XR and Metaverse are enablers for a new era of Collaboration.

In my second blog post about the Apple Vision Pro, I explored its collaboration features. This post delves deeper into XR and Metaverse technologies, showcasing how these can enhance Immersive Collaboration for remote teams.

Before going into too many details, its important to define what I call the “Four Pillars of Collaboration”

Pillar 1 : Audio

Alexander Graham Bell made the first telephone call in 1876. The first conference call was in 1915 costing $485 per minute!

We have had audio collaboration for a long time

Desktop Audio Collaboration has also been with us a long time made popular with Skype and Microsoft Office Communicator (MOC)

Pillar 2 : Video

It wasn’t until 1970 that AT&T launched the first two-way Video Conferencing Service

And again, Desktop Video Collaboration with Skype and Microsoft Tools amongst others.

Pillar 3 : Content

In 2000 a patent was granted to Avistar for a system that enabled Distributed Collaboration: Audio, Video and Content Sharing, this did not take off until Desktop Collaboration tools like Skype, Microsoft Tools, WebEX etc became commonplace. However we have only scratched the surface of Content Collaboration with Content Sharing.

Pillar 4 : Presence

Telepresence aimed to give people the impression that they were in the same room, when they were in different locations was in 1992 with the Virtual Fixtures Platform for the USAF. And in the first two decades of the 2000’s Cisco, Tandberg and Polycom successfully sold Telepresence Rooms.

However Presence with respect to Collaboration needs to go much further than simply creating the illusion that you are in the same room.

The COVID-19 pandemic indeed transformed the way we collaborate. With the surge in remote work, reliance on various collaboration technologies from different vendors skyrocketed. These tools became essential for maintaining productivity and communication, reshaping our approach to teamwork and connectivity. How have you found the transition to these new collaboration methods?

Shift in Perception

Pre-pandemic, room-based video conferencing was often considered a luxury or optional feature for enterprises.

However, the pandemic shifted this perception, making desktop video conferencing a necessity for supporting hybrid work models and people had to compromise on the advanced capabilities of Room Based Systems.

Travel Limitations

With travel restrictions in place, physical business travel became difficult or impossible.

Enterprises had to provide work-from-home facilities, prompting professionals to rely on desktop video conferencing instead of in-person meetings or even room-based Video Conferencing Systems

Staffing Opportunities

The pandemic highlighted the potential of a geographically dispersed workforce.

Video conferencing tools became essential for connecting enterprises with remote talent, transcending geographical constraints.

Equity and Collaboration

While video conferencing helped bridge gaps, it also magnified workplace inequalities. The “work-from-anywhere” model made it easier to feel disconnected and isolated.

Video conferencing provided a human touch, allowing employees to discern emotions and nuance in remote conversations.

As COVID-19 restrictions eased, we didn't revert to our old ways of working. Hybrid working has become the norm, with time split between the office and remote locations. However, some people are realizing there are limitations with desktop-based collaboration tools for remote working:

Despite these challenges, hybrid working remains a popular and flexible option for many.

• Single Screen Content Sharing is possible

• Limited Screens at Home (Content Real Estate)

• Content Co-creation is challenging there are plenty of tools (White boarding, Office Applications, and other co-creation tools such as Mural and Figma) but most of them feel clumsy and do not feel natural to use.

With travel restrictions still in place for reasons such as economic and GHG Emissions physical business travel remains a challenge for many people and organisations.

The COVID-19 pandemic made audio and video conferencing a standard practice. However, the limitations of basic desktop-based audio/video and content sharing have highlighted the need for more immersive experiences. This includes advanced audio and video technologies, as well as deeper forms of content co-creation, annotation, and shared interactions in virtual environments and with virtual 3D objects.

Recent advancements in immersive audio and video technologies are addressing these needs. For instance, ultra-high-definition displays and spatial audio systems are creating more engaging and realistic conferencing experiences. XR and Metaverse technologies are also becoming more common, allowing for more interactive and immersive meetings.

In terms of content co-creation, virtual environments are enabling real-time collaboration and interaction. XR and Metaverse technologies that allow users to develop and present 3D content, annotate environments, and engage in dynamic educational interactions. These innovations are transforming how we collaborate and communicate in virtual spaces, making remote interactions more effective and engaging.

The pandemic highlighted the potential of a geographically dispersed workforce. Post-pandemic we still see the advantages of such a workforce and there are opportunities for more immersive collaboration and content co-creation capabilities will help to maximize the benefits of this type of workforce enabling them to interact as if they were in the same physical space.

Improving the level of immersion in collaboration can further enhance the provision of a human touch, allowing employees to discern emotions and nuance in remote conversations. Furthermore, with advances in collaboration people will be able to touch their work, create things together, enhancing the emotional attachment to deliverables.

Some people think that Collaboration is always related to just Audio or Video, the first two pillars as defined above. This is a very limiting thought. Certainly we need developments in Audio and Video, new capabilities to enhance the level of immersion. The quantum leaps that we need are related to the other two pillars Content and Presence. In addition, some people also think they have only one Collaboration tool, their chosen desktop Audio/Video Conferencing Application. Again this is a very limiting thought; Office, and Graphics Suites also have collaboration capabilities, for example Microsoft 365.

Office and Graphical Suites are also Collaboration Tools

In an Organisation that uses Microsoft Tools. Teams is not our only Collaboration Tool, it can be described as a Collaboration Backbone, however nearly all the Microsoft 365 (Formally known as Microsoft Office) facilitate Collaboration for both Online and Offline Collaboration, working seamlessly together.

Looking further at the Microsoft example (and similarities exist with other vendors)

• Some of these tools illustrated above are also available on XR Devices. Most of these applications are available on Microsoft Hololens 2, also the Apple Vision Pro.

• Microsoft Teams is available on RealWear, as are Microsoft Power Apps in addition OneDrive files are also accesable through CloudSync on RealWear devices.

• Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint are available on Meta Quest headsets without a Microsoft 365 Subscription, at the moment they are free!

• Microsoft Teams is also available on Meta Quest devices, allowing users to participate in virtual Teams meetings using Meta's VR headsets. This provides an alternative to Meta's Horizon Workrooms virtual meeting technology. Additionally, you can join Teams meetings directly from Workrooms.

There is however a but! These tools, at the moment, often come with restrictions when it comes to enablement with XR and Metaverse technologies. Lets look at some examples on some XR devices:

• Microsoft Hololens 2

  • You can access your OneDrive on Hololens, but it doesn’t Sync, if you edit or add new files on your OneDrive, they don’t sync back.

• Realwear

  • Teams runs on RealWear but you cannot save contacts, only select from recent calls. In addition, it uses older, lower quality Audio and Video Codecs.

• Apple Vision Pro

  • Teams runs on Vision Pro but, you can not share content or the “environment”. Application components are confined to a “window”, they do not take advantage of the “infinite canvas”.

In general, these applications are either restricted in terms of functionality or simply "ported" without fully leveraging the capabilities of XR and Metaverse technologies. To become truly immersive collaboration tools that deliver transformative capabilities and meet our immersive collaboration requirements, this must change, and I’m sure the vendors of these technologies are working on improving these features that will bring even more value from their product investments.

XR & Metaverse enable

Immersive Collaboration

XR, Metaverse and Spatial Capabilities can enable a transformative leap into Immersive Collaboration enhancing all four pillars of collaboration

Allowing people to meet in a virtual space, and an augmented environment that blends physical and virtual elements that can be shared with the participants or created by them.

How can XR and Metaverse Technologies accelerate our journey towards a transformative level of Immersive Collaboration? Before delving deeper into this, lets take a look at the high level related to the four pillars of Collaboration.

Audio

Spatial Audio allows more than just listening to sound, the participant can perceive where the sound is coming from.

Spatial Audio can also be enhanced or created using Generative AI to alert or enhance audio for the participants in an Immersive Collaboration Session.

Video

Immersive/Spatial Video combined with GenAI Personas in a collaboration session can further enhance the provision of a human touch, allowing employees to discern emotions and nuance in remote interactions.

Content

XR and Metaverse technologies that use Eye Tracking and Gesture controls would allow a quantum leap in content collaboration and co-creation including 3D Model Interaction combined with Physical world objects

Presence

Combining advancements in Audio, Video and Content made possible with XR Technologies, when we combine these with Metaverse we can take Presence to a new level allowing people distributed in different locations to collaborate with audio, video and content as if they were in the same room

Now lets take a look at Immersive Collaboration in more detail, and look at where we are going in terms of Immersive Collaboration capabilities connected to each of the four pillars:

Immersive Collaboration Capabilities

…that will transform the way we work together, and enable remote resources to work together as if they were in the same room.

In future blog posts I will go into these capabilities in more detail, and look at some of the vendors and products that are facilitating the capabilities in the areas identified above.

It's important to realize that the four pillars of collaboration don't exist in isolation; they blend together to create a truly immersive experience. This integration ensures that the outcomes of collaboration sessions become tangible content that can be maintained and built upon over time.

The Four Pillars work together…

• When Audio or Video are recorded, the recording becomes content.

• When Audio is Transcribed or Translated, the text becomes content.

• When a POAP is created it becomes content.

• Joining an Audio or Video Conference Call establishes Presence.

• When Content is created, annotated, manipulated or augmented in any way in a Collaboration Session; Presence allows Persistent Content Management capabilities by maintaining a time dimension.

In addition to the four pillars working together, the capabilities mentioned must also collaborate to provide additional benefits. For instance, interacting with a 3D model (hologram) is one thing, but when combined with co-creation capabilities, people should also be able to create 3D models in a collaborative session. Some components of the 3D model could be generated using AI. A 3D model created in a collaborative session can be reviewed by others and annotated with comments or ideas from a review team. A product designed this way could then undergo quality checking procedures, and the attendance of QA staff can result in a blockchain-managed POAP. Finally, a prototype could be printed on a 3D printer at each location.

Some of the capabilities to make this vision a reality already exist, but they are not yet integrated into a cohesive workflow or experience.

Immersive collaboration with XR and Metaverse technologies is a game-changer for remote teams. These technologies can create inclusive and inspiring environments that bring teams together, regardless of their physical locations. By leveraging tools like virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), and mixed reality (MR), companies can enhance productivity, creativity, and engagement among team members.

It's an exciting time for Immersive Collaboration!