Augmented Reality
Businesses are increasingly using augmented reality,
the technology that powered the computer game Pokémon Go. AR applications overlay
the physical environment with data-generated text, videos, images, etc. Your group will investigate the business uses of
augmented reality.
For example, this worker is using googles that overlays information on
the unit he is maintaining:
This is an example of an AR app that helps customers
navigate stores:
The cool business use cases are limitless!
According to The Harvard Business Review Article,
“Why Every Organization Needs an Augmented Reality Strategy” by
Michael E. Porter and James E. Heppelmann, “Augmented Reality is a set of technologies
that superimposes digital data and images on the physical world, promises to
close this gap and release untapped and uniquely human capabilities. Though
still in its infancy, AR is poised to enter the mainstream; according to one
estimate, spending on AR technology will hit $60 billion in 2020. AR will
affect companies in every industry and many other types of organizations, from
universities to social enterprises. In the coming months and years, it will
transform how we learn, make decisions, and interact with the physical world.
It will also change how enterprises serve customers, train employees, design
and create products, and manage their value chains, and, ultimately, how they
compete.”
The entire November-December Issue (2017) of the Harvard Business Review will be a good
place to start your investigation. Download the HBR AR App (it’s worth
the effort)! Listen to the recorded webinars hosted by MIT; See https://sloanreview.mit.edu/tag/webinar/ The one by
Michael Porter and James Heppelmann is particularly
insightful because it focuses on business strategy and use cases. See also this
paper by Cognizant:
Your group presentation should cover:
Brief description of the technology and what
it enables
Why the topic is important to managers,
The size of the market in terms of dollars
The promised benefits and the potential
pitfalls of AR
Present many short examples of augmented
reality applications used in businesses—this will be the longest segment
of your presentation
Include a series of several short videos (no
more than 3-4 minutes in total)
A strategic framework for thinking through
how AR can increase competitive advantage
A few take aways or
best practices
Each
group is responsible for interviewing at least three people on this topic. You might try approaching consulting
firms who advise on AR for business uses, software providers who sell AR tools,
or people within businesses using AR applications.
If you have
other creative ideas, please feel free to discuss them with me.