On the back of Apple’s latest Vision Pro release, the demand for AR and VR-powered tech is growing in a number of industries.
From education to entertainment, the uses for immersive aids are ever-developing. Today, student surgeons can already perform an entire procedure in a VR-imagined theatre, opening up tomorrow to a whole new realm of possibilities.
The question is, which mixed reality tools should you sink your teeth into first? Whether you’re a teacher, trainer or avid gamer, there are plenty of options to choose from when it comes to entering a virtual world. However, to make your life easier, we’ve listed three of the top MR developments that are expected to dominate the XR market this summer.
Apple’s Vision Pro
It’s impossible to talk about popular mixed-reality headsets without mentioning XR’s newest golden child - even if there are doubts as to whether production will actually be able to progress at scale. On the June 5 2023, Apple released their very first mixed reality headset, the Vision Pro. Packed full of impressive features, this spatial computer has quickly become the best all-rounder for VR fanatics this summer, but with an expensive price tag that excludes most users.
“Just as the Mac introduced us to personal computing, and iPhone introduced us to mobile computing, Apple Vision Pro introduced us to spatial computing,” said Apple CEO Tim Cook on the back of the release. “Built upon decades of Apple innovation, Vision Pro is years ahead and unlike anything created before — with a revolutionary new input system and thousands of groundbreaking innovations. It unlocks incredible experiences for our users and exciting new opportunities for our developers.”
Apple’s mixed reality headset has promised to break the boundaries of digital reality. With a resolution as we’ve never seen before and crisp colour reproduction, users of the Vision Pro will experience hyper-realistic VR solutions like never before.
Better still, the Vision Pro has usability in mind, too, making it the perfect productivity tool for educators and employers across the globe. With intuitive controls and cutting-edge eye tracking, users can navigate virtual environments effortlessly and manipulate virtual objects in the same way as they would in the real world.
This has rendered the device the ideal tool for students, onboarders and educators who aim to use VR to boost learning engagement.
“Apple Vision Pro enables users to be even more productive, with infinite screen real estate, access to their favorite apps, and all-new ways to multitask,” Apple said in their accompanying statement. “And with support for Magic Keyboard and Magic Trackpad, users can set up the perfect workspace or bring the powerful capabilities of their Mac into Vision Pro wirelessly, creating an enormous, private, and portable 4K display with incredibly crisp text.”
As we enter a new frontier of learning, Apple’s mixed reality headset could help its users become more productive in a workspace. With the ability to quickly access immersive virtual guides, display work in every corner of the room, and even tap into expert help during simulations simply by layering up a video call, the Vision Pro could become a teaching tool of dreams.
Arvizio’s AR Instructor
Another fantastic mixed reality developer to watch out for is Arvizio. Known as one of the leading companies committed to bringing immersive experiences to enterprise, their newest AR instructor tool has become a sensation in the training room overnight.
Partnering with Mircorsoft’s HoloLens and a number of IOS and Android devices, Arvizio’s augmented instructor platform could revolutionize your company’s onboarding experience this summer.
Arvizio’s newest AR instructor is one of the first augmented apps that provide on-the-job guidance while in a virtual world. For tricky onboarding and training environments, the introduction of a step-by-step AR-powered guide could change the game for manufacturers, healthcare workers and engineers.
Imagine approaching a new piece of machinery for the first time as an engineer. Using Arvizio’s AR Instructor tool allows users to tap into real-time collaboration and connect with remote experts for virtual guidance. Not only does this reduce the need for on-field trainers, but those approaching new machinery quickly learn on the go rather than in a classroom.
Better still, each step of the virtual workflow can be customised, depending on the user. Companies can insert illustrated videos, images, documents and even 3D models into their training programme that workers can pull up in front of them when they get stuck, making upskilling a more personal and adaptable process.
“Organizations embracing AR to rapidly train, upskill and maximize their workforce demand a solution that is both user-friendly and device agnostic,” said Jonathan Reeves, Founder and Chairman of Arvizio. “With the addition of robust feature enhancements, Arvizio’s AR Instructor 2.0 broadens cross-platform device flexibility and provides tools for effortless workflow creation and user management.”
Fundamental VR’s Surgery Platform
Last but not least, let’s have a look at Fundamental VR’s newest mixed-reality gemstone. Combining a range of haptic design and machine learning, they have released their most interactive healthcare training tool yet, in the form of their augmented surgery platform.
Specialising in healthcare simulations, Fundamental VR’s newest surgery simulation could be one of the coolest additions to the XR market yet.
With flexibility at its core, this smart simulator uses machine learning to help create realistic scenarios for student doctors and nurses when carrying out a procedure.
“Fundamental Surgery’s patented kinesthetic haptic system accurately simulates the sensations of bone textures, muscle, and soft tissue, along with their interaction with surgical tools and medical devices,” say experts at Fundamental VR.
With a 44% improvement in surgical accuracy and a whopping 233% improvement in trainee assessment scores, users of the surgery platform are becoming some of the most in-demand practitioners on the market.
“Clinical research confirms that virtual reality training can deliver full immersion and situational awareness to significantly impact medical education and has the ability to shorten the learning curve,” says Fundamental.
As more healthcare-based mixed reality tools enter the market, you can bet that Fundamental VR will be one to watch this year.
What’s next for the XR market?
As more mixed reality tools drop, the XR market is heating up.
Standing at the frontier of the next era of immersion, the possibilities for XR developers continue to grow. From education tools to entertainment apps, interactive MR will define the next generation of learning, training, amusement and communication.
