Communications and Digitalisation Minister Ursula Owusu-Ekuful has called for a careful approach to the development of Extended Reality (XR) in Africa – particularly considering the interdependencies in technologies such as Artificial Intelligence (AI) for software algorithms, connectivity, video standards for visualisation, among others.

XR is an emerging umbrella-term for all the immersive technologies. Extended reality (or XR) is an umbrella-term for computer-generated environments which merge the physical and virtual worlds or create an entirely virtual experience for users.

“This careful approach will include a contextually appropriate digital strategy, policies and programmes which create a conducive setting for developing talent, research, accessibility, connectivity and critical infrastructure,” she said in a keynote address at the 2022 International Telecommunication Union (ITU) Academic Conference Kaleidoscope in Accra.

This, she said, will lead to enhanced collaboration between state actors, academia, local innovators and civil society to harness – to the fullest – the immense potential of XR for all citizens.

Acknowledging the importance of technological advancement in promoting sustainable growth in Africa, Mrs. Owusu-Ekuful said the world in recent times has witnessed major advancements in emerging technologies in virtual, augmented and mixed realities – which are being deployed increasingly in business and the more developmental areas of science, health and education.

Citing a recent PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) report, the communications and digitalisation minister said XR will have enormous impacts on the global economy…with prospects of delivering some US$1.5trillion boost to it by 2030.

“However, immersive technologies remain a niche and are not as widespread as they can be even in advanced societies. For the most disconnected, who incidentally may have the greatest need of these new technologies, it still is a distant dream. As Kaleidoscope this year turns attention to improving quality of experience for extended realities, we must also remember that there exist challenges which threaten to leave some 3.7 billion people behind and unconnected.

“These barriers, including a lack of awareness, the need for advanced capabilities (skills and capacity development), limited access (XR hardware, software) and affordability are hurdles on our path to harnessing the full potential of extended realities – particularly in less-privileged societies,” she said.

Boosting quality of XR experience

On his part, Dr. Collins Yeboah-Afari, Director-General – Ghana-India Kofi Annan Centre of Excellence in ICT, said studies have shown that connecting more people to Augmented Reality (AR), Mixed Reality (MR) and Virtual Reality (VR) technologies, all under Extended Reality (XR), could transform everything from healthcare and education to sports and tourism among other sectors of our continent and the world.

But to achieve this, the right technologies must be deployed and capacity building in advanced and exponential technologies must be done, he said.

“This is why we at The Ghana-India Kofi Annan Centre of Excellence in ICT (GI-KACE), as part of our mandate are concerned about training people in data science, Artificial Intelligence (AI), Internet of Things (IoT), among others, while advancing research in those areas,” Dr. Yeboah-Afari pointed out.

He, therefore, called for building relationships and establishing partnerships and connections in the public and private sectors, academia and industry to advance XR and boost the quality of experience, as government champions the country’s digitalisation agenda.