What Is The Present And Future Of Virtual Reality?

Image courtesy of pallina60 Loon at Flickr.com

Many experts project 2016 as the year for Virtual Reality. This technology is far from new, yet the most promising advances in the field of virtual reality have been reached and made public in the last few months.

What is Virtual Reality? According to Wikipedia, Virtual Reality is a computer technology that replicates an environment, real or imagined, and simulates a user's physical presence and environment to allow for user interaction. Virtual realities artificially create sensory experience, which can include sight, touch, hearing, and smell.

The way Virtual Reality will be used in the years to come is still a matter of speculation amongst most people. What is true is the fact that current technology has placed the tools necessary for anyone to implement their ideas using Virtual Reality; like in the case of Google’s Cardboard, a downloadable set of instructions to turn any smartphone into a VR headset.

When most people think of Virtual Reality, they think about games and entertainment. It is true that most applications that are known to the public have been made in this area, mostly because we are used to a very rudimentary form of Virtual Reality called 3D movies. 3D movies have been popular for decades due to the immersion they provide to the audience and the enhance experience they create to the senses. Oculus Cinema is an app that already goes a step beyond the magic of 3D allowing users to watch their content as if they were using a virtual screen in a simulated environment, or in some cases, as if they were inside the movie itself. Movie theatres are not the only simulated environments that Virtual Reality is seeking to emulate when it comes to entertainment; a company called LiveLike VR has built a Virtual Reality stadium where you can enjoy matches as if you were sitting on the stands next to your friends, everything from the comfort of your own couch. Concerts and performances are the next step in simulations that can have you watching your favorite bands in a virtually generated environment just by wearing a headset.

The healthcare industry is another area that can be greatly benefited by implementing Virtual Reality tools. These advances go way beyond surgical procedures performed at a distance by a doctor using a headset remotely connected to robotic instruments. Victims of stroke and brain injuries can also reap the benefits of virtual environments that have proven to help gain cognitive functions a lot faster than conventional therapies. Computer generated images can also give doctors an immersive look into the body of patients with the use of VR CAT scans and ultrasound. These imaging techniques can help doctors and surgeons make better decisions when contemplating surgeries and other complicated procedures on patients. Another interesting advancement in the area of healthcare is the use of virtually simulated environments to offer users an alternative for pain relief, stress management and resilience.

The manufacturing industry also sees great promise in the field of Virtual Reality. Virtual prototypes are not new to many industries that deal with engineering in many levels. The creation of VR prototypes can same resources and correct errors before actual products are physically created and assembled, giving manufacturers not only a great financial advantage, but also ensuring the safety of their products and processes.

Education is also being greatly affected in a positive way by the implementation of Virtual Reality solutions. Sites like Universim already offer a huge amount of Virtual Reality educational content available to users of Oculus and Samsung headsets in areas like anatomy, space exploration, history and even business. The immersive experiences provided by virtual-reality headsets can revolutionize education in all fields. Imagine field trips, lab sessions, history lessons, biology and even physical education being enhanced with the use of these amazing tools that are already easily available to everyone.

Image courtesy of Knight Center for Journalism in the Americas 

at Flickr.com

Shopping online is something that has become second nature to all of us. What once was a strange and foreign concept is today as common as going to the store in the traditional way, and even preferred by some. Virtual Reality can change the way customers interact with products and even with the retailers themselves. Instead of using catalogs and web pages, people can actually get a real-time shopping experience accompanied by their loved ones, with the convenience of staying right at home.

The inclusion of Virtual Reality into our daily lives in evident and is growing more and more each day. Places like courtrooms, hospitals and even the way news are delivered will shortly be enhanced by its many advantages, striving to bring us a better quality of life and a different perspective in the way we see and interact with the world around us and bringing us closer to our fellow human beings.

For more information about the way telecommunication technologies continue to change our world, visit Don Burns blog and check out our many articles on the subject.