The focus is on successful implementation of Extended Reality (XR) technologies such as VR & AR during their Industry 4.0; Digital-Transformation journeys. Based upon Digi-Capital, investors do see AR/VR as the fourth wave of technology, after computers, the internet and then mobile. Going with this technological wave has indeed definitive advantages with enormous benefits. One does need to have an in-depth understanding of the facts as well as insights of the XR technologies for Top-Managements that are really crucial to make Effective-Choices by tapping their full advantages.
It has been in fact 6 years now since the current XR evaluation triggered during 2013 by Oculus. Much admiration has been there for Immersive-Teleportation should be over by now. We in fact already crossed the phase of Ornamental-Implementation of VR/AR technologies just for Show-Off purposes. In order to avoid Future-Regrets, Enterprises do indeed need to act now in designing XR-Strategies and also laying the solid roadmap which can indeed create new business models with Increased Productivity, Profitability, and Safety.
Note-Worthy Reports
Reports do state that Industry 4.0 is poised in order to touch $215 billion by 2025 and most of the major economies in the world are adopting it. According to an analysis by McKinsey – the most prestigious American worldwide management consulting firm in case Indian companies do adopt Industry 4.0 across functions such as manufacturing, supply chain, logistics as well as procurement, they can enhance their operating profits by 40% at less than 10% of the planned capital expenditure. Also, a recent Gartner survey did show that out of the organizations that are currently using or piloting AR, 40% has been found that the technology has exceeded beyond expectations.
VR & AR in the Context of Industry 4.0
Off late the “Make in India” initiatives and schemes by the Indian Government are opening new opportunities for wider adoption of ‘Industry 4.0’. Companies such as Boeing, Bosch & GE are already making huge investments for Industry 4.0 implementations in India. The concept of VR/AR in ‘Industry 4.0’ is soon going to change the way Indian Industries going to design, manufacture, market, service their customers & train their employees as well.
Gartner has predicted that by 2020, AR, VR, and Mixed-Reality based immersive solutions will indeed constitute at least 20 percent of the digital transformation strategy of enterprises.
Enterprises do start thinking today on what XR-Implementation really means to them in their context and what kind of Cultural changes going to happen during this adoption. XR happens to be one among the 9 pillars of industry 4.0 Eco-system, while every other pillar is indeed trying to make the “Machines Smarter”, VR/AR has the only objective of making “The Human Workforce-Smarter”.
In fact, it is a known fact that only 20% of employees have the Skills that are required for their current roles and future career, according to Gartner, 2018. Conventional thinking on employee training such as classroom training, refresher courses, group discussions and mockups alone is never going to sustain businesses in the future. In the Industry 4.0 landscape, either today or tomorrow their respective traditional Industrial training facilities have to be Re-equipped with XR-Devices, Trackers, and Sensors. Before it is rather too late, enterprises indeed need to consider adopting the much robust & smarter training methods thus making use of the Immersive VR/AR technologies.
Why XR-Strategies are essential for Industrial Workforce-Training
The reason being that through VR, the experiences of the senior employees could be shared to new recruits with a knowledge & skill transfer/retention rate of up to 75 to 90%; they can indeed learn 7 times faster than their usual speed. These Empathetic XR experiences are not really achieved through mere technology adoption alone but it has to be combined with other modalities such as Tactile, olfactory, aural which can indeed leverage cognitive embodiment to reinforce maximum learning effectiveness. VR/AR systems can also keep track of how users do respond to various stimuli by tracking their reactions such as movements, positions, and even their mental states. For the very first time, the true Key-Performance-Index (KPI) of the trainees can indeed be measured through empirical analysis methodologies using XR technologies.
Common Road-Blocks for XR Adoption
Enterprises do need to develop a welcoming mindset for the Constructive-Disruptions in order to bring their organizations to the next level in the competitive market place. To avoid lagging behind, these reinventions that have to be really in a deliberate speed. But, the road-block here with most companies are, they need to let-go their Legacy-Training Infrastructure. The considerable investments already made for them in the past and are traditionally used for decades. Lack of clarity, fail to engage the right technology-partner, fear of disruption and ROI uncertainties also the other factors for companies postponing the decision making.
The XR-Strategy Guide
Industries today are in a critical situation to make the strategic decision on moving towards these Disruptive- Landscape and related investments. Conventional thinking on tangible investments such as upgrading the Machineries alone is never going to sustain businesses in the future. Intangible assets creation such as Digital-Assets & IPs is equally important to increase operational efficiency.
The daring strategic decision making can indeed only happen if the CXOs have the radical-thinking, long-term visions and end-to-end understanding of XR-Concepts. They should, in fact, be capable of prioritizing the right use-cases with quantifiable profits as well as benefits. Industrial-XR is not mere technology adoption…but also involve expertise to choose the correct Use-cases & lot of imagination to design the experience pragmatically which could make success a “Practical-Reality”.
First, make one’s objectives clear and then also look for one’s choice of XR-Technology which can best suit the need. The common mistake people do commit is working in reverse which is designing products for technology. Whether VR, AR or MR one has to decide only on a case to case basis. The biggest advantage of Immersive technologies implementation is, neither one’s Pilot-Trials nor Mainstream implementations that will never affect/disturb the shop-floor production in any way.
Typical XR-Blueprint:
- Involve stack-holders of different departments under the leadership of I. T department in order to plan the most compelling XR-Strategy for next 3 to 5 years
- Do not work as siloed teams. Identity and involve the right people with the right skill-sets and attitude in order to form a cross-functional experts’ team
- Associate with experienced VR/AR partners with industrial background and also bring them inside the value system which is crucial for the success
- Everything in one go is not a good idea. Prior to going Mainstream, start with Piloting and go by Milestone based step-by-step implementations
- Keep track of the Milestones and Quantifiable ROI benefits via periodic reviews
- Let trainees learn through the VR/AR-Pilot module Track about the progress of their KPI and mark the effective reduction of the time to employee proficiency
- Summarize the benefits of XR-Pilot-Trials and also compare with one’s Legacy-systems to demonstrate business values
- While the proven success spearheading the synergy, one can now secure more funding for a larger rollout
- Keep updating on the technological changes that are happening in the market. If required, take meaningful deviations from the original road map.
There is absolutely no doubt on the capacities of XR- technologies. It is up to the businesses to take their respective choices to avoid future regrets. Stay tuned for further Immersive stories.
