I’m currently taking courses at both Udemy andUdacity that are teaching me virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR)development using the Unitygame engine. The courses areeffective, enjoyable, and economical, and I plan to take many more. On thesurface, that sounds like no big deal. But think for a second about whattechnologies have combined in the past few years to make a VR/AR massive openonline course (MOOC) a quotidian reality: VR-ready laptops with powerful CPUsand GPUs, broadband internet (mine is lightning-fast fiber optic, perfect forvideos and games), digital cameras, 4K screens (and better), cloud computing,and, of course, VR headsets and AR glasses.
VR and AR themselves were each exciting,cutting-edge technologies on their own a few years ago, as were artificialintelligence (AI), Internet of Things (IoT), 3-D printing, blockchain,robotics, drones, nanobots, gene editing, and many other emerging technologies.To be sure, they still are, but what’s even more exciting and powerful is combiningthese various technologies in novel ways. Thus,these technologies have progressed from emergence to convergence.
As technologies are created and adopted, they gothrough an emergent phase followed by a convergent phase, often followed byrapid and widespread use in multiple, disparate applications. For example,digital cameras, small touch-screens, and cell phones converged to become smartphones, but these same technologies also converged into cars, home securitysystems, and VR headsets. In each case, the countless component technologiescombined into applications where the whole is far greater than the sum of itsparts. The convergence is so seamless we think of each of these various devicesas single technologies now. That is, we don’t say, “Can I borrow your car witha rearview camera, interactive dash display, and voice-activated roadsideassistance to go to the grocery store?” Instead, we simply say, “Can I borrowyour car to go to the grocery store?” (The answer is yes, but only if you bringme cookies.)
I’ve attended many technology, VR, gaming, andeducation conferences over the years. In the past year, I’ve noticed more andmore sessions devoted to the convergence of various emerging technologies. Forexample, AI is really good at finding patterns in large amounts of data. IoTdevices create large amounts of data. Thus, IoT sensors, such as RFID trackers,are often combined with AI software to analyze data and reach useful conclusions,such as how to improve inventory and logistics costs. Similarly, people areusing machine learning (a type of AI) to rapidly improve complex additivemanufacturing (a form of 3-D printing) designs, saving both money and time.Those examples are a good start, but just how far can we take this idea ofconvergence?
Let’s say you’re an eLearning professional at alarge cookie factory, and you’re looking at ways to use VR headsets to createtraining modules and games for your workforce. Maybe you’re also looking atways to employ AR glasses to improve worker performance on select tasks, say,with detailed instructional videos and other relevant information, accessibleat any time.
The VR headsets and AR glasses would collectlarge amounts of data on both the users and their environments. Thus, you coulduse AI to dig through that data and return useful information that can informyou on how to improve your training modules and also inform the workers andtheir supervisors on how to improve the workers’ performance. Engineers coulduse this data to identify ways to improve operational efficiency, perhaps byemploying exoskeletons, robotic arms, and autonomous forklifts to assist theworkers in lifting pallets of cookies. The autonomous forklifts and robotic armswould use digital cameras, IoT sensors, and AI to maneuver safely andaccurately. Replacement parts for the robotic arms and other machinery could beprinted on 3-D printers. Safety and compliance data—gathered by the AR glassesand myriad IoT sensors—could be stored in a blockchain for transparent andimmutable records, accessible by food safety inspectors and auditors. Ideally,all of these devices and software applications would seamlessly communicatewith each other in real time. Training employees on all the additionaltechnologies will require still more VR and AR training modules.
The simple idea of using VR or AR for aseemingly limited eLearning training module ultimately triggers the applicationof many other convergent technologies, that in turn leads to the use of stillmore convergent technologies, and so on, in an ever more powerful upwardspiral. If all this seems too large, complex, and expensive for yourorganization, wait a year or two. The size, complexity, and costs aredecreasing at exponential rates.
Virtually every industry is now starting toexperience something like the example above, where many, perhaps all, emergingtechnologies converge into a single “something” that’s one part hyper-efficientprocess, one part self-improving machine, and one part eerily-intelligentcomputer controlling it all. Kevin Kelly calls this “something” the Technium,and Ray Kurzweil calls it the Singularity. Less optimistically, in TheTerminator movies, they called it Skynet. I’ll leave it to the futuristsand sci-fi writers to debate the long-term implications. In the short-term,however, the benefits are already abundantly available to any organization.
The moral of the story: if you’re thinkingof using an emerging technology such as VR or AR inyour eLearning agenda, that’s great! But think bigger. Learn about otheremerging technologies and find creative ways to combine them into yourproducts, projects, and initiatives.
The results may lead you to create a 3-Dprinted, autonomous training drone with robotic arms that communicates in realtime via an interface on your AR glasses. When you do, please tell it to bringme cookies. I like gluten-free chocolate chip.* (That’s my favorite example ofconvergent technologies that are very easy to incorporate into everydayroutines.)
Additional resources
For inspiration on emergent and convergenttechnologies, check out Amy Webb’s 235 EmergingTech Trends for 2018 report
*As of the writing of this article, the authorhas not yet had his dinner. This may or may not have influenced themes withinarticle.
