“Sometimes I really feel like I've landed in a science fiction film”
How extended reality helps organisations work smarter, safer and more effectively
During her computer science studies, Saskia Groenewegen first encountered virtual reality, a technology that was still in its infancy at the time, but which has never left her. More than twenty years later, she is Principal Expert Immersive Technologies at Sopra Steria. In that role, she helps organisations in applying extended reality (XR): the collective name for technologies such as virtual, augmented and mixed reality that interweave the physical and digital worlds.
“Sometimes I really feel like I've landed in a science fiction film,” she says with a laugh. “Developments are happening so fast, every few months a new headset or revolutionary application appears.”
From research to impact After completing her master's degree in Computer Science at a university in Germany, she first came into contact with virtual reality during her graduation project at a research institute. Fascinated by the technology and its possibilities, she decided to pursue a second master's degree, focused entirely on virtual reality, which she completed with a graduation project at Delft University of Technology. She then worked for several years as a researcher at Utrecht University, after which she made the switch to the business world. “In science, you work on something that may only be applicable in twenty years' time. In business, you see the immediate results of your work: you help customers with a specific problem and receive instant feedback. That makes the work extremely satisfying.”
She joined Sopra Steria as a software architect and progressed to become a principal expert. Now, she acts as a link between customers and development teams, focusing on architecture, hardware selection, and the technical implementation of XR solutions.
“The best thing is the variety,” she says. “Every assignment is different, and we always work with the latest technologies. What's more, Sopra Steria gives us plenty of room to experiment, which keeps the job exciting.”
XR in practice: from healthcare to railways Extended reality offers organisations countless possibilities. Sopra Steria mainly uses XR for training, workflow optimisation and safety. “Virtual reality is ideal for training purposes,” Saskia explains. “With VR glasses, people can practise in situations that are difficult to access in practice or do not yet exist.”
For example, her team developed a virtual naval ship for the Ministry of Defence on which the crew can train. VR is also being used successfully in healthcare: “We have developed an advanced training programme for nurses at Landstede MBO. Students learn to deal with realistic care situations in conversation with virtual patients. This project has been running for five years now and continues to grow with new environments and scenarios.”
In addition to VR, augmented reality (AR) plays an important role in supporting employees in their daily work. One example is the AR project for Alliander, in which engineers receive instructions for troubleshooting via smart glasses.
Another project, in collaboration with Nedap, focuses on the agricultural sector. “For this, we have created an AR application that provides livestock farmers real-time insights into the location and health of their herd, with detailed data on the condition and exact location of each cow.”
ProRail also benefited from innovative simulation technology. Sopra Steria developed a web application based on serious gaming for ProRail that allows future traffic controllers to practise complex scenarios. Saskia: “Normally, ProRail uses seven simulators for this training, but because a large number of new students had started the course, there were not enough trainers and simulators. ProRail contacted us to see if we could help with a short-term solution. With our solution, ProRail was able to train twice as many traffic controllers."
AI as an accelerator of immersive technology The rapid rise of artificial intelligence has also accelerated the development of XR. For example, AI is very useful for creating large 3D environments. “That used to be an endless amount of work,” says Saskia, "but with the help of AI, we can generate them much faster. We mainly use AI to deploy avatars that we use in our VR training programme for Landstede. Students have conversations with virtual patients, and thanks to AI, these conversations are much more natural than with hardcoded scripts, which has significantly improved the learning experience for the students."
Progress in hardware is also impressive. “Modern VR headsets are lighter, more comfortable and have sharper displays than ever, while some smart glasses even have the size and weight of regular sunglasses,” says Saskia enthusiastically. “Heavy, clumsy headsets are increasingly a thing of the past.”
MVP Award and SIGGRAPH In addition to her work at Sopra Steria, Saskia is active in the international XR community. She has already been honoured five times with the prestigious Microsoft MVP Award for her contributions to the sector. Together with Alexander Meijers of Avanade, she hosts the YouTube podcast Lost in a Lightfield about new technologies. They also organise an annual event with a large number of speakers and a monthly expert discussions. “That community is important,” she says. “We learn from each other, inspire each other and keep up to date with the latest developments.”
She also plays a prominent role as chair of the SIGGRAPH Immersive Pavilion. This is part of SIGGRAPH: the largest international conference in the field of computer graphics and interactive technology. “This is where the most groundbreaking XR experiences are presented,’ she says. ‘It's a lot of work, but also incredibly inspiring. You get to see the latest technologies up close and get a unique behind-the-scenes look at major film and tech companies.”
The future of XR According to Saskia, we are only at the beginning of what is possible with XR. “More and more organisations are discovering the value of immersive technology. In the beginning, they often use XR for a prototype or pilot, but once they see what it can deliverits potential, the real implementations follow. The step from experiment to valuable application is smaller than many people think.”