Visualization ,?and the?Visual Digital Twin .
In the next edition of 3D Focus, we’ll be exploring some of the benefits of extended reality and discussing the “cognitive gap”, i.e., the disconnect between the digital world and the real world. We’ll be discussing how XR can help close this gap, so make sure to subscribe and check out the next edition.
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