Bill Curtis-Davidson discusses new and immersive technologies, engaging and training the workforce, gaining the competitive edge with accessible immersive technology, and how organizations can prepare for a more competitive and accessible world.
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Immersive Technologies and the Future of Work
Transcript for Immersive Technologies and the Future of Work
Hello, everyone. My name is Bill Curtis-Davidson, and I am delighted to be here today, at the Accessibility Plus 2021 Conference. To speak on the topic of, Brave New World, Accessible Immersive Technologies and the Future of Work. Before I begin, I'd love to say thank you to the organizers of this conference for inviting us to speak with you today. Again, I'm Bill Curtis-Davidson. I'm a Senior Consultant in Inclusion & Accessibility and an AI Integration Lead at the Wheelhouse Group.
I also serve as Co-director of the Partnership on Employment and Accessible Technology, otherwise known as PEAT. And I have held former roles in Magic Leap, as their accessibility leader, Level Access, IBM accessibility and Georgia Tech. If you'd like to learn more about PEAT, please visit us in our website, at peatworks.org. Today we're going to explore a number of topics surrounding a brave new world.
First, what are immersive technologies and how are they reshaping work? What are some new ways that immersive technologies are helping engage, train, and connect the hybrid workforce? How are organizations gaining a competitive edge when they think about accessibility in immersive tech? And what are some community efforts that are underway to improve immersive tech's accessibility? And what can organizations such as yours do to be prepared for this brave new world?
We'll wrap by sharing some resources, and have Q&A. I do want to note that the content for this session, is based off a newly published white paper, Inclusive XR in the Workplace, which PEAT has co-authored with the XR Association. You can learn more and access this white paper, at peatworks.org or xra.org.
And also, a quick important note, PEAT material does not necessarily reflect the views or policies of the Office of Disability Employment Policy at the US Department of Labor, where we receive our funding. Nor does the mention of trade names, commercial products, or organizations imply endorsement by the US Government. And finally, specific technologies that are shown, are merely shown for example or illustration purposes only.
First, let's talk about what immersive technologies are and how they're reshaping work. Immersive technology is an integration of virtual content, with the physical environment in a way that allows the user to engage naturally with the blended reality. In an immersive experience, the user accepts virtual elements of their environment as part of the whole, potentially becoming less conscious that those elements are not part of physical reality.
And here, I'm showing an image of an older male colleague, working with his female colleague. They are holding up a mobile phone, and using an augmented reality app to view a three dimensional virtual model of a city, that's laid out on a table in front of them. Immersive tech is synonymous with the term extended reality, otherwise known as XR. And there are three key types of XR technologies and experiences, some of which you may be familiar with.
Virtual reality replaces a user's real surroundings, with a simulated environment, such as a construction site, a subway system, a coastal flood plain, or an energy grid. Augmented reality layers computer generated imagery into a user's field of view, thus providing a composite view of digital overlaid on the physical world. And mixed reality combines augmented and virtual reality, allowing users to experience simulated content within their physical worlds.
And to manipulate and interact with virtual elements in real time. Really, XR is a new computing paradigm. It's really not just for gaming, but for serious uses as we'll see in a moment, like training, communication, and collaboration. And it's more important than ever, as we recover in 2021 and beyond. And here I'm showing a few images of coworkers, who are wearing head mounted displays.
These are mixed reality displays in many cases, where they are doing things like working on shared digital models in a physical space, or receiving remote assistance from a colleague that's not near them. Or using brainstorming tools, and other document sharing methods to collaborate using avatars representing themselves in a collaborative space. And we also see a mobile app using augmented reality directions.
These are all fueled by an explosion of devices, which include hardware wearables, platform software accessories, and developer tools. Often these devices connect with flat screen devices, such as tablets, mobile devices, and laptops. And they also are able to browse the web. There are convergence of technologies, such as artificial intelligence, computer vision, internet of things, and 5G, that are really going to burst XR's potential and adoption.
Further connecting the physical and the digital world, people, places, and things. And here I'm showing a plethora of those devices, as well as a picture of a woman wearing a mixed reality headset and using gestures to access, and interact with digital content that's spatially placed around her. XR is really poised to reshape fast growing jobs. As we recover from the COVID-19 pandemic, XR is being rapidly adopted in industries that have some of the fastest growing jobs in the US.
For example, uses of XR now include warehousing and inventory management, product engineering and design, immersive job training and upskilling, and virtual health care patient monitoring. It's worth noting that both current as well as future employees, will start to see more access to emerging technologies in their workplace. And with the recovery, we have noted that there are collaboration challenges.
A recent study done with data from Microsoft, found that the recent massive shift to remote work has created new challenges. Collaboration has become more siloed and less interconnected. Synchronous communication has decreased, in lieu of more asynchronous.
And it's been more difficult in general, for people to-- for employees to acquire and share new information across the network. So as we'll see, immersive tech could play a role here in addressing these challenges, by helping connect the hybrid workforce. So we'll talk about next, some ways that can happen.
How can the hybrid work force be engaged, trained, and connected in this new world that we find ourselves in? Let's talk a little bit about that hybrid workforce and accessibility. Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, digitization as we all know accelerated rapidly. What occurred in eight months, would have otherwise taken three to seven years according to McKinsey. And there is expanded access for some, remote options now are provided by default.
It's a richer experience, and cost and time barriers have been minimized. However, some C-suite leaders recognize the challenges people with disabilities have long faced in the workforce. So we must continue to work, not only in the existing tools used in hybrid workforce, but new telework and hybrid workplace tech, such as that enabled by immersive are equitable and design.
So PEAT has prioritized this area of immersive tech and XR accessibility, really as an extension of its existing work in telework and accessibility. A few snapshots of how this hybrid work can be enabled in the area of training. Immersive technologies can help organizations train and upskill employees, faster and safer.
Simulations and virtual augmented, and mixed reality applications can allow employees to practice dangerous or difficult tasks in a safe environment. Or be more safe when they're in the actual environment. Here we show a couple of examples. One, a person is holding a mobile tablet with an augmented reality capability.
And as they are looking at equipment in a physical environment, they are holding the mobile tablet up and getting more digital information overlaid directly onto the view of the physical world. And this information can train them in safety procedures, to help ensure when they actually operate the physical equipment, that they're safe or that they're doing it properly.
Also, I'm showing an image of a young black male, who is wearing a mixed reality headset. And he is looking at specialized equipment, and gaining training on how to operate it effectively. And he sees instructions. He's interacting with the instructions using gestures, and perhaps voice commands. And he's currently looking at a step that's talking about how to locate the machine, turn it off and make sure it's cool before proceeding.
Also, in the hybrid workplace as we heard, collaboration is one of the true challenges. And immersive technologies are being developed, largely to help with this problem. Helping with knowledge sharing among intergenerational, and geographically dispersed coworkers. The overlay of digital information onto physical environments, helps employees in different locations collaborate in real time. And here, I'm showing a couple of examples.
First on the left, Spatial.io is a company that's building a way-- new technologies to help with collaboration. And here we see a couple of people represented by volumetric video avatars, or three dimensional video avatars, as well as people who are sharing their webcam. More like a flat video in a physical, or a simulated physical space. And they're sharing a discussion about different objects, and artifacts and documents that around are surrounding them.
And although they're in different places, they are conversing in more of a three dimensional manner. And this experience can be viewed with a head mounted display, or through a desktop or other device. Also, we're showing a young female engineer, who is operating some physical equipment. And she's using an immersive application or mixed reality application, to get remote assistance from a colleague.
Maybe she's also training the colleague, who is not yet there with her. And so here, you see a colleague represented in a video that's floating near her field of view. And she is operating the equipment, and they both are seeing what she's doing. Because the camera is on her head mounted display, allow the remote helper or colleague to see what she's seeing.
Really underpinning all of the hybrid work capabilities of immersive tech, is the important aspect of new ways of interacting with digital content, that were not previously possible in previous paradigms. For example, personalized modes of interaction can increase accessibility and ensure broad usability. Different benefit-- different users will benefit from the flexibility to choose options, such as voice commands, eye tracking and gesture control. And I'm showing a couple of examples here.
One is an animation of a voice command, showing a microphone icon that's activated with sound waves moving around it. Indicating that a system is listening for a voice command. I'm also showing hand tracking of actual physical hands, on a virtual keyboard that looks like a physical keyboard. And in this case, the hands are tracking using a head mounted display. And the user is able to really utilize the virtual keyboard, instead of a physical one to provide user input and to control the application.
And then finally, we see a gentleman sitting at a physical desk. And he's using gestures both with his mobile device, as well as his laptop or desktop computer. And he is able to access information, control the application using gestures. So how can organizations gain a competitive edge when they think about accessibility and flexible interactions?
Well, we believe that prioritizing accessibility in XR and immersive tech adoption, can really give organizations a competitive edge in a tight labor market, which we exist in today. As organizations accelerate their digital transformation in recovery, they can use XR to engage employees in new ways. XR technologies can enable businesses to attract, and hire more diverse talent pools, including people with disabilities.
XR has proven benefits that can include, improved job training, and collaboration that's enhanced like we saw a moment ago. But to ensure that people with disabilities can access all of these benefits and be included in the workplace, we must continue to make sure that XR and immersive tech has accessibility features by design. And it's not just PEAT that feels this way.
There are many industry reports such as this wonderful report from Accenture, called Getting to Equal the Disability Inclusion Advantage, which talks about how inclusion really strengthens business. And in that report, they say that organizations that hire and retain people with disabilities, earn 28% higher revenues, 2 times the net income, and 30% higher economic profit margins than their peers.
And also, it's the case that accessible tech has been proven to be valuable for everyone. How many of you have experienced using a wheelchair ramp getting into a building, when you have a piece of luggage or maybe a baby stroller? How many of you have looked at closed captions when you're in a loud bar, or in a restaurant where you're not able to hear, or where everyone's trying to be quiet?
These are benefits that originally were for accessibility, and for people with disabilities to have equal access. And what we see is that, flexibility that comes from accessibility such as an XR, will really help all employees without disabilities as well. For example, usability features such as volume control, captioning, voice commands and different ways to interact with these technologies, are just a few examples. So what is the community doing to help improve immersive tech accessibility?
First of all, let's start by saying that XR accessibility, really can have three different kinds of lenses applied to it. First, the accessibility of core XR or immersive tech hardware and platform, software or operating systems. And there are efforts underway to look at, what does this mean in XR and immersive tech? What does it mean to make the hardware, the platform software and the embedded operating system level apps accessible? How can XR be used as an assistive technology?
This is the second way of looking at XR access. With all of the features that exist in the immersive tech platforms, there are new ways to provide assistive technology to people with disabilities. And some of you may be familiar with those, such as seeing AI, which uses artificial intelligence, but employs augmented reality in computer vision. To understand the real world, and provide information about it using a variety of features.
And really, the third lens is most important, which is inclusive design. Really, inclusive design is really imperative in XR. Given that immersive and XR tech involves wearable devices, and specialized interactions that can be experienced so differently by different people and individuals, it will be imperative to design for human diversity, so that you can realize innovation and have maximum usability. Some key community efforts that I'll point out, I'll just share a few with you today.
One is one of the largest efforts called xraccess.org, or XR Access Initiative. This is a global community of cross-sector participants from advocacy groups, industry, and academia, who are dedicated to helping ensure that XR is accessible to people with disabilities. And PEAT has been proud to be a supporter of XR Access since its founding. Also, the XR association has produced a Developer's Guide Chapter 3, Accessibility and Inclusive Design and Immersive Experiences.
And in this, they provide software developers with best practices to make XR accessible to people with different kinds of disabilities. And again, the white paper that PEAT has collaborated with XR Association on, shares more information about this important resource. PEAT has produced the accessibility playbook for emerging technology initiatives, which is a blueprint that you can use to launch your own successful initiative and drive development of accessible emerging technologies.
And then the W3C, the World Wide Web Consortium, is working through user requirements such as the accessibility user requirements, which will help developers of immersive tech understand what people with disabilities need when they access emerging applications and content. So how can you prepare for this brave new world? First, think about how the technology may be used by employees in your organization.
With different sensory, physical, and cognitive needs, and including those with temporary or situational limitations, brought on in part by the hybrid workplace. , It's important to consult employee resource groups, if you have them to learn employee perspectives, to test equipment and try out new things, and see what requirements your employees themselves have. If an ERG does not exist in your org, consider starting one.
Next, you can speak to your suppliers and vendors, to determine what they are doing about accessibility. Are they involving people with disabilities in the design or development process? What are their testing protocols? Really what you're doing here, is trying to assess whether the technology is flexible. Does it support different input modalities, different interaction modes?
For example, if communication is supported in the technology in question, is there an offering, not just for voice communication, but also for text or for using video, or gestures to communicate, such as one might do if you communicate in sign language? This will also have the added benefit, when you use these technologies in different environments where situational challenges may exist, such as a loud or a quiet environment.
And we encourage everyone to make a business case to your leadership. One that works for your organization, and that maps to your clearly established organizational goals and objectives as you recover. Document how accessibility and being inclusive in immersive technology implementations, can support those goals that you have. You can learn more about how to make an accessibility business case, by accessing PEAT's, Making the Business Case resource.
And also, don't forget about reports like Accenture's, Enabling Change, Getting to Equal Report, as I mentioned earlier. Before we close for today, I'd like to share some resources with you. First, please visit the XR Access Initiative, by going to xraccess.org. Also, visit the XR Association's website, to look for their Developer's Guide Chapter 3, Accessibility and Inclusive Design in Immersive Experiences.
PEAT also offers perspective from happenings in the community, such as the XR Access Annual Symposium. Check out this article we wrote, on five takeaways from the 2021 Access Symposium Report, available on our website. We also make available resources such as our PEAT Workology Future of Work Podcast. One example that might be of interest is, Value of Virtual Reality for Training and Employee Development.
Last but not least, please download our recently published white paper, Inclusive XR in the Workplace, which PEAT co-authored with the XR Access Association. And I'd like to thank them for their collaboration. You can learn more about PEAT, at peatwoks.org.
And visit XR Association at xra.org, join the conversation with us. Stay informed through subscribing to our e-newsletter, at peatwoks.org/enews. Follow us on Twitter at PeatWorks. Say hello via email, by sending us a message at hello@peatworks.org. Finally again, I'm Bill Curtis-Davidson, one of the Co-directors of the Partnership on Employment and Accessible Technology.
I want to say thank you to the organizers of this conference, as well as more importantly, to each of you for attending this session on a Brave New World, Accessible Immersive Technologies and the Future of Work. And now, we'll have time for some questions and the answers.
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