Augmented reality and virtual reality, combined with machine learning and artificial intelligence, are among the emerging digital tools turning industries such as health and retail on their head.
While lofty medical applications are one way AR/VR will be used in future, these tools can also be used in many other settings. COVID-prompted lockdowns that had consumers stuck at home provided a springboard for new visual technologies. Locked away and cashed up with government stimulus payments, while they couldn’t go to their favourite shops, brands could come to them at home, thanks to these new tools.Brendon Ha is the co-founder and COO of Stylefit, which specialises in producing content developed with AR/VR for the furniture sector. “Shoppers want to see how furniture looks in their own environment,” he explains.
So far, our relationship with the vast majority of our media has been flat, from movie screens to mobile phones. In the metaverse, we will move beyond the two-dimensional screen and add an extra dimension. It’ll be like the internet, but you’ll be in it, not just looking at it.Jason Juma-Ross is the director of innovation for Meta ANZ, the company that owns Facebook, Instagram and Whatsapp. He says the metaverse isn’t just an interesting technology, it’s serious business.