VIRTUAL IS THE NEW

REALITYActions for India’s businesses and policymakers to leverage immersive technologies responsibly

India’s spend on extended reality (XR) technologies is experiencing significant growth. The impact of these technologies—augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR) and mixed reality (MR)—is being felt across myriad industries, notably healthcare, hospitality, education and retail. No doubt, XR could usher in improved safety for workers, enhanced customer experience and advanced learning. However, it could also exacerbate cyberattacks and privacy breaches since such immersive technologies leverage sensitive data that could be misused. For XR to flourish responsibly in India, policymakers, entrepreneurs and behavioral experts, among others, must form ecosystems that provide a secure infrastructure and strong incentives to encourage innovation and wider adoption.

Extended Reality’s Potential Gets Real

While this growth is fueled by burgeoning demand, the supply side factors are keeping pace. Currently, there are more than 170 AR and VR startups in India, with some 60 percent

springing up in the past couple of years alone.4 Not surprisingly, most of the startups are based in metros and serve large corporations across industries (Figure 2).

Globally, XR is poised to be a US$160 billion industry by 2023.1 In India, the XR spending will exceed US$6.5 billion by 2022 from under US$2 billion in 2020 due to growing smartphone

penetration—a key driving factor—which is expected to double during the same timeframe (Figure 1).2,3

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Figure 1: XR takes off in India

1,000

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2022

6,523

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4,000XR Market Size (in US$ million)

CAGR 85.2%

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Hospitality

Education

Real Estate

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These XR use cases are just the tip of the opportunity iceberg. As business leaders continue to evangelize XR in India, the opportunities will grow in frequency and size.

However, XR also presents new, under-explored risks. The blurring of physical and virtual boundaries poses urgent questions around reality, trust and mental health. Our intimate feelings, behaviors and judgments may be

captured as data for new uses—or misused in the wrong hands. And the costs—physical, mental and social—of fixing mistakes or compensating for misuses could be steep. Clearly, XR must be built and deployed in a responsible, secure environment. That XR is at a nascent stage in India is a silver lining as stakeholders can evaluate the potential risks upfront and develop public policies or design technological solutions to prevent, or at least mitigate, those risks.

Figure 2: How Indian companies are putting AR/VR to use

Larsen & Toubro, a leading infrastructure player in India, uses XR to educate its laborers on how to operate safely at construction sites.5 The result? L&T’s laborers’ fatality rate has dropped to zero, safety awareness has increased by 90%, and training costs have declined by 60% (versus on-site trainings that are expensive, time-consuming and not as effective).

Hindustan Petroleum, an oil & gas giant, has set up an XR facility at its Petroleum House Learning Centre.6 It provides an interactive and simulated environment to practice field situations in functions such as Refinery and Depot. It’s helping address the challenges of traditional training methods that are fraught with difficulty, risks and come at a huge expense.

XR is helping enhance customer experience at Lodha Group, an established real estate player in India.7 Most real estate companies are unable to deliver projects on time and fail to communicate the actual progress to the buyers. Lodha’s XR content will help customers view the actual progress made on the project.

Infrastructure

Online furniture player Urban Ladder has pioneered the use of AR with its mobile app Living Spaces.8 The app helps customers to virtually place the selected furniture in their rooms to check if it meets their requirements. The app is helping the company make furniture selection easy and minimize the chances of returns.

India’s top education app Byju’s recently acquired an educational gaming startup called Osmo.10 Osmo has developed a gaming-based learning approach for children aged 4–11 years. Its AR device mounts on an iPad and enables children to interact with their environment without touching the screen.

OYO Hotels, the popular hotel chain in India, is experimenting with XR for enriched customer experience.9 It aims to help guests experience staying in a room even before booking it. To bring these technologies to life, OYO runs a proprietary property management software called OYO OS at its partner hotels.

Retail

Greater Engagement Comes with New RisksLet’s take a look at four key risks that XR presents:

Allows Access to Sensitive DataXR adds more complexity to the data-driven world of business. While data related to personal identity and digital credentials have been on companies’ radar, XR opens up new frontiers of sensitive data centered on feelings, behavior and reactions that can be captured and monetized.But such data has high potential of being misused by motivated players. The Personal Data Protection Bill, 2019 (also known as PDP) is a step in the right direction to protect such data as it not only covers personally identifiable data, but also sensitive data such as health records, biometrics, as wells as religious and political beliefs.11

Facilitates Fake ExperiencesIn today’s world, digitally disseminated news, whether fake or real, spreads like wildfire and influences opinions and decisions. According to a survey, one out of two Indians said they had received fake news in the 30 days leading up to an election.12 Such fake experiences could result in political, economic and social risks, apart from creating burdens for stakeholders. For example, YouTube recently had to commit US$25 million to get rid of fake news on its website.13 Wider adoption of immersive technologies could exacerbate the issue of people falling for fake experiences and acting upon them.

Heightens Vulnerability to CyberattacksIn 2018, India fell prey to an average of 1,852 cyberattacks per minute.14 The average cost per breached record in India is US$64, a substantial loss, according to the Data Security Council of India.15 With XR promising to enable many critical use cases such as remote surgery and field monitoring, the risks of sensitive data hacks and extortion are not limited to business loss alone—they could potentially cost lives!

Exacerbates CyberbullyingAccording to a survey conducted by Symantec in India, nearly 80 percent of the respondents said they faced some form of cyberbullying. Of them, roughly 63 percent faced online abuses and insults, while 59 percent were subjected to false rumors and gossips that hurt their image.16 Moreover, 37 percent of parents in India—higher than in any other country in the world—believe their children have been cyberbullied.17 Given that children’s use of technology is on the rise, an immersive environment with virtual characters could provide fertile grounds for heightened cyberbullying, damaging their mental health and well-being.

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Actions for Businesses and PolicymakersWhile the risks posed by extensive use of XR will manifest themselves as we go further along, companies and policymakers need to address those risks as timely and optimally as they possibly can. Responsibility and ethics must be baked into the way XR solutions are built and designed, and not after they are deployed. Here are three ways in which businesses and policymakers can manage those risks:

Bring in the ExpertsAn immersive environment is complex; it involves emotions, impulses and behavioral reactions, which need careful assessment by experts if companies are to design responsible XR solutions.18 While business leaders chalk out a market vision for XR, they must consider other factors such as mental health, social and behavioral risks, and regulatory policies that could come into play in virtual settings. An ecosystem based on alliances and partnerships with diverse experts, from neuroscientists and psychologists to lawmakers and entrepreneurs, could provide the ideal structure for designing and deploying responsible XR solutions.

Business leaders could also become members of XR associations and consortiums to discuss best practices with industry peers. One such association is IAMAI (Internet and Mobile Association of India), which recently formed an expert committee to focus on developing and promoting an AR/VR ecosystem in India. The committee aims to work with the Indian government, industry and startups to foster innovation in this space.19

Accelerate Wider Adoption with the Right Infrastructure

For responsible XR to thrive, policymakers in India must enable a conducive infrastructure comprising elements such as high-speed connectivity, content, device and apps. High-speed connectivity—critical for applications such as remote surgeries where even a few seconds’ lag could have severe ramifications for human life—calls for a robust telecom/broadband infrastructure. Businesses need such infrastructure to create cost-effective devices and apps that are affordable for the masses. Some regions have basic infrastructure necessary to leverage XR successfully. InGage Inc. develops specific XR content for the Tamil Nadu’s police department to help train employees more effectively for crime scene investigations.20

Incentivize InnovationPolicymakers could become catalysts in the development of XR through effective and targeted measures. In a developing country like India, they could offer policy support for incubation centers that nurture socially responsible companies, which offer skill-building, health, education, employment opportunities, and more. The Kerala government-backed incubator—Kerala Startup Mission (KSUM)—has set up an XR Center of Excellence in partnership with cross-platform gaming company Unity. KSUM provides funding to several XR startups along with free access to the commercial licenses of Unity, a 3D development platform that offers developers the tools to create interactive 2D, 3D, VR and AR experiences.21

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Securing the Virtual FutureImmersive technologies must be developed responsibly to ensure wider adoption and acceptance. That calls for business leaders, policymakers and other stakeholders in India to be aligned on a shared vision and execute it to provide a secure, nurturing environment for such technologies to grow and thrive. In such an ecosystem, businesses could focus on customer experience or product value, while policymakers could make data security a priority. An organized effort by all parties would benefit customers and help scale these technologies more rapidly, paving the way for their successful rollout in the country.

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IDC, Commercial and Public Sector Investments Will Drive Worldwide AR/VR Spending to $160 Billion in 2023, According to a New IDC Spending Guide, June 4, 2019, https://www.idc.com/getdoc.jsp?containerId=prUS45123819

Nasscom, Growth of Immersive Media – A Reality Check, 2019, https://www.nasscom.in/knowledge-center/publications/growth-immersive-media-reality-check

Business Standard, Number Of Smartphone Users In India Likely To Double To 859 Million By 2022, May 10, 2019, https://www.business-standard.com/article/news-cm/number-of-smartphone-users-in-india-likely-to-double-to-859-million-by-2022-119051000458_1.html

Amit Mozar, The Virtual Assist. Immersion VR fest 2019: Shaping India’s AR/VR Growth Story, March 3, 2019, https://thevirtualassist.net/immersion-2019-india-first-ar-vr-conference/

Ingage, L&T Case Study, https://www.myingage.com/l-t-case-study/

Hindustan Petroleum, Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited Sustainability Report 2018-19, https://www.hindustanpetroleum.com/documents/pdf/HPCL_Sustainability_Report_2018-19.pdf

Riya Pahuja, The Economic Times, Here’s how Lodha Group delivers seamless customer experience, projects on time, August 27, 2019, https://cio.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/strategy-and-management/heres-how-lodha-group-delivers-seamless-customer-experience-projects-on-time/70843126

Urban Ladder, https://www.urbanladder.com/living-spaces

Nandita Mathur, Live Mint, AR, VR can help guests make the right selection: OYO’s Anil Goel, November 25, 2019, https://www.livemint.com/companies/start-ups/ar-vr-can-help-guests-make-the-right-selection-oyo-s-anil-goel-11574675729993.html

Bhavya Kaushal, Entrepreneur, Byju’s Acquires California-based Educational Gaming Start-up, January 17, 2019, https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/326499

Nishith Desai Associates, Augmented, Virtual and Mixed Reality– A Reflective Future, September 2019, http://www.nishithdesai.com/fileadmin/user_upload/pdfs/Research_Papers/Augmented_Virtual_and_Mixed_Reality.pdf

The Economic Times, 1 in 2 Indians receiving fake news via Facebook, WhatsApp, April 9, 2019, https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/elections/lok-sabha/india/1-in-2-indians-receiving-fake-news-via-facebook-whatsapp/articleshow/68798051.cms

Ivan Mehta, The Next Web, It’s not just WhatsApp – India’s fake news problem plagues several popular social networks, December 2018, https://thenextweb.com/in/2019/01/29/its-not-just-whatsapp-indias-fake-news-problem-plagues-several-popular-social-networks/

News18, 1,852 Cyber Attacks Hit India Each Minute Last Year; Mumbai, Delhi Most Affected, September 3, 2018, https://www.news18.com/news/tech/1852-cyber-attacks-hit-india-each-minute-last-year-mumbai-delhi-most-affected-2295963.html

Yatti Soni, Inc42. India Second Most Affected Country Due To Cyber Attacks: Report, May 3, 2019, https://inc42.com/buzz/cyber-attacks-india/

Incognito Forensic Foundation, How to Prevent Cyber Bullying – Anti-Cyber bullying Laws in India, https://ifflab.org/how-to-prevent-cyber-bullying-anti-cyber-bullying-laws-in-india/

The Wire, Indian Children Most Cyber-Bullied in the World: Study, October 28, 2018, https://thewire.in/tech/indian-children-most-cyber-bullied-in-the-world-study

Laurence Morvan, Armen Ovanessoff, Marc Carrel-Billiard, Francis Hintermann, Accenture, A responsible future for immersive technologies, May 15, 2019, https://www.accenture.com/in-en/insights/technology/responsible-immersive-technologies

Money Control, IAMAI forms AR/VR committee to promote the technologies in India, October 29, 2018, https://www.moneycontrol.com/news/technology/iamai-forms-arvr-committee-to-promote-the-technologies-in-india-3099341.html

Ingage, Case Study: Tamil Nadu Police Training Academy, October 16, 2019, https://www.myingage.com/tamil-nadu-police-project-case-study/

Aman Rawat, Inc42, Here’s Why Kerala Might Become India’s Hub For AR/VR, November 16, 2019, https://inc42.com/buzz/heres-why-kerala-might-become-indias-hub-for-ar-vr/

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AUTHORS

REKHA M. MENONChairman and Senior Managing DirectorAccenture in Indiarekha.m.menon@accenture.com

PRADEEP ROYPrincipal Director Accenture Researchp.roy@accenture.com

SHRUTI SHALINIResearch ManagerAccenture Researchshruti.shalini@accenture.com

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The authors would like to thank Gargi Chakrabarty, Gaurav Khetan and Armen Ovanessoff from Accenture Research for their contributions to this report.

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