Page 86 - SAMENA Trends - November-December 2019

ARTICLE SAMENA TRENDS

ARTICLE

AR and VR Use Cases in Smart Cities

Governmental entities, enterprises and
individuals can leverage AR and VR to carry
out their functions more efficiently and with
an improved user experience.

More cities are going ‘Smart’ with the intent to leverage the
significant benefits that new technological advancements promise
to offer towards transforming the way we live, work and recreate
in the years to come, by enhancing our interaction with data and
technology as never before. These technologies can also play a
strong role in addressing issues that are more adversely impacting
the urban areas globally. Increasing population density in the
urban cities leads to growing concerns around safety, security and
holistic wellbeing of individuals, and is becoming a top priority in
the policymaker’s agenda. Smart Cities are better geared towards
addressing these problems through a combination of data and
technology, ensuring a positive impact on the local community
and the overall environment. Given the increased availability
of affordable smartphones and other IoT devices as well as
reliable broadband connectivity, Augmented Reality (AR) and
Virtual Reality (VR) have emerged as key technologies that would
enable unlocking of new opportunities in the vibrant Smart City
ecosystem.

AR, where data interacts with the real environment, enables over-
Rohit Sethi laying enhancements such as graphs, sound, text and effects to
Principal improve user’s real-world experiences. While AR interacts with
Arthur D. Little the real environment, VR is a simulated experience that can be
similar or completely different from the real world. The power of
VR lies in allowing a user to experience and interact in an artificial
environment as if it were real. The combination of Smart devices
and infrastructure with advanced AR/VR systems will allow users
living in or even visiting Smart Cities, to make more optimal choices
towards an enhanced standard of living/ experience.

Governmental entities, enterprises and individuals can leverage
AR and VR to carry out their functions more efficiently and with
an improved user experience. Most advanced uses cases built
upon these technologies in the Smart City ecosystem include the
following:

Urban planning: Cities are now having higher constraints than
ever before in terms of space, mobility, privacy, security and
sustainability. Supported by VR technology, Smart City planners

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