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The clearest next steps for spatial computing, virtual reality (VR), and mixed reality (MR) in 2026 are practical rather than speculative: using spatial interfaces to review product designs, bringing shared VR experiences into public venues, and connecting remote workers with medical professionals. A Fast Company feature published October 6, 2026, describes examples from Dassault Systèmes, Excurio, and Veyond Metaverse. They show where immersive technology is being applied—not proof that one platform has won or that adoption is universal.
What are the next big things in spatial computing for 2026?
The three examples address different problems. Dassault Systèmes uses spatial computing for product and process design; Excurio brings groups into location-based VR experiences; and Veyond Metaverse describes remote healthcare for people working at sea and offshore. The deployments and performance figures below are reported by Fast Company, not independently audited comparisons.
| Example | Setting | Reported detail |
|---|---|---|
| Dassault Systèmes 3DLive | Product design and review | An aerospace company brought reviewers on three continents together to assess an aircraft interior; Fast Company reports approval time was cut in half and travel costs fell by $450,000. |
| Excurio LBXR Pulse | Public, venue-based VR | Fast Company reports support for up to 130 simultaneous users across multiple concurrent experiences, with deployments at 25 venues in 17 countries. |
| Veyond Metaverse OceanMD | Remote healthcare | Fast Company says the telehealth platform is designed for 100 kbps connections and reports pilots in West Africa and Brazilian offshore operations. |
How spatial computing is changing product design
Reviewing digital twins in context
Dassault Systèmes’ 3DLive platform lets users engage with digital twins—virtual representations of products, processes, or spaces—through Apple Vision Pro. Fast Company describes applications including engineering electric vehicles and testing surgical instruments. The point is to review a 3D design at spatial scale and collaboratively, rather than relying only on a conventional screen view.
What the reported aerospace case shows
In the example Fast Company reports, an unnamed aerospace company used 3DLive to bring people on three continents together to review an aircraft interior. The publication says approval time was cut in half and $450,000 in travel costs were saved. The customer is not identified in the accessible feature, and no independent validation or comparison with other design workflows is provided; those figures should be read as a reported case, not a general expected saving.
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How virtual reality is being used outside gaming
Shared experiences in public venues
Excurio’s LBXR Pulse is aimed at museums, cultural institutions, entertainment venues, and other organizations. Fast Company reports that it can host up to 130 users simultaneously across multiple experiences and that it had been deployed at 25 venues in 17 countries. The feature names the Musée d’Orsay and Harvard University’s Giza Project among content partners.
What a venue should compare
Those figures illustrate a group-use model, but they are not enough to select a venue platform. Operators should also assess:
- Concurrent participant capacity and whether several experiences can run at once.
- Content rights, partners, and the range of experiences available.
- Installation, staffing, device management, and day-to-day operating requirements.
- The kinds of venues represented by existing deployments.
Fast Company provides no comparable competitor data or detailed installation and operating requirements, so its reported scale should not be treated as an apples-to-apples ranking.
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What is mixed reality used for?
Remote healthcare where connectivity is limited
Veyond Metaverse’s OceanMD is described as a telehealth platform connecting seafarers and offshore workers with onshore medical professionals wearing mixed-reality headsets. Fast Company says it is designed to work at 100 kbps, addressing the slow satellite connections that can be a constraint at sea. The article reports pilots in West Africa and Brazilian offshore operations.
Why the maritime use case matters
Fast Company puts the need in context by estimating that more than 2 million people are seafarers or work on offshore rigs. It also reports that Medaire, an International SOS company, secured a five-year exclusive agreement in May 2026 for global civilian aviation. That agreement concerns aviation; it does not by itself establish OceanMD coverage or deployment across all maritime operations.
A remote-care deployment depends on more than headset software. Before assessing a system, organizations need to establish its minimum network requirements, access to trained clinicians, supported headsets and peripherals, safety and escalation procedures, and geographic coverage. The reported bandwidth target and selected pilots do not answer all of those questions.
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How VR, AR, and MR differ
Meta’s Horizon OS developer documentation defines mixed reality this way: “Mixed Reality, or MR, blends virtual objects with a user’s physical environment, enabling experiences that respond to and integrate with the real world.” In practical terms, VR immerses the user in a virtual world; augmented reality (AR) overlays virtual elements on the physical world; and MR makes virtual elements interact with the user or surroundings.
Meta identifies Quest 3 and Quest 3S as devices with higher-resolution color passthrough and a dedicated depth sensor. These capabilities can help digital content respond to a view of the physical environment. They describe a device and platform path, not proof that the enterprise services above run on those headsets: 3DLive is described for Apple Vision Pro, while OceanMD’s compatible hardware is not specified in the feature.
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What the platform roadmaps mean for 2026
Meta is investing in more than one audience
In February 2026, Meta said it was separating its Quest VR platform from its Worlds platform while continuing to invest in VR hardware for different audience segments. The company reported that third-party applications accounted for 86% of effective time spent in VR headsets, based on its 2025 platform data, and that it invested nearly $150 million in VR developer programs in 2025. Meta’s post says the US VR-headset unit-share reference in its footnote comes from Circana’s Retail Tracking Service for the 12 months ending December 2025; it is not a global market-share measure.
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At Connect 2026, Meta announced Meta VR Glasses, saying they weigh about 100 grams, use eyes and hands as primary input, and share an operating system, Store, and SDKs with Meta Quest. Meta said they would ship in spring 2027, so they are an announced future product rather than a 2026 purchase option. The announcement also says Touch Plus controllers are supported but sold separately, and gives an approximate field of view of 70 by 66 degrees, compared with 110 by 96 degrees for Quest 3.
Meta’s September 2026 Connect recap also described a planned expansion of Meta Ray-Ban Display to the UK, Canada, France, Italy, and Germany, along with media and sports partnerships for Meta VR Glasses. These are company announcements and plans, which may change.
Apple is expanding developer paths for spatial apps
Apple’s WWDC26 developer session covers visionOS 27 development routes for compatible iOS and iPadOS apps, native spatial apps, and Mac or PC experiences using Spatial Preview or foveated streaming. It also discusses RealityKit, object tracking, spatial accessories, and immersive-media tools. These are development capabilities and workflows, not evidence of broad consumer adoption.
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What these examples do—and do not—establish
Together, the three cases illustrate distinct operational uses: collaborative product review, group entertainment or cultural experiences, and remote clinical support. They do not establish a market-wide adoption rate, a winning headset, or a common measure of return on investment. Fast Company’s cases are journalism rather than independent customer audits, and Meta and Apple’s documentation is authoritative for their own products and announcements, not for overall market performance.
For a real deployment, compare the problem being solved and the workflow around the technology—not just headset specifications. A design team needs to examine fidelity, design-data integration, collaboration, and measured time or travel savings. A venue needs capacity, content, installation, and operations detail. A remote-care provider needs connectivity, clinical staffing, device compatibility, escalation procedures, and service coverage. The available examples supply only some of those details, so they are useful signals of direction rather than a complete buying comparison.
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