How Can Spatial Computing Make Industrial Development More Intuitive and Seamless? It's about improving the customer experience by combining virtual reality and physical reality.
By StackCommerce Edited by Jason Fell
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The world is watching closely and excitedly anticipating the arrival of Apple's first spatial computer, Apple Vision Pro. The arrival of spatial computing is expected to open up a wave of interest in the use of mixed reality for the worlds of gaming and entertainment.
However, many industry leaders are projecting that enterprise businesses will be the first to realize the benefits of this emerging tech. It may be worth it for businesses to get in on development with Apple Vision Pro out of the gate.
The initial reveal of Apple Vision Pro included news that a company called Unity would be used for building 3D apps, games, and experiences for visionOS. And recently, Unity revealed that the Unity visionOS beta is now available to all Unity Pro, Enterprise, and Industry subscribers. That means that industry developers can leverage Unity's familiar workflows and powerful tools to build and bring their apps into this new frontier of spatial computing.
Next-generation spatial experiences are at any business's fingertips when they use Unity's PolySpatial technology in conjunction with other apps in the Shared Space on Apple Vision Pro.
On the sales and marketing side, Unity, with support for visionOS, can enable customers to access and visualize products from anywhere in the world — and in a way that integrates real spatial 3D and their actual physical-world surroundings.
Retailers will be able to supercharge the luxury boutique experience by allowing customers to experience products in aspirational environments, and as shared experiences. Retailers and luxury goods businesses are constantly pushing to meet consumer demands for more immersive and interactive experiences, and these types of innovations could make a significant impact. Many of these businesses have already been experimenting with mixed reality, but the advancements brought on by Apple Vision Pro stand to make the experiences much more intuitive and familiar.
Unity's PolySpatial technology will also provide a more seamless transition to the world of digital twins. Unity's visionOS can help close the gap between real and virtual assets, allowing for a quicker transition between 2D, 3D, and spatial. Users can better visualize and create designs by reviewing a virtual copy of a physical asset. This projects to be a big deal for advancing development in areas like smart cities, on which Unity is already at the forefront.
Business training and education costs can also be mitigated by using Apple Vision Pro to work with employees in any location — without having to travel — through interactive mixed-reality content. Developers in manufacturing and infrastructure enterprises, as well as government agencies, stand to benefit greatly.
As one T_HQ article projects, "The Vision Pro mixed reality headset could provide a readymade platform for industrial users to educate operators on how to use all kinds of equipment by blending real-world controls and digital visuals." This can also make a safer and less stressful training environment in some cases because the majority of hands-on training is done through simulation.
Since hybrid and remote work are the norm these days, using AppleVision Pro can also help create a more streamlined collaboration between what's happening in the office, the field, and at remote locations across the globe. Utilizing Apple's already-known ecosystem and FaceTime, users can bring their data and apps to spatial right away using tools that millions are already familiar with. Imagine providing a next-level immersive experience to share 3D designs on a construction project, or to experience a customized car design — these types of experiences could become more commonplace with spatial computing.
Businesses can now leverage Unity's visionOS support and Unity PolySpatial with Unity's workflows — and begin developing apps to be used on the Apple Vision Pro that will allow customers and clients to live in a combined virtual reality and physical reality.
