2023 was filled with incredible industry wins made possible by innovative solutions. With all that has been accomplished in the last year, the growth of extended reality (XR) enterprise training continues to shape the future of learning. As XR companies look toward a new year of innovation, the need to cater to diverse users is expected to continue to propel XR beyond gaming and into the realm of training and development.
If you’re wondering what’s in store, 2024 will invite a new wave of XR enthusiasts to explore the advancing capabilities of XR, from hardware to realism — all in the name of learning.
XR Hardware In 2024
Workforce development has become a main focus for many organizations, and companies are revamping the way they look at enterprise solutions when it comes to XR hardware. More companies are purchasing not just one or two headsets, but thousands. This supports the revenue stream for hardware manufacturers to make enterprise use a priority. Now that the XR market for large workforces is fully realized, the market of third-party developers for hardware accessories is growing rapidly. This is great news, as growing competition will push the capabilities of hardware forward. To better cater to users of all learning preferences, headsets will become lighter, more sophisticated and more user-friendly than ever before.
User Friendly Controls
Up until this point, most XR headsets have been focused on consumer delivery. Controllers are designed for gaming with familiar buttons, positioning and capabilities that you would see in a gaming console. As hardware advances, all of the little details that gamers can live with are going to change for enterprise use because XR training demands controls that are realistic, simple and user-friendly.
Realism
Haptic devices and tracking devices are revolutionizing controls by providing tactile sensations as learners interact with 3D objects. This will have a profound impact on skills acquisition. Imagine being immersed in a VR experience where you need to pick up a drill to make a hole in the wall; a mere controller falls short in delivering the real experience. Thanks to innovative contributions from companies like HaptX, and WEART, the impact of haptic feedback elevates learning by introducing a new level of realism. While we’ve been busy pushing the boundaries to reach visual and audible realism through mesh generation, textures and effects within a VR headset, haptic devices can provide next-level immersion. Learners in 2024 will practice tactile skills and experience replicated sensations of touch, ushering in a new era of mixed reality (MR) training. Our team has also been focusing on developing new ways of tracking devices and real-world objects mixed in with the VR experience.
With the help of cameras and mapping the physical world, tracking devices and objects can be tailored to an organization’s needs and expand the possibilities for interactive training. Hand-tracking will be a front-runner of XR features because it allows learners to explore the virtual realm free of controllers, underscoring intuitive learning supported by realism. By pushing the capabilities of XR forward, we can test the limits of hand-tracking technology to find the best use cases in workforce development while keeping companies like Ultraleap motivated to see just how precise they can make it.
A Stronger Push for Mixed Reality
Another emerging focus in 2024 will be on mixed reality (MR). This will be the industry’s opportunity to offer MR through features like plane detection and true AR implementation within the headset, which provides more training options. MR exists on a continuum between the completely virtual environment of VR and the real-world environment of AR. It seamlessly blends virtual and physical elements, allowing virtual objects to interact with the real world and vice versa. MR’s key strength lies in its contextual relevance and dynamic interaction with the real world. By allowing virtual and real elements to coexist and interact, MR creates immersive and hands-on experiences. Mixed reality is particularly valuable in training scenarios, where users can engage with virtual content while remaining aware of their physical surroundings. MR will also allow users to turn off their view of the world around them and focus solely on virtual reality experiences.
Additionally, MR offers versatility in applications, adapting seamlessly to different environments and supporting collaborative experiences across locations. This adaptability, along with its spatial awareness and hands-on interaction features, positions MR as a powerful tool for a wide range of industries, from training and simulations to collaborative work and data visualization. By pushing the capabilities of XR forward, we can test the limits of hand-tracking technology to find the best use cases in workforce development.
Microlearning
In addition to witnessing the advancements in XR hardware and user experiences, we will see a significant shift toward microlearning within VR and AR technologies. If you look at 10 positions along a manufacturing line, each person has 10 different tasks specific to their roles. Organizations need to research what areas of those roles are trouble spots to target. Because VR can be individualized to train associates on specific knowledge or skills, rather than trying to blanket them with an entire role, the industry will notice a practical shift in the training development itself. Previously, many organizations tried simple proof of concepts by piloting generic training that needed to be more focused on providing a true return on investment (ROI). Now that people have a better grasp of what VR or AR can do, the use cases will be more focused. Microlearning will be a win for everyone!
Data-Backed Decision Making
From a management standpoint, people are going to start to consume the data analytics that applications are capturing to help shape and focus what they’re doing for their training. Up to this point, most XR-generated learning metrics were limited to completion data and multiple-choice, pass-fail testing when it comes to eLearning, virtual instructor-led training or in-person training.
With the power of immersive learning to give true data that companies really use to finally implement better and more focused training, XR training will invoke data-backed decision-making. There are many creative ways we can track data points within a VR experience to enhance learning and development strategies. Training data helps to paint the picture for organizations to address skill gaps and XR analytics goes beyond traditional learning data acquisition methods like SCORM and xAPI. Not only can XR programs track body ergonomics to improve precision and reduce injury, but they also provide insights into the physical and mental challenges individuals face while engaging with tasks. XR data allows us to visualize the struggles learners experience, including the frequency with which they seek assistance. These collections of data showcase the most common skill deficits across regions and facilities. By tracking these types of analytics, organizations can identify where learning reinforcement is needed most.
A Promising Year Ahead
There are a myriad of new opportunities in XR training, especially in supply chain and order filling where, we can remove a huge barrier if learners can use their hands rather than controllers. As we work more with haptic gloves in the year ahead, it will be fun to implement features like resistance to hone fine motor skills. Other exciting areas include the advancements that we have with motion tracking, non-player character (NPC) generation and generative artificial intelligence (AI). This may look like trying to get more natural reactions out of NPC characters. Advancements in AI will provide a character that learners can interact with as they practice soft skills. It can guide learners through an application or through a process, and there hasn’t been any off-the-shelf content to showcase that yet.
Our current projects will require human interaction to give them something that’s NPC generated. We’ll continue to pursue ways we can do that again with more peripheral connections. What we’ve seen in recent industry events are a solid predictor for the future of XR training. Just last year, some attendees at shows were unaware of what AR or XR was. Now, many people have headsets at home, they’ve used it already in their organizations and/or they’ve piloted something. Today, it’s less about “What is XR?” or “How can I use it?” and more about “How do I make it better for my use case within my organization?”
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