Page 41 - A U4SSC deliverable - Accelerating city transformation using frontier technologies

Virtual reality/Augmented reality

Overview on VR/AR

Virtual reality (VR) offers users an immersive experience using a computer-generated reality. VR can
be defined as “a computer-generated simulation in which a person can interact within an artificial
three-dimensional environment using special electronic devices, such as special goggles with a screen
or gloves fitted with sensors.” On the other hand, augmented reality (AR) can be defined as “an
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enhanced version of the real physical world through the use of visual elements, sound or other sensory
stimuli.” 117

The main difference between VR and AR is that VR provides a fully immersive experience where a
user “leaves the real-world environment behind to enter a fully digital environment via VR headsets”
whereas AR focuses on creating an experience “where virtual objects are superimposed on to the real-
world environment via smartphones, tablets or AR glasses”. VR and AR are poised to have significant
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impacts on cities and their citizens. The VR/AR market is expected to reach USD 215 billion by 2021.
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Enhancing urban planning using VR/AR

As city governments continue to look for innovative ways to enhance city planning and leverage Big
data insights to drive sustainable actions, VR and AR offer a set of unique benefits that cities can look
to for inspiration.

“AR is also playing an increasingly prominent role in healthcare
from training medical students to assisting in surgeries”

AR can impact cities or improve the quality of life of citizens in three ways:

Firstly, AR-based navigation can utilise the information on the users’ phone and receive images from
the camera to determine the users’ location relative to the destination. Users can simply move their
phones around while walking and an AI-based pointer would be able to point in the right direction.
AR-based navigation is safer than the traditional navigation mobile apps where users would need to
constantly look at the phone for directions. 120

Secondly, AR can assist in disaster responses. AR-based smart glasses can provide in-depth views and
visualise information on the emergency situation to the rescue workers, enabling them to locate the
victims quickly and visualise the safest route to reaching them. Similar to VR, AR can also provide first
responders and other rescue officers an immersive environment in which to train and learn to respond
to different emergency situations.
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Thirdly, AR is also playing an increasingly prominent role in health care, from training medical students,
to assisting in surgeries. AR devices provide the tools for medical students to understand complex

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