Fresh from the buzz of CES, David Whelan, CEO of Engage, is enthusiastic about the potential unlocked when generative AI’s power merges with XR technology, as seen in Lenovo’s ThinkReality VRX. This synergy marks a significant leap in technological innovation, particularly in creative and educational applications.
Engage, one of the key ISVs working with Lenovo ThinkReality, is democratizing XR development, making it accessible to anyone with a vision extending beyond traditional 2D interfaces. “Engage is an enterprise education focused platform, and we see ourselves as the WordPress of spatial computing, where we have dozens of clients in many different sectors creating content using our unique tools for their own use cases.” Whelan explained.
To assist customers from diverse sectors like finance, training, and manufacturing, Engage has introduced a unique conversational AI. At CES, attendees interacted with Athena, a virtual entity named for the goddess of wisdom, provided delegates with direct insight into the latest metaverse developments. “You can ask her questions, and tell her what you want to do. Then she builds the scenario you’re describing – there’s no need to write a single piece of code,” Whelan added.
“It really cuts down the time and cost of creating digital assets, 3d models and training environments, like powerful immersive training scenarios. And our partnership with Lenovo means they’re being created on the ThinkReality VRX, by a world-leading hardware manufacturer..”
Simplifying XR: The Art of Possibility
This innovation streamlines the creation of virtual assets and training environments and aligns with Lenovo’s vision of diversifying hardware applications across markets and use cases.
As Jason McGuigan, Head of Commercial Virtual Reality at Lenovo, explained, “The big power of Engage is that it doesn’t require the customer to be an expert. There is a ton of value in sharing this with customers and showcasing what can be done with minimal knowledge, right out of the box.”
“Engage is bringing to the Enterprise XR market the art of the possible, walking people into this new arena with generative AI. People can literally speak content into existence.”
It’s a paradigm shift in learning design, because it no longer requires the developer to scope out all the possible pathways and questions a user might have in advance of deployment, and programme for each eventuality. The dynamic responses of GenAI mean that hyper-personalised learning journeys are created on demand.
Virtual Worlds, Real Learning Applications
“For example, we had a pharmaceutical company demonstration, where they asked Athena to role-play a patient with a specific disease,” Whelan described.
The physician had a 5 or 6-minute conversation with Athena to land on their correct diagnosis, and then Athena rated that conversation, for their knowledge and approach.
“For us to create that in programming would have previously been a three-month project,” he pointed out. “The cost could have easily been $100,000, or $150,000.
“Instead, we did it within 5 minutes.”
The potential impact on the way we learn everything, is hard to imagine. The combination of generative AI in spatial computing, will alter the way we interact with knowledge forever.
“I think the virtual reality, mixed reality, and ‘real’ worlds will keep blending, to serve the user in new and better ways”, Whelan reflected.
“For example, if I am a maintenance guy walking up to a car with my wearable device, I can interrogate the car’s own diagnostics, then use mixed reality to identify the failed part. Or maybe the AI will generate an avatar to walk over and point at the specific component, and show me exactly how to fix it.”
He envisages a future where we can all call up our AI-driven assistant, to enhance our memories, knowledge, and decision-making. “My personal VR overlay will be different to anyone else’s, because of what I need to know about, at the moment I most need to be aware of it.”
The fusion of AI and XR is not just a technological advancement; it’s a groundbreaking transformation in how we interact with and perceive our world.
As we step into 2024, the boundaries between virtual and real continue to blur, paving the way for innovations that will transform our learning, working, and daily living. ENGAGE XR pioneering software tools on the Lenovo ThinkReality VRX devices are forging the beginning of this exciting journey. The combination of Lenovo’s global offering of enterprise computing solutions with ENGAGE XR’s visionary software offers a future where smarter technology for all enhances human capabilities in ways we are only beginning to imagine.
