What Is Virtual Reality And How Is It Going To Change Our Future?
Many of us know VR by those first-person shooter games and cranky graphics that are still somehow just inherently cool. Virtual reality has rightfully found its home in the gaming industry. Yet, as various technologies develop, and the world’s needs change, VR that comes with oculus quest 1 & rift s prescription lenses steadily expands its bubble and enhances fields that are far from entertainment. In 2020, virtual reality plays a massive role in education and business, aiding professionals in everything from selling houses to going through astronaut training.
What is Virtual Reality?
Virtual reality is an umbrella term for experiences in which reality is simulated, either fully or to a degree. A VR environment can be similar to the real world, copy a part of it, or be completely different from anything we might see in reality. Typically, virtual reality refers to a completely simulated experience, while augmented reality and mixed reality use objects from the real world.
To experience VR, a user needs either a headset or a specifically designed room with several screens placed in a particular way. Currently, obtaining a headset is the most widespread and accessible way to engage in VR. A typical headset consists of a display with a small screen right in front of the users’ eyes and audio speakers to transmit sound. A headset usually comes together with handheld controllers. With the headset on and the controllers in hands, a person can look around the created artificial world, move, and interact with various objects and entities in it. To facilitate the immersion, additional technology is available to simulate the feeling of touch by vibrations, air pressure, and other similar methods.
For a long time, VR had only been popular in the military, medical, and manufacturing sectors. Now, many companies offer VR software development services to businesses in an extremely wide range of specializations. More information about the scope of VR software development services you may find here: https://litslink.com/services/virtual-reality-software-development
Virtual Reality in Education
The applications of virtual reality can be roughly divided into three main categories: VR for education, entertainment, and productivity. While entertainment is a relatively easy subsection to cover, VR for educational purposes tends to branch out dramatically.
Virtual Reality in Medicine
In the medical field, virtual reality is used to train future surgeons and other professionals while reducing the costs and risks of the process. It is also applied in rehabilitation, psychological treatment, and various other forms of therapy.
Virtual Reality in Astronaut Training
Specialists at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory have been designing and incorporating VR systems into their training routines since 1984. Currently, this technology is used to train astronauts to respond to emergencies, fix equipment, conduct spacewalks, and operate in stressful conditions.
Virtual Reality in the Military
VR is used in the military to familiarize future soldiers with highly dangerous environments that are difficult to simulate in reality. VR also helps cut the costs of training by reducing the amount of ammunition that needs to be expended during the period of training. Since VR can effectively simulate any scenario, it is used to increase the personnel’s psychological resilience.
Virtual Reality in the Classroom
In the classroom, the use of VR is not yet widespread, yet the technology is beginning to contribute to this sector as well. In 2020, in particular, the use of VR can enable teachers and professors to conduct lectures more effectively, increasing the engagement of their students during the forced transition to online studying.
Virtual Reality in Business
In the business world, the usefulness of virtual reality is somewhat controversial. Most people agree that VR can help improve their companies’ quality of service, particularly through web-based applications that allow customers to interact with products more directly. VR is also accepted to be beneficial in employee training.
When it comes to the issues in productivity, however, many see the necessity to spend a business meeting in a headset as childish. During the current coronavirus crisis, nobody knows quite how to nail the rapidly emerging and growing need to move workers to the remote effectively, while avoiding damage to the company’s profits, productivity, and morale. The most intuitive and popular way to go about it is to promote video conferences and continuous engagement through text messages.
Various VR technologies, albeit looking unusual in the business setting, can provide a solution to this issue. Virtual reality systems already exist that allow users to create virtual office spaces and interact in them by talking, handling documents and surrounding objects, working on arranging the same presentation in a team, and so on.
VR Applications Overview
Virtual reality is a growing technology that has already penetrated almost every imaginable field. The primary use of VR still resides with the entertainment industry in the form of games and 3D movies. However, VR technologies are becoming more and more involved in education, employee training, and business. They help workers increase their proficiency while cutting both the time and cost of each session. Also, VR has proved to be useful in the medical field to battle such conditions as PTSD and various phobias.
