“Spatial computing” is not just future-state tech

Image from WIRED JAPAN’s spatial computing issue

In the US, thanks to Apple, “spatial computing” has become synonymous with “augmented reality.” This is not so in other parts of the world; nor does “spatial computing” only encompass future-state tech.

This month’s special issue of WIRED JAPAN devotes 161 pages to spatial computing.

An initial flip-through shows a diverse cross-section of tech: plenty of headsets, but also a ton of other wearables (including a mouthpad that you operate with your tongue). There’s 3D scanning for e-commerce, and even a LiDAR vacuum from Dyson.

There’s also AI, to make sense of spaces and physical stimuli (n.b.: this is an area worth watching–there are multiple approaches currently under development by startups, as well as heavy-hitters like Toyota).

But there are also technologies that have become pedestrian to us: AirPods and even GPS. These are reminders that spatial computing isn’t just some future state that will have us all interacting in a metaverse, but a gradual spectrum shift that we are participating in to various degrees already.

This is one of the interesting communication challenges in working as a “spatial computing consultant.” Few of us think of our work in those terms, but…

• If you work on any sort of physical or wearable tech product…

• If your product involves sensors…

• Even if you’re working on mobile apps with a moderate degree of contextual awareness…

…That all arguably exists on the same spectrum as a high-end augmented reality headset.

So, with that in mind, have you worked in spatial computing at any point in your career? Probably so.