There is a fundamental disconnect between the wealth of digital data available to us and the physical world in which we apply it. While reality is three-dimensional, the rich data we now have to inform our decisions and actions remains trapped on two-dimensional pages and screens. This gulf between the real and digital worlds limits our ability to take advantage of the torrent of information and insights produced by billions of smart, connected products (SCPs) worldwide.
Why Every Organization Needs an Augmented Reality Strategy
Why Every Organization Needs an Augmented Reality Strategy
While the physical world is three-dimensional, most data is trapped on two-dimensional pages and screens. This gulf between the real and digital worlds prevents us from fully exploiting the volumes of information now available to us. Augmented reality, a set of technologies that superimposes digital data and images on physical objects and environments, is closing this gap. By putting information directly into the context in which we’ll apply it, AR increases our ability to absorb and act on it.
AR will become the new interface between humans and machines, say Michael E. Porter of Harvard and James E. Heppelmann, the CEO of the industrial software maker PTC. Many people are familiar with AR entertainment applications, such as Snapchat filters, but AR is being applied in far more consequential ways in business. Pioneering organizations are already implementing it in product development, manufacturing, logistics, marketing, service, and training—and are seeing major gains in quality and productivity.
AR improves how users visualize information, receive and follow instructions, and interact with products. AccuVein, for instance, uses AR technology that converts the heat signature of a patient’s veins into an image superimposed on the skin, making them much easier to locate. Boeing uses AR to show trainees how to assemble an aircraft wing—and has cut the time it takes them to do that task by 35%. At GE, factory workers have achieved a similar gain in efficiency by using voice commands in AR experiences to perform complex wiring.
AR will have a wide impact on how companies compete. This article walks readers through the questions firms need to ask when integrating it into their strategies and operations. The article also includes HBR’s first embedded AR experiences, which readers can launch by downloading a new HBR app on their mobile devices and then pointing them at targeted images in the magazine’s pages.
How Does Augmented Reality Work?
A step-by-step explanation of how interactive three-dimensional experiences come to life
Augmented Reality in the Real World
Data on who’s investing the most, the explosive growth of headsets, and the most popular uses of AR
One Company’s Experience with AR
A conversation with Guido Jouret, the chief digital officer of the industrial giant ABB
The Battle of the Smart Glasses
Money is pouring into development, and whoever wins the race may earn the title of world’s most valuable company.
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