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Data analytics gives businesses an edge by making data-driven decisions and allowing greater efficiency, productivity, and customer satisfaction. In this guide, you’ll learn how your business can reap the benefits of data analytics. When implemented, data analytics can do wonders to improve your bottom line and pave the way toward increased profits. From B2B-TechCopy, here’s an introductory guide to get you started.

Why Use Data Analytics?

One essential aspect of using data analytics is to inform your decisions—and take action on what you learn. You’ll want to leverage data analytics to help you make informed decisions about how to run your business more efficiently. 

4 Ways to Approach Data Analytics & Automation

Data analytics is a broad concept that is approached in four ways. These include descriptive data analysis, predictive analysis, prescriptive data analysis, and real-time analytics. For example, businesses that view data analytics through prescriptive analysis may choose to add a product to their lineup based on trends emerging in customer purchases. Or perhaps companies using real-time data analytics would choose to alert their employees to schedule breaks.

Another option is to implement a mapping and optimization of process flows in order to automate certain systems and tasks. This application of analytics can help your organization gain holistic understanding of one or more processes within your business. The knowledge you obtain can be used to optimize processes, driving down costs and saving time and money.

1. Customer Acquisition and Retention

In today’s increasingly digital world, customer acquisition and retention strategies are a large part of every company’s business model. In marketing, data analytics can inform companies about seasonal patterns, target demographics, and what types of products or services will appeal to them most. By segmenting prospective customers into groups based on age, geographic location, and purchasing habits, businesses can use sophisticated algorithms to determine how best to market to each group.

2. Marketing

Data analytics can help marketers and businesses understand which customers are most likely to buy a product, which products are most profitable, and how to market those products effectively. This data can also help you avoid losing sales with price sensitivity reports, identify areas of customer dissatisfaction to provide targeted support services, and offer relevant content to build customer loyalty. Your data is only as good as how you use it, whether you’re analyzing current trends or seeking long-term growth strategies based on real-time business conditions and performance metrics.

As part of your marketing plan, create a logo. Instead of paying for logo design services, you can create an appealing and original logo yourself using an online logo maker. Choose a style and icon and add any text needed. Then, view an assortment of logos, and adjust their fonts and colors.

3. Operations

Operations are a science and an art. How can you ensure your operation is firing on all cylinders? Start by collecting data points from processes you already have, like sales or expense reports. Then look at that data over time: What do trends reveal about how things run? Are there places where things could run more smoothly?

4. Sharpening Your Skills

By returning to school and honing your data analytics skills, you can expand your expertise. For example, going back to school and acquiring an online information technology degree can help you better grasp data analytics. You’ll be better equipped to understand how the analytics systems are implemented, as well as how they can be adapted for new challenges.

A Mighty Tool

Data analytics is a powerful tool that allows you to gain insight into your business and anticipate and prevent possible issues. Today, every company is data-driven—but not all companies take full advantage of data analytics to drive smarter decisions, growth, and success.

Author

Sam Marcum created bizbenefitguide.com which aims to help organizations thoroughly articulate their benefits with brief, engaging multimedia material and genuine thorough reviews of health insurance companies. The site combines deep expertise in video presentations to create solutions for employers, consultants, financial institutions, and CDHC partners.

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Whether you’re running a small business or offering services over the internet, marketing yourself and your brand plays a large role in your success. If you don’t have the resources to hire a marketing team, learning to become your own marketing department may be the best option. Here’s a go-to-market strategy template to help you get started. It can seem like a daunting task at first, but as long as you carefully plan your marketing channels and target demographic, you’re likely to see results from your efforts.

Determining the Best Marketing Channel

Your marketing channels are the means by which you get your message out to potential customers. Choosing the best channels can ensure your advertising gets viewed by more people, eventually leading to more customers.

Market to Your Target Audience

You must first determine what demographic your product or services are best tailored to, whether it’s younger people, men or women, or an audience from a certain locale. When initially determining your target audience, analyze existing demographic data to see which groups are more inclined to buy your product or service. Eventually, you can use your own data to fine-tune your target audience.

Once you’ve determined a target audience, you have a better idea of what marketing channels to utilize based on what’s popular with your audience. Which channels you decide to use largely depends on your own audience, but some common channels include:

• Email. Using email is a powerful way to reach a large audience. Crafting catchy subject lines that speak to consumers’ interests is a great way to boost your results.
• Social media. Marketing through social media is a guaranteed way to build an expansive advertising network.
• Posters. If your audience is limited to a specific area, localizing marketing efforts by placing posters in your community is a great option to garner attention.  

Crafting the Right Message

A good marketing message highlights the best parts of your product and speaks to consumers’ interests and needs. When creating your message, maximize effectiveness by considering your target audience and the marketing channel you’ve chosen. A powerful message demonstrates an understanding of the audience and is formatted in a way that plays to the strengths of the channel you’ve chosen.

Business cards still play an important role in marketing yourself and your business in in-person settings. You can use an online business card maker to craft the perfect look for you. Then you can pass cards along to prospective customers and contacts to help build your brand awareness.

Evaluating and Making Changes

It’s important to consider the effectiveness of your marketing efforts so that you can make changes to your strategy if needed. Data and analytics, such as web traffic or sales, can tell you instantly how well your product is performing with certain demographics. Upon analyzing the results, you may decide a change in your target audience or messaging is necessary.

Additionally, you can directly poll consumers using online surveys, which can gather valuable information. For example, asking consumers about where they heard of your brand can help shape your future marketing efforts and determine which path is best for you.

Building Your Brand 

With just a little research and effort, you can be well on your way to becoming your own marketing department. Additionally, reaching out to professionals for aid can help boost your potential. If you’re a business owner working in B2B technology, visit the B2B-TechCopy Technology Marketing Blog

Author Bio

Sam Marcum created bizbenefitguide.com which aims to help organizations thoroughly-articulate their benefits with brief, engaging multimedia material and genuine thorough reviews of health insurance companies. The site combines deep expertise in video presentations to create solutions for employers, consultants, financial institutions, and CDHC partners.

Lead nurturing entails producing targeted content campaigns as well as being available to prospects when they have questions or problems. The company’s content should interact with sales and customer experience (CX) teams to educate prospects and turn them into repeat customers with a single aim in mind.

Businesses can use content and sales efforts to keep a dialogue with their customers and build trust. For example, it takes an average of eight touchpoints for a company to consummate a contract from the initial contact. Marketing, sales, and customer experience specialists are in the trenches during this time, working to establish trust with new consumers.

Lead nurturing, in some senses, never ends. You may use the same lead nurturing strategies you used to generate leads to urge clients to stay with you and prevent churn.

A good lead nurturing program takes time and a lot of resources to build and manage. There are, however, methods for automating and outsourcing your program. This can save you a lot of money while also giving you more time to work on new products or other aspects of your business.

If you’re searching for expert advice on how to improve your lead nurturing campaign, check out Smith.ai’s infographic below.

Special thanks to https://smith.ai/ with this graphic.

Operating a customer loyalty program can be challenging, but it is a foolproof way to engage and please your customers. In fact, 75% of consumers favor companies with rewards programs.

Understanding how you can entice customers through customer loyalty will allow your business to thrive. If you are interested in learning about how to implement a loyalty program, here are the types of loyalty programs, plus 4 innovative customer loyalty program examples in 2022.

Customer Loyalty Programs

Customer loyalty programs are focused on encouraging repeat customers and business. This can be accomplished when a company offers customer rewards, discounts, and other deals that the customer will be drawn to. 

In other words, when a customer receives a benefit or something that they enjoy, they are more likely to return. There are a few types of customer loyalty programs that each have their own goals. They are:

• Points programs: Customers earn points with each purchase. They can redeem accumulated points for rewards. 
• Tier programs: Purchases and brand engagement let customers level up in tiers, each of which comes with new perks.
• Paid programs: When customers pay a fee to become a member, they are rewarded with exclusive membership benefits. 
• Value programs: In place of customer rewards, the brand puts a portion of their sales to charities. Customers feel good about helping support a good cause. 

While they vary in function, they all aim to accomplish the same goal: customer loyalty. Here are five examples of the most successful customer loyalty programs that attract customers. 

1. Starbucks: Starbucks Rewards

Avid coffee drinkers know how well Starbucks Rewards markets its loyalty program to the public. Starbucks Rewards bring customers in by offering them free drinks, food, and even merchandise when earning points, or in Starbucks’ case, loyalty stars. The more a customer spends, the more points and free items they receive.

2. Designer Shoe Warehouse: DSW VIP

The DSW VIP program is renowned as it allows customers to unlock higher levels of benefits depending on how much they spend. This is a prime example of a tier-based program. The more a customer purchases, the more access they will have to different products and services.

3. Sephora: Beauty Insider

Sephora offers an extensive Beauty Insider Program where customers earn points for each purchase they make. They can also redeem those points for rewards that they choose, such as samples or exclusive beauty products. 

4. Uber: Uber Rewards

Uber offers a variety of services that cater to customers. As an Uber Rewards member, you earn points with every dollar you spend on rides and UberEats orders. Once earning points, members can add up to Uber Cash Rewards and other benefits.

These companies and their popular customer loyalty programs exhibit how much customer offers can result in return business. If you are interested in learning more about how to attract returning customers and new clients, check out this infographic from Clevertap.

• Chinese Tinder Forex Scam : Scams (reddit.com)
• (18) Chinese women are contacting me with the intention of having me invest into a Forex trading account. Is this a scam? – Quora
• Tinder Forex Scam or Honey Trap | Boccadutri

Anyway, I was contacted by this Facebook Chinese woman from Singapore.  She wanted to take the conversation from Facebook messenger to Whatsapp. Well, this is normally a red flag for me.  As to why folks want to chat on anything but an official platform chat app?

Well, we settled on Signal.  And we chatted for six months.  The next red flag is she was flaunting excessive personal wealth to me.  Why do this, I wonder?  As I am a total stranger and she doesn’t know my economic status?

So our total chat lasted about six months, before we quite chatting altogether.  The problem she tried to build up a romance and sell me on her aunt’s Forex trading inside info.  I kept asking questions like: “is this legal”?  “Or can I test this on a simulation account for 12 transactions.”  Well, she finally agreed to let me see 2 transactions in real time, on a simulations account.  Of course, this was one on an Asian broker account.  Then that’s all I got to see.  Well, perhaps this all was staged.  So it got me to thinking.  And I shared this with her on Signal.

“But when I watch stage magicians on TV, I always ask myself how they did the magic trick. And in trading I ask the question, who operates the trading servers and how are they regulated? Now there is a site called QUORA, where on can ask questions of various field experts for free. And I used to run web servers and database servers at Motorola. And I know if I do the same transaction on 2 different servers at the same time, I should get more or less the same results. And it eliminates any magic tricks. So it Is a simple but solid test.”

“A while back, someone showed me a video on a forum. He said it proves the supernatural is real. I said no, as scientific phenomenon could explain it. Or someone could have been an expert video producer and doctored the video. So the scientist in me, tries to eliminate all the alternate possibilities.”

“Well, I think this whole Forex trading issue is really simple. And I have a simple experiment I thought up, when you get back. And we only need 2 of your Aunt’s trade picks, done in real time with you. So the hypothesis is that there should be no difference in results, due to where the trade is done and who does it. To test this, I keep the agency’s demo account you recommended for me on my phone. And I choose a US firm to host a demo account, on my Windows 10 computer. And both use MT5. So what I do is do the same trade simultaneously on both demo accounts, and view the results. Both should be the same, if my hypothesis is right – for ONLY 2 of your aunt’s picks. Then it should be a simple matter of a couple of video calls with you, to get a better feel for you overall. Then I need to only compare and contrast the two brokerage firms. The one you chose and the one I chose. And a keep is how many years, each has been in business. And what users say about them on the Internet. Delightfully simple, elegant, and brilliant. What do you think?”

Later I did a Google search for “Chinese Forex Scams.  I found this on Tinder.

“Most scammed persons speak about (supposedly) beautiful Chinese women surrounded by cars and luxury items. They are probably not women nor Chinese, but evidently, in the collective imagination, a beautiful and successful Asian woman attracts attention and inspires confidence. Among other things, as businesswomen, who constantly travel, they can avoid, with plausible excuses, the logical request for video chats by the interlocutors.”

And this on Quora:

“This is the technical part of the scam. The scammers software program.. What i did, was i downloaded Metatrader 4 on my wife’s phone and opened up a new account with a reputable broker and when my robot friend had me do a trade with her and her inside information, I was also trading at the same time on both my accounts, and guess what? Totally different results, how can this be? With my account with SunPor, I made huge profits, but with the other broker I lost money..so what i figured out, is the scammers somehow with their sophisticated software have found a way to mimic a live trade and show you any results they want you to see..and this has everything to do with why they insist that you only use the “mobile version” .

“So all the money you think you made in profits was not real…The only thing that is real, is the monies you wire transferred to them through the mysterious 3rd party beneficiary’s. and then into their bank accounts. Also explains why they always use different “receiving accounts as they call it”..

Well, that’s enough for me to end things.  So I did these parting words on Signal:

‘And if you aunt’s system is sound, then you and her would have no issues with me testing it on a US broker simulation account first. Before going ahead with real money on the same US broker site.’

Keep reading to learn definitive ways to gain and retain customer trust with these simple steps.

1. Focus on Providing Excellent Customer Service

Customer service is crucial for building customer loyalty. Essentially, customer service encompasses all of your interactions with the consumer. In these interactions, you need to give the proper support to clients when they have an issue. When you’re understanding and helpful with your responses, customers are going to appreciate it. 

2. Be Consistent With All Interactions With Customers

For a business to build trust, consistency is key. If your customers are only having positive interactions with your company half of the time, that isn’t good enough. You want each of your employees to embody the values of your company. To achieve this, it helps to create and publish clear policies and company values.

Building a foundation of trust with your customers doesn’t come without effort. Loyal customers are earned through consistency, transparent communication, and excellent customer service. 

3. Communicate With Full Transparency

When your company is dishonest about its capabilities, it can only lead to disappointment and distrust from customers. In contrast, when your business communicates honestly and regularly with its customers, it sets itself apart from the competition.

4. Ask For Feedback

It can be a big mistake to close your business off to feedback. When you don’t listen to what your customers have to say, you stagnate as a company. When you encourage feedback and incorporate necessary change to go with it, your company distinguishes itself as caring and dependable. A few great ways to strategically request feedback include:

CES Survey: Send shortly after a client communicates with a customer service representative.

CSAT Survey: Send 5-10 business days after a customer begins to use a new product or service.

NPS Survey: Send a month after a recently acquired customer has used a product or service.

For more definitive ways to gain and retain customer trust, take a look at Chattermill’s infographic below. 

A special thanks to chattermill.com with this graphic.

For example, many businesses learned the power of digital marketing, but struggled with marketing due to small budgets. Knowing this ahead of time can help you plan out a marketing game plan that keeps your priorities and budget in mind. This could mean budget cuts in other areas or focusing marketing efforts on your most important channels.

Womply put together an interactive guide as well as an infographic covering these small business statistics. Take a look at these stats to see how you can prepare your business for the future.

Special thanks to Womply for this graphic.

Just a short five years ago these manufacturers began to embark on the second coming of their own industrial revolution. It wasn’t enough that the Internet and even mobile technology created a wealth of efficiencies in the production cycle. 

Virtual Technologies Powering the Next Industrial Revolution 

Instead, a few years ago these manufacturers began to see how virtual technologies could completely change the way they operated, interacted with design teams, and provided more timely response to customer inquiries. 

Gains in these areas as a result of virtual technologies have been quick to illustrate early and noticeable returns for the executives running these businesses. 

In fact, nearly half of the executives polled in a recent survey¹ (44%) said they are experiencing approximately 10% in operational savings by using immersive mixed reality technologies in the design, training, production, or customer service areas of their business. A year ago only a quarter of businesses (26%) were seeing similar results in savings. 

In terms of overall production efficiency, 45% of enterprises are seeing at least a 10% increase in production efficiency increases today, up from only 11% a year ago. 

However, these increases do not tell the whole story. When these virtualized technologies (such as augmented reality and virtual reality AR/VR) were initially utilized by manufacturers they were leveraged in an “on-premise” environment. However, today they are utilized in a cloud environment, bringing even more efficiencies and returns to the business.  

Difference Between On-Premise and the Cloud? 

The basic difference between cloud vs on-premise data is where it lives. On-premise software and data is installed locally, on a manufacturer’s computers and servers inside the actual facility, whereas cloud software and data is hosted on a server and accessible via a web browser over the Internet. 

On-premise infrastructures limit the speed and scalability needed for today’s virtual designs, and it also limits the ability to conduct knowledge sharing between organizations that can be critical when designing new products and understanding the best way for virtual buildouts. 

Cloud-Based Automation Technologies Proving Pivotal 
Manufacturers are overcoming these limitations by leveraging cloud-based (or remote server based) virtual platforms powered by distributed cloud architecture and 3D vision-based AI. These cloud platforms provide the desired performance and scalability to drive innovation in the industry at speed and scale. 

Imagine what it would be like to virtually design an airplane using the different eyeglass filters used by an ophthalmologist during a typical eye exam. Some filters allow you to read only the larger print because they restrict your ability to read – this would be designing virtually in an on-premise software environment. Other filters allow you to see fine print with pinpoint accuracy – this is what is possible in a cloud environment. 

Cloud Environments Enable More Precise 3-Dimensional Digital Mapping 

One of the key requirements for virtual applications is to precisely overlay on an object its model or the digital twin. This helps in providing work instructions for assembly, training, and also catch any errors or defects in manufacturing.  

Most on-device object tracking systems use a 2D image and/or marker-based tracking. This severely limits overlay accuracy in a 3D environment because 2D tracking cannot estimate depth with high accuracy, and consequently the scale, and the pose. This means even though users can achieve what looks like a good match when looking from one angle and/or position, the overlay loses proper accuracy during alignment. 

Deep learning-based 3D AI allows users to identify 3D objects of arbitrary shape and size in various orientations with high accuracy in the 3D space. This approach is scalable with any arbitrary shape and is amenable to use in enterprise use cases requiring rendering overlay of complex 3D models and digital twins with their real-world counterparts. 

Cloud technology is pivotal to achieve this level of detail because technology and hardware used in an on-premise environment easily overheats from the compute power needed. Virtual technology requires a precise and persistent fusion of the real and virtual worlds. This means rendering complex models and scenes in photorealistic detail, rendered at the correct physical location (with respect to both the real and virtual worlds) with the correct scale, and accurate pose.  

This is only achieved today by using discrete GPUs from one or more cloud-based servers and delivering the rendered frames wirelessly or remotely to the head mounted displays (HMDs) such as the Microsoft HoloLens and the Oculus Quest. 

An increasing number of manufacturers are moving their virtual solutions away from on-premise datacenters. Today, 48% of enterprises are leveraging cloud-hosted environments, and another 21% say they will leverage the cloud when they implement immersive reality solutions in the future. 

About The Author: Dijam Panigrahi is Co-founder and COO of GridRaster Inc., a leading provider of cloud-based AR/VR platforms that power compelling high-quality AR/VR experiences on mobile devices for enterprises. For more information, please visit www.gridraster.com.  

1: GridRaster online survey of virtual technologies; 400 respondents across U.S.; March 2021   

Video conferences fundamentally lack things that are important for synchronous communication. Issues like broken headsets, choppy internet access, or micro-delays force people to pay more attention during meetings. Difficulty detecting microexpressions is particularly relevant to Zoom fatigue. It easily confuses people and can lead to other types of miscommunication.

Here are some strategies to help you with fatigue prevention to remain focused on your Zoom calls.

#1: Have Non-Screen Breaks

Non-screen breaks mean getting up and staying away from the computer for a while. These are especially important to have between video conference meetings. Try to have at least ten minutes to get up and move around before you need to look at another screen again.

#2: Minimize Your Background

Cluttered backgrounds are distracting and can increase zoom fatigue. Clutter includes things like other people, home art and decor, and even distracting colors. If possible, try to coordinate backgrounds with other participants on the call.

For example, if everyone has the same plain white background, you won’t get nearly as distracted by different colors in different places.

#3: Make Sure You’re Well-Lit

Specifically, try to be lit from the front. This helps reduce shadows and improves overall video quality. It also helps maximize the clarity of your expressions. Lighting can have a huge impact on how you look, so make sure you test your lighting setup to be sure you look the way you want to. The less time you spend worrying about your appearance, the more energy you’ll have for the intended topic of conversation.

#4: Declutter Your Screen

You don’t need to exit every program when you’re on a Zoom call, but try to minimize them to ensure you’re not looking at them or checking them while you’re in a call. The constant distraction of looking for new updates (emails, slack notifications) will wear you down while also making other people on the call feel like they don’t have your full attention. Neither is useful.

One of the best ways to declutter your screen is switching to a full-screen mode. Alternatively, you can hide your taskbar to make it less noticeable while you’re in your call.

#5: Get A Great Headset

Headsets that are of lesser quality aren’t a great choice for long-term use for work meetings. It’s worth investing in getting a high-quality headset. Here are the characteristics to look for:

• Over The Ear: Headsets that go completely around the ears —without pressing on them — are significantly more comfortable for long-term use. Many good headsets have memory foam or other pads, and they don’t apply too much pressure when you wear them.
• Noise Cancellation Technology: Noise cancellation technologies significantly reduce all audio from beyond the headset. This reduces distractions and lets you focus more on what other people are saying.
• Good Speakers: Your speakers do not need to be made for professional sound engineers, but high-quality speakers will provide better audio and reduce the risk of missing quieter statements.
• Excellent Microphone: Good microphones can reduce ambient noises in your audio that can distract others. Imagine hearing different droning hums from six or seven microphones at the same time. It’s terrible! Great microphones rarely have that problem, though.
• Audio Controls: Quality headsets also have audio controls, meaning you can raise or lower the audio to the headsets without having to fiddle with your computer settings. Good headsets also have a mute button so you can discreetly terminate your audio input without having to change controls anywhere else.

Professional gaming headsets usually meet all of these criteria, so that’s a great place to start looking for a new headset.

If possible, try to get a headset that matches your background. For example, if you’re using a plain white background, then white headphones will blend into that, whereas red headphones would just call attention to themselves.

#6: Select Presenter View

Choose Presenter View so that the person speaking always appears on center stage. This is preferable to gallery view, which will show the entire audience as well. Squinting at a smaller video feed in the corner of your screen isn’t nearly as natural, and worse, it has you looking away from the camera on everyone else’s screen.

#7: Stick to Your Notes

Zoom meetings can easily drone on if everyone goes off-script. The key to keeping time is following an agenda to ensure the meeting progresses as scheduled. When you’re presenting, prepare notes ahead of time and make your points concise and straightforward. The best strategy is to offer brief information and any actionable points your team needs.

If you’re an audience member who can ask questions of the presenter, adopt the same strategy when asking for clarification or elaboration. Shorter questions that require quick answers are ideal for Zoom meetings; lengthy explanations may require a separate meeting altogether.

—-

Michael is a copywriter based out of Toronto, Canada who’s love for writing began at an early age. He’s passionate about helping brands create loyalty through impactful and authentic storytelling. You can learn more about Michael’s work on his website here.

All these technologies have specific differences, but they’re also today now working together in advanced three-dimensional (3D) applications and environments, all for the benefit of organizations.

Immersive Mixed Reality Uses

With virtual reality, a user wears a headset that fully delves into a new world or environment, some that even mimic the real world. The user is given both a visual and audible experience that is meant to take them away from known reality.

Augmented reality is similar in concept, but it also displays digital content in the real world. Think Pokémon Go or IKEA’s Place app, both of which allow a user to interact with and experience digital objects.

Where Immersive Mixed Reality Falls Short for Enterprises

The challenge is that these technologies require heavy doses of data, the ability to process vast amounts of data at impeccable speeds, and the ability to scale projects in a computer environment that doesn’t often allow in traditional office environments.

Immersive mixed reality requires a precise and persistent fusion of the real and virtual worlds. This means rendering complex models and scenes in photorealistic detail, rendered at the correct physical location (with respect to both the real and virtual worlds) with the correct scale, and accurate pose. Think of the accuracy and precise nature required in leveraging AR/VR to design, build or repair components of an airline engine, or an advanced surgical device used in medical applications.

This is achieved today by using discrete GPUs from one or more servers and delivering the rendered frames wirelessly or remotely to the head mounted displays (HMDs) such as the Microsoft HoloLens and the Oculus Quest.

The Need for 3D & AI in Immersive Mixed Reality

One of the key requirements for mixed reality applications is to precisely overlay on an object its model or the digital twin. This helps in providing work instructions for assembly and training, and to catch any errors or defects in manufacturing. The user can also track the object(s) and adjust the rendering as the work progresses.

Most on-device object tracking systems use 2D image and/or marker-based tracking. This severely limits overlay accuracy in 3D because 2D tracking cannot estimate depth with high accuracy, and consequently the scale, and the pose. This means even though users can get what looks like a good match when looking from one angle and/or position, the overlay loses alignment as the user moves around in 6DOF. Also, the object detection, identification and its scale and orientation estimation — called object registration — is achieved, in most cases, computationally or using simple computer vision methods with standard training libraries (examples: Google MediaPipe, VisionLib). This works well for regular and/or smaller and simpler objects such as hands, faces, cups, tables, chairs, wheels, regular geometry structures, etc. However, for large, complex objects in enterprise use cases, labeled training data (more so in 3D) is not readily available. This makes it difficult, if not impossible, to use the 2D image-based tracking to align, overlay, and persistently track the object and fuse the rendered model with it in 3D.

Enterprise-level users are overcoming these challenges by leveraging 3D environments and AI technology into their immersive mixed reality design/build projects.

Deep learning-based 3D AI allows users to identify 3D objects of arbitrary shape and size in various orientations with high accuracy in the 3D space. This approach is scalable with any arbitrary shape and is amenable to use in enterprise use cases requiring rendering overlay of complex 3D models and digital twins with their real-world counterparts.

This can also be scaled to register with partially completed structures with the complete 3D models, allowing for on-going construction and assembly. Users achieve an accuracy of 1mm — 10mm in the object registration and rendering with this platform approach. The rendering accuracy is primarily limited by the device capability. This approach to 3D object tracking will allow users to truly fuse the real and virtual worlds in enterprise applications, opening many uses including but not limited to: training with work instructions, defect and error detection in construction and assembly, and 3D design and engineering with life size 3D rendering and overlay.

Working in Cloud Environments is Critical

Manufacturers should be cautious in how they design and deploy these technologies, because there is great difference in the platform they are built on and maximized for use.

Even though technologies like AR/VR have been in use for several years, many manufacturers have deployed virtual solutions that are built upon an on-premise environment, where all the technology data is stored locally.

On-premise AR/VR infrastructures limit the speed and scalability needed for today’s virtual designs, and it limits the ability to conduct knowledge sharing between organizations that can be critical when designing new products and understanding the best way for virtual buildouts.

Manufacturers today are overcoming these limitations by leveraging cloud-based (or remote server based) AR/VR platforms powered by distributed cloud architecture and 3D vision-based AI. These cloud platforms provide the desired performance and scalability to drive innovation in the industry at speed and scale.

About The Author: Dijam Panigrahi is Co-founder and COO of GridRaster Inc., a leading provider of cloud-based AR/VR platforms that power compelling high-quality AR/VR experiences on mobile devices for enterprises. For more information, please visit GridRaster Inc. – Powering Immersive MR on Mobile Platforms.