What mainstream VR and AR means for sustainable development
For the privileged few, augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) have become commonplace, increasingly used in everything from entertainment and online commerce to healthcare. Many communities, however, still do not experience the real impact of these transformational technologies because of an innovation gap that compounds our digital divides.
Imagine the value of this technology for sectors such as education, mining and tourism, all of which were effectively shut down during the current COVID-19 pandemic. The current global health crisis has shown us how a failure to digitize value chains across sectors has significantly affected social conditions worldwide and highlighted – even exacerbated – the digital divide.
If you ask young people about VR or AR, they will probably tell you about that latest headset on the market to play video games or engage with social media. You may have come across the technology yourself without really knowing it: virtual clothes shopping, virtual apartment visits, virtual tourism even high-end industrial solutions, such as professional flight simulators. The potential of AR/VR systems is boundless – yet for the moment, access and impact are limited to the very few communities who can afford them.
According to ITU statistics, an estimated 3.7 billion people remain offline. The majority of the unconnected live in least developed countries, where an average of just two out of every 10 people are online. The UN Broadband Commission recognizes that over half of those who are counted as “connected” still do not enjoy a full digital experience, because of slow speeds and the high cost of devices and/or bandwidth. COVID-19 has shown that we need to work harder to change this picture fast and this is where mainstreaming technology such as AR/VR can play a critical role in delivering meaningful connectivity.
As with many ICT solutions, AR/VR requires a combination of software and hardware underpinned by many other technologies, including 5G for connectivity, video standards for visualization, artificial intelligence for software algorithms and more. One technology depends on another, creating a layered environment that needs careful management. This is where implementing and nurturing an enabling environment is critical, in order to ensure that local innovators are able to address the right problems in their own communities.
While the underlying knowledge relating to a given technology may be widely accessible, the right strategies, policies and programmes are not necessarily in place. An enabling environment allows for the development of a strong talent pool, R&D investment in technology, streamlined access to markets and incentives for private sector investment.
Louis Pasteur famously said: “Chance favours only the prepared mind”.
