Keep in touch with reality

Augmented, virtual and mixed reality can have real business value. But don’t invest in them just because you think they’re cool, writes Andrew Jenkinson

A Microsoft Hololens 2 headset using the Bentley Systems Synchro XR augmented reality (AR) app

In 1838, the English scientist Charles Wheatstone invented the stereoscope, which used an image for each eye to create a 3D image for the viewer. In doing so, he laid the foundations for what we know today as XR, or eXtended reality.

XR is the collective term for augmented, virtual and mixed reality, and it’s big business. Fifty per cent of global consumers are expected to use virtual reality by 2020, and 3.5 ...