If you’ve ever wanted to feel the thrill of playing professional football, flying a plane, riding a roller coaster, touring a house, exploring a remote travel destination, or immersing yourself in any of numerous other real-life experiences from the comfort and safety of your home, augmented and virtual reality (AR/VR) technology has made it possible. As evidenced by the rapidly-expanding list of AR/VR experiences that are currently available, this popular technology is finding its way into a growing number of applications while positioning a broad range of industries for transformative change.
“Augmented reality allows virtual elements to be added to the user’s reality, while virtual reality presents a totally fictitious reality,” explained AR provider Morgana Studios of AR and VR technologies, which are experiencing a steep growth trajectory. According to research firm Prescient & Strategic Intelligence in its December 2022 AR and VR Market Report, the augmented and virtual realities market was valued at US $28.5 billion in 2021. It is forecasted to top US $200 billion by 2030 as the physical components of AR/VR technology get smaller, more sophisticated, and more cost-effective and AR/VR continues to be embraced by industries and consumers alike.
According to Josh O’Farrell of telecom service provider Spearline, AR/VR “is seen to open up an entirely new platform of jobs and industries.”
From tourism and real estate to customer service, telecommunications, and more, here are just a few of the sectors undergoing paradigm shifts at the hands of the AR/VR revolution.
Gaming
Experts confirm that AR/VR will continue to shake up the gaming industry, which Statista currently values at US $365 billion worldwide and projects will grow by over 7% annually.
According to global computer-assisted design giant Jabil, “video game creators have long been eager to bring players into the worlds of games. AR and VR take this a step further [and] have become synonymous with gaming.”
For example, the National Football League (NFL) in the U.S. released “NFL PRO ERA” in September 2022. This game for virtual reality platforms allows users to assume the role of a professional NFL quarterback and make the real-life plays one could only ever dream of or watch on television. According to Troy Jones, co-founder of StatusPRO, the company that developed the game, AR/VR “is the future, and we look at it as the new era of gaming and the next step in the way people will consume sports.”
In other applications, AR mobile games associated with popular franchises like “Pokemon GO”, “Harry Potter: Wizards Unite”, and “The Walking Dead: Our World” have been hugely successful.
As a result of the technology’s strength, appeal, and ongoing evolution, nearly 70% of industry experts participating in Jabil’s January 2023 Augmented and Virtual Reality Technology Trends Survey believe that AR/VR will become mainstream in the gaming industry within the coming five years.
Evolving gaming technology can also deliver benefits that extend beyond pure entertainment. From a healthcare perspective, for example, AR/VR-enabled gaming platforms hold promise for stimulating physical and mental activity among people who are less ambulatory, such as the elderly and disabled.
Smart Cities
According to Forbes contributor Naveen Joshi, AR/VR has already transformed urban planning by enabling engineers to determine whether built models align with existing infrastructural spaces, specs, and constraints and, if not, to modify models accordingly. For urban dwellers and service providers, AR/VR will continue to enhance quality of life in cities by enabling many areas such as:
- improved phone-based navigation capabilities for residents
- faster disaster response by first responders
- real-life training simulations for police
- interactive medical services that offer patients an in-depth understanding of their condition by experiencing it in a 3D in-body setting
- and more!
By providing engaging experiences to users, AR/VR technologies could major impact on residents’ lives in smart cities.
Agrifood
Forbes contributor Aidan Connolly believes that AR/VR will help farmers optimize their operations and success by supporting more precise and in-depth decision-making about everything from soil fertility, crop production, and pesticide application. It can also be combined with other connected technologies to monitor animal health and grazing practices. Overall, Connolly confirmed, “agricultural AR is helping farmers better understand and manage land resources, enhance productivity, improve time management, streamline training, and improve safety.”
Smart Factories
AR/VR is benefitting a broad range of manufacturers— from logistics giant DHL, which is successfully using AR-enabled smart glasses to drive a 25% increase in efficiency in the picking process at their Netherlands-based warehouse, to Ford, which has incorporated virtual reality reviews in the design and production of all of its vehicles since 2014. AR/VR technology is helping to drive the smart factories of the present and future.
Digital media provider Pixerio shared that AR stands to benefit the entire manufacturing process by helping to improve productivity, enrich training, reduce costs, enhance worker safety, and more. Based on the ability to boost the manufacturing sector’s overall efficiency and competitiveness, Grand View Research predicts that the global market for augmented/virtual reality in manufacturing, valued at US $5.57 billion in 2021, “is expected to expand at a compound annual growth rate of 29.3% from 2022 to 2030.” The bottom line? The manufacturing sector recognizes AR/VR’s ability to boost quality, precision, and operational efficiency and is undergoing transformation thanks to this powerful capability.
Future Networks
While AR/VR technology is enabling a new era of operational achievement and success across myriad industries, experts suggest that on the network side, the arrival of 5G and 6G networks will support the likewise evolution of AR and VR applications. According to Forbes contributor Sol Rogers, 5G (and impending 6G) will without a doubt “usher in the next era of immersive and cloud-connected experiences.” And in the telecommunications arena, “augmented reality and virtual reality technologies are now changing the way we interact [and] will inevitably change the way the telecoms providers view, manage, and develop the network,” writes Josh O’Farrell for Spearline, a telecommunications service provider.
Hone Your Skills in the New Reality!
Based on the aforementioned examples demonstrating its indelible impact on society, AR/VR technology represents a dynamic frontier with exciting opportunities for a variety of industries.
Are you ready for the new reality?
Be sure to stay on the cutting-edge of AR/VR technology with Practical Applications of Virtual and Augmented Reality in Business and Society, a user-friendly five-course program. This online training from IEEE is ideal for everyone from electrical, network, and data engineers to those involved in design, computers, systems, hardware, products, projects, and more!
Resources
Morgana Studios. (21 October 2020). 5G and the Future of Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality.
(December 2022). AR and VR Market Report. Prescient & Strategic Intelligence.
O’Farrell, Josh. Augmented Reality and the Network. Spearline.
(November 2022). Video Games Worldwide.
The Future of Augmented and Virtual Reality Gaming: Taking the Tech Mainstream. Jabil.
Rothstein, Michael. (20 April 2022). NFL-licensed virtual reality game set for fall release. ESPN.
(27 January 2023). What is the Future of Augmented and Virtual Reality Technology? Jabil.
Joshi, Naveen. (5 August 2019). How Will New Developments in Virtual and Augmented Reality Technology Impact Smart Cities? Forbes.
Connolly, Aidan. (15 February 2022). How XR Tools Are Transforming Food, Farming. Forbes.
Brooks, Chad. (23 January 2023). How Virtual Reality Technology Is Changing Manufacturing. Business.com.
5 Benefits of Using Augmented Reality in The Manufacturing Industry. Pixerio.
Rogers, Sol. (30 January 2019). The Arrival Of 5G Will Unlock The Full Potential Of VR And AR. Forbes.
Shorter commutes, fewer crimes, reduced health burdens, and lower carbon emissions— smart city technologies provide residents with innovative technology, utility, and mobility for ease of living, economic growth, and sustainable development. An often-cited report by McKinsey Global Institute finds that “smart cities” can improve essential quality of life indicators by 10-30%.
A smart city uses the Internet of Things (IoT), artificial intelligence, and other data-gathering technology to help it run more efficiently. All smart cities have multiple layers working together. For example, a technology base consisting of sensors and smartphones connected to high-speed networks can produce raw data, which computers then process to provide insights and give alerts.
The Idea of a “Smart City” Is Evolving
Until recently, smart city technologies were primarily tools to increase efficiency behind the scenes. After more than a decade, it was recognized that intelligent “smart city” strategies start with the needs of the people, not the available technology. A July 2022 Harris Poll found that the overwhelming majority of 3,185 respondents (87%) thought it was important for their city to invest in emerging technologies. However, priorities will vary, and not all residents will value certain smart city technology. It’s critical to first consider which technologies will have the most positive and widespread impact. As demographics change, economic growth shifts, and problems evolve, municipalities must adapt to use technology to create better solutions and deliver a better quality of life.
Thus, the focus on smart cities has shifted toward incorporating smart technology into existing cities rather than starting from scratch. “It’s essentially become a matter of private entities operating with the permission and support of city or state governments,” according to Ellen Goodman, a professor at Rutgers Law School. “It’s using technology, in a way, to improve the provision of services.”
There are many cities at the forefront of this evolution. Barcelona adopted smart trash bins that signal when they are ready to be emptied. On traffic poles across Chicago, nearly 200 IoT devices analyze trends in noise pollution, climate, and traffic to inform proactive policies. Portland, Oregon, is reportedly on track to be the smartest U.S. city by using data to solve city-wide problems, such as cyclist traffic safety.
How Can Emerging Technologies Be Used in Cities?
By using smart technologies, cities could ultimately connect and integrate their various services and sectors—such as utilities, energy, healthcare, transportation, governance, and security—onto digital platforms. There are numerous ways to upgrade city services with intelligent technologies, including:
- Traffic Management: Smart systems can resolve congestion by informing drivers about roadblocks and delays. These systems can use Deep Learning algorithms to predict and reduce traffic, which will help lower carbon emissions.
- Environment Conservation: Artificial intelligence (AI) can analyze data on energy usage in order to decide where best to implement renewable energy sources. AI can also predict pollution levels which will help authorities make decisions best suited for the environment.
- Healthcare: Patient monitoring systems can detect chronic conditions in advance for better preventative care. Chatbots can provide medical assistance, informational support, and schedule appointments. Lessening the amount of unexpected or emergency visits can help free up local hospital resources.
- Waste Management: AI can distinguish between different waste types and monitor how many waste containers are filled, preventing overflows. AI can sort recyclables much more efficiently and quickly.
- Security: AI-enabled cameras can detect criminal behavior and instantly report it to the authorities. Drones can recognize human faces and compare them with a database to trace their identity and authenticate a person entering the city or restricted areas. However, this use case does raise ethical concerns with citizens.
Shape the Future of Cities
What smart cities will look like in the next ten years is being built right now. Technology professionals must evolve with it. A five-course training program from IEEE, Smart City Technologies: Transformation of Cities, will provide insight into how smart technology is altering levels of services in areas such as healthcare systems, transportation, energy distribution, and secured data communication.
What’s covered:
- Fundamentals of city transformations
- Role of smart healthcare in smart cities
- The need for smart city transportation systems
- Smart city energy distribution and its management
- Data privacy and security as applied to technology integration
Contact an IEEE Account Specialist to get organizational access.
Interested in the program for yourself? Visit the IEEE Learning Network.
Resources
Bocigas. Antonio. (24 October 2002). Smarter cities, smarter future. TechRadar.
Glover, Ellen. (4 November 2022). We Were Promised Smart Cities. Built In.
Islam, Arham. (15 October 2022). Understanding the Role of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Building Smart Cities and Top Startups Working on it. Marketechpost.
McCarthy, Dan. (1 November 2022). These 5 charts show what US city residents think about smart city tech. Emerging Tech Brew.
Nordli, Brian. (26 September 2022). How the Array of Things Project Is Making Chicago a Smart City. Built In.
Qin, Sherry. (5 October 2022). Portland wants to be America’s most prominent smart city. Morning Brew.
Weotzel, Remes, Boland, et al. (5 June 2018). Smart cities: Digital solutions for a more livable future. Mckinsey & Company.
Not so long ago, the perception of virtual and augmented reality technologies was confined to science fiction. Movies like Avatar, The Matrix, and Total Recall painted a picture of what could be possible. Today’s virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) technology is not quite as immersive as these examples, but it is advancing rapidly. Today, many businesses are recognizing the benefits of using augmented and virtual realities to improve their operations. AR and VR are now being used for everything from prototyping and design to marketing, customer service, training, and productivity.
While experts are split about the evolution of a truly immersive “metaverse,” they do expect that augmented and mixed-reality enhancements will become more useful in people’s daily lives. This is especially true when it comes to smart cities that commonly use Internet of Things (IoT) technologies. However, according to Jamie Cameron, director of digital solutions at building security company Johnson Controls, “connectivity and technology are not the end goal for smart cities—they are the means to improving the quality of life for city residents.” And with virtual and augmented reality technologies, smart cities could be much smarter.
Making Smart Cities More Sustainable
With the UN projecting 68% of the world population to live in urban areas by 2050, the combined carbon footprint of the world’s different cities is only set to grow. Connected communities have an advantage because they can use IoT technology to understand the problem and then help solve it.
Smart cities can collect a wealth of data by installing different sensors around the community. These sensors can range from measuring air quality, as used by the London Air Quality Network; or detecting leaking water pipes, as Vodafone has recently partnered with SES Water to do. After collecting the data, the smart cities can decide what to do with all that information. A model of a city known as a digital twin can be used to simulate how different policies may affect a city. It can also provide insight into progress being made towards sustainability targets.
Creating Safer Smart Cities
The infrastructure and systems needed to successfully collect, analyze, and transmit information across a city are complex and comprehensive. Smart cities may represent a better way to plan and manage urban living, but they also serve as attractive new targets for cyber criminals. Digital enhancement enhances digital risk. To keep a smart city running smoothly, governments need tech-enabled support desks to help resolve problems. Smart cities are built from data, but what information is collected, who has access to it, and how it may be used are all highly contentious areas impacting public trust.
Enhancing the Quality of Life in Smart Cities
To improve the quality of life in urban spaces, city councils, urban planners, and developers are exploring cutting-edge digital solutions that can potentially power smart cities. Augmented reality technology is a promising solution. AR works by overlaying digital information in real-world environments: all you need is a smartphone and AR can provide constant feedback within smart cities, allowing everyone to make informed decisions in their day-to-day life. AR can make urban spaces more people centered and improve urban mobility, public safety, public health, and tourism.
Keep up with AR/VR Technology
Information and communication technologies have made smart cities a reality. However, augmented reality and virtual reality technologies have shifted the smart city paradigm. Practical Applications of Virtual and Augmented Reality in Business and Society: The Case of Smart Cities will help keep you current with AR/VR technology.
Interested in the course? Visit the IEEE Learning Network.
Resources:
Anderson, Janna and Raine, Lee. (30 June 2022). The Metaverse in 2040. Pew Research Center.
Dumbell, Katherine. (18 July 2022). How smart technology can make cities more sustainable? Verdict.
Galil, Eran. (16 July 2022). Improving the customer experience with virtual and augmented reality. VentureBeat.
Imperial College London. (21 July 2022). About Londair. LondonAir.
Lee, Giacomo. (6 January 2022). Meet the tech CEO who survived a flood and built a digital twin of Earth. Verdict.
Manser, James. (5 June 2020). How IoT tech could save the UK three billion litres of water a day. Vodafone.
Milewa, Gergana. (12 September 2021). How Smart Cities Can Use Augmented Reality Technology. AR Post.
Rosenburg, Louis. (28 December 2021). Why AR, not VR, will be the heart of the metaverse. VentureBeat.
Open Access News. (15 November 2021). Connectivity: The fundamental ingredient of a successful smart city. Open Access Government.
Open Access News. (28 June 2022). The cities of the future are smart – but we must also make them secure. Open Access Government.
The new wireless networking standard 802.11ax (Wi-Fi 6) delivers enhanced wireless technology in dense environments where it can more effectively overcome interference from cells on the same channel. An even newer version of Wi-Fi 6, dubbed “Wi-Fi 6 Extended” (Wi-Fi 6E), could deliver even better service.
As Jerry Jackson in PC Mag reports, Wi-Fi 6E provides faster speeds and lower latencies than Wi-Fi 6 and earlier versions. At the time of announcement, the IEEE 802.11ax (Wi-Fi 6) standard “was limited by law to a wireless spectrum that only covered the 2.4GHz and 5GHz bands”. These 2.4GHz bands have just three non-overlapping channels— meaning you, your household, and your neighbors, all share bandwidth.
Since multiple devices are competing for bandwidth, signals are often lost. However, after the Federal Communications Commission unanimously voted to make the 6GHz band available for unlicensed use in April 2020, significantly more airwaves opened, which routers can use to broadcast Wi-Fi signals.
Hence, Wi-Fi 6E expands on Wi-Fi 6 to cover 6GHz frequency.
“The opening of the 6GHz band is the biggest spectrum addition to Wi-Fi since 1989,” writes Jackson. “The jump from 5GHz to 6GHz might not sound like much, but it essentially quadruples the amount of airwaves (14 additional 80MHz channels, and seven additional 160MHz channels) available for routers and smart devices. That means less signal interference.”
What Are the Technical Benefits of Wi-Fi 6?
Wi-Fi 6 is expected to bring a number of technical benefits that will “enable use cases beyond what is possible today,” states Tim Pohlmann, CEO of IP Analytics, an IP intelligence tool. According to Pohlmann, these benefits will include:
- Connected venues and cities: Wi-Fi 6 BSS Colouring technology will guarantee resistance to interference— even in public places with a high density of devices such as event venues and universities. With its larger bandwidth, Wi-Fi 6 can deliver consistent real-time data exchange while allowing thousands of people to connect.
- Connected cars: Wi-Fi 6 enables larger bandwidth that will let vehicles exchange real-time information. Furthermore, Wi-Fi 6’s target wake time (TWT) feature allows for lower battery consumption. This means Wi-Fi sensors in traffic lights or buildings will only “wake up” when needed.
- Connected factories: Wi-Fi 6 technologies OFDMA and MU-MIMO will support “more IoT devices to operate unimpeded on the network, and thus means that millions of machine components can be connected and real-time data points operated at low-power consumption.”
- Connected homes: Wi-Fi 6 enables 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz to operate at the same time, delivering high bandwidth and low latency for high-definition video systems, augmented reality/virtual reality (AR/VR) devices, high-quality streaming platforms used for, conference video calls and gaming.
“Wi-Fi 6 will likely become the dominant access choice for indoor networks on account of improvements in speed, latency and higher density of connected devices,” states Pohlmann. “It is also the ideal system in spaces where access points will serve more users.”
However, he notes that Wi-Fi 6 must exist alongside 5G to support “use cases at home, while driving, at the office, outside or when working remotely.” While many argue that Wi-Fi 6 and 5G will be competitors, Pohlmann believes that they will work in tandem and complement each other in many applications. Furthermore, it is unlikely that a sole technology would support all connectivity.
Wi-Fi 6 and Wi-Fi 6 Extended are still developing. However, the ability to overcome service issues in high-density environments will undoubtedly spur advancement.
Improving Quality of Experience with IEEE Std 802.11ax™
The work on High Efficiency Wireless Local Area Networks (WLANs) in IEEE Std 802.11ax™ started in 2013 as a new amendment to the IEEE 802.11 WLAN standard. A goal of the new amendment is to address dense deployments characterized by a large number of access points and stations placed in close proximity in a limited geographical area. Such usage scenarios impact the quality of experience (QoE) for latency-sensitive applications such as voice-over-Wi-Fi™ and video conferencing.
Learn More About Wi-Fi 6
Enroll in our upcoming live two-course program, IEEE 802.11ax: An Overview of High Efficiency Wi-Fi (Wi-Fi 6), which will provide an overview of the features and optimizations introduced by IEEE 802.11ax to the physical (PHY) and medium access control (MAC) layers, which lead to the improvements in Wi-Fi. Purchase this course program by 17 February for the opportunity to ask questions and interact with the instructors. Part One will take place on 21 Feb from 12-3pm ET, and Part Two will take place at the same time on the following day.
Plus, check out this on-demand virtual event from IEEE Educational Activities and IEEE Standards Association that describes new IEEE 802.11ax features such as Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access and Uplink multi-user transmissions together with Physical (PHY) and Medium Access Control (MAC) enhancements specific to IEEE 802.11ax to improve QoE. Watch now!
Resources
Jackson, Jerry. (7 October 2021). What Is Wi-Fi 6E? PC Mag.
Pohlmann, Tim. (2021). Who’s ahead in the WiFi 6 patent race. I am.
A future with widespread autonomous vehicle (AV) technology could include less traffic, safer roads, and interconnected vehicles that allow drivers to sit back and enjoy the ride. Expected to reach $556.67 billion USD by 2026, the market place for AV technology is growing quickly. However, the industry still has a long way to go. In order for autonomous vehicle technology to properly function, it must work in conjunction with other areas. The five most relevant are listed below.
Five Use Cases
5G
An autonomous vehicle is expected to generate 2 Petabytes (2 million GB) of data every year. It would take the best Wi-Fi available months to be able to transfer that amount of information. The nearly real-time speeds of 5G are 10 times faster than 4G. With its infrastructure and dense network, 5G makes the future of autonomous vehicles possible.
Latency
Decreased latency, another characteristic of 5G, can also benefit autonomous vehicles. 4G currently has a latency of 50 milliseconds, which can be seen as a large delay when it comes to passenger safety.
Smart Cities and the Internet of Things (IoT)
In order for an autonomous vehicle to make smart decisions, it requires information about its environment. Smart cities, which are IoT-ready, allow for that. A city that can report on traffic, signals, etc., can help a self-driving car move smarter and more easily navigate its way around town.
Data Management
Analyzing the amount of data a self-driving car produces takes time. With the potential of nearly 10 million cars hitting the road, edge computing can help streamline this analysis by examining it closer to the source.
V2X
Vehicle-to-everything (V2X) allows the information from autonomous vehicle sensors and other sources to travel through high-bandwidth, high-reliability, and low-latency channels. It creates an ecosystem that enables cars to communicate both with each other and with infrastructures including parking lots and traffic lights.
Not only can this improve vehicle safety, but it also gives drivers or passengers information about road conditions ahead, so that they can appropriately respond. When combined with Artificial Intelligence (AI), a self-driving car will be able to make that decision itself.
Roadblocks
A study from NAMIC found that 42% of surveyed consumers said that no matter how long the technology was available, they would refuse to ride in fully automated vehicles. Similarly, 46% of respondents were skeptical about using fully automated vehicles for ride-sharing services. In order to gain public trust, the right infrastructure needs to be in place.
Data management challenges, safety concerns, and high manufacturing costs are roadblocks that can prevent widespread autonomous vehicle adoption. However, as large manufacturers and automotive organizations continue to enhance and improve the technology, the potential for an autonomous future continues to grow.
Train Your Team in Autonomous Vehicle Technology
Prepare your organization for the latest developments in AV technology with training in foundational and practical applications of autonomous, connected, and intelligent vehicle technologies. Developed by leading experts in the field, the IEEE Guide to Autonomous Vehicle Technology is a seven-course training program offered online.
Interested in purchasing the program just for yourself? View it on the Learning Network, a new learning management platform!
Resources
(18 October 2019). Who Will Use Self-Driving Cars?. PYMNTS.
Zoria, Sophie. (1 November 2019). 5 Striking Uses For Autonomous Driving Technology. Customer Think.