How XR is Transforming Enterprise

Hugo Swart, Head of XR, Qualcomm

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Hugo Swart, Head of XR, Qualcomm

Qualcomm has always been in the business of inventing breakthrough technologies that transform industries, and this is particularly evident in the XR space. XR (eXtended Reality) is an umbrella term used to encapsulate AR (Augmented Reality), VR (Virtual Reality), MR (Mixed Reality) and everything in between. As XR evolves into the next mobile computing platform, it will disrupt the enterprise across hundreds of verticals including manufacturing, healthcare, education, military, engineering, retail, marketing, and advertising—just to name a few.

To effectively build an XR strategy and solution that’s right for your company, your business must first identify a problem that needs solving. For example, a common challenge for businesses is to drive cost efficiency and retention for employee training and education. This use case is chiefly solved through the emerging category of standalone, all-in-one VR HMD (head-mounted display) devices.

Such devices don’t need cables, expensive PCs or smartphones. Companies can leverage existing standalone HMDs such as an HTC VIVE Focus, Lenovo Mirage Solo, Oculus Go, or Pico Neo—all of which are powered by varying tiers of the Qualcomm Snapdragon Mobile VR Platform. Each of them ranges in features and specs like display and head tracking with 3DoF vs 6DoF. 6DoF tracking is key for more immersive experiences to move in the environment vs just rotating the head as in 3DoF.

Once the device has been selected, your business can work with a software solutions provider to develop an appropriate educational syllabus to align with desired training outcomes and measurements using a mixed of 360 videos and graphics generated content. Deployment is the next—and most exciting—step in the process. Employees don a VR headset and are immediately immersed in virtual simulations of real-world scenarios: from a low-risk environment such as a store cashier trainee interacting with customers to a high-risk medical emergency of quickly diagnosing strokes in a victim in order to reduce long-term health side effects.

Enterprise use cases where a real-world environment and hands-free operation are required—such as field technicians receiving remote assistance to resolve issues or mapping out how new layouts will look in an existing space—are preferably executed with an AR/MR Standalone HMD solution. Many AR/MR solutions such as Real Wear, Shadow Creator, and ODG currently exist, and each offers a full suite of products and price points depending on scope and budget.

While there are many XR deployment paths businesses can choose from, it’s clear that enhanced productivity, portability, and training continue to expand using cutting-edge XR technologies in the workplace. XR is already able to provide operational efficiencies that positively impact the bottom line and, as the XR ecosystem grows, new mobile XR innovations will enable even more real-world benefits to the enterprise.