AR, VR, and MR are increasingly valuable as tools for visualization, collaboration, presentations and more.
While you probably already have a device that can access augmented reality (AR), you can’t visit virtual reality without a VR headset. But there are plenty of options to choose from, ranging from consumer-targeted products for a few hundred dollars to enterprise VR headsets that provide better resolution and responsiveness but cost thousands of dollars. Some VR headsets are self-contained computers with internal processors, but others depend on a connection to a GPU-equipped engineering workstation.
Of course, the hardware alone doesn’t get you very far. Software with support for spatial computing is growing by the day. Some CAD programs support VR directly, allowing designers to easily switch to a virtual view of their models. Other software caters to VR design reviews with features for collaboration and markup. Game engine software, sometimes called real-time 3D software, can be used to develop custom AR or VR experiences using existing CAD models.
Though there’s an upfront cost to getting started with spatial computing—both in the price of headsets and software as well as the learning curve for users—for many engineers, the cost is well worth it. VR provides an unparalleled way to visualize and refine a design, and has thus become a part of many engineering workflows.
In this article, we’ll look more closely at the main ways engineers, architects, manufacturers and others are using spatial computing.
By strapping on a mixed reality (MR) headset or peering through an AR-capable phone or tablet, engineers can see their work as if it were in the real world. This isn’t a gimmick—engineers, after all, design products for the real world, and so visualizing it in place rather than on a computer monitor is an obvious advantage.
Besides the depth and perspective that spatial computing provides to visualization, another important benefit is scale. An engineer designing a small bracket could see that product in life size using a screen, but anything bigger than a computer monitor would be an exercise in imagination (even the most multi of monitor setups can’t fit a car, airplane or space station). With spatial computing, all designers have the opportunity to visualize their designs at scale.
This spatial computing benefit is most readily apparent to designers of, unsurprisingly, spaces. Architects, for instance, can use VR to virtually walk through their building designs, achieving a sense of the space that’s simply impossible through traditional computing. This walkthrough need not be limited to a static showcase, either. Inside VR, designers have the opportunity to make changes on a whim. Don’t like that material finish, that lighting, that façade? A few clicks of your VR controller and you can see it in any number of options. Want to change the time of day, the season of the year, the weather? Go for it. You’re in a virtual world; you control every aspect of it.
Regardless of what you’re designing, spatial computing gives you the ability to visualize it more realistically than ever. But you don’t have to be alone in your virtual world. Another big advantage of spatial computing is that it provides a three-dimensional meeting space. Putting the two together, VR gives engineering teams a way to conduct virtual design reviews with participants from around the globe. In these virtual meeting rooms, participants—who are often represented by virtual avatars—can walk around, talk about, and review 3D models as if they were evaluating a real prototype. Not only does this save the costs of manufacturing and travel, it allows engineering teams to iterate faster and develop better end products.
There are many ways that engineers can use spatial computing for manufacturing. In the same way that an architect can walk through a virtual building, a factory planner can use VR to see a virtual layout of their facility. This realistic and immersive visualization allows them to not just see but experience problems, such as machinery collisions or insufficient spacing, that might otherwise go undetected.
Spatial computing also provides the opportunity to simulate how factory workers interact with the environment, a crucial step for optimizing ergonomics. Even if a process seems fine on a computer monitor, stepping into a VR version of it would make it readily apparent that workers would have to, say, bend down too much to grab the next component. It’s a fix that’s all the simpler for catching it in advance.
AR and VR can both improve the process of equipment maintenance as well. This might take the form of an augmented video call between a worker and an off-site maintenance technician, who could annotate a piece of equipment from afar while the worker sees the notes, in place on the equipment, through an AR-enabled tablet. The technician might have learned about the equipment from a VR manual, virtually taking it apart and putting it back together.
Another popular use case for VR is for operator training, as it provides an unparalleled platform to simulate different scenarios. This could be used to train workers on their core job and beyond. For example, a VR simulation of a factory fire or hazardous spill could get every employee viscerally comfortable with emergency procedures.
The immersive experience of spatial computing is a natural fit for showing off your product, whether internally or externally. For the same reasons that engineers and architects enjoy VR for design visualization and collaboration, the technology is a great option for presenting product concepts to others within an organization. Sketches and renders are nice, but they don’t beat life-like representation in a real environment.
Similarly, consumers increasingly appreciate—in some categories, even expect—spatial computing models that they can try on at home, so to speak. This is particularly common for products with lots of aesthetic variation, such as furniture. It may be difficult to pick out the perfect sectional in a brightly-lit showroom, but if you were able to compare options in your own home, the choice would be much easier. All you need is an AR-capable phone—and for the manufacturer to give you an AR option on their website. Combined with configuration tools, spatial computing gives potential customers the most convincing and personalized sales pitch you could imagine.