Original | Text by BFT Robot
Immersive mixed reality and extended reality technologies consisting of virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) remain key drivers of business innovation and expansion. This set of technology solutions has made a significant impact across multiple industries by transforming the way companies operate, interact with customers and achieve their goals.
Although still in its infancy, it is estimated that AR and VR will have more than 100 billion global users by 2027. In realizing this trend, it is clear that organizations that adopt AR/VR application development services to create immersive experiences for their users will stand out today and in the near future.
PART 01
What is AR/VR
Augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) are two separate but related technologies designed to improve users' perception and interaction with the digital world. The main difference between AR and VR is the device used and the nature of the experience: AR takes place in a real-world environment, while VR is completely virtual.
Both AR and VR are included in the category of immersive technology known as XR, or extended reality. There's also mixed reality (MR), which is essentially a combination of augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR). It combines the physical and digital worlds to create a space where they live side by side and communicate in real time.
By overlaying digital data such as images, videos and 3D models onto the physical environment, augmented reality or AR can improve the way users perceive and interact with their surroundings. Digital content is typically displayed in real time using smartphones, tablets, or specialized AR glasses. Users of AR technology can view and interact with virtual objects while still being aware of their surroundings. Many AR applications can be found in a range of sectors, including manufacturing, construction, retail, healthcare, and more.
Virtual reality can completely immerse the user in a simulated digital environment that may not resemble the real world at all. The virtual world users enter when wearing a VR headset can interact with and react to their movements.
The technology is designed to provide users with a sense of presence and immersion by making them feel like they are actually in a virtual environment. Both AR and VR have unique qualities that present interesting business opportunities.
What’s even more interesting is that these immersive mixed reality technologies are being combined with 3D artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML), cloud services, and the Internet of Things (IoT) to provide enterprises in various industries with training, design, engineering, Everything is driven by production, robotics and automation, especially in the ever-evolving e-commerce environment. As a result, businesses in manufacturing, healthcare, technology, construction, energy, automotive, aerospace and financial services (to name a few) are more competitive and positioned for future growth.
Ultimately, these technologies will be used to help companies make smarter decisions and virtually replenish human capital to better serve customers. By doing so, organizations can create more powerful and personalized experiences for customers, whether they are end consumers or partners along the supply chain. In each case, smart, savvy and successful organizations are migrating their workload infrastructure to cloud environments to launch and manage new tools for scalable operations.
PART 02
Immersive hybrid ventures continue to challenge enterprises
The challenge is that these technologies require large amounts of data, the ability to process large amounts of data at impeccable speeds, and the ability to scale projects in computer environments that are often not allowed in traditional office environments.
Businesses looking to take advantage of “Industry 4.0” through the Metaverse require precise and lasting fusion of the real and virtual worlds. This means rendering complex models and scenes in realistic detail, in the correct physical location (relative to the real and virtual worlds) with correct proportions and accurate poses. Think of the accuracy and precision required to leverage AR/VR to design, build or repair components of an aerospace engine or advanced surgical equipment used in medical applications.
Today, this is achieved by using independent GPUs from one or more servers and transmitting the rendered frames wirelessly or remotely to head-mounted displays (HMDs), such as Microsoft HoloLens and Oculus Quest.
PART 03
The importance of 3D and AI in immersive mixed reality
One of the key requirements for mixed reality applications is to accurately overlay an object with its model or digital twin. This helps provide work instructions for assembly and training and detect any errors or defects in manufacturing. Users can also track objects and adjust renderings as the work progresses.
Object tracking systems on most devices use 2D image and/or marker based tracking. This severely limits superposition accuracy in 3D, since 2D tracking cannot estimate depth and thus scale and pose with high accuracy.
This means that even if the user can get a good-looking match when looking from one angle and/or position, the overlay will lose alignment as the user moves around in 6DOF. Furthermore, in most cases object detection, recognition and estimation of its scale and orientation (called object registration) are achieved computationally or using simple computer vision methods with standard training libraries (eg: Google MediaPipe, VisionLib). This works for regular and/or smaller and simpler objects such as hands, faces, cups, tables, chairs, wheels, regular geometric structures, etc. However, for large and complex objects in enterprise use cases, labeled training data (especially in 3D) is not readily available. This makes it difficult, if not impossible, to use 2D image-based tracking to align, overlay, and persistently track objects and blend rendered models with them in 3D.
Enterprise users are overcoming these challenges by leveraging 3D environments and AI technology for their immersive mixed reality design/build projects.
Deep learning-based 3DAI allows users to identify 3D objects of arbitrary shapes and sizes in various directions in 3D space with high accuracy. This approach can be extended to any arbitrary shape and is suitable for enterprise use cases that require the rendering of complex 3D models and the superposition of digital twins with their real-world counterparts.
This can also be scaled to register partially completed structures using the full 3D model, allowing for ongoing construction and assembly. Users achieve millimeter accuracy in object registration and rendering using this platform approach, overcoming the limitations of current device-only approaches. This 3D object tracking approach will allow users to truly blend the real and virtual worlds in enterprise applications, opening up many uses including but not limited to: training with precise contextual work instructions, defect and error detection in construction and assembly, and Use life-size 3D renderings and overlays for 3D design and engineering.
PART 04
Why working in a cloud environment is critical
Enterprises and manufacturers should be careful when designing and deploying these technologies, as the platforms they are built on and maximize their use vary widely.
Although technologies like AR/VR have been available for several years, many manufacturers have deployed virtual solutions on the device, with all technical data stored locally, severely limiting the performance and scale required for today's virtual designs. It limits the ability to share knowledge between organizations, which can be critical when designing new products and understanding the best ways to build out virtually.
Today, manufacturers are overcoming these limitations by leveraging cloud-based (or remote server-based) AR/VR platforms powered by distributed cloud architecture and 3D vision-based AI. These cloud platforms deliver the performance and scalability needed to drive industry innovation at speed and scale.
Article Translation | Spring Flowers
Typography | Spring Flowers
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