AR for the enterprise: The rise of the virtual company

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  Quantumrun Foresight
• September 2, 2022

Insight summary

Augmented Reality (AR) merges digital information with the physical world, transforming how businesses operate and individuals interact with their environment. This technology enhances product visualization, improves training efficiency, and fosters creative decision-making across various industries, including healthcare, transportation, and education. As AR continues to evolve, its influence on enterprise operations and consumer experiences is expected to expand significantly, changing the way we perceive and interact with the world around us.

AR for the enterprise context

Augmented reality is a group of technologies that superimposes digital data and images on the physical world, which offers a new information-delivery paradigm. While challenges in deploying AR remain, the COVID-19 pandemic accelerated companies' implementation of this technology as their respective workforces increasingly adopted hybrid work styles. 

Though many people are familiar with AR entertainment applications like Snapchat lenses and the game Pokémon Go, AR is also used in a broader range of settings, particularly in enterprises. In fact, AR may one day become the interface between humans and machines, connecting our digital and physical environments. This technology already influences how businesses service customers, educate workers, design and create products, and manage their value chains. Today, most AR applications are delivered via mobile devices, but hand-free wearables such as head-mounted displays (HMDs) or smart glasses may experience increased industry adoption by the late 2020s. 

AR headsets are increasingly popular among vehicle owners. In 2020, Mercedes-Benz S-Class released an Augmented reality Heads-Up Display (AR HUD) that projects navigational prompts and information about driving assistance systems. Augmented reality HUD reveals several head-up displays that relay navigation instructions, collision warnings, and other information to the driver. 

The use and integration of wearable AR gadgets for factory workers are also increasing. Wearable AR devices (particularly hard hats with head-mounted displays) may assist factory employees in projecting digital overlays of the production assembly process, machine operation, warehouse picking, or service instructions in the workplace. 

Disruptive impact

There are several reasons companies may increase their investments in AR solutions. First, enterprises can better visualize their products and services and tweak prototypes considerably faster. Augmented reality applications offer a vision of the internal components that would otherwise be invisible. For example, AR technology at a healthcare provider, AccuVein, transforms the heat signature of a patient’s veins into an image overlaid on the skin, making veins easier for clinicians to find. ’AccuVein’s AR technology boosts blood drawing and other vascular therapies’ success rates by nearly three times and reduces the need for “escalations” (such as calling for assistance) by 45 percent. 

Another benefit of AR for enterprises is it makes training programs more efficient, engaging, and cost-effective. This technology can redefine instruction, training, and coaching by providing real-time, step-by-step visual guidance. Augmented reality also allows for an interactive and tailored experience that can adapt to individual needs. Other benefits include enhanced collaboration through virtual workstations accessible anytime and anywhere. 

Because of AR’s potential to fast-track innovation and boost creativity and decision-making, global market advisory firm ABI Research forecast that about 28 million AR and mixed reality (MR) smart glasses will be shipped globally by 2026. The market value of augmented reality is anticipated to surpass USD $175 billion.

Implications of AR for the enterprise

Wider implications of AR for the enterprise may include: 

• The healthcare industry using AR technology and digital twins to provide remote diagnoses and perform surgeries.
• Increased AR/VR training for transportation industry employees and military forces personnel to experience/simulate an array of scenarios and environmental conditions.
• Mechanical engineers utilizing AR to build automobile prototypes and test existing ’models’ enhancements.
• Educational institutions using AR technology to make lessons as interactive as possible. 
• Businesses using AR to simulate physical interactions among remote team members.
• Governments providing public services through AR interfaces and infrastructures.

Questions to consider

• How can AR-based training be beneficial in your workplace?
• What are the other benefits and risks of implementing AR in businesses?