How is Virtual Reality [VR] positively impacting the lives of human beings in the journey of virtual immersion?

India is a land of cultural diversities however life almost came to a standstill when the favorite Gods and Goddesses of over 1.3 bn population was locked physically. What truly came to the rescue is the concept of 'God in the Machine' and this was made possible through VR. The picture below speaks a thousand words...with the common man holding the new age technology in the hands and experiencing what was appearing to be far-fetched earlier [Pic: A woman tries VR Devotee’s headset at Kumbh Mela. Source: Youtube/VR Devotee]. This example can easily be extrapolated in every other instance of life.

The world has changed so much in the last 12-15 months. This has had an indelible impact on the way we as consumers are behaving or will behave in the upcoming world. Not only has it changed this aspect but it has also impacted the way we live today, how our breathing patterns have evolved with sharper focus and how we conduct our personal, business, or our professional lives as well. 

The top global firms were agile enough to realize and act on travel limitations, avoiding face-to-face communication which otherwise required a physical presence, low or almost zero physical presence of staff amongst a host of other aspects. The impact of this in the initial months also led to productivity issues and staff being laid out due to a poor business environment. 

This also led organizations to explore and make use of the best collaborative tools available in the market. A majority of them to start with relied on Zoom, Microsoft Teams, Slack, and several other applications. In the quest to build a long-term strategy, VR has emerged as an outstanding solution to continue the virtual communication going. It gives an experience that the people are sitting together in the same space however in reality, they are operating from the comfort of their own home. This not only contributes to enhancement in productivity levels but also comfort, creativity, and care. 

VR is making deeper inroads with the onset of the pandemic last year since it is an environment created through the usage of computers, technology, and communication devices with scenes and objects that appear to be real, making the user feel they are immersed in their surroundings. It has evolved as a perfect tool that is known to be developing a simulated experience that is akin to a real-time situation.

We all have heard and are aware of the next-gen technology which was creating ripples in the technology world before the pandemic and now the scenario is a bit different since all the uninitiated who were probably still on the fence have already embraced it as part of their business strategy. 

It can easily transport a trainee into several different situations, places, and environments for a range of training purposes. VR physically and mentally transports users to a different environment beyond their own surroundings. It creates a fully rendered digital environment that replaces the user’s real-world environment.

One of the perfect examples is when a video gamer immerses into the game wearing those VR headsets or helmets. They start to feel as if they are the characters in the game. This is just an example of how VR builds the world around us in which we immerse ourselves through a specific headset. It is fully immersive and everything we see is part of an environment artificially constructed through images, sounds, and technology.

The application of VR has changed our behavior and our routine activities across diverse areas: 

• Education – It is helpful in the classroom for students to retain better knowledge and also assists students with learning difficulties. Example: Students with special needs, i.e., autism. Students can interact with each other and within a 3D environment, students can be taken on virtual trips to any Museum or any other place of significance.
• Fashion – VR is playing a significant role wherein virtual simulations of store environments can be extremely useful for retailers to design their signage and product displays without fully committing to the build unlike what has always happened in reality. Eg., VR for Tommy Hilfiger encompasses offering a 360-degree experience of fashion shows and allowing customers to try on clothes virtually.
• Media – VR’s immersive aspect in journalism takes the user to those specific places where an event may have happened with live streaming capabilities.
• Healthcare – VR-based simulations have been instrumental to train a cross-section of doctors, nurses, and health workers virtually without any risks to continue on their journey to serve.
• Medicine – There have been successful improvements towards reducing the impact of Parkinson’s through VR usage. It is already in active use in other parts of the world. 
• Sport – VR is revolutionizing the sports industry for players, coaches, and viewers. Virtual Reality is being used by coaches and players to train more efficiently across a range of different sports. It is also being used to enhance the viewer’s experience of a sporting event. Watching an IPL match with a 360-degree view has been possible due to VR.
• Dining – VR makes it possible to travel virtually to any part of the world and deep dive in any environment while one may be having food from their chosen locations.  
• Culture – Museums effectively rely on VR technology to give the learner immersive experiences to understand the history and culture with whatever aspect they are viewing. 
• Architecture – VR is instrumental for architects to better plan their space for their clients.
• Entertainment – VR makes it so easy to enter a scene in a video game or practice sports without moving around.

• Training – VR has helped provide trainees across organizations a seamless virtual training experience aligning to the real world with no human contact.
• Military – VR can be highly useful for training in simulated combat environments. It has been used in all branches of service: the army, navy, air force, marines, and coast guard.
• Virtual Events/Conferences/Exhibitions – A no. of events and conferences were canceled or postponed at the beginning of the pandemic. VR has been instrumental to reinvent this entire model with interactive virtual events thereby empowering the engagements using this new age methodology.
• Automobile – Before the pandemic, the usage of VR wasn’t as prevalent in exploring to buy a car since one could easily visit the dealership to test drive a new car. Now, potential buyers looking to purchase are exploring the idea of customizing and visualizing a realistic car as a practical decision-making tool.
• Medical support in tackling Covid 19 played an imperative role in fighting this pandemic through audio-visual-based virtual communication. It reduced the face-to-face interaction of doctors with the infected COVID-19 patients. 

In conclusion, VR as technology has truly been a boon in trying times like what the entire world is going through. It will lead to advancements that will be shaping the future thus making people evolve in their needs and behaviors. Virtual-led communications can connect any no of people with global reach and scale, resulting in a WIN-WIN for all stakeholders.

Watch out this space for an upcoming one on AR...

In the meantime, how are you interacting with VR and what are your thoughts?