Virtual Reality technology is no longer on the way. It’s finally here and companies are starting to realize the feasibility of integrating the tech. The Virtual Reality technology has been made obvious by companies such as Facebook who have invested billions of dollars into buying VR tech forerunner Oculus Rift. What once seemed a pipe dream is now becoming readily available without having to invest millions of dollars into programming and setup thanks to hardware like the Oculus Rift and Google Cardboard.
While we still haven’t reached “life-life” simulation with VR, it has gotten to the point where it can be used in multiple fields and entertainment. Check out our list below for five fields that are being revolutionized by the use of virtual reality that every entrepreneur from around the world can create.
- Real Estate: Buying a house can be a long, tedious process full of many hours spent roaming the halls of prospective properties. With VR, however, you have the ability to browse properties from the comfort of your own couch. While virtual walkthroughs have been around for years, virtual reality allows you to get a great feel for the size of the rooms, the height of the ceilings, and an overall better feel for the house.
Even my former Virtual tour app Pixloo already had a web, iOS and Android app that allows you to browse houses (and other locations), and also add VR support through the use hardware like Google Cardboard and Oculus Rift. By offering VR mode, buyers around the world can get a great feel for a property without having to travel hours to get a tour. With Pixloo, photographers and real estate agents can upload properties onto the website and link different rooms together through the Portals, combining them into Spaces where visitors can navigate as if they are walking right there in person. These apps also include multimedia filled “Hotspots” that potential buyers can interact with to find out additional information about a room or fixture. Businesses or agents can even embed those panoramas into their own websites. Such virtual tours may be helpful not only for the real estate, but also for the travel and hospitality industries.
2. Automotive: Similar to real estate, automotive companies have begun using VR to let customers get a feel for their vehicles before stepping on the showroom floor. Ford Motors is on the forefront of this technology using Immersion Lab. Lexus has also entered this market and offers VR through their mobile app to let users experience their fastest sports cars through Oculus and Google Cardboard.
By using this VR tech and Oculus Rift, buyers can get a feel for the interior of a car and see exactly how spacious it is for them. Maybe you’re 6’6” and are interested in purchasing a new Mustang. This tech gives you the chance to see how spacious the interior is and if you’ll be comfortable in the sports car.
3. Entertainment: The most promising use of VR however comes in the form of entertainment. We like to have fun, and VR gives us a chance for a whole new level of immersion in movies and video games. By using hardware like Oculus Rift, gamers can step into their favorite video game realm (like space exploration) and experience these titles in a completely new way. Also making waves in VR, is the Void project which utilizes not only a VR headset, but a vest and gloves, as well to deliver fully immersive gameplay and scenarios.
This technology is being used in VR for interactive movies. Imagine not being stuck to a fixed camera. You could look around, examine the environment, study the actors’ faces. Mystery titles could put you into the detective’s shoes while you attempt to figure out the clues in the same way as the characters within the movie.
4. Medical: The possibilities will become almost endless now. From PTSD treatments to burn therapy, VR can be used in virtually every aspect of the medical field. One of the major uses can be to train students in the more difficult aspects of surgery without any risks to real patients.
By using VR, medical students in the military can use the simulations to experience what it is like to perform medical procedures during life-like battlefield scenarios. It’s one thing to perform surgery in a clean, quiet environment; but having to deal with gunfire and “the frontline” adds a new level of stress to the situation and VR can help simulate that sensory overload.
5. Education: Schools and museums are starting to use VR to give students and patrons a more in-depth experience of exploring and learning about history. By using VR headsets, students can be transported to many locations and events throughout history. Learning about the Roman Colosseum is one thing, but imagine being able to step inside of it, to experience the roar of the crowd and the magnitude of the structure. Students learn best when they are engaged in a subject, and being able to offer virtual history lessons could be that tipping point between interest and dispassionate studying.
Whatever a person may think of virtual reality, it is here to stay. What once seemed like an impossibility or novelty is making its way to the main stage. As the technology advances, virtual reality can offer perks and benefits to many fields that have been essentially unchanged for years. Obviously, the entertainment industry is prime for this technology, but by expanding this tech into other fields, you can start to see the benefit of using virtual reality in many walks of life. From helping with PTSD therapy and medical procedures to giving home buyers a better look at their dream home, VR is becoming a viable technology to be harnessed by many fields.