{"id":38069,"date":"2020-12-22T05:11:07","date_gmt":"2020-12-22T10:11:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.com\/blog\/?post_type=emagazine&#038;p=38069"},"modified":"2023-07-10T05:07:56","modified_gmt":"2023-07-10T09:07:56","slug":"virtual-augmented-vr-office","status":"publish","type":"emagazine","link":"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.com\/blog\/secure-futures-magazine\/virtual-augmented-vr-office\/38069\/","title":{"rendered":"Virtual offices may be a revolution bigger than 2020&#8217;s work-from-home shift"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>You\u2019ve just got the hang of managing Zoom fatigue, but it\u2019s time to get ready for a new ride that\u2019s going to shake up our work-from-home lives. Imagine putting on a virtual reality (VR) headset and a virtual office appears all around you.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>It might sound like something out of science fiction, but VR can now recreate the office, your colleagues and your office culture in an immersive way. The benefits may include more effective collaboration and improved accessibility.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<h2>Are we ready for VR offices?<\/h2>\n<p>The COVID-19 pandemic has meant we\u2019re all spending more time at home. Unsurprisingly we\u2019ve also seen an <a href=\"https:\/\/gorillaitr.com\/2020\/11\/02\/new-research-shows-acceleration-of-ar-vr\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">uptick in sales of VR and augmented relating (AR) technology<\/a>. Research by Verizon Media predicts<a href=\"https:\/\/gorillaitr.com\/2020\/11\/02\/new-research-shows-acceleration-of-ar-vr\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\"> we\u2019ll buy 11 million VR and AR headsets worldwide in 2021<\/a>. We\u2019re also using AR to <a href=\"https:\/\/thetechfashionista.com\/virtual-clothing-try-on\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">virtually \u2018try on\u2019 cosmetics and fashion before buying online<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>This shift to using more advanced tech in everyday life alongside <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.co.uk\/news\/business-54413214\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">more widespread working from home<\/a> suggests we\u2019re more than ready to try the virtual office. And business will want the benefits being in the same room can bring to a global team.<\/p>\n<p>Founder of <a href=\"https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/2020\/01\/30\/spatial-raises-14m-more-for-a-holographic-3d-workspace-app-a-vr-ar-version-of-zoom-or-hangouts\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">holographic 3D workspace<\/a> business <a href=\"https:\/\/spatial.io\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">Spatial<\/a>, Anand Agarawala, says, \u201cIt used to be that if you wanted to jam on an idea or get creative, you\u2019d get in a room with someone, even to the extent you\u2019d take a flight to do that. With VR and AR we can put on a headset and feel like we\u2019re in the same room as someone.\u201d He calls it <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=j62v0MdvjHg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">\u201ca 3D version of Zoom meets Slack.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n\t\t\t<div class=\"c-promo-product\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<article class=\"c-card c-card--link c-card--medium@sm c-card--aside-hor@lg\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"c-card__body  \">\n\t\t\t\t\t<header class=\"c-card__header\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"c-card__headline\">Secure Futures <\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"c-card__title \"><span>Feeling inspired?<\/span><\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/header>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"c-card__desc \">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>New tech stories to keep your business on its toes.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"c-card__aside\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"#modal_newsletter\" class=\"c-button c-card__link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Subscribe<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/article>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\n<h2>Affordable headsets at the right time<\/h2>\n<p>In late 2020, Facebook announced a new VR headset, the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.oculus.com\/quest-2\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">Oculus Quest 2<\/a>. It received <a href=\"https:\/\/www.techadvisor.co.uk\/review\/oculus-quest-2-3795307\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">rave reviews, dubbed a \u201cgame-changer\u201d by Tech Advisor<\/a> for affordability, high-quality imagery and all-in-one capability without the need for a tethered PC connection. And it comes loaded with Infinite Office, Facebook\u2019s virtual reality workspace.<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"embed-youtube\" style=\"text-align:center; display: block;\"><iframe class=\"youtube-player\" type=\"text\/html\" width=\"640\" height=\"390\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/5_bVkbG1ZCo?version=3&amp;rel=1&amp;fs=1&amp;showsearch=0&amp;showinfo=1&amp;iv_load_policy=1&amp;wmode=transparent\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"true\"><\/iframe><\/span><\/p>\n<p><em>Facebook\u2019s Infinite Office combines VR and AR, or \u2018mixed reality.\u2019<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Infinite Office brings up browser \u2018windows\u2019 to visually represent what you might see when looking at monitors while sitting at your desk. It uses a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.itsnicethat.com\/news\/facebook-infinite-office-digital-210920\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">\u201cgesture interface\u201d similar to that seen in 2002 science fiction movie Minority Report<\/a>, in which Tom Cruise uses his hands to swipe floating windows through the air.<\/p>\n<p>But you can still go to the kitchen and grab a snack in headset. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.vrheads.com\/what-passthrough-mode-and-why-should-i-care\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">Passthrough technology lets you move from VR to MR, called \u2018mixed reality.\u2019<\/a> You can see both virtual reality your real-life environment, thanks to an integrated camera.<\/p>\n<p>Infinite Office also pairs with a real-life keyboard so you can write easily in headset \u2013 something that\u2019s been a problem before in virtual reality. Unfortunately, your snack crumbs can still be a more-than-virtual keyboard hazard.<\/p>\n<h2>More effective skills training with VR<\/h2>\n<p>Facebook admits Infinite Office has limitations when it comes to the full immersive capabilities of a virtual office. Maria Fernandez Guajardo, Director of Facebook Future of Work, says it\u2019s just their first step into the virtual office space. \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/qz.com\/work\/1905629\/facebook-hopes-youll-work-in-vr-with-infinite-office-for-oculus\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">Infinite Office is \u2026 the foundational layer [with] initial capabilities to help unlock productivity and utility from Quest<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>So Facebook is teaming up with Spatial and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.talespin.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">Talespin<\/a>, who already have immersive software, hoping to improve user experience.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>Spatial can create realistic, holographic avatars of your colleagues from a selfie and render them as you would see them in a real-life meeting room. <\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>You can then collaborate and brainstorm \u2018virtually\u2019 face-to-face. Talespin offers <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pwc.com\/us\/en\/services\/consulting\/technology\/emerging-technology\/assets\/pwc-understanding-the-effectiveness-of-soft-skills-training-in-the-enterprise-a-study.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">soft skills (such as leadership and communication) training by placing you in a realistic roleplay, with impressive results<\/a>. They also offer physical skills training too, recreating real-world objects, tools and places in 3D.<\/p>\n<h2>Virtually creating a fairer world<\/h2>\n<p>These innovations already have more benefits than letting colleagues play virtual <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Table_football\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">table football<\/a>. They can also improve diversity and inclusion.<\/p>\n<p>The VR office lets those with disabilities or impaired mobility telecommute into work without losing visibility, even if some prefer to return to their daily commute. It could also enhance face-to-face interactions for workers who are sight-impaired or hard of hearing. Facebook Reality Labs is developing <a href=\"https:\/\/www.digitaltrends.com\/features\/facebook-ar-glasses-deaf\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">AR glasses that help those with hearing loss hear better in noisy environments<\/a>. These glasses identify the user\u2019s focus and coordinate this to audio inputs to \u2018understand\u2019 what sounds they do and don\u2019t want to hear, dialing these up or down.<\/p>\n<p>Michael Abrash, chief scientist at Facebook Reality Labs, told Digital Trends, \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.digitaltrends.com\/features\/facebook-ar-glasses-deaf\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">AR and VR have enormous potential to benefit everyone, but especially high potential for people with varying physical abilities<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2>Securing virtual office data<\/h2>\n<p>Multinational professional services network <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pwc.com\/us\/en\/services\/consulting\/technology\/emerging-technology\/assets\/pwc-understanding-the-effectiveness-of-soft-skills-training-in-the-enterprise-a-study.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">PwC recently looked into using VR for workplace training<\/a>. They say, \u201cWhen considering data security on a headset, it is important to understand there are normally two types of data security that need to be addressed: Security of the underlying operating system that is running on the hardware and security of the data collected by an application running on top of that operating system (data collected from inside the application.)\u201d<\/p>\n<p>PwC also suggests it\u2019s crucial to consider how you\u2019ll maintain and manage a large fleet of VR headsets. \u201cThe installation of security certificates on some of the head-mounted displayed (HMDs) is not yet possible. If you are using a certificate-based security approach for your enterprise and mobile phones, you may have to address mobile device management (MDM) capabilities outside your standard platform.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>As the role of the office changes, the role technology plays changes too. Working from home can be isolating, and effective collaboration sometimes proves difficult. The VR office could open a global talent pool, enable more diversity and, with any luck, make the pain of booking a meeting room a thing of the past.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Virtual (VR) and augmented reality (AR) are recreating the feel of working side-by-side with colleagues, without the health risks or long commute.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2611,"featured_media":38070,"template":"","coauthors":[3905],"class_list":{"0":"post-38069","1":"emagazine","2":"type-emagazine","3":"status-publish","4":"has-post-thumbnail","6":"emagazine-category-emerging-tech","7":"emagazine-category-remote-working","8":"emagazine-category-tech-for-business","9":"emagazine-tag-flexible-working","10":"emagazine-tag-future-of-work","11":"emagazine-tag-virtual-reality"},"hreflang":[{"hreflang":"x-default","url":"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.com\/blog\/secure-futures-magazine\/virtual-augmented-vr-office\/38069\/"}],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/emagazine\/38069","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/emagazine"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/emagazine"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2611"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/38070"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=38069"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=38069"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}