AR definitely has real industrial uses but 90% of the examples people can think of are not better or are worse than current methods.
The problem is "virtual" monitors in VR aren't high enough FOV or resolution to be as useful as real monitors.
I intentionally chose heroic examples because GP's viewpoint is understandable. Not everyone is as excited by window management and good UI as I am.
OP's article touched on attention management through UI a little bit, but I think that concern isn't given enough attention. Using the most heroic scenarios possible helps drive the point home without getting grim, but I will now. To be blunt, it's a historical fact that bad UI kills people [1][2].
> AR definitely has real industrial uses but 90% of the examples people can think of are not better or are worse than current methods.
I agree completely. My main concern is pinning manuals or reference sheets next to my work, even if paper fallback is still crucial. That's pretty much the use case for multi-monitor anyway.
The surgical example is the same thing: CT scans are used to tell the surgeons where it's ok to cut. However, there's an extra benefit here: reducing the need for a physical 3D print of the skull reduces infection risk. It's one less thing to moved into and out of the OR.
1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Therac-25
2. https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2017/11/uss-m...