Virtual reality

New technologies for financial planning – Virtual reality

Virtual and augmented reality

Virtual reality completely replaces the user’s real-world environment with a simulated one. Augmented reality is mixed reality – a combination of real and virtual worlds.

The ever-increasing computer power coupled with 5G’s ability to transfer large amounts of data very quickly will give a boost to this technology.

Currently, a compelling experience requires a fairly powerful computer connected by wires to a large and expensive headset. With 5G the wires will vanish and engineers will shrink the headset, possibly to glasses not much larger than reading glasses and ear buds.

Google glass

Google Glass displays information on the glasses while communicating with the Internet via natural language voice commands. The original prototype in 2011 weighed nearly 4 kgs which has been reduced to the same weight as normal glasses. Packed into the frame are WiFi, Bluetooth, Battery, camera and USB connection. The current price is over AU$2,000 but this is sure to come down.

Some of the world’s biggest companies in logistics, manufacturing and healthcare use Google glass in the workplace.

Wearables

Wearables like Google glass are also enjoying exponential growth that will be turbo-charged by 5G. Smart watches are getting smarter offering services like time, messaging, GPS, heart rate, blood pressure, fitness measurements and more.

Wearables  could “augment” the human body, replacing defective body parts like limbs that could even be controlled by a person’s thoughts.

How could financial planning use this technology?

An adviser and client, wearables like Google Glass, taking advantage of 5G, AI like Alexa, they could communicate in a normal conversational manner but using augmented reality the adviser could introduce graphical projections, current valuations, instant calculations, and info-grams.

This could be a rich, rewarding experience at very low time/cost.