Enterprises Immersed in VR/AR/XR
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For those of us in the industry (especially all the cool people who get our emails), it isn’t new news that immersive tech is becoming a lot more common solution in enterprises. VR/AR/XR adoption is skyrocketing, in part due to the pandemic-induced remote workforce, but also thanks to the decreasing costs of headsets, displays, and devices.
Sales of XR for use in public infrastructure maintenance, industrial maintenance, and logistics and package delivery management are predicted to more than double every year from 2019 to 2024.
Here’s where we’re seeing immersive tech being deployed in enterprises…
Intelligent, Remote Field Service
Immersive tech is being used for field service management, both on site and from afar. Service techs can diagnose and even guide repair remotely with the help of VR/AR and compatible devices.
ServiceMax, a provider of field service management software, anticipates a significant uptick in the use of VR/AR in the equipment and complex asset services marketplace.
On site, repair technicians can use AR/VR to see exactly how a complex asset should be operating and how to repair it when it malfunctions. Remotely, a technician can diagnose and repair assets without the cost and COVID risk of travel to a site.
Emerson is using AR to deliver real-time diagnostics, analytics, and live remote assistance to industrial plant workers using their equipment.
And Unilever, Lockheed Martin, and others are using ScopeAR’s AR work instructions and remote assistance platform to reduce downtime, save on overhead, and improve efficiency.
Remote and Hazardous Training
Enterprises are using VR to give employees in training a “hands on” experience without breaking COVID protocols. Healthcare organizations themselves are even using immersive tech to train healthcare workers on the virus, how it spreads, and how to protect themselves and patients.
XR is being used to keep employees safe from the current COVID risk, and it’s also being deployed for other risky training scenarios. According to TechHQ, “XR can provide training tools that are hyper-realistic that will help soldiers, healthcare professionals, pilots/astronauts, chemists and more figure out solutions to problems or learn how to respond to dangerous circumstances without putting their lives or anyone else’s at risk.”
At the 2020 Industrial XR Forum, Shell and Immerse shared a real-world use case on training in oil and gas focused on: How to create a scalable and measurable VR training program for HSSE assessment. Using VR to go beyond training for additional assessments is likely to grow in a travel-restricted world.
A study by P&S Intelligence found that the highest revenue in the short-term XR market will be in industrial and manufacturing enterprises. This is because industries like mining, oil and gas, and manufacturing are adopting immersive technologies for training purposes, especially where real-world training would be dangerous, difficult, or expensive.
There’s no better way to train employees to unload hazardous materials, configure a wind turbine, or service a jet engine when a pandemic makes it impossible to teach and learn these skills in person. Maybe that’s why headsets, like those previewed at CES 2021, are growing fastest in the immersive training market.
As demonstrated in a recent discussion between PwC, Charlie Fink, EndeavorVR, Schlumberger and Talespin, the ROI for Skills Training with XR is tremendous.
AR(e) They Here to Stay?
While it’s possible that some of the enterprise adoption of XR will be short-lived through the pandemic, enterprises are making big, long-term investments in immersive tech that are likely here to stay.
When it’s too dangerous or costly to train in the real world, it makes sense that businesses would want to train in a virtual one.
