As we welcome the new year and bid farewell to the old, it’s time to prepare for an enhanced gaming experience. Whether you’re an experienced gamer or just starting out, this New Year’s gift list has covered you with the latest gaming gadgets. Get ready to make your gaming escapades extraordinary with these must-have products.
PlayStation VR2
Price: ₹57,999
Take your gaming experience to the next level with the PlayStation VR2. Get immersed in stunning graphics, breathtaking virtual worlds, and 3D audio that will make you feel right in the heart of the action. Whether you’re into epic adventures or heart-pumping thrills, the PS VR2 is a game-changer for any PlayStation enthusiast.
ASUS TUF Gaming F15
Price: ₹74,990
Take your gaming on the go with the ASUS TUF Gaming F15 laptop. With high-performance hardware and a sleek design, this gaming laptop is ready for action wherever you go. Whether you prefer intense multiplayer battles or solo quests, the ASUS TUF Gaming F15 delivers a smooth gaming experience with powerful graphics and lightning-fast processing.
Ambrane Wireless Gaming Controller
Price: ₹1,999
Cut the cords and embrace freedom with the Ambrane Wireless Gaming Controller. This controller is designed for comfort and precision, becoming an extension of your gaming prowess. With customizable buttons and a reliable wireless connection, you’ll easily dominate the gaming battlefield.
Sony INZONE H5 Headset
Price: ₹19,990
The Sony INZONE H5 Headset is the perfect companion for the ultimate gaming experience. You can precisely listen to every footstep, explosion, and dialogue with high-quality sound and noise-cancelling technology. Comfortable for long gaming sessions, this headset ensures you stay fully immersed in your favourite games without missing a beat.
Redgear A-15 Wired Gaming Mouse
Price: ₹799
The Redgear A-15 Wired Gaming Mouse is a must-have for gamers who demand precision and speed. This mouse is engineered for optimal performance with customizable DPI settings, programmable buttons, and a sleek design. Take control of your gaming destiny and outmanoeuvre your opponents with this gaming essential.
If you were on the internet in 2021 like most of us were thanks to the pandemic, then you know how crazy the hype around the metaverse was. Touted as the next big thing in the tech world, the metaverse promised an entirely immersive virtual world including futuristic avatars and wearable devices. It was back in October 2021 when Facebook made the announcement of changing its name to ‘Meta’ reflecting upon its goals to expand from a social media giant into the metaverse. Cut to 2023 where it looks like Meta’s dream has lost its momentum if not come to a complete stop. What was called by Mark Zuckerberg the ‘next chapter of the internet’ finds itself lost somewhere in the noise with little to no interest amongst the general public. So, is the metaverse dying?
Zuckerberg pulls the plug
Since 2021 when Zuckerberg announced the Facebook rebranding to Meta, the company has lost a big chunk of money. As per reports, meta lost as much as $20 billion as of December 2022 from its ‘Reality Labs’ segment since its start in 2021. The losses kept piling up to the point where investors started raising concerns about Mark’s approach to this business expansion. Brad Gerstner, whose Altimeter Capital fund owns hundreds of millions worth of Meta shares wrote an open letter to Mark Zuckerberg stating that the company had lost investors’ confidence. People and organizations with major stakes in the company expressed concern that Zuckerberg had lost the focus of his company’s core social media empire to pivot onto a concept that may take years to come to fruition.
As a result, Mark Zuckerberg had to issue a statement revealing that the metaverse was not the majority of what the company was doing. Mark revealed that about 80% of Meta’s investments are driven towards the core business and only about or less than 20% of its investments went towards Reality Labs. Meta’s core businesses include Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp Messenger. Mark then added that the vast majority of what Meta does will continue to go towards social media until the ‘metaverse becomes a larger thing’ Zuckerberg was insistent about the fact that communication in 2023 will be different than the computing devices used today. The Meta head had gone on record and stated that he is ‘very optimistic’ about the direction Meta was headed in. Well, that was until 2023 when the AI race took an interesting turn and Meta aims to strike gold in that arena.
It might have not come with major announcements or discourse on the internet, but Mark Zuckerberg has quietly pulled the plug on his metaverse dream. The Meta head quietly buried his ambitious project and redirected his attention towards artificial intelligence. Failures are quiet and success makes all the noise stand true in this case. Chatter on the web suggests that issuing a public announcement would force Mark to admit that he was wrong, which is a big price to pay amidst already plummeting stock value and backlash over mass layoffs. On the other hand, Meta’s attention shift to AI reflects upon the unparalleled potential of the technology to revolutionize the world. So what exactly is Meta’s focus now? Here’s what Mark Zuckerberg shared in a post on February 27 –
“We’re creating a new top-level product group at Meta focused on generative AI to turbocharge our work in this area. We’re starting by pulling together a lot of the teams working on generative AI across the company into one group focused on building delightful experiences around this technology into all of our different products. In the short term, we’ll focus on building creative and expressive tools. Over the longer term, we’ll focus on developing AI personas that can help people in a variety of ways. We’re exploring experiences with text (like chat in WhatsApp and Messenger), with images (like creative Instagram filters and ad formats), and with video and multi-modal experiences. We have a lot of foundational work to do before getting to the really futuristic experiences, but I’m excited about all of the new things we’ll build along the way.”
Meta Platforms Inc recently released a new large language model to researchers. The model, titled ‘LLaMA’ is intended to help scientists and engineers explore the application of AI such as answering questions and summarizing documents. The new model has been developed by Meta’s Fundamental AI Research (FAIR) team which was established nearly a decade back in September 2013.
LLaMA is not ChatGPT or Bing Search alternative, which means it is not a system that users can hop on and have conversations with. Rather, it is a research tool which Meta believes will democratize access to AI in a fast-changing field. In simple terms, LLaMA has been made public to help experts dish out problems with AI language models in general. In recent times, there have been reports about Microsoft’s Bing search AI giving passive-aggressive and factually incorrect responses. LLaMA has been publicised to help solve issues like those.
Meta announced its new language model in a blog post writing – “We believe the entire AI community — academic researchers, civil society, policymakers, and industry — must work together to develop clear guidelines around responsible AI in general and responsible large language models in particular, given their centrality in many downstream language applications. A much broader segment of the AI community needs access to these models in order to conduct reproducible research and collectively drive the field forward.” This means that the company’s focus has definitely shifted towards the AI race from the metaverse.
While the metaverse has been put on the sidelines by Mark, the tech leader was quick to realize the paradigm shift with AI technology and pivoted immediately. In the general context, the metaverse could be signed off as Zuckerberg’s expensive fling that ran its course. However, what makes us curious now is the future of virtual reality which was the backbone of the metaverse.
Despite all the flashy and at times downright dystopian demos of VR implemented in the metaverse, Zucklerberg’s dream did not catch on as he would have expected. So, does the failure of the metaverse actually affect development in the VR space? We’d say yes, but only partially. Here’s why –
The Future of VR
While the metaverse vision relied solely on VR technologies to create an immersive experience for people in a digital dimension, the technology itself was never chained to that limitation. VR as a concept has been around since the mid-1980s when Jaron Lanier, founder of VPL Research started working to develop gear including a goggle and gloves to experience virtual reality. However, the VR headsets as we see them now in the mainstream were introduced by Oculus VR and are the brainchild of Palmer Lucky.
VR has been a growing field in the world of tech for over a decade now and has the potential to revolutionize various aspects of our lives be it entertainment, healthcare or education. The main reason why VR gained mainstream popularity is due to the availability of affordable VR headsets right now that allows people to have an immersive experience at a pocket-friendly price. I remember buying my first-ever VR headset for under Rs 2K from Amazon back in 2019 and watching Avengers: Endgame in 3D, it was an experience like no other!
Another reason why VR has shaped up to become the next big thing is due to its mindful implementation in gaming. VR unlocks the next level of immersive gaming allowing players that they are inside the game. There are a number of companies right now in the world which are working specifically on developing VR-centric games that are impressive, to say the least. VR has the potential to transform the gaming industry in its entirety. Players won’t experience the game as a character sitting in front of a screen but feel like they’re inside the game. This high level of immersive gaming experience could revolutionize gaming and change the way we enjoy games altogether.
Another end of the spectrum in entertainment. The theatrical exhibition of films has taken a hit in the past few years as the audience shifts to OTT platforms for their entertainment. This hints that the audience can and will adapt to changing patterns of consuming cinema including watching in VR. In the future, films could be produced specifically to cater to the VR audience creating an immersive experience of storytelling like no other. This level of stimulation will undoubtedly hook the movie-going audience who are always on the lookout for something new. VR could also help a lot when it comes to education as students could visit monuments across the world in virtual reality or learn about the human anatomy wearing a VR headset.
In conclusion, I would like to reinstate the fact that VR technology has been around well before the inception of the metaverse. While the metaverse depends on VR to thrive, no such limitations are present in VR technology. While the future of the metaverse looks dark, the same cannot be said for VR.
Nothing’s better than putting in a day of honest work! However, won’t it be better if technology helps make it easier?
Technology has been changing the way we work for decades, but the pace of technological advancement has accelerated in recent years, bringing about a range of new opportunities and challenges for the workforce. Thanks to the rise of remote working, a big chunk of people now work from the comforts of their homes. But it doesn’t end there as thanks to artificial intelligence, automation and virtual reality, technology is changing the very nature of work and the way we approach it. Check out some of the ways technology has been changing the way we work –
Remote Work
Remote work may have started off as a compulsion during the pandemic times, but it definitely unlocked a whole new meaning of working. With the rise of collaboration tools like Zoom and Microsoft Teams, many workers can now work from anywhere with an internet connection. This has the potential to increase work-life balance and reduce commuting times, but it also requires new skills to communicate and collaborate effectively in a remote environment.
Automation
One of the most significant impacts of technology on the workplace is automation. Automation has been used in manufacturing for decades, but advances in technology are now enabling automation in a range of industries, from healthcare and finance to retail and transportation. This has the potential to significantly increase efficiency and productivity, but it also raises concerns about job displacement and the need for new skills.
Gig Economy
Another way technology is changing the workplace is through the rise of the gig economy. Platforms like Uber, Airbnb, and Upwork are enabling individuals to work on a freelance basis, offering their skills and services on demand. This has created new opportunities for people who may not have had access to traditional employment, but on the flip side, it has also raised questions about worker protection and job security.
Artificial Intelligence
Artificial intelligence (AI) is also changing the way we work. AI can analyze data faster and more accurately than humans, enabling businesses to make better decisions and improve efficiency. However, it also raises concerns about the ethical implications of using AI to make decisions about people, and the potential for AI to replace human workers in certain industries. The headlines about tech companies undergoing major layoffs are undoubtedly scary while algorithms take over their job positions. It is too soon to judge whether artificial intelligence will ultimately be a boon or a curse to the workforce and humanity as a whole.
VR and AR
Finally, virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) is beginning to be used in the workplace, offering new ways to train employees, visualize data, and collaborate remotely. This technology has the potential to revolutionize the way we work, but it also requires significant investment and training to be used effectively.
In conclusion, technology is changing the way we work in a range of ways. While these changes offer new opportunities and benefits, they also raise important questions about the future of work, including job displacement, worker protections, and the need for new skills and training. As technology continues to evolve, it will be essential for businesses, policymakers, and individuals to stay informed and adapt to these changes in order to thrive in the new digital economy.
We are only 2-weeks away from CES 2023, the most awaited tech show in the world. The 2023 edition of the show will begin on the 5th of January, which is why brands have started teasing us with new gadgets. Recently, HTC announced that they will unveil a new consumer-friendly flagship AR/VR headset next month during CES 2023.
The verge first revealed the unnamed headset with VR and AR capabilities with some details when they had a conversation with HTC’s global head of product Shen Ye. The upcoming headset by HTC will have front and side-facing cameras along with support for a controller. The self-contained headset is expected to be lightweight, comfortable, and powerful.
The headset will have a colour passthrough to help users view their surroundings and enable a mixed-reality experience. The company has claimed that the headset will have a higher dynamic range to help users read finer details like text without taking the headset off. The headset looks pretty slick and will have at least two hours of battery life.
We expect the company to reveal the full details of the product at CES 2023, and it would be interesting to see at what price it will be priced. Meta released a high-end $1500 Pro model just a couple of months ago, and soon, they will release a successor to the Quest 2. Along with Meta, Apple has long been rumoured to be working on a mixed-reality headset. Let’s hope for the best.
Palmer Luckey, one of the founders of Oculus has designed a new VR headset that can literally take your life if you die in-game! Technology and dystopia go hand-in-hand and with this new development, humanity has gotten a little bit if not too close to the sci-fi show ‘Black Mirror’ The VR headset design clearly draws inspiration from the popular anime Sword Art Online (SAO). In the anime, the story eerily begins in the year 2022 where with the technology of ‘NerveGear’ players can literally be in the game. As one would expect, this NetGear technology ends up killing over 2,000 players in the first month itself!
SAO-inspired VR headset
Luckey recently shared a blog post where he revealed the creation of a VR headset that can perform the same function as the Nervegear headset from the anime – it kills the wearer! While the anime implements the technology of using high-intensity bursts to terminate a player, the Oculus VR headset gets the job done with three explosive charges positioned in front of a wearer’s forehead.
However, Luckey did write – “The good news is that we are halfway to making a true NerveGear The bad news is that so far, I have only figured out the half that kills you. The perfect-VR half of the equation is still many years out.”
Palmer Luckey shared furthermore that as of now the designed NeverGear VR headset is just a piece of art sitting in the office. The Oculus founder believes that it is a thought-provoking reminder of ‘unexplored avenues’ in the realm of gaming. While it’s not an understatement to say that VR is the future of the gaming industry, dying in a game does not sound entirely appealing to me! What do you think?
Are you aware of a concept known as ‘Revenge Travel’? It is definitely not as dramatic as it sounds but something that makes me think. With more than two years of COVID restrictions, people became eager to travel around and make up for the lost time. The traveling industry has seen a resurgence of people taking trips domestically or internationally as they were forced to be stuck in their homes for a long time. The trend is only going to see an upward surge now as more and more people take the trips they have been waiting for. However, what role does technology play in all of this?
In today’s day and age, technology has seeped its way into almost every aspect of the human experience. There is no doubt that it has also emerged as one of the driving forces in the travel industry. I mean, traveling across seas wouldn’t be possible without the emergence of technology, but we’re not going that far deep in history. For our travel edition, I wanted to have a look at all the technological trends which are currently paving their way to becoming a mainstream norm in the travel industry.
Technology and travel are a perfect combination. Right from the start while deciding the destination, to booking flight tickets to once you’re there and back, technology enables you to carry out difficult tasks with ease. The emerging technologies have brought about a paradigm shift as travel adapts to a new context altogether. Nowadays, social media, apps, blogs, and much more have an important part to play when it comes to traveling. Let’s be real, we all have seen our favorite celebrities take a trip to the Maldives and flex up on social media. While this is a narrower perspective of an industry that is expected to reach a total market size of $1,737 billion by 2027, let’s look at the bigger picture and explore the emerging technological trends in the travel industry:
Mobile Technology
Smartphones have become an integral part of people’s lives. Be it attending an important meeting during your vacation or video calling your kid when you’re out of town, smartphone technology allows you to bring the world closer. The evolving roles of these communication devices have now enabled them to become maps, personal travel guides, restaurant locators, planners, and much more. Here are some of the use cases of mobile technology during travel:
Mobile Apps: Be it Android or iOS, there are multiple mobile apps that make it easier for travelers around the globe. Many airlines and hotels now provide mobile applications. People can book flight tickets, check flight status, and get their boarding passes on mobile apps now. Whereas, some hotel apps provide its guest with digital room keys for easy access.
Virtual Queues: This is definitely an important technological development as it allows people to skip long queues that sometimes run up for hours. Virtual queues enable tourists to join a line without physically waiting with other people. Many Disney World attractions around the world now allow people to join a virtual queue. Visitors can simply scan a QR code with a smartphone and enter their details to join the virtual queue. They then receive a text or a notification when it’s time to enter.
QR codes for menus: This is quickly becoming a norm in restaurants around the world. Many restaurants and even food joints around the world come with QR codes for menus where customers can simply scan a QR code while dining in. The COVID pandemic turned QR code menus into a norm to avoid possibly germ-filled physical menus.
AR & VR
Augmented reality (AR) or Virtual reality (VR) is currently the top emerging trend in the travel industry. It has become a trend due to all the possibilities they can offer. Imagine you as a hotel chain owner in India wishing to show the best your hotels have to offer to a corporate prospect client in the USA. It would surely be best to fly them out in the country but VR can surely get the job done effectively.
AR & VR have allowed people to teleport themselves to the most picturesque places around the world without leaving the comfort of their couches. One example of the same is the EVEREST VR application which transports people to the top of Everest without having to climb anything. Various VR/AR apps give people a taste of their possible next vacation.
Virtual Assistants
We all know how helpful Siri and Alexa are in our day-to-day lives. Virtual assistants bring ease to your life by performing various tasks by just hearing your voice commands. The same technology of virtual assistants is now being integrated into the travel industry. Hotels are currently using virtual assistants to assist hoteliers with routine and repetitive tasks. Booking and reservations are one of the main reasons why virtual assistants are used in hotels. Besides this, meal suggestions, room service, cab bookings, itineraries, concierge services, etc. are some of the uses of virtual assistants in the travel industry.
Big Data
Big data is currently being used by most businesses to take a leap further in the future. Before jumping on how big data can help the travel industry, it is important to understand what it really is. Basically, big data is a term referred to a large set of data that can be sourced from both internal and external sources of a certain industry. It is usually associated with customer views, habits, and behavior which is now also being implemented in the travel industry.
One way big data can help the travel industry is in revenue management. To maximize the revenue output, hotels and tourism companies need to sell the right product at the right time to the right customer which can be enabled with big data. Customer experience can also benefit from big data. The tourism industry has major interactions with its customers which can result in valuable data. This data can be used furthermore to bring the best services to the customers.
Contactless payments
We all know how cash payments were frowned upon during the COVID-19 pandemic. Even food delivery applications during peak COVID times were not accepting any cash payments and strictly moved to card/UPI payments. This is now reflected in the travel industry. For the unversed, contactless payments work by holding a credit/debit card or a smartphone/smartwatch near a card reader. The user’s device then communicates with the reader using RFID technology. Disney World has one of the most innovative uses of the contactless payment method using wristbands. These wristbands are known as MagicBands, guest can link up their credit card to a MagicBand and make purchases inside the Disney World park with the swipe of a wrist. A convenient way to pay for overpriced food and drinks at the park for sure!
Ultimately, the rapid progression of technology is bringing a welcoming change in the travel and tourism industry. The emerging technology is allowing the hospitality and travel industry to go through a sustainable transformation which is providing the best services to the end customer. Technological advancements like big data give the travel industry an opportunity to make evidence-driven decisions and make it a trip of a lifetime for the traveler!
The way humans interact with technology is ever-changing. With the inception of VR and AR tech, humanity received a chance to experience the digital world immensely close. While many industry giants claim that the metaverse is the next big leap in technology, the way humans interact with the metaverse is still limited to clunky VR and AR hardware. However, it looks like it is all about to change with a tiny lens enabling tech enthusiasts and the general public to access AR graphics right before their eyes. Read below to know more about the lenses which, in concept are as remarkable as science fiction:
The Mojo Lens
In July, the CEO of Mojo Vision, Drew Perkins, shared his experience of the first “on-eye demonstration” of the Mojo lens. In its initial stage, Drew wore the contact lens in only one eye for an hour; however, Mojo Vision aims for the users to wear two lenses simultaneously for longer durations to experience 3D visual overlays. The lenses developed by Mojo Vision are undoubtedly a technological marvel, something only expected from sci-fi characters like Tony Stark and Bruce Banner. To achieve the feat of developing ‘smart lenses’, the company had to develop its own plastic and chemical components in order to allow an eyeball to be breathable through an electronic lens.
The designed lenses are thick enough to cover up the human eyes’ outer whites partially but are not uncomfortable, as claimed by the project’s senior director of product management David Hobbs. The lens also houses a flexible circuit no wider than the human hair couples with nine pacemaker-style titanium batteries to supply power and data. The pixels of the lens have been squeezed into a space of only 2 microns.
The AR hype
It would be an understatement to call the Mojo lenses an ambitious project. Many companies before Mojo Vision have attempted to bring AR to the mainstream but have failed to do so. A few projects in the pipeline surrounding wearable AR tech have either been delayed indefinitely or failed to live up to the hype like the Google Glass. The complexities of AR technology root in the melding of digital elements and constantly moving physical objects. Whether AR bridges the gap between the digital world and the physical world is yet to be seen.
Hyundai Motor has invested in a series of cutting-edge technological solutions to overhaul its design process. By embracing the latest innovations, such as virtual reality (VR) and 3D gravity sketching, the company has consolidated its position at the forefront of car design.
Beyond sheer aesthetics, the benefits of this approach are three-fold. Firstly, Hyundai’s designers are equipped with state-of-the-art tools that enable them to develop models with boundary-pushing features. Secondly, a streamlined digital process speeds up vehicle development. Finally, a lower carbon footprint supports the company’s environmental commitments.
Hyundai has made significant investments in state-of-the-art virtual reality (VR) technology and infrastructure to transform its design process
Company stakeholders can now collaborate across continents in a virtual space to speed up vehicle development and support the planet
Hyundai’s latest concept SEVEN is the company’s first model to be designed completely digitally
Stepping away from a traditional design approach
Much like today, Hyundai’s designers commenced the initial creative phase by creating pencil sketches on paper in the past. These images would reflect the kind of car they wanted to convey: perhaps one that is dynamic and sporty, or one that is brimming with new technology. Typically, these drawings would feature exaggerated proportions of the car, such as emphasized wheels and curves.
Once designers completed their initial sketches, they would compete with one another to have their proposals selected. After a winning design was selected, the chosen model would be developed as a scale model from clay, based on two-dimensional paper sketches.
Developing a scale model would take anywhere between four weeks and two months, depending on the schedule. Afterwards, the scale model would then be scanned and milled in a full-size. However, this approach was not without its drawbacks. After all, when shifting from a scale model to full-size, no line stays the same.
Previously, Hyundai’s designers were required to work together with clay modelers to refine the final design of an upcoming model. However, lines and surfaces had to be marked out using tape. On top of this, the company’s engineers were unable to work simultaneously with the designers, as they could only receive data after scanning the model with a photogrammetry system. Both of these factors made the process very time-consuming and cost-intensive.
VR: the revolution
Modern design technology is now very fast and much more stable. Today, Hyundai no longer produces scale clay models; instead it utilizes technologically advanced tools that are more intuitive, such as 3D digital design software. These enable the company’s engineers to mill full scale models using 3D data, which significantly speeds up the design process. Today, 80 per cent of Hyundai’s design development is fully-digital.
Hyundai’s designers work with industry-standard software that has been reprogrammed so that they can work in collaboration across multi-user and multi-location environments. This state-of-the-art technology includes laptops designed for high-performance gaming, in order to handle 3D graphics, motion technology from the film industry, as well as innovations derived from sport. Using this software, the designers can create models and immersive environments in VR that look extremely close to the real thing. The difference between modern design and the traditional approach is stark, and can be compared to the revolution cars undertook before and after anti-lock braking systems were introduced.
VR technology also opens up a host of new opportunities for Hyundai’s designers. For example, the gravity sketching tool enables designers to create more human-centric vehicle designs by working in 3D from the start. Designers swap their paper and pencils for a headset and controllers to become immersed in VR, imitating gestural interactions through motion tracking. By working in 3D, Hyundai’s designers can experiment with different proportions and build variations based on their ideas. Meanwhile, a 360-degree view of the vehicle allows them to sketch from any angle – in contrast to the traditional 2D process.
3D gravity sketching also enhances the collaboration between Hyundai’s exterior and interior designers. Through this technology, the two teams are able to work together simultaneously. While the exterior design team refine the digital model, the company’s interior designers can work in parallel by virtually stepping inside the car to develop features or make quick adjustments.
Another advantage of this technology is Hyundai’s designers’ ability to test unlimited colour options and material applications, including fabrics and leather, ambient lighting and other types of materials. As well as saving time, this also reduces shipping and traveling costs. In addition, this approach is much more sustainable as significantly less waste is produced, resulting in a dramatic reduction of CO2 emissions.
Hyundai’s VR design evaluation system
Hyundai’s design journey in multi-user wireless VR spaces started in 2017. Then, in December 2019, Hyundai Motor Company and Kia Motors Corporation announced an ambitious new virtual reality (VR) design evaluation system. Two years on, this has now been fully implemented. The system demonstrates a heightened focus on enhancing vehicle development processes through the implementation of VR technology. It simulates many aspects relating to a model under development, including interior and exterior design elements, as well as lighting, colours and materials.
These cutting-edge facilities in Namyang, Rüsselsheim, and Irvine, California, allow the designers to review a multitude of design concepts earlier in the developmental process, and in ways that were previously physically impossible. VR headsets allow colleagues from Hyundai’s Design and Engineering departments to enter into a virtual conference in real-time and simultaneously undertake vehicle design quality assessments and development verification processes, no matter where they are in the world.
Hyundai has also established remote VR design assessment capabilities to enable real-time virtual collaboration between its design centers in Europe, Korea, China, India, Japan and the U.S.. The benefits for the company are clear: it has facilitated greater cross-team – and intercontinental – collaboration than ever before.
These changes were already underway before COVID-19 emerged and sent the world into lockdown in early 2020. According to Simon Loasby, the pandemic served as a catalyst for Hyundai’s global design workforce, accelerating the transition to digitalization and agile working.
VR technology promises a sustainable future
VR technology is continuing to evolve. In the future, it will offer much higher levels of detail and operate at far quicker speeds. It is therefore set to play an increasingly prominent role for Hyundai’s designers and engineers. In addition, advances in AR and mixed reality will enable the company’s colleagues to interact with one another even more immersively.
However, one fundamental benefit that should not be overlooked is its positive environmental impact. A digital design process produces are much lower carbon footprint, as far fewer clay, paper and waste materials are used in the process. For the development of SEVEN, Hyundai produced one clay model for verification at the end, rather than a multitude of scale clay models. By meeting in a virtual conference space, Hyundai’s designers are no longer required to frequently travel around the globe, expending thousands of air miles in the process. Going forward, this will contribute towards Hyundai achieving its goal of carbon neutrality by 2045.
We had surpassed those days when people used to hire Interior Designers after considering what kind of taste they had for colour, decor, and fabrics. Over the years, the role of an Interior Designer has changed dramatically, from creating the layout of the internal space in a building or structure manually to creating numerous designs on software and computer-aided design tools, which allows them to present their creativity in a more delicate and sophisticated way.
In a technology-driven world, humans are more prone to inventing tools that can change the perspective of our lives. Technology is serving us in almost every industry and has successfully changed how we live around. Barely a decade ago, Interior Designers were sending paper statements or meeting with every client face to face, and if you look at how they work now, it’s completely different from old-school practices. Thanks to the technology, which has been proven itself as a time-saver tool for designers.
Nowadays, being an interior designer is not limited to honing traditional interior design skills, including drawing layouts and mastering plans. To survive and thrive in today’s technology-driven world, the designer must have a deep knowledge of the latest design software, computer-aided design (CAD) tools and, of course, business skills. The interior design industry took a little while to accept and incorporate technology, but in a short span, as expected, it has influenced the future of interior design- here’s how:
Digital Drafting
Gone are the days when interior designers used to carry drafting boards and set squares. Today, the business of interior designing is more focused and based on technology which includes new-age software platforms such as AutoCAD, AutoDesk, and SketchUp. These platforms allow designers to showcase their designs digitally and help them in convincing their ideas to clients on how their office/apartment could look if they implement a particular design. The designers can convert their 2D designs into the 3D form or even in videos to help their clients understand the structure better through interactive walkthroughs.
Smart Design Tools
Technology has shielded us from head to toe, and we can’t think of a life without it. Back in the day, interior designers used to meet clients in person to discuss the design and to have a quick idea about the project, but with the arrival of technology in the field, it all vanished and was replaced with more advanced tools where designers and clients mutually prefer online meet-ups. Online communities like Houzz allow digital space for architects and interior designers to showcase their work on their website, which helps them get clients. However, word of mouth still stands tall and is considered the best marketing option in all industries.
Smart Homes
We can’t predict what the world will look like in the next 50 years, but we can surely say it would consist of smart homes, advanced robots, driverless cars, and maybe weekly mars trips. Well, here, we’re only concentrating on smart homes, which heavily influence our day-to-day world and are already everywhere. Almost every day, a new tech giant launches some connected device or gadget to attract our attention, and we can’t deny the fact that we all crave such innovations.
Google Home has already occupied the smart home market, and we can’t say no to the gadgets that offer a personal assistant and work according to our command, such as turning off the television, playing your favourite music, waking you up on time and creating schedules for you. Along with Google, Amazon has also invented a number of smart home gadgets to make our home-life smoother and smarter. Smart home gadgets can also help us control the lighting situation through our phones, set automated timers on bedroom lights, and many more.
Internet of Things (IoT)
The endless possibilities in technology are assisting us in experiencing the smart world of interiors, and the Internet of Things is unquestionably one of the finest technologies amongst them. The Internet of Things has emerged as an absolute game-changer for house owners in recent times, and it plays a crucial role in the lives of modern-day interior designers.
The IoT technology, which is entirely based on the internet, helps us define physical objects embedded with sensors, software, and other technologies to further communicate with each other and create a smart home environment. Thanks to the IoT based smart-connected gadgets and appliances, it betters interior designers to fulfil the demand of tech-savvy youth.
3D Printing
3D printing benefits interior designers to demonstrate their design quickly to the clients with the miniature model. With 3D printing, designers can unleash the best of their creativity as it allows them to implement the plan in a few hours with minimum resources, and they can even make changes according to clients’ requirements instead of traditional paper draftings, where executing changes was a complicated job. Immediate customer feedback helps designers to create a good rapport which ultimately helps them to gain more customers. Along with all these benefits, 3D printing is environmentally friendly as the miniature models can be created using natural resources such as wood and bamboo.
Sustainable Design & Micro Apartments
The interest in sustainable designs has increased over the past few years, and considering the future of the interior designing industry, it primarily relies on sustainable development. If you look at the newly constructed apartments by developers, they feature wide-open windows, and developers purposely keep these giant windows throughout the apartments to fill the void with more natural daylight sources and to offer health benefits for their clients.
Along with this, looking at the rate of migration in urban areas, many builders and developers in India have started following the American movement of creating micro apartments that typically fall under 400 square feet of space. The micro-living lifestyle has helped us to reduce our carbon footprint, and it indeed created opportunities for people to purchase their own houses within an affordable budget, even in developed cities, but the option will also lead to an innumerable urban population.
Role of Virtual Reality & Augmented Reality in Interior Design
Earlier, interior designers used to draw and sketch designs on paper in 2D format, but these kinds of designs were hard to understand for clients, and they used to struggle to follow and understand the designers’ visualization. Then, Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality arrived in the designing field and changed the entire scenario. The arrival of Virtual Reality helped the designer to explain to their clients what the project could look like if they followed a particular design, and that too in a 360 degrees viewing option, to see it from every angle.
In the case of Augmented Reality, it enables new-age clients to visualize the project even before it is developed, and they can even try numerous outcomes for their new project, such as the furniture, without paying a single rupee. Augmented Reality allows interior designers to showcase their vision to clients in the most straightforward possible manner. IKEA, a Swedish-origin company that designs and sells ready-to-assemble furniture, kitchen appliances and home accessories, has adopted AR in their new printed catalogues to help their clients overlay the physical world by using their phone’s camera and an AR app.
The independence of India co-existed with its partition. It brought several pains for those who witnessed it. But, technology has come as a solace for them. How? Follow the BBC. Well, some of you will say I am talking about a ridiculous point. How can a journalist platform provide technology? Don’t worry. This story has a different perspective, different edge, and different caricatures. This Exhibit blog brings this news on how some people moved to another side of the border where they didn’t belong since their birth. Let’s know how Virtual Reality is helping out partition survivors.
What is the news about technology and partition?
BBC telecasted news where they presented the story of Iqbaluddin Ahmed and Hari Kishan Anand, who is wearing a VR headset through which they see their place where they have lived in India and Pakistan. These two display their happiness and remember the old golden times with the BBC team. This entire incident is a part of Project Dastaan. Through Project Dastaan, efforts are made for the people to showcase their place where they earlier used to before the partition hit them. The technology used during this project is Virtual Reality. Project Dastaan has this sole motto of connecting partition refugees with their childhood homes.
Modus Operandi of Project Dastaan
Project Dastaan firstly interviews the Partition survivors, during which they come to know about the exact location where these people have lived. Accordingly, it sends a team to that location. This team creates a complete film of that location by capturing some of the finest shots. After doing some editing on the footage, they add this entire film in the 360 VR headset. Then, they take it to the witnesses and showcase the current times to help them find their childhood. This step will somewhere help survivors to revisit the fading moments and memories of their time. There’s no doubt how Virtual Reality can create an impact on these people due to which they feel like they are at the spot of what they are viewing.
Project Dastaan – The Birth
The concept of Project Dastaan got consolidated after two graduates of Oxford University, Sparsh Ahuja and Ameena Malik, exchanged their history that they had heard from their grandparents. After listening to a similar sort of story from Sam Dalrymple and Saadia Gardezi, the idea of this project took birth. The basic aim was to take back partition refugees to old times.
Final Remarks
Project Dastaan is one of the fundamentalist ways that can bring two countries together. And, see what acumen used to do it? Virtual Reality technology. It is like a gift for those who had deep down their heart accepted that they wouldn’t be able to go back and see their native places. In case, you want to know the basic working of Virtual Reality, here’s an article for you.
