CIOs need a strategy for AR and VR use cases — now

While potential AR and VR use cases abound, to fully exploit this transformative technology, a number of obstacles must be addressed. Chief among them are the devices themselves.

“In order to build seamless experiences like this, we need heavy computing power, which is difficult to get in smaller devices,” Usman explained. Processing the rendering and computations on the devices requires sophisticated hardware, and that is hard to squeeze into small, cordless glasses.

The hope is that 5G technology will break this barrier. “Once 5G is completely in place, the hope is that we can offload the processing to the cloud and make devices in smaller form factors,” Usman said.

How 5G will spur AR/VR improvements and adoption

Tuong Nguyen

Tuong Nguyen, analyst at Gartner, advised IT leaders think about immersive tech such as AR and VR as a user interface, “but one with considerably more depth and richness — and driven Here is Nguyen’s take on what 5G will bring to XR user interfaces:

• Network improvements — like wider radio channels, carrier aggregation, etc. This will address the high demand on the network to deliver contextually relevant information.
• More bandwidth and higher spectrum efficiency — compared to 4G.This is essential for delivering high-definition video and other content as well as 360-degree video.
• Higher network density — or the ability to connect more things on the network. This feature is generally associated with IoT, smart cities, etc. Immersive experiences use many of these other technologies as part of the network of sensors that create a richer, more contextualized experience
• Energy efficiency. Think about how quickly your battery drains now while you do something as “simple” as watch a video or a movie. As you scale up the quality and amount of time you do this, it will naturally affect battery life, so improvements in energy efficiency will be welcome.
• Super low latency. This will make high-fidelity content more viable and makes the interaction more seamless regardless of the experience.

Other technical problems will have to be solved for AR and VR use cases to take hold.  

Aaqib Usman

“The relative slowness of the displays close to the user’s eyes [can] cause nausea,” said Joanan Hernandez, CEO and founder of Mollejuo AR Studio.

There are also software problems associated with AR.

“For AR to blend in with the surroundings smoothly, object-and scene-recognition algorithms must evolve further,” explained Anastasia Yaskevich, enterprise mobility researcher at ScienceSoft, a software development company. “The way these algorithms work now is astonishing. Yet they still can’t guarantee stable and reliable AR performance.”

Halsey Minor

Still, optimism is high that AR and VR will be a transformative technologies — sooner rather than later. The U.K. launched its 5G network, offering a testbed for the extent to which faster network speed will enable immersive interfaces. Companies are investing millions — if not billions — in AR and VR. Can enterprise adoption be far behind?

“Now is the time for CIOs and IT leaders to be proactive in determining how VR can enhance and optimize training, marketing, sales, communication and other processes within their companies,” said web pioneer Halsey Minor, founder and CEO of Live Planet.