Flying cars? It may sound like a Jetson’s era fantasy, but Irena Cronin, CEO of Infinite Retina and co-author of the new book by the same name, says to think again. It’s just one of the many applications of her rapidly evolving area of tech expertise; spatial computing, and according to Irena, flying cars, and many other tech advances are coming soon that can – and will – significantly change the way the digital world interacts with our current environment as we know it.
If you’re wondering what spatial computing is, UC Today defines it as, “the way we interact with our digital landscape’, and Irena would agree. That cool autonomous driving feature modern cars are deploying now that lets the driver take a break while the car navigates traffic patterns for them – that’s an example of spatial computing. Pokemon Go and the AR (Augmented Reality) interface that lets users wander their neighborhood finding animated characters to play with is another. With its broad definition, spatial computing encompasses just about anything that allows us to bring the digital world more closely in line with the real world, and includes tech like AR, VR (Virtual Reality), sensors, robots, wearables, machine learning, and more.
“People want to see things as realistically as possible and if you can replicate that in all kinds of different digital situations, I think that’s a positive.” – Irena Cronin, CEO – Infinite Retina
The spatial computing adoption revolution will come from the sparks of creative usability. Once an industry leader like Apple brings their product to market and makes it possible for simple problems to be solved, or common practices made easier or more accessible with innovative spatial commuting solutions, Irena knows we’ll have arrived at a tipping point for consumers to adopt en masse.
Spatial Computing Business Use – More Practical Than You Think
But it’s not just fun, games, and recreation that makes spatial computing relevant to us humans. Businesses have an opportunity to find practical ways to increase productivity using elements of spatial computing as well. According to ARInsider.co, the COVID-19 crisis has led to an increasing number of AR business use cases, noticing an uptick in active users in May of 2020. Creating opportunities for teams to meet remotely in ways that allow them to emulate more closely the work they were doing in proximity in an office together pre-COVID is just one way spatial computing – and AR specifically – can be useful in the new world we’re living in.
But even without the obvious remote-work applications, spatial computing provides many other practical benefits for forward-thinking companies who want to work more productively and efficiently. Irena is especially excited about how AR can be used in logistics, helping warehouse teams find things easily that may not be visible in our traditional 3D worldview, for example. Manufacturing is another area where spatial computing can be immensely beneficial, leaning on tools like robots paired with human operators and powerful software, to help make repairs to complex technological tools when necessary. Transportation, technology, media and telecommunications, manufacturing, retail, healthcare, finance, and education are all areas Irena sees as being significant in the future of spatial computing and business use.
Whether you’re an organization looking to incorporate spatial computing in practical ways to make your day-to-day operations easier and more efficient, or a tech engineer with ideas for applications that could be used in an AR environment, the opportunities for growth with spatial computing are endless right now. What about you? Is your company currently deploying or considering spatial computing technology solutions? Leave us a reply and let us know. We’d love to geek out on your tech along with you.
To hear more from Irena Cronin, listen to our interview with her: How Augmented Reality Is Reshaping the Way Customers Experience the World.
