What is the next step for Augmented Reality?

16

October

2018

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A lot of tech industry analysts and visionaries believe that augmented reality (AR) will revolutionize business. AR is projected to be an economic driver for the tech industry. According to experts in this industry, the market for AR will reach approximately $100 billion by 2020 (Oldham,2018).

However, what is augmented reality? Let’s first start with virtual reality, which is probably a more well-known form of reality technology and is often confused with AR. Virtual reality is an artificial digital environment that entirely replaces the “real world” usually through special VR headsets.

While augmented reality is the “overlay” of digital content on the real-world environment.

At the moment there are two main ways in which AR can be experienced. One of them is through portable devices such as smartphones or tablets, which makes AR the most accessible reality technologies. Pokemon GO is one of the most well-known application of AR, whereby players of this game go out and try to catch Pokemon with their smartphone/tablet (as shown in the picture)(Gleb,2018).

 

Augmented Reality does not only serve consumers, but also offers opportunities for business and other organizations:

  • Students at the Cleveland Clinic at Case Western Reserve University, for example, can learn anatomy through the use of AR headsets that allow them to delve into human bodies in an interactive 3D format.
  • Harley Davidson developed an AR app which allowed shoppers to view motorcycles in-store they are interested in buying and customize them using the app with colours and other features (Paine,2018).

 

  • Leybold, a German vacuum pump manufacturer, is the first company in their industry to test the diverse application possibilities of AR. Service technicians receive partly 3D-additional information and graphical documentation. These instruction are fed into the eyesight range of the technicians to enable a lower error rate (Owen-Jones, 2018).

 

The previous cases have shown that AR is a technology with huge potential and I’m looking forward what more this technology has to offer.

Reference List:

Gleb, B. (2018). VR vs AR vs MR: Differences and Real-Life Applications. [online] Rubygarage.org. Available at: https://rubygarage.org/blog/difference-between-ar-vr-mr [Accessed 14 Oct. 2018].

Oldham, P. (2018). 5 Ways Businesses Can Use Augmented Reality. [online] business.com. Available at: https://www.business.com/articles/best-augmented-reality-uses/ [Accessed 14 Oct. 2018].

Owen-Jones, J. (2018). Augmented reality simplifies maintenance and repairs. [online] gasworld. Available at: https://www.gasworld.com/augmented-reality-simplifies-maintenance-and-repairs/2012658.article [Accessed 14 Oct. 2018].

Paine, J. (2018). 10 Real Use Cases for Augmented Reality. [online] Inc.com. Available at: https://www.inc.com/james-paine/10-real-use-cases-for-augmented-reality.html [Accessed 14 Oct. 2018].

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A critical view on the application of IoT

16

September

2018

5/5 (3)

Internet of Things (IoT), is a network of devices, appliances, vehicles and others that are embedded with sensors, electronics, software and connectivity; enabling them to connect and exchange data. This definition exhibits the endless possibilities that could be achieved with IoT (Elly,2018).

While the importance of IoT in the IT-market is rising, the full potential still has to be fulfilled. Businesses can deploy sensors as part of IoT devices to produce data that can be stored and analyzed. While adding “smarts” to products can give consumers the ability to interact with as well as control appliances and other household products (Koegler,2018).

In a smart home various electric appliances are wired up to a central software control system such as a smartphone app so they can remotely be switched on and off at certain times or if certain events happen. For example, heating can be set to turn on automatically at 6:00 AM in the winter (Woodford,2018).

Unfortunately, there also drawbacks:

  • There are a lot of IoT-devices that are vulnerable to hacking. In 2015 for example, Fiat Chrysler recalled 1.4 million vehicles when security researchers found ways to break into smart cars’ systems remotely and control these vehicles.
  • The Norwegian Consumer Council recently found that a children’s doll recorded anything said to it by children and sent those recordings to a US company. The company reserved the right to share and use the data.

Fortunately, the GDPR and the ePrivacy Regulation can play a huge role in cases like these whereby organizations can get very high fines if they do not comply to these consumer data regulations (Manwaring,2017).

In conclusion, IoT has huge potential, however, consumers have to be careful in the use of these IoT-products and close examination of consumer protection relating to IoT devices should be at the forefront of the manufacturers of IoT-products.

Feel free to share your opinion in the comment section!

List of sources:

Elly, S. (2018) 7 Ways the IoT Can Change the Business World. IoT Evolution, [online]. Available at: https://www.iotevolutionworld.com/smart-home/articles/437712-7-ways-iot-change-business-world.htm [Accessed online 16 Sep. 2018].

Woodford, C. (2018). Smart Homes and the Internet of Things. Explain that Stuff, [online]. Available at:  https://www.explainthatstuff.com/smart-home-automation.html [Accessed online 16 Sep. 2018].

Manwaring, K. (2017). From spying to hacking: Expert lists the dangers of IoT. Daily Mail Online, [online]. Available at: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-4590176/From-spying-hacking-Expert-lists-dangers-IoT.html [Accessed online 16 Sep. 2018].

Koegler, S. (2018). 5 ways the Internet of Things will change your business. AT&T Business, [online]. Available at: https://www.business.att.com/learn/operational-effectiveness/5-ways-the-internet-of-things-will-change-your-business.html [Accessed online 16 Sep. 2018].

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