When we talk about virtual reality, it is interesting to look into its history. However, that is not what this blog is about. We will talk about something more exciting, namely how virtual reality looks like nowadays and what impact it has on our (professional) lives.
A logical question that is often being asked is how will virtual reality (VR) look like in (near) future. That is an interesting question because nobody exactly knows. VR is in constant development. Every time, some geniuses come up with new technologies to make VR even more realistic or impressive than it already is. The future of VR may be vague, but it is everything but unsure.
In this blog article, we are not focusing on the cloudy aspects of VR. We will dive into some of the areas in which VR has proven itself. The areas that will be discussed are:
1. Healthcare
2. Entertainment
3. Education
The Power of Virtual Reality:
healthcare
We believe that VR will soon become an integral part of healthcare. In the first place because the results are promising. The Spanish National Research Council has succeeded in reducing the effects of Parkinson’s disease by applying a treatment that uses VR. And Brennan Spiegel also shows great results when it comes to fighting pain and panic attacks. The more research is devoted to these topics, the stronger the place of VR within healthcare becomes.
Except VR being used in pain relief experienced by patients, it is also used as a rehabilitation tool. Moreover, VR is an efficient way for healthcare professionals to enrich their knowledge. This is because you can use a VR headset anywhere and anytime. Besides that, VR is a great way to practice with real-life experiences. Trainers spend lesser time explaining the theory and thus have more time to focus on one-to-one feedback. This makes training more effective and personalized leading to greater results.
Not only can VR be useful for healthcare professionals. VR has the advantage that it is a new way for people to exercise. On the one hand, this is motivating for patients who have to rehabilitate. Many of those exercises are quite tedious, but what if those exercises take place within a virtual world? And these exercises are part of a larger whole namely a story?
On the other hand, VR is an ideal way to get people off the couch. Take for example the popular game ‘Beat Saber’, in which you have to smash blocks with two sabres. Anyone who has played this game knows that it can make your muscles sore the next day. This way, VR can motivate people to get moving which could prevent many health problems such as overweight and diabetes.
The Power of Virtual Reality:
entertainment
In addition to developing games that encourage people to exercise, many VR applications are also made for entertainment purposes. For example, many gamers like to immerse themselves in a game world to escape the real world for a while. Because VR uses a 360-degree experience in which you can see and hear, this will feel like a hyper-realistic situation. Not to mention all the techniques employed to enhance this sense of realism.
This of course also has disadvantages, for example, that the dividing line between the real and the fantasy world is becoming thinner and thinner. This could be a problem when people experience something in VR that could harm their behaviour in real life. In addition, you don’t want to wear VR glasses for too long, because they can make you dizzy and nauseous. This is also known as motion sickness. These disadvantages are important factors to also take into account when we talk about virtual reality.
Nevertheless, we believe in the power of virtual reality. Many VR applications have namely a positive influence on the entertainment industry. For example, the 4D experience is becoming more popular in cinemas. What if you could experience the same, but in VR? This way, as a spectator, you can be part of the movie you are watching. The same goes for theatre, where the audience can take part in their favourite shows. The immersiveness of VR is also interesting for museums because you can give visitors a trip to another place. For example, how cool would it be if you could travel back to the Stone Age, instead of just reading about it? This also shows that VR is not only a way to entertain yourself, but that it is a great learning tool too.
The Power of Virtual Reality:
education
The efficacy of VR within the field of education is even science-based. Scientific research namely shows that using VR as a learning tool is more effective than both e-learning classes and traditional classroom learning. Students who follow a VR training are 4 times less distracted than e-learners. Also, 78% prefers VR over classroom teaching. Finally, VR training is twice as fast as e-learning.
VR can also enhance so-called role-playing. Often, students practice real-life situations together with an actor or co-student. Besides that an actor can be quite expensive, it can also feel a little bit awkward because it may feel like being watched and judged by fellow students. VR can offer a safe space where students dare to make mistakes. Moreover, students can practice how often they want, where they want. This way, they are not tied to specific workgroups.
The conversation between a real-life person and a virtual avatar is called a virtual dialogue. These dialogues are often practised by the use of multiple choice answers. As a player, you would see answer options and you choose one to which your interlocutor responds. However, using unrestricted speech is a great possibility. And with all the developments, its use is becoming more and more common.
Endless possibilities: also for you
To make a long story short: the possibilities for VR are endless. We can write a full book about it. This is because it is a tool that is in constant development. That is what makes working with VR so much fun and interesting for us.
Do you want to find out what the virtual possibilities are for your organization? Please contact us.