With the age of technology dawning on us, sciences such as Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality could potentially become massive tools for our businesses and in the workplace.
They are often mentioned in the same breath, but both share some significant similarities, as well as have their differences.
But first, what exactly is Virtual Reality and what does it do for us?
VR, which stands for Virtual Reality, is the immersing of yourself into another virtual world, via the use of a headset, which is used completely isolates you and all of your senses from the outside world. Although VR is able to open up countless and unlimited virtual rooms and rooms for you to explore, it is a spatially restricted experience as far as the person using the device is concerned. Virtual Reality devices come in all shapes and sizes. With the more immersive, cutting edge VR systems such as the Oculus Rift or HTC’s Vive Pre, you will be able to lose yourself for hours in the virtual world. The downside with these devices is that you won’t be able to run them without the help of a very powerful PC. There are less ambient ones such as Google Cardboard and Samsung’s Gear VR, but you’ll hardly be found walking down the street with these on either, as they weren’t made for their looks.
The use of virtual reality has been mostly centred around gaming up to this point, but professional applications are popping up for both VR and AR headsets alike. Some of these professions include architecture, education, exploration, logistics, transportation, retailing, manufacturing, product design, healthcare and the military. Businesses are now able to virtually change the ways in which people experience purchasing, building, buying and selling virtual items before doing it in real life, by integrating VR and AR technologies into their businesses.
The use of VR in businesses is still in his earliest days, but the potentials of what this technology can bring forward are unfathomable. Let’s look at a few instances where it can benefit a business and be applicable.
Business prototyping
Companies can use virtual reality software and technology to envision the prototype or work in process product that they are working on in ways that have never been possible or seen before. This provides your workers with the ability to learn significant insight into the products and relay important and valuable feedback. The allows you to find faults and problems in even the earliest stage of manufacturing, which was never possible before. This allows for better productivity when it comes to lowering the number of faulty products your company makes.
Selling and purchasing houses will be an experience out of a fairtale
Real estate agents can make use of virtual reality to help their potential clients to choose a house they would like to purchase. The VR would allow them to take tours of properties digitally, from anywhere in the world and to help them see what these houses would look like with their furniture in it, right from the comfort of the real estate office. The customers would have a VR headset placed on them and then they could walk tour a lifelike simulation of a property as it is in real life today. this would make this an avant-garde feature; as this would be taking a massive step into improving technology as we know it. Your customers will love it, as it will feel nothing less than something out of a dream or a fairy-tale.
Meeting attendance – never again will there be any problems
This a problem that plagues almost every company out there. Trying to get full attendance to an important meeting. Excuses such as, “I’m stuck in traffic”, “I’m sick at home” or even just for those who work from home and can’t make it to the office for that meeting. Other examples include when people are on leave for business trips. Making use of VR headsets could allow making the task of running meetings exponentially easier, as it brings everyone together into the same room virtually.
Curbing geographical barriers
The main benefit for VR is that geographical factors and barriers can be removed when viewing products and wares. Your customer can be anywhere in the world, and still be able to view your products and services that you can provide for them, from the comfort of their own houses. Making using of smart phones and VR headsets together to view and browse products really is the future. For instance, your wife doesn’t know what colour to paint the walls of the inside of your house. Your solution is to pop a VR headset on, and you can see exactly what colours she is having problems choosing from and can come to a decision together. It’s that simple and easy.
