VR headsets are now used to help measure inflation in the UK

Executive summary

Welcome to your weekly briefing on the metaverse and spatial computing. Here are your snippets to sound smarter in meetings this week:

• Top Story: VR headsets are now used to help measure inflation in the UK (analysis below).

• Opportunity: PHI is now accepting applications for the PHI Immersive Residency in Montreal, offering artists working at the intersection of art, tech, and storytelling support to develop XR and immersive projects.

• Other stories: Rezzil launched Hexball, a fast-paced, skill-driven VR arena sport spun off from Premier League Player, focused on pure competition and creative gameplay. Also, Sony Electronics has launched Ocellus (ASR-CT1), its first marker-free camera tracking system for AR and virtual production, offering real-time metadata for cinema and broadcast workflows.

Top story

VR headsets are now used to help measure inflation in the UK.

• Why is this interesting? It shows that UK consumers have an appetite for using VR, so much so that it can measure an increase in inflation. The Office of National Statistics said spending on VR headsets was expected to rise from about £347m last year to £520m by 2029.

• Should we read much into it? Maybe not. An opinion piece in the Financial Times argued otherwise: “Such shifts are inevitably characterised as capturing the consumer zeitgeist, reflecting the latest trends in fashion, food and other frivolities. Which, really, they don’t. The ONS’s technical manual on the compilation of the consumer prices index warns that items in the basket (which, with more than 750 items, is really more of a trolley) “should not be afforded significance beyond their purpose as representative items”.”

Other stories

• Bigscreen unveiled the Beyond 2, a lightweight, custom-fit VR headset with a 116° field of view, upgraded optics, and a starting price of $1,019, with optional eye-tracking.

• Distance Technologies partnered with Patria and the eALLIANCE programme to develop mixed reality HUDs for Patria’s 6x6 defence vehicles, turning windshields into real-time 3D and AI tactical data displays without XR glasses.

• Plymouth Marjon University will open a £5.8m Health & Wellbeing Hub in September 2025, featuring VR, AR, and simulation wards to train future healthcare workers in digital and practical skills.

• Rezzil launched Hexball, a fast-paced, skill-driven VR arena sport spun off from Premier League Player, focused on pure competition and creative gameplay.

• SenseGlove and Aeon Robotics launched the HEART Project, combining VR and haptic feedback to enhance robotic training, as part of the EU-funded MasterXR framework.

• Skidattl, founded by serial entrepreneur Randy Marsden, has launched an AR platform using App Clip technology to deliver virtual overlays in physical spaces without requiring app downloads.

• Sony Electronics has launched Ocellus (ASR-CT1), its first marker-free camera tracking system for AR and virtual production, offering real-time metadata for cinema and broadcast workflows.

Note: The Immersive Wire is run by Tom Ffiske, who also works at Accenture. The contents of the newsletter should not be regarded as Accenture’s views.