What is Virtual Reality
VR uses computer technology to create a simulated environment. Virtual Reality tech places the user inside a virtual environment that gives the user the ability to interact with a virtual world in 3D. With multiple senses of the user, such as smell, hearing, touch, vision, the computer becomes the controller of this artificial world. Although it is fascinating, virtual reality is still very costly and lacks the availability of good content.
Future Applications of Virtual Reality are as follows
VR in Entertainment
Virtual reality is being used in the entertainment industry even today, although not many users have access to it. VR enables the users to do some basic gaming, watching movies, providing the experience of a museum while sitting at home. Gaming and movies are the two main sectors that come up when VR is in question. In today’s date, gaming accounts for over 50% of the VR software market.
Given the current scenario of the pandemic, people are sitting at home. VR would become mainstream in the future.
According to Statista, VR gaming is going to cash in revenues of over 15 billion dollars this year itself. As a user, imagine yourself right in the middle of the action, shooting those zombies and conquering the world. Exciting, isn't it?
Movies are another area where VR can be used extensively. The pandemic has shown us that nothing is certain, and we should be ready for it. VR would provide a great opportunity to present movies to a huge audience without them having to be physically present.
For example, Tribeca Film Festival offers Virtual Reality entertainment. In some of the films that are shown there, users can follow the main characters and feel like they are a part of the movie.
VR in Education
VR can make things come to life. VR could make the learning process enjoyable. Putting VR in the classroom would engage the students even more and improve the process of learning.
Immersive environments can be created by the developers that would help the students and specialists to quickly grasp the information and skills required.
Examples of where VR can be applied in the education sector.
• Immersive lectures on anatomy, where students can learn by watching 3D models of the human body.
• Animated and immersive history lessons to make the students feel like a part of history themselves.
• Animation and 3D structures of chemical bonds would be very interesting.
• A live example of 3D and VR learning is Walmart. This giant retailer uses Oculus headsets to train its employees in real-world scenarios.
Virtual Reality for Historical Reconstruction
Historical periods can be reimagined and made into VR content. These can be used to be demonstrated in movies, education lectures, and entertainment as a whole. Many wargames let the user experience historic battles with the help of VR.
This historical reconstruction can be used in education and museums. It would allow people to become participants of the past and better understand it.
VR for Training in Dangerous Jobs
Virtual Reality technology can be used to train specialists who have dangerous jobs. With the help of VR, trainees can be put into simulated situations of stress and difficulty. By sitting in a safe place, they could experience the danger safely. It would give them a better understanding of how to deal with such scenarios if they happen in real life.
Shopping in Virtual Reality
The retail industry has been hit during the Covid 19 pandemic. The use of virtual reality could reduce the impact of such situations to a great extent. It would help shoppers to view the products by sitting at their comfort and still being present in the store. VR would let the shoppers have a better look at the product.
Businesses can use VR to give users a feature-rich shopping experience.
With VR shopping, people would be able to try on clothes and take a look at how certain products, such as a sofa, would look like in their home.
These are some practical examples:
• Westfield Mall, a mall in London, applied VR tech to demonstrate their latest collection of fashion items.
• Lexus uses VR to give its potential clients a virtual car test drive in a realistic way.
Virtual Reality in Healthcare
The healthcare industry can be immensely changed with VR. Patients would be able to fight against their phobias. Many solutions have already been created to help patients to fight phobias such as fear of heights, needle phobia, aquaphobia, and many others.
VR can also be used to demonstrate complex medical procedures such as heart surgery, brain surgery, etc.
Many planning can also be done with the use of VR in healthcare. The layout of a hospital can be decided, how the flow of patients would be, where would the waiting room be, etc.
While being in the hospital, patients often become restless and want to leave. VR headsets can be used to show them a calming scene to calm them down. This could also help people with anxiety to calm down.
VR applications can help in the physical rehabilitation of patients. VR could accelerate their recovery process. Patients who have serious injuries, had a recent operation, or have suffered a stroke, etc., can benefit from VR rehabilitation therapy.
Manufacturing and Designing of Automotives
Manufacturers and engineers could make use of VR to visualize the models and how they would work. A lot of different work goes into the making of an automobile. From designing to testing, VR can help the automotive industry. The use of VR would also make sure to reduce the cost production by showing the issues in the VR simulation itself.
VR can also be used to train employees in the field of production, Repairs and maintenance, washing and cleaning, etc.
Worldwide work collaboration
Ever since the pandemic started, work from home has become widely accepted throughout the world. While many employees love to be isolated and alone, many others are having issues dealing with this lack of interaction. VR could help people to come together in a virtual environment and work together while being isolated. 70% of the workforce is already telecommunicating, and more and more employees are going fully remote.
Conclusion
The huge jolt that the Covid 19 pandemic has given to the world has opened new possibilities for VR. New possibilities have come up in the field of education, training, entertainment, work, etc. The world is fast accepting the idea of working remotely, learning remotely. VR is going to be at the forefront of this technological change. Yes, VR is costly, and not much content is there related to it. But, witnessing how times and situations change, there is a high need for the world to adopt VR tech.
You may like to read:
List of Top 5 Immersive Virtual Reality Examples
Virtual Reality History: Complete Timeline Explained
Real Life Examples of Virtual Reality in Financial Services
