Following are excerpts from Azafran Data Team's Monthly Headlines Presentation:
by Magdalena Vuckovic and Jakov Novakovic - Junior Analysts, Azafran Data Team
Rise in Healthcare and Infrastructure Industry AR / VR Applications
Virtual reality has been discussed for decades, but augmented reality and possibly mixed reality have only recently become popular. These words are generally referred to as the "metaverse's building blocks," and they define new methods of interacting with technology.
It helps to think about the metaverse's appeal in terms of the different tendencies that are convergent to produce it. Consider the first iPhone, which was released in 2007 and combined a camera, computer, mobile phone, and operating system into a single device (nothing new at the time). The revolution was in the convergence of the technology involved, as well as the consequent entrepreneurial excitement of hundreds (and eventually millions) of app developers who went out to find ways to put the magical new tool to use.
Thanks to AR and VR, the argument goes, that real and virtual social, consumer, and business experiences will become intertwined. Gamers are already familiar with this notion—albeit usually in two dimensions—but games are only the beginning. While virtual reality, augmented reality, and mixed reality are most commonly linked with immersive entertainment and the gaming business, they are also making advances in other fields.
Healthcare
Another area that is employing immersive AR and VR technologies to solve critical challenges is healthcare, which Azafran Capital Partners have a close eye on. The potential for these technologies to produce big advancements in a specialty like radiology, which is all about imaging, is enormous. Surgeons have rigorous training, which includes assisting on several surgeries with a more experienced surgeon before assuming the lead. What could be better than being able to rehearse a surgery in advance, on a virtual patient, because no two people or situations are the same?
The VR segment in health care alone, which according to some estimates is already valued at billions of dollars, is expected to grow by multiples of that in the next few years, with researchers seeing the potential for it to help with everything from anxiety and depression to the rehabilitation after strokes to surgeons strategizing where they will cut and stitch.
Infrastructure
A new infrastructure law was just approved in the United States, which will result in a significant increase in infrastructure projects in the future years. President Biden's Infrastructure Bill allocates $550 billion to building and improving America's infrastructure.
This bipartisan infrastructure bill would repair America's roads, bridges, and trains, provide access to safe drinking water, guarantee that every American has high-speed internet, address the climate catastrophe, and invest in areas that have been left behind far too frequently. Various federal states have already received millions of dollars. Complex infrastructure needs extensive planning and lots of moving pieces.
This is where these immersive technologies come in.
For thousands of years, the architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC) business has developed several advances. It is, nevertheless, the second least-digitized industry in the contemporary era. With the advent of immersive technologies, this might alter.
We now have augmented reality (AR) software that integrates with BIM to create 3D designs that you can walk around. Employee training on how to utilize equipment and recognize safety dangers may also be done using augmented reality technology before work begins.
These technologies provide organizations the real-time visibility they need to function as effectively as possible. They enable them to deliver better training, make smarter judgments, and maximize the use of components and equipment while enhancing worker productivity and safety.
The challenge
With all the praised benefits of using AR and VR in the construction industry, the lack of feasibility studies and cost-benefit analyses backing up these claims leads to slow adoption for most companies. But to make augmented and virtual reality mainstream in the construction industry, more studies are needed.