In the next couple of years, in VR, like in all other technological fields, we will see things that make what we think is futuristic today look like the Stone Age. And while the video games are going to be incredible, the effects that the transformation of VR has will be much broader, influencing our social, educational, and work lives.
The most popular VR applications of today take full control of the user’s senses to create a fully immersive experience. Very soon, VR developers will extend this sensory immersion into other faculties, like smell and touch, to deepen the immersion.
Let’s take a look at how virtual reality will evolve in the next few years.
VR in Gaming
Gaming is one of the most popular industries in which VR is implemented, and the reason that the technology is developing at the rate it is is due to a large number of people willing to pay for the most immersive and impressive entertainment experiences.
Interestingly, US game companies have recently been investing heavily in VR gaming sites. There are already a number of VR video games out there, which aim to provide an immersive, realistic game experience without you ever having to leave your room.
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One thing we know for sure is that VR seems to be evolving quickest in the realm of gaming. Quite soon you’ll be able to run through the battlefield as though you were really there.
VR in Education
Virtual reality has already made its way into education. A study that was published in 2019 discovered that students studying medicine who were trained in VR were capable of performing various procedures more accurately and quickly than their peers who trained traditionally.
These new learning and teaching methods will become more and more effective with the emergence of new technologies. The Teslasuit is one example that is bound to be a hit – it is a full-body suit that provides haptic feedback in VR, enhancing immersion through sensations of touch.
When it comes to training, VR can be used for the safe simulation of a plethora of stressful or dangerous situations, and monitor the way trainees respond to them. Walmart even used VR to train staff for Black Friday situations.
VR in Work
Ericsson, the communication giant that supplied Oculus headsets to workers working from home during the pandemic for virtual reality meetings, has discussed developing the ‘Internet of Senses’. This involves creating technologies that include simulating smell, taste, and touch, and sensations like cold and hot.
These technologies will lead to what Ericsson has called the ‘dematerialized office’, in which the office becomes redundant as we become capable of creating entirely collaborative and interactive working environments wherever we may be in the world.
VR is still too early for wide-scale use, so I don’t really see it being as useful in most of education and at work. I think there needs to be more focus on improving motion control technologies, improving DPI resolution, and cutting down the weight on these headsets. But if VR can get those three things right, you can probably expect simulation to be the next big thing.