Epic Games – enterprise XR and what we can learn from Fortnite
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The lines between the ‘real’ world and the virtual have been blurred on a scale we’ve never quite seen before.
Not only do many of us now exclusively meet our colleagues on Zoom or Teams, but might socialize with our friends on Houseparty, watch live theatre productions on connected TVs, or workout on Peloton or Zwift.
When lockdowns end, many of us will cling on to newly-formed habits of semi-virtual working and living, particularly as continued innovation leads to evermore engaging, immersive, and convenient digital experiences.
Mixed reality (XR) has been a talking point in business for some time, and beyond just the conceptualization, it’s now being utilized thanks to advances in software and the availability of headsets such as the Microsoft Hololens, HTC Vive, and Varjo XR-1 (which we’ve written about extensively before). Organizations are using XR technology to mesh real and virtual worlds together, enabling physical and digital objects to co-exist and interact in real-time. Doctors now use Hololens headsets to stream secure feeds of information to nearby rooms, reducing contact; Kia’s car designers use XR to ‘see’ concept vehicles in front of them as they make design tweaks, replacing the need for prototypes; XR’s potential has even been tipped in financial services, enabling professionals to visualize data and information sources within their surroundings.