Yes, Dell Technologies sells servers and computers. Sure, we now sell storage as-a-service. But, there is an entire group behind the scenes focused solely on conducting research about nascent and emerging technologies. This group, called the Office of the CTO (OCTO) Research Organization, is chock full of incredibly smart people trying to figure out where specific technologies are today, where they are heading, and how we need to examine the ethical implications of all possibilities before that new future arrives.

Malini Bhattacharjee and Danqing Sha are two women who happen to be conducting research on augmented and virtual realities (AR/VR) at the moment, and host Kelly Lynch had the opportunity to sit with them this week to learn more. From the possible use of 3D modeling in virtual doctor visits to field trips to outer space, AR and VR have the potential to uniquely improve our lives and break barriers to access for people everywhere.

What you'll hear in this episode:

• More about the OCTO Research Organization (ORO) (00:40)
• Research examples coming out of ORO (02:25)
• The difference between Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality (AR/VR) (03:00)
• Current limitation of AR/VR
• Why you might get motion sick playing certain video games (04:23)
• What is a "thin client?" (05:52)
• Futhering equality in education with AR/VR (07:23)
• Moving away from curriculum-centric toward learner-centric education (08:17)
• How AR and VR will improve access to healthcare (10:08)
• Why sharing your digital environment shouldn't be as scary as it sounds (11:25)
• Bringing "The Magic School Bus" to life (13:17)