VR/AR
Will trade fairs become 'Virtual Reality Shows' in 2021?
In 2020, Germany’s ‘Messe-land’ was hit hard due to the pandemic. Speaking on the topic of trade fairs as part of my podcast, the trade fair expert Sylvia Kanitz from the Association of the German Trade Fair Industry (AUMA) confirmed that she had not experienced such a disruption to the industry in her entire career. Here, Publitek's Mark Herten explains more.
Consumers turn to safer and more contactless ways to shop
More than half of European retailers (58.7%) either already offer, or are working on deploying contactless self-scanning options such as Scan and Go to consumers shopping in-store (37.9% and 20.8% respectively). This is according to new research from Scandit, the enterprise technology platform for mobile computer vision and Augmented Reality (AR). The majority (68.1%) of retailers believe the availability of Scan and Go shopping is giving cu...
Smart glasses boost to construction sites
Vuzix has announced a new development for the construction surveying process. Available in the European market, the Vuzix Smart Glasses are now compatible with Topcon Positioning Group’s MAGNET software suite, which brings new efficiencies and hands-free usage to those working on-site and embraces the very latest developments in AR technology.
Virtual reality: the most disruptive tech of the 20s
Virtual reality has already had a major impact in a range of different industries. IDTechEx predicted in its recent market research report that this technology will grow to $8bn by 2030. One way that virtual reality has been used is in planning. VR technologies have recently been shown by an article in the Financial Times to be used by the City of London Corporation to help with planning decisions for future office areas.
The benefits of augmented reality for mental health
Though generally tied to the video game industry, augmented and virtual reality companies are planting seeds from the construction industry to education, and most sectors in between, including healthcare. Augmented reality in healthcare can help with a number of issues, both mental and physical, but this article will focus on its benefits regarding the former. Guest blog written by Amber Harris, Academic Resources, Circa Interactive ...
Augmenting healthcare with Augmented Reality
Augmented Reality and Mixed Reality are being used more and more in hospitals by doctors and healthcare professionals to provide them with a hands-free working environment, greater flexibility with overlaying information and processing information from its camera. IDTechEx predicts this market to be over $20bn. IDTechEx's report on 'Augmented, Mixed and Virtual Reality 2020-2030' provides a detailed overview of this sector.
Highways England training control room operators virtually
One of the great strengths of Virtual Reality (VR) is its ability to allow users to experience real world training scenarios, without endangering them, colleagues or the general public. That is why Highways England (HE) turned to London-based virtual reality specialists MXTreality, when a new training programme was required to help control room operators better understand the impact of their actions on the customer satisfaction of motorists ...
Study finds VR can take the ‘work’ out of workouts
If you want to exercise harder, enjoy it more and feel it less, put on a VR headset and plug in some upbeat tunes, leading sport scientists say in their latest study. When exercising, people feel better when they lose themselves in music and computer-simulated environments, shows a paper in the British Journal of Health Psychology.
New Sitevision AR technology for construction
SITECH, distributor of Trimble technology, has supplied its first customer with new augmented reality (AR) and 3D visualisation technology SiteVision. Civil engineering contractor WM Donald purchased the system to provide clients with a detailed visualisation of projects on site and to remove the need for paper drawings. WM Donald has already received great feedback from its clients.
Mixed reality in a time of COVID-19
Recently the versatility of mixed reality and augmented reality products has come to the forefront of the news, with an Imperial led project at the Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust. Doctors have been wearing the Microsoft Hololens headsets whilst working on the front lines of the COVID pandemic, to aid them in their care for their patients.