Kashif Ansari is a proud member of the Internet 2.0 Conference's organizing committee and is deeply interested in learning how technology is changing the world and the revolutions it brings about. The Internet 2.0 Conference's upcoming editions are prepared to examine some of the industry's hottest topics, including what the future of cybersecurity holds, the need for cloud computing expertise in the blockchain, and reducing the damage that fraudsters and scammers can do to your company.
Redefining Customer Experiences With Immersive Technologies
Immersive technology is changing how businesses deliver customer services and products. This revolution significantly improved customer experience in ways that no other technology could. Consumers can now have realistic experiences by entering a virtual space before purchasing a product or service.
Immersive technology touches all aspects - making the customer experience more enjoyable, accurate, and practical, allowing them to get the most out of their money.
Businesses are no longer unfamiliar with immersive technologies. Today, customer interactions with brands have changed and influenced the overall experience - causing many brands to rethink their CX approach, adjusting it so they can deal with these new interactions.
Fortunately, the inclusion of Extended Reality opens up new opportunities for brands to create immersive customer experiences.
The physical and virtual lines continue to blur as CX becomes more immersive. XR technologies were previously used in gaming, social media, and entertainment. There are numerous use cases for XR across industries to improve customer experiences. Natural language processing, voice and facial recognition, image analysis, and other AI technologies will power next-generation CX.
Extended Reality (XR) - What Is It?
XR encompasses immersive technologies that merge the physical and virtual worlds. VR, AR, and MR are XR technologies (MR) examples. According to experts from 2022 tech events, the XR market will grow from USD 33.0 billion in 2021 to USD 125.2 billion by 2026, growing at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 30.6% over the forecast period.
Let's take a closer look at the various XR types:
Virtual Reality: VR is an immersive technology that transports the user into an imaginary or virtual world that simulates the real world using a headset or goggles. VR can be used to walk on Mars, swim in the ocean while sitting in your living room, or enter an alternate reality or world created by VR developers.
Augmented Reality: Through smart devices, users experience a version of the natural world overlaid with virtual content. Pokémon Go and Snapchat filters, which place digital objects such as hats, glasses, or other designs over users' photos and videos, are two examples of augmented reality.
Mixed Reality: A hybrid of AR and VR that immerses the user in both the virtual (VR) and real (AR) worlds simultaneously. Digital and physical objects exist simultaneously and interact in real-time within the boundaries of mixed reality. Microsoft's HoloLens is an example of MR, as it allows you to place digital objects in your space and interact with them by picking them up, putting them down, or spinning them around.
XR offers businesses limitless opportunities to create new and innovative customer experiences:
Retail: Create interactive customer experiences for both online and in-store shopping.
- Try before you buy! Now it's possible to place furniture in your living room with your phone!
Healthcare: The study and treatment of the human body.
- Diagnose diseases using life-size 3D human body models.
- Conduct pandemic and other dangerous response training.
Education: Learn without boundaries through immersive experiences.
- Create global education and training accessible anywhere
- Investigate opportunities for growth and learning without incurring travel or relocation costs.
- When field technicians are on assignment, you can collaborate with experts remotely.
XR & Its Use
Organizations that are utilizing XR Today
- Facebook recognized its power, which led to purchasing Oculus VR. Furthermore, Facebook and its acquired photo and video-sharing network, Instagram, have used simple AR tricks in their camera apps, such as funny stickers. They recently added simple Virtual Reality to their filter options.
- NASA is experimenting with XR to train space station repair and maintenance personnel.
- Boeing technicians use augmented reality headsets to cut inspection time while working on maintenance checklists.
- Walmart provides Oculus headsets and VR training to employees to boost morale and improve efficiency.
Final Thoughts
Extended Reality (XR) offers novel and one-of-a-kind ways to interact with customers. The adoption of XR resources in business operations and daily life will be accelerated by 5G technology and edge computing. Many technology events in Dubai, such as the Internet 2.0 Conference, will center their discussions on the predictions & expectations from immersive technologies.
There are already open-source solutions that redefine the VR, AR, and MR content streaming experience. XR tools improve the customer experience, and adopting 5G and edge networks will ensure long-term network performance for flawless XR execution.