Building an Augmented Human ?

For the last episode in the Digital Futures Institute, we were focused on the issue of how augmented reality will transform our lives.

Positions from three speakers were posed around this theme. In the first James Burgess Lee, CEO of UrbanXR provided many examples of how AR is being used in construction, museum exhibits and to enliven physical spaces. His exciting examples included a pop up retail store with 3D products, a world first use of virtual reindeer and patterns on the Town Hall building in Ipswich which translate between physical and 3D virtual objects.

James believes that virtual humans will utilise these technologies to add detail and excitement and signalled the importance of these technologies for bringing people together. BT

Distinguished engineer Anasol Pena Rios outlined her view of an augmented human who can use these technologies in many application areas including engineering to support development and problem solving as well as provide real time dynamic support for engineers out in the field.

Lastly Dr Daphne Economico from the University of Westminster outlined a view of how serious games may impact how we interact with augmented reality technology, supporting scope for individuals to build practical solutions and tools to support students and teachers.

The questions from the audience were mainly technical in nature, the audience asked about which headsets the panellists recommended, and Anasol pointed to a gap in highly technical and detailed use headsets. Overall MetaQuest 3 was eagerly anticipated with a more reasonable price point. The issues with 5G and looking forward to 6G technology was discussed with a highly technically-focused audience. The event was recorded and is accessible in the UoS Archive.

The next season of Digital Futures Institute Second Wednesday events will continue to build our community, with events on Disruption of AI, Future Networking (5G/6G), the uses of Immersive Technology and smart technologies in focus for debate and discussion in the Digital Futures community. All events will be live streamed and supported by our sponsors: TechEast, Creative East, Digital Catapult, IET, Tommy Flowers Network, Innovation Martlesham and BT Research.