Virtual simulation in personalizing customer experience can be a powerful capability and present various user environments for potential uses of a product or service. It has the potential to become mainstream in this decade in various industries, such as, Construction, Retail, Healthcare, Education, Manufacturing, Product and Service development and delivery, and others. Some truly leap improvements can be in the following areas:
- Reduce Design errors for usability in unit designs and design dependency or coordination errors in integration designs. Examples include, coordination checks during the design of multiple, interacting buildings, clearance or access constraint checks in service and repair for complex products, the ability to see through walls, and others. VR/AR can also become very effective in the environment design visualization for various types of construction, such as, multiple apartments with parks and community facilities, markets, transportation.
- Visualize complex situations and provide intervention or improved treatment techniques. For example, AR is helping healthcare providers expand their expertise via 3D imaging. Traditional X-ray and MRI images, provide a 2D representation of an organ. Cardiac surgeons, for example, must mentally piece together multiple images and visualize a full view of the patient’s heart. With 3D imaging, surgeons have a complete view of the patient’s heart and are better able to guide their decisions on surgical technique and educate patients about their condition and treatment in 3D visually. This capability will result in better outcomes and quality of care.
- Visualize potential buyer experience before making a purchase. A VR/AR capability can be used in different ways depending on the type of intended purchase and accessorizing. For example, a jewelry or make-up app may provide a 3D visual look of the jewelry when digitally worn by the wearer and digitally matched with various other accessories and apparel. Customers can thus, take “virtual tours” with the products. This concept can also be very useful in home design and home ware selection and purchase. The purchase decision can be taken off-line, marketing can be targeted, and product manufacturing and supply chain improved because of better understanding of customers needs.
- Improved customer engagement and employee training. By using VR/AR capability, product and service delivery associates can be trained about their usage and anticipate customer interaction situations. This is very cost effective as it does not always require creating physical settings and reduces inherent dangers of accidents or loss during a physical interaction with a real product during training. Employees can be trained to the maximum in VR/AR environments before reverting to the physical.
- A faster responsive product or service supply chain with products closely aligned to market needs. The use of VR/AR can dramatically reduce product defects because of the combination of 3D design and VR/AR simulation with process constraints checks. Thus, products or services will be designed right with minimum downstream problems during product manufacturing or service creation and delivery. This, in turn, provides the supply chain with better product and part forecasts, and designs, leading to less waste and improved sustainability.
The above are some directions for the use of virtual simulation in personalizing customer experience. As the technology matures and gains mainstream use, more applications are certain to be found.