Can technology help us celebrate festivals in a COVID world?

Modern day lifestyle has had a significant impact on the way we celebrate our festivals. Travel back 10 years and try and remember how festivals were celebrated when we were younger – Our homes were crowded everyday with neighbours and visitors popping in at will, relatives reaching us with gifts & money (sometimes sending them across). But slowing all that has been replaced by emails, e-cards, online transfers, and video call. We slowly started to live our lives in silos. And now with the Covid hitting us hard, these silos seem to be here to stay. And with the festive season around the corner, we wonder if celebration can ever be the same again.

Can technology help?

The problem could be solved with immersive virtual and augmented reality experiences by providing a new way connect. Such immersive experiences are highly personalized, free of real-world distractions. Today, all the options available can be enabled via gear like glasses, headsets, Oculus, etc.While the potential of gearless solutions is still not fully explored, it might not be too long before we see solutions that are devoid of gears.

Celebrating Festivals in Pandemic

After COVID, the first festival that we witnessed was Rakshabandhan. A lot of us were away from our siblings and could not even afford to go to our relatives’ places. In such a scenario, we all must have observed an increase in the usage of video calls, be it to wish each other, to play games, or to tie rakhis to each other. This has definitely helped reduce the gap but hasn’t removed completely. With the new integrated technology of AR, VR & 3D Hologram ready to enter our lives, we will slowly start bridging the gap. Augmented and Virtual Reality will change the way we build and maintain relationships and help develop a sense of being closer to each other.

Next, we will see Dusshera and Diwali where we would go to pandals, play dandiya, visit our relatives and friends. But this year, none of that will be possible unless we use AR/VR technology to create a projection of the same environment in the comfort of our homes. The integrated technology platform will facilitate creative seating arrangements for families, thus allowing for a same-room interaction experience. The integrated technology can be such that families will not only meet virtually but maytake this to the new level by performing rituals together, dancing together, cutting the cake together, having delicious food together, bursting crackers together, thus reducing the distance between them.

How will this be made possible?

• Integration with Digital Enablers
  The usage of digital enablers like zoom, google meet, Facebook, Facetime, Skype, WhatsApp, etc., has consistently risen during the lockdown. An Integration with these platforms on laptops, tablets, and mobile can promote virtual and augmented reality.
• Provision of 3D view
  Imagine seeing a three-dimensional view every time you video call anyone or watch a video on Youtube, enhanced reality giving way to infinite possibilities.
• Infrastructure
  Building a robust infrastructure of hardware and software resources for an entire network that can enable communication& operations thus increasing connectivity will help enforce such a solution.

A world full of Possibilities

The scope of AR and VR has tremendous potential and is attempting to make our lives easier every day. It is already present in our gadgets, vehicles and will soon enter our homes. Integrated technology will open the door to a world of creativity and possibilities, where one can go anywhere at any time and meet anyone to do anything. It will change the way one communicates by:

• Increasing social interactions through virtual meet and greet
• Sharing those special moments by virtually being a part of those celebrations
• Facilitating Immersive visualization and empathetic storytelling