Immersive technologies are increasingly having a major impact on medical care, education, military training, retail, and numerous other sectors.

Once relegated to the pages of sci-fi comics, extended reality (XR) — encompassing a family of immersive technologies that include virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), and mixed reality (MR) — is in day-to-day use across a broad range of sectors in Taiwan. Chief among them are medicine, defense, vocational and higher education, and manufacturing.

In the healthcare field, how to ensure a sufficient number of highly trained medical personnel to meet the needs of hospitals and clinics is always a key concern. With Taiwan now officially identified as a super-aged society, meaning that 20% or more of the population is at least 65 years old, that pressure is growing from realization that the elderly require significantly more medical attention. From medical education to diagnosis and treatment, XR is playing an increasingly important role.

An example is the conversion of a patient’s imaging data, such as CT and MRI scans, into an interactive 3D environment that allows doctors, educators, and medical staff to safely combine the digital and physical domains. Surgeons and students can rehearse complex procedures without ever cutting a real person. Visualizing tumors, arteries, and vasculature in XR can help doctors refine critical decisions without exposing patients to risk.

Taiwan has developed a strong and innovative MedTech XR ecosystem that has found a market for its technology among both domestic and international buyers. HTC VIVE Health, which sells XR headsets and clinical/rehab software throughout Asia and Europe, is one such company. Another is iStaging, whose software provides 3D/AR visualization and presentation platforms for surgical walkthroughs and education, serving clients in the Asia-Pacific region. And XRMed, as the name suggests, sells VR tech for therapy/rehab and XR deployment services for clinics locally and to rehab centers elsewhere in Asia.

What has enabled Taiwan to be at the nexus of this burgeoning global medical market is its already well-established tech sector, especially in electronics. That provides a strong foundation from which developers can integrate hardware with health-focused software.

Students at Taiwanese medical schools are now able to expand their learning opportunities beyond listening to lectures, poring over textbooks and dissecting cadavers. They can navigate dynamic 3D human models that show organs, nerves, and muscle structures in far more detail than any book. XR is also being adapted for training in traditional Chinese medicine, digitally illustrating acupuncture points and meridian networks in both location and depth, offering critical detail that conventional models cannot.

“I’ve used an XR system that plans corrective osteotomies (bone-cutting procedures) on CT scans and creates a template with which we make the necessary bone cuts during surgery, which is quite useful,” says Dr. Yang Tsung-ying, an attending physician at the Orthopedic Surgery Department of Taipei City Hospital’s Yangming Branch. “I think it [AR] can save time, lessen blood loss, and make for a more precise surgery.”

At Taipei Veterans General Hospital (TVGH), the Department of Medical Education is promoting “immersive virtual learning” via XR for its students, covering everything from patient consultations and operating-theater preparation to diagnosis options and surgery. Achieved by combining a mixture of platforms — VR, AR, MR, and Artificial Intelligence — the program serves to strengthen the capabilities of future healthcare practitioners.

Dr. Chiang Dung-hung of TVGH’s Department of Critical Care Medicine, particularly cites the value of the learning programs HMD (Head Mounted Display)-VR simulation. He says it increases trainees’ “self-efficacy, including familiarity and confidence, and reduces their anxiety about tracheostomy-related knowledge and care skills.”

It’s not only the students who can gain from immersive learning. XR provides a perfect suite of tools enabling surgeons to upskill without touching a real patient.

Besides enhancing the skills of medical students and doctors, XR can also play an important role in patient engagement. Enabling patients to see simulations of what is happening inside their bodies, or precisely what a given medical procedure entails, shifts patients from passively listening to the doctor’s diagnosis to active observation and involvement. The result is to spur patients to become more active partners in their own healthcare.

While all this technological advancement benefits the medical profession and patients, this new realm of innovation cannot be sustainable unless it generates sufficient returns. To strike the right balance between medical progress and viable business models, Taiwanese companies — given the limited size of the domestic market — will also need to be competitive internationally.

Part of the challenge will be to incorporate international interoperability standards as they develop. Also critical to both manufacturing and future operating costs will be the ability to continue to innovate, update, and improve the products.

The anticipated size of the global market will make the effort worthwhile. International commercial market research company Research Nester forecasts growth for immersive technology in healthcare. from US$2.24 billion in 2025 to US$12.13 billion by 2035.

Technical education

In July 2025, a month-long interactive exhibition titled “The FUN Space for Vocational Education” was held at the National Taiwan Science Education Center to promote career exploration. Co-organized by the Taoyuan-based Lunghwa University of Science and Technology, the event covered seven popular industry sectors. Incorporating interactive technologies such as AR and VR, it introduced workplace experiences in seven popular industries: semiconductors, electric vehicles, smart business, foreign language applications, catering, design, and smart robots. Through these virtual platforms, attendees were able to vicariously experience these vocations.

In November last year, the EdTech Taiwan exhibition in Taipei focused on the emergence of unprogrammed game design and immersive learning. The AR2VR-themed “AIXR Classroom x Learning Creativity” attracted school principals, teachers, and students from across the country.

As well as showcasing the latest technology, the event also hosted the 5th National VR Cross-Domain Cup, showcasing the latest capabilities of Taiwanese teachers and students in immersive content creation.

Talks and hands-on sessions covered everything from “Designing games without programming blocks” and “VR creation for elementary school students” through to “AI x VR future teaching models.” The overall focus was to promote the future use of XR technology and to demonstrate how it can be incorporated into curriculum guidelines.

A recently released technology that promises to be highly beneficial for technical education is the Rotating Object Camera. Utilizing AI computing, it captures a 360-degree shot of a person or object in just a few seconds, automatically generating a high-precision 3D digital avatar. These avatars can then be transferred to educational and training programs — providing immersive experiences for participants.

XR tech is also finding its way into education and training programs for machining, welding, and automotive and aviation maintenance. Considering how complex engines are, the ability to virtually dismantle components can lead to quicker diagnostics and repair times. Mechanics and machinists can study electronic and mechanical intricacies virtually via XR headsets before actually moving any components.

Also finding good use for XR are architects, since the technology enables immersive, virtual walkthroughs of concepts and properties that are still in the design stage. TCIMAGE Studio, based in Taipei, is creating realistic 3D graphics and presenting them in virtual, augmented, and mixed reality. This allows clients to experience designs from any location by streaming untethered XR experiences from the cloud.

“I can freely and easily present my projects, artwork and portfolio to customers anytime, anywhere while maintaining the best quality of content,” says company CEO Leo Chou. “I can even edit the content in real time, based on the customer’s requirements.”

By using XR to enhance creative workflows, TCIMAGE is able speed up its production process from concept to construction, saving time and costs by allowing clients to immediately see, experience, and approve proposed changes.

Military and industrial

Defense industry capabilities are a key component of national security. The interconnectedness of military requirements and industrial support can be seen in such areas as shipbuilding, armaments, aviation, heavy machinery, and — more recently — drones. XR is useful in multiple roles — from training and logistics to operations and maintenance.

Especially in terms of workflow management and cost-effectiveness, XR has proven to be a boon in the military realm. Maintenance teams use AR overlays to help guide technicians through vehicle diagnostics, weapons-system repair, and complex assembly tasks, reducing the need for on-site specialists.

A little-talked-about benefit of XR is its ability to operate in isolated environments — especially those that are “air-gapped” (meaning physically isolated from all other networks, particularly the public internet) — for sensitive military or industrial applications. As a result, the system can be operated on locally hosted networks, thwarting potential cyberattacks.

Much tactical training requires live-field drills, and incorporating XR into these exercises can offer a blend of combat realism. It gives commanding officers the opportunity to add elements of surprise, or various other scenarios, without needing to have specific hardware on hand.

These hybrid drills, combining VR and live exercises, can help soldiers in training lessen the risk of cognitive overload. They can also improve the physical handling of weapons, and prepare recruits to deal with the varying levels of stress that might be faced in combat.

As a tool, XR offers a myriad of flexible training options, but while it can be highly effective, it needs to be carefully incorporated into existing learning curriculums. Even when used in conjunction with real-life settings, there is still the potential for cognitive overload, as well as simulator sickness and excessive-movement sickness for some participants.

For the AR portion of extreme reality, current day-to-day use of AR is evident across retail and e-commerce at the intersection of business efficiency and consumer experience. Many companies are increasingly using 3D models, along with interactive AR models, to sell everything from clothes to furniture. This burgeoning tech is enabling potential buyers to try on virtual outfits, visit model rooms equipped with a vast array of home furnishings and housewares, and interact with architectural renderings of home improvement projects and renovation — all largely accessible via a smartphone.

The commercial goal is to guide the consumer effortlessly from slick displays to the shopping cart. While use of AR is undoubtedly a sales driver, another benefit of enabling people to visualize products in real-world settings is the substantial reduction in the volume of returned goods.

ReportOcean, a U.S.-based consulting and market research firm, projects that driven by digitalization and technology adoption, the global 3D and AR advertising market will expand at a compound annual growth rate of 8.25% through to 2030. And with tech giants Google, Apple, and Microsoft investing heavily in AR development, combined with chip improvements and a growing public appetite for VR and all types of AR, the commercial landscape is certain to see advancements in AR capabilities and innovations.

It’s unlikely that there will be many corners of society or the economy untouched by XR in the future. From training to technical know-how, commercial concepts to consumer behavior, medical diagnosis to surgical procedures, XR’s future growth seems assured. The only question is how quickly businesses, government bodies, and the public will adapt to its usage.