Augmented reality, work and health
Will Apple's first spatial computer revolutionise how we work?
This week, at the Worldwide Developers Conference, Apple showcased its Vision Pro mixed reality headset. Available in the US from early 2024, this headset comes with a new software operating system and user interface that will change how people interact with technology… and the world around them. The primary use-case explored at the conference was work, though entertainment functions were also demoed. Will this be a technological watershed and what does it mean for work and health?
Where is AR already being used in workplaces?
AR can provide users with visual overlays of digital information which helps them visualise complex tasks and spacial relationships.
For example, Volkswagen have developed augmented reality service support for some vehicles through an iPad app. The iPad camera is used to view the internals of the vehicle, and users see the parts labelled with step-by-step instructions on how to repair the components.
Boeing use AR headsets to streamline manufacturing and assembly operations, where virtual line-of-sight orientation guides staff on faster, more accurate and safer assembly.
Delivery company UPS has created AR driving simulations for training, with the goal of improving safety for drivers and other road users. This has allowed the company to deliver training in mobile trailers rather than bricks and mortar driver training locations.
To date, AR has mainly been used by enterprise rather than consumers when it comes to work. Vision Pro may catalyse a change in this regard.
Productivity
The Vision Pro interface enables users to have limitless display space, and multiple applications open side by side. As many people working on computers found when setting up remote working for the first time during the covid-19 pandemic, adequate display space is key to productivity. Being able to bring an optimised desk set up to anywhere in the world without needing heavy hardware could revolutionise remote work.
Environments
Users wearing Vision Pro can overwrite their actual surroundings with Immersive Environments. This could help allow a user to focus on task in a busy work or home environment but in doing this, dials down reality in exchange for a virtual setting. If replacing time spent in reality with time spent in virtual settings at work, just like when working off site, there is a risk of losing touch with what’s taking place ‘on the shop floor’.
Communication
While users can choose the outer display to appear opaque if immersed in an environment, Vision Pro has been developed with a feature that makes the screen appear and feel transparent when somebody approaches a user. This allows users to maintain eye contact with people around them. The Apple demo video portrays easy bilateral conversation and interaction with users wearing the headset and people around them who are not, but the headset may be more of a barrier to switching in and out of virtual and physical environments in reality. As with Immersive Environments, there is a risk that users focus less on the physical environment, which could have human relationship and support, productivity and safety downsides.
While immersive AR experiences have the potential to isolate the user from physical surroundings and colleagues, remote teamwork could be enhanced. Vision Pro has functionalities that makes video conferencing through FaceTime spatial - people on the call appear life size and sound as if they are in the room. Collaboration is made is easier by the infinite virtual display space.
Takeaway
AR is already being used successfully by enterprise. Products like Vision Pro are revolutionary as they are pitched at the individual and may bring the technology to individual consumers and their work. The technology has features designed to enhance productivity, and the potential to achieve this in remote setups is convincing. But, there could be a tradeoff. Allowing people to overwrite their physical surroundings with virtual environments may have human downsides when it comes to pushing away from in-reality on-site presence, with a negative impact on productivity and the human relationships that are a key contributor to workplace health.