Humanity has had an uncanny obsession with technological innovation since its earliest days.
From the invention of the wheel, to the subsequent birth of the
automobile, or the dawn of modern means of communication such as the
television and radio, to the more recent rise of personal computers and
Internet-enabled mobile devices, the pace of progress has quickened far
faster than any of us could have ever imagined.
In fact, nearly every part of our business and personal lives have
been improved through technology and innovation’s touch in some way,
shape or form. Today, we live in a society replete with real-time,
on-demand access to the world’s vast annals of information and virtually
any product or service we choose, no matter where in the world we might
be, from bite-sized pocket computers.
And while the state of our technological advancements might seem
dizzying today, it’s what tomorrow holds for us that no doubt boggles
even the most astute minds. Whether it’s self-driving cars, space
tourism, artificial intelligence or virtual reality, our future is most certainly bright.
As we look back, it’s hard to imagine how others lived that came
before us. It’s hard to imagine the difficulties they faced in traveling
from one continent to the other, or even in sending a simple message —
things that some of us might take for granted today. And the multitude
that comes after us will think similarly of the current state of affairs
in our society today.
It’s clear that in the last 100 years, mankind has made more progress
than it has in its entire history. So, what do the next 100 years hold
for us? How about just the next 10 years? While some technologies are
changing the way that we live and work, others are completely
revolutionizing our lives.
One such technology that’s set to make earth-shattering changes in the way we live and interact with others is virtual reality.
The coming VR-storm, so to speak, will significantly alter the
landscape of every industry from the military, to healthcare,
entertainment, gaming, education, fashion, and business just to name a
few. In fact, there will be little in the way of life
and society untouched by virtual reality.
While we’ve undoubtedly heard about virtual reality and seen it
portrayed in film after film, the recent proliferation in the fields of
both virtual reality and augmented reality underscores its importance
and potential impact on our lives. In the first two months of 2016
alone, investment in VR and AR topped $1.1 billion dollars, according to
Digi-Capital, an AR/VR advisory firm.
In fact, in a few short years, the VR industry is expected to balloon to a behemoth-sized $120 billion market. Bloomberg goes on to estimate that by 2025, that number will further increase to a whopping $182 billion in size.
But the VR/AR industry isn’t something that new. Companies
have been throwing their hats into the field for quite some time now. We
saw Google Glass take a stab at an augmented reality device that didn’t
quite make it to the mass market.
In 2014, Facebook paid $2 billion dollars for Oculus Rift, a
revolutionary device to say the least. Combined with Facebook’s recent
dive into 360-video, it’s clear that the future vision includes an
immersive social experience fueled by VR technologies.
What is Virtual Reality?
Unlike other technologies that have come before it, virtual reality
is an almost-too-real-and-highly-immersive experience that will
eventually include all sensory inputs. The mind can actually be tricked
into thinking what it’s experiencing is real.
In a case of life imitating art, the movie The Matrix comes to mind, because, according to Wikipedia,
virtual reality “simulates a physical presence in the real world or an
imagined world, allowing the user to interact with the world.” Very much
like Neo experienced the “lie” of the real world, virtual reality will
undoubtedly blur the lines between what’s real and what’s imaginary.
Applications for immersive environments are endless. It can allow us
to engage in dry runs in instances that might risk bodily or physical
harm in some manner or another. The military is currently employing
virtual reality to assist in training soldiers and battling in
environments that might not be so forgiving.
Healthcare is using the technology to conduct virtual surgeries where
the surgeon can be thousands of miles away guiding real-world tools
through the use of haptic feedback and other sensory input. The fashion
world is set to use the technology to help people try on clothes.
And, of course, the gaming industry is about to be flipped upside its
head when VR becomes mainstream, with Sony throwing its hat into the
ring with the release of PS4 VR in October. And existing players that
include Oculus Rift, Google Cardboard and others, will be joined
by Microsoft’s HoloLens.
This is more than a trend. Now that the technology exists, this is a
tectonic shift in the delivery of interactive media. And since virtual
reality is such an immerse experience, there really has been nothing
like it before, and the applications of it are almost endless.
Here are five major reasons why virtual reality will be such a game-changer in our lives.
#1 — Full Sensory Immersion
The goal for technology is to improve our lives. It’s at the heart of
innovation and design. No matter what type of technology we’re
discussing, its ultimate aim has been to make things just a little bit
better or easier for us.
The Internet is one such recent innovation that has personified this
level of improvement. Access a small computer in the palm of your hands
and the world’s information is at your fingertips. But virtual reality
is set to do far more than that, while being aided, of course, by our
current state of interconnectedness.
Full sensory immersion are the three words that will set virtual
reality apart from all of its predecessors. Imagine taking a test drive
without actually going to the dealership. What about trying on clothes
without every leaving your house? How about hiking Mount Everest from
the comfort of your own home?
The mere thought of this is enough to send our minds into a tailspin.
With the use of haptic feedback and other methods that will stimulate
the senses that include smell, sound, touch and even taste one day,
virtual reality is going to literally change everything.
#2 — The Rise of a Virtual Social Network
Imagine having the ability to go out and meet new people, form bonds,
and even network with other business owners without ever having to
leave your home. Yes, this is something the Internet has afforded us the
opportunity to do today, but imagine doing it as your virtual self.
While the Internet has given us the ability to connect with others,
the impersonalization of the screen-to-screen interaction doesn’t hold
the same level of impact that an almost-real face-to-virtual-face
interaction does. You meet, shake hands, and speak to another person in a
seemingly real environment, without ever leaving your home.
Some pundits might think that this is another way that technology is
separating us from reality, and that might be true in a sense, but
virtual reality will bridge the divide far further than any of its
technological predecessors have in making social interactions that occur
over the Web easier and more fluid.
It might be hard to envision a future where a Facebook Page can open
into a virtual realm where photos and videos become more tangible and
real, but it’s the future and it’s approaching far faster than any of us
could ever imagine.
#3 — Augment the Ease of Learning Complex Things
The efficiency of our education is increased whenever we learn
something by not only hearing about it by reading it in some book, but
also by listening to it and actually doing it. Virtual reality will
afford us the opportunity to do and learn complex things at a moment’s
notice.
Imagine the possibilities that exist for military and educational
formats. You can learn to parachute from a commercial airplane just as
simply as you can learn to fly a stealth aircraft or rebuild an engine
on a space shuttle. Or, how about the capability to study geography and
culture by flying to a place in a virtual world and seeing, feeling,
smelling and even touching the environment?
The applications are endless, and the word game-changer doesn’t even
come close to signaling the coming tectonic shift that’s about to occur
thanks to the rise of virtual reality. People can ease their fear of
heights by walking a tightrope at the top of a skyscraper, or even
speaking in front of a large audience to help them alleviate their fear
of public speaking.
#4 — Proving Grounds for Difficult Circumstances
Virtual reality will make seemingly impossible tasks much simpler.
Military applications are one such realm where this technology will
blossom. The ability to find yourself in an immersive hostile
environment without the risk of real bodily harm, yet have the ability
to learn and study your surroundings through military-style drills,
raids, and invasions will likely be the assistive platform for future
battles in the real world.
But it’s not just its military applications that give the potential
for enormous benefits. Dry runs for difficult surgeries can make for
breeding well-versed surgeons without the risk of death or loss of life
that might happen in real-world situations.
Other applications include potential uses by NASA and other
government agencies looking to help shed some light on the real physical
experience of living, exploring and understanding other planets.
Imagine being transported to Mars through a virtual-reality application
that mimics all of its environmental and topographical features,
allowing the user to literally feel as if they’re on the Red Planet.
Secretive government agencies might even use virtual reality to help
topple oppressive regimes by mapping out underground passageways that
can be studied through immersive experiences.
#5 — Ease of Accessibility through a Lower-Price Point
While Google suffered a minor setback with Glass, its augmented
reality headpiece, it’s surely paved the way for future iterations that
will most likely be far less expensive and invasive on others’ privacy.
However, virtual reality is not suffering from the same taboos that
have plagued augmented reality. While augmented reality will likely rise
in popularity over time, the lower-cost-to-market VR products will most
certainly make the technology more easily accessible and widely
adapted.
There are 36 million VR-ready PS4 consoles out there in the world today, and with an expected release price of $399, the PS4 VR headset will be competitively priced, likely giving Sony a big leg up in the gaming VR space.
This is not to mention Facebook’s Oculus Rift VR headset, which
starts shipping on March 28th with an entire library of games. While the
Oculus price of $599 is considerably more than the expected PS4 VR
headset slated for October, both prices are still well within
mass-market budgets.