Apple talks AVP for Business - MetaVisions #24

Hi all, hope everyone is well! The days are getting longer and warmer, so I won’t complain much, although the rain is still kicking about quite often! Apple gave an interesting update on the Vision Pro, focusing on the business world.

It is no secret that for the past two decades, Apple has been an important part of a large portion of businesses IT Infrastructure. The iPhone and Mac laptops are quite often the go-to devices in enterprise environments. According to Apple, their ‘unique combination of hardware, software, services, and built-in support for IT makes it incredibly easy to manage and secure devices at scale’. To give Apple some props, they released their latest device with a robust MDM solution available at launch, whilst a competitor did not manage to… I wont say any names.
Through a Newsroom post, Apple gave us an update on the latest enterprise use-cases for the AVP, covering four main categories. I will summarise and give some opinions. If you want to read the full release by Apple, you will find it here.

Customized Workspaces for Productivity

One of the initial selling points of the Apple Vision Pro, has been the ability to ‘magically’ connect with Mac devices to create a beautiful large virtual display, removing the boundaries set by physical displays. An appealing concept, yes, but not a new one. Apps like Meta Workrooms and Immerse allow users to connect remotely to their PCs and instantly gain multiple virtual monitors, as well as being able to join virtual meetings or meet random people in ‘Metaverse’ workspaces.

That being said, Apple has managed to land some good partnerships in this area. Microsoft has built M365 apps for VisionOS, allowing users to ‘write without distraction; graph, manipulate, and visualize data in sharp, crisp detail in Excel; and immerse themselves in a slideshow with PowerPoint.’ I have experienced the benefits of working in a virtual or mixed reality environment, you can definitely go into deep work and block out distractions from your environment. However, the M365 apps for VisionOS don’t have any extra modes such as 3D PowerPoints, it is just a new way to view the usual 2d interface.

One partnership that does leverage Spatial Computing to provide a new experience it’s with SAP Analytics Cloud. Users are able to explore new ways to view and interact with data dashboards. Complex datasets with multiple variables can become easier to understand in a Spatial Environment. We are used to looking at graphs and Axis on a 2D screen, which limits the amount of information that can be exposed at the same time.

Additional apps mentioned include:
• Webex by Cisco brings an immersive and intuitive meeting experience that fills the space and utilizes Personas and Spatial Audio for a more natural video conferencing experience.
• Zoom provides an experience built for Apple Vision Pro with exceptional audio and video quality, giving users the ability to easily collaborate and schedule meetings.
• Box makes it easy for users to collaborate and securely manage files and content, including 3D objects, allowing them to intuitively bring this content into the world around them.

Design and Collaboration

The AVP’s most impressive technical feat lies in its powerful display, with over 4K of resolution per eye. Making it a great display to view images, videos and digital twins with high-fidelity.

Porsche is using the AVP’s incredible display to provide a new way for engineers to collaborate and visualise data in real-time. The ‘Race Engineer’ app has been used by the team to view important performance data of drivers. In the app, they can explore a high fidelity model of the track, important metrics like speed and braking, track conditions, car positioning, alongside a live view of the car’s dashboard.

An important announcement that I covered a few editions ago, has been the introduction of NVIDIA’s Omniverse Cloud API to the AVP, this will let developers create platforms to visualise huge 3D engineering and simulation data sets from the cloud. Instead of exploring models and simulations through a 2D interface, the full power of the Omniverse platform will leverage the AVPs Immersive capabilities.

Additional apps in design and collaboration include:

• Lowe’s Style Studio leverages the unique capabilities of spatial computing to help customers visualize and design their dream kitchen, making home improvement easier than ever.
• JigSpace brings intuitive, hands-on inspection and effortless collaboration to help users communicate complex ideas, products, and processes with spatial context.
• EnBW (Energie Baden-Württemberg AG) enables visualization of renewable energy infrastructure projects, allowing collaborators to see and assess designs of vehicle charging stations, wind turbines, and solar farms.

Training and Simulation

In my opinion, this is the use case with the best ROI in Spatial Computing. Since the pandemic, a wide range of industries has explored new ways to minimise time to work whilst keeping a high level of quality. VR/MR offers limitless risk-free environments for training and simulation. Users can practice as many times as needed, with or without anyone else around.

The global airline KLM is adopting the Apple Vision Pro to train technicians on the latest engine models, leveraging the high fidelity display and M2 chip to provide a realistic environment. Ultimately it should reduce errors, save valuable time and speed up plane turnaround times.

Additional apps in training and simulation include:

• Taqtile Manifest makes digital work instructions actionable with a simple glance or hand gesture.
• PTC’s Onshape Vision app transforms the way product designers and engineers view, interact with, and collaborate on complex 3D models.

Guided Work

Another great use case for XR is to provide workers with information that will help them do their job. For example, with the HoloLens 2, nurses were able to access patient information on the go, as well as connecting with an expert that could provide with real time feedback.

Resolve has a great app for Quest 3 where you’re able to go into CAD models for Immersive audits and design reviews. They have now built a BIM viewer app for AVP, allowing engineers to access information about the infrastructure behind the wall, which will help them make decisions on the job.

Additional apps in guided work include:

• TeamViewer Spatial Support enables remote experts and service technicians on the ground to troubleshoot repair and maintenance processes with unparalleled fidelity, enabling faster response and reduced downtime.
• BILT supports 3D interactive instructions with voice, text, and animated guidance for thousands of products to enable a wide range of workflows.

Overall, it is great that Apple knows that Spatial Computing has a huge potential in the enterprise world, hopefully this is just the beginning, as AVP gets into more hands, there will be fantastic apps being built for business.

Till next time,
Davi, MetaVisions