The Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality market in India is already worth almost $2 billion and is expected to receive a boost from 5G connectivity. By allowing visuals to be streamed seamlessly to VR and AR glasses in real-time, the service opens windows into the metaverse for Indians. After introducing 5G to the country at the Indian Mobile Congress in Delhi, PM Modi got a live demo of immersive reality through Jio Glass from Akash Ambani himself.
Foray into an alternate reality
Prime Minister Modi announced that 5G will be available across 13 Indian cities from Diwali, and will later be expanded to other parts of the country. He then headed to Reliance Jio’s pavilion to check out Jio Glass, which is the Indian company’s answer to Microsoft’s Hololens.
The Ambani scion showed him how 5G transports people to an alternate reality while their physical reality remains the same.
Driving into the future
In addition to this technology, Qualcomm’s tech allowed Modi to drive a car in Sweden, while he was seated in Delhi, thanks to 5G connectivity. PM Modi also looked at Airtel, Vodafone Idea and C-Dot’s offerings.
Engineers at Jio also explained 5G’s end-to-end capabilities to the PM, and showed him how it can bring the quality of healthcare in rural areas at par with that in cities. He was accompanied by Reliance Industries Chairman Mukesh Ambani and India’s Telecom Minister. Jio has already acquired almost 50 per cent of the airwaves on the 5G spectrum with an Rs 88,078 crore bid.
Jio’s bid in the VR market
Globally, Microsoft Hololens is already taking VR and AR glasses beyond gaming, since it’s being used for remote surgeries, virtual education and immersive experiences in the metaverse. The gadget was first floated in 2013 by Google, but it failed to capture the imagination of consumers and disappeared. A major competitor for Jio in the market is Facebook-owned Occulus glass, which controls 90 per cent of the VR headset market.
