Augmented reality will be a huge game changer this year.
You have probably heard of the term virtual reality, especially in the gaming world.
Virtual reality or VR is a computer simulated environment. A user wears a headset that ultimately takes them to another world. Samsung recently released a VR headset that takes users anywhere in the gaming world, at any time.
Augmented reality or AR is slightly different from VR. AR allows users to see the real world with computer generated images. AR’s abilities to alter the real-world view make it very appealing for onboarding new employees.
For Yemen, specifically, this training could be used in Yemen’s oil and gas industries. AR training allows people to track trainee’s success and measure their training in a new way. Using AR for training also allows companies to throw scenarios at trainees giving them a true understanding of how to handle a dangerous situation. AR also gives employers the opportunity to provide instruction through the glasses while employees are performing tasks.
Many companies are already recognizing the value this technology could have on their training. A recently published article from Forbes magazine explains the future of augmented reality in the workspace. “Not only does AR open the doors for limitless creativity and innovation, it also enables enterprises to speed up the training process and make it more beneficial to employees. “
National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has been using the software to train employees for years. In fact, NASA has a virtual reality laboratory that recreates the vacuum of space, here on Earth. This gives astronauts the most realistic training before doing the real thing.
But AR isn’t new to the tech scene, some businesses have been utilizing the technology since 2014. An article published by Canadian Business, nearly two years ago, highlighted the use of virtual headsets for on the job training.
Brian Ballard, CEO and founder of AR company, APX Labs told Canadian Business, “You’re giving an entire new class of workforce — that could be five or 10 times of (the number of people) you have people sitting at a desk — access to information,” says Ballard, who previously worked on augmented-reality product development for the military. “That’s fundamentally revolutionary.”
AR allows companies to put employees through situations that otherwise you could not create. The viewer sees the real world through the lens, along with data, graphics, and any information an employer wants to add.
AR, if implemented in Yemen, could provide workers in the oil and gas industry far better training than ever before.
–Haitham Alaini