Why Adopt Virtual Reality?
Mike McCready, MSc
Associate Dean, School of Media and IT at NAIT | 25+ Years in Technology, including VR/AR | Innovator in Education, Industry Partnerships, and Collaborative Events
Today I had the pleasure of attending the anniversary sessions for #CPDinVR, put on by Steve Bambury and hosted on the Engage VR platform. This was my first time in the Engage platform and I am thoroughly impressed. One of the sessions I attended was facilitated by Chris Long. It's his presentation that has inspired me to write this article. Chris shared some experiences from the development of #ClassroomVR. There was a lot of great information in his presentation - stay tuned for another article inspired by Chris' presentation.
Technology Changes
We've all heard the saying. "there are two things certain in life: death and taxes." I'd like to add a third certainty: technological changes. From the beginning of time, technology has always changed. In some cases it evolves, like the telephone. In others, it's eliminated like the fax machine. Technological changes will not cease, in fact, they will increase at alarmingly fast rates. The chart below gives a sample of the exponential growth of technology over time.
Trying to stop or slow the growth of technology would be like trying to stop a tidal wave. It's a fruitless endeavor. Just like the tidal wave, you have two ways you can respond. You can either try to run away or you can embrace it.
I love this quote. While it may apply to surfing, it's completely relevant to technology. You can't stop the technology, but you can can learn to "surf" or use the technology.
We've probably all seen a similar graphic as seen below. The Technology Adoption Curve depicts how society adopts technology. Everyone will fall into one of these sections. To learn about this curve, read this post.
There are pros and cons to each of the groups display above. Where you fall in this bell curve is dependent on your level of comfort with risk and ability to accept change. But one thing is clear; no matter where you fall on the curve, you will adopt the technology. You cannot outrun a wave, you can only learn to surf it.
The Story of the Personal Computer
The theory that you cannot escape technological advances can be demonstrated by looking at the adoption of the personal computer. In his presentation at #CPDinVR, Charlie Fink compared the adoption of personal computers to the adoption of immersive technologies (such as virtual and augmented reality). According to a study by Venkatesh and Brown (2001), adopters of the personal computer in the home were influenced by four drivers:
- Hedonic (fun) outcomes
- Utilitarian outcomes
- Social (status) outcomes
- Fear of obsolescence
Referring to the Technology Adoption Curve above, the Innovators and Early Adopters were driven by hedonic and social outcomes, the Early Majority were driven by the utilitarian outcomes and the Late Majority and Laggards were driven by the fear of obsolescence.
One thing that Charlie alluded to in his presentation was that when the personal computer had the abilities brought by the World Wide Web, adoption skyrocketed. The chart below confirms this. In 1991, the World Wide Web was launched. The years following, the WWW saw tremendous growth.
As with personal computers, immersive technologies will reach a point where the abilities of of these technologies will encourage high adoption rates in the home.
In 1977, the President, Chairman and Founder of Digital Equipment Corporation (which later would be acquired by Compaq) had this to say about personal computers:
"There is no reason why anyone would want a computer in their home."
There will always be people who lack the vision required for technology implementation and adoption. I'm sure people are saying this today about immersive technologies. The question is when will your organization adopt immersive technologies?
Why Adopt Virtual Reality Today
By now, you've probably realized that you will adopt the new technologies discussed in this article. But the question is when should you adopt them? Are you a Laggard, Late Majority or Early Majority. If you're on the right-side of the bell curve, you may want to reconsider your adoption plan.
In Chris' #CPDinVR presentation, he referred to Martec's Law (as shown below). According to this theory, technology changes at an exponential rate (represented by the blue line in the image below) and organizations change at a logarithmic rate (represented by the red line in the image below).
The more time that goes on, the further your organization gets from the technological advances. The further your organization gets away from the technology, the more costly and difficult the adoption of the technology becomes. This cost isn't actually the hardware costs, as these likely will reduce over time. The cost comes in the form of missed opportunities, lack of expertise, playing catch-up, and more.
While the future of immersive technologies is not completely known, the future is bright and the opportunities are endless. Now is the time to get involved with immersive technologies. Organizations who adopt these technologies now will be ahead of the curve and will be leaders, in what is sure to be, a field that is here to stay.
What are your thoughts on adopting VR and AR technologies? What obstacles does your organization face in adopting immersive technologies? Please share your thoughts below.
References
Venkatesh, V., & Brown, S. (2001). A Longitudinal Investigation of Personal Computers in Homes: Adoption Determinants and Emerging Challenges. MIS Quarterly, 25(1), 71-102. doi:10.2307/3250959
Developing Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented (AR) Experiences at Engage VR ?, LLC
6 年Interesting Article read... just wanted to note Engage VR is not associated with vreducation they created a app and product called ENGAGE?
Manager - Market Research
6 年Download sample copy for more details at https://bit.ly/2JbsTE4 Virtual Reality is computer generated simulation of a 3D image or environment that can be interacted with in a physical environment with aid of special electronic equipment which might include a head-mounted displays or gloves attached with sensors. VR requires presenting human senses with aid of computer generated virtual environment that is further explored in some fashion. VR technology has been into existence from past three decades and the developments in this technology have accelerated recently from last one decade. Considering the sales of VR headsets such as Google Cardboard, Gear V2 and others it is expected that early adopters will have more role to play for some more time. The report aims to provide an overview of Global Virtual Reality Market along with detailed segmentation of market by components, transmission, applications, and five major geographical regions. Global virtual reality market is expected to witness steady growth during the forecast period due to high adoption rate of virtual reality technology in industrial applications.
I help businesses integrate AI solutions to save time and dramatically boost efficiency and profitability.
6 年It's survival of the smartest. The smartest are the first to innovate and are certainly the early majority.
Product Designer
6 年Loved this article. I believe the main obstruction to the flow of progress is the attitude attached to confort and averse to risks. It is the mindset defined by herd behavior. I′ll do it when everybody is doing so. The trick here is to perceive this strategy as the riskier instead. After all doing what everybody does kills any chance of real differentiation.