Interview, Fireside Chat
Virtual Worlds Mean Real Business: How Games Power the Future
- The 2020s are expected to see interactive 3D and gaming technology applied to enterprise sectors, driven by the increasing use of virtual simulations originally designed for entertainment in real-world training, learning, development, and robotics testing.
- AI-driven asset generation for images, audio, and 3D assets will reduce the primary cost bottleneck, where over 50% of current spending is allocated to content creation.
- Emerging capture technologies, specifically neural radiance fields (nerf) and Gaussian splatting, will enable the efficient, photorealistic, and immediate capture of the physical world.
- XR prevalence is projected to rise, supporting applications such as BIM model overlays on construction sites and surgery simulations utilizing lighter headsets equipped with eye tracking.
- Cost curves for content creation, capture techniques, and hardware devices are forecast to decline rapidly across all three categories.
- Virtual training systems will evolve to allow internal teams to update or add content directly, removing dependence on external agencies for digital twin maintenance.
- Autonomy workflows will leverage virtual simulations to scale training data and capture edge cases, such as extreme weather or rare human interventions, that are impractical to record in reality.
- AI agents, transitioning from scripted NPCs, will autonomously observe, reason, plan, and act within multi-agent simulations.
- Future virtual environments will be utilized to test pandemic responses and immigration policies by simulating agent interactions and their impact on civilizations.
- Consumer applications will enable users to scan spaces to create digital twins, receive design inspiration, and visualize furniture or artwork via VR or AR.
- Initial gaming use cases are expected to serve as a financial wedge for companies to fund R&D in emerging Human Machine Interaction (HMI) technologies through consumer spending.
- Brain-computer interface (BCI) technology is anticipated to eventually enable interaction with virtual environments using solely brain wave signals.
- Haptic feedback devices, such as finger rings, will be developed to provide sensory digital touch and full-body immersion.