Extended Reality and the Implementation of the UN Sustainable Development Goals: Opportunities, Challenges and Future Directions

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) serve as the essential framework for tackling the complex contemporary challenges and it is imperative to take meaningful steps towards their advancement so as to foster sustainability and cultivate an improved future for global well-being. Digital technologies are considered among the key enablers for advancing the SDGs due to various reasons, including their ability to enhance data-driven decision-making, promote inclusive access to essential services, and facilitate global collaboration towards sustainable development. Among the digital technologies, extended reality (XR) technologies have rapidly evolved during recent years and are increasingly being integrated into key domains such as healthcare, education, and manufacturing. This group of innovative and immersive technologies including augmented reality, virtual reality and mixed reality can potentially play a key role in advancing the SDGs by offering immersive and interactive experiences that can raise awareness, foster empathy, and drive actions towards sustainable development. However, harnessing the full potential of XR for driving the SDGs also comes with various challenges that are related to readiness of the technologies, issues with content creation, skills requirements as well as privacy and security concerns. As such, this chapter discusses the key role that XR can potentially play in advancing the 17 SDGs. As part of this chapter, the key opportunities created by XR towards advancing the SDGs are discussed as well as the key challenges involved. In addition, the prospective solutions to these challenges are highlighted as well as the future directions of XR in advancing the UN SDGs.