Page 4 - SAMENA Trends - October 2019

EDITORIAL SAMENA TRENDS

Immersive Technologies for Consumer & Enterprise Use

While immersive technologies, that is AR in a perception that these technologies were
(augmented reality), VR (virtual reality), or MR meant only for gaming. With emerging use-
(mixed reality) still require several more years cases, as now desired for the proliferation
to achieve maturity, experimentation and use- of 5G services and better utilization of 4G
specific implementations are well underway. infrastructure investments, this perception,
There exists a wide range of possibilities that however, has shifted toward the realization
have been linked to immersive technologies. that immersive technologies, in fact, have a
For example, AR offers convenience in use, decisive role to play in Industry 4.0.
scalability, new types of content, new user
experiences, and these benefits are important An entirely new realm of digital experiences,
across large industries that account for most close to real-life experiences, awaits the
of the world’s job market. world and numerous sectors, adjacent to
Telecom Industry, such as financial services,
Immersive technologies take the user right healthcare services, educational facilities, Bocar A. BA
Chief Executive Officer &
into “alternative reality” while the user remains multimedia content, e-government, among Board Member
physically present in the existing environment. others, can directly benefit from immersive SAMENA Telecommunications
The healthcare industry, for instance, has technologies. What needs to be done by Council
recently realized that immersive technology Telecom Operators is to implement any or
can help in pain management for patients a combination of immersive technologies
that require an alternative sensory experience, first to their own maintenance, business
which can distract them temporarily while intelligence gathering, auditing, and inventory
they recuperate. Moreover, full-fledged management procedures, and then extend the
surgery simulations can be conducted. implementation to other industries and sectors
Immersive Technology can also assist medical where such technologies can dramatically
practitioners in collaborating with or observing improve business process efficiencies and
their counterparts in surgical procedures in enhance the human and human-to-machine
remote areas or in hospitals across borders. interactive experience.
This also suggests that medical immersive
technology could actually promote doctor- In the age intelligent connectivity and
to-patient empathy and make the recovery immersive digital experiences, and given our
process quicker. region’s focus on 5G, it is a matter of both
interest and need that we look into immediately
Immersive technologies were first implementable use-cases for immersive tech-
implemented in the gaming industry, resulting nologies across all industries and sectors.

4 OCTOBER 2019