How virtual reality is changing the world?

Virtual Reality is one of the most powerful tools available today. As the capacity of equipment and technology to develop more realistic and impressive immersive experiences increases, its uses in different professional areas are growing.

On this occasion, Optiva Media would like to review the different professional sectors that benefit from the application of VR.

Medicine

Thanks to the application of virtual reality, medicine is becoming even more effective and powerful. In this field, the uses of VR can be manifold. From running simulations for surgery to treating depression, anxiety or phobias by gradually exposing the patient to the situation that is causing them to panic, thereby increasing their safety in the face of their fear. Other uses include pain control through the use of distraction techniques; use with hospitalised children to recreate familiar scenes or spaces to make them feel at home; or even to encourage disabled patients to move around.

Tourism

Since 2001, with the appearance of Google Earth, we have had the opportunity to see the world through our laptop at home in 3D. But with virtual reality we can go even further. With a VR viewer we can navigate the world as if we were astronauts or even admire the Colosseum in Rome as if we were in the time of Julius Caesar.

Defence

With the advent of VR the possibilities in this area have greatly increased. With virtual reality in military training, they can improve their skills and train their capabilities in safe environments. Also, virtual reality is also applied to pilot training thanks to flight simulation. The latter brings great advantages such as safety, cost-effectiveness and the absence of contamination.

Another example is being developed by the Korean company DoDAAM, who have used this technology for skydiving. Thanks to VR, the user gets a subjective view of the jump and is able to direct their movements in virtual space without putting themselves at real risk. In addition, the British company Plextex has specialised in a specific sensor technology to identify a soldier’s medical problems on the battlefield, which could save lives while saving money. Finally, Russia has created Svarog, a helmet with an integrated VR viewfinder through which a drone can be controlled by simply turning your head and looking at the desired target.

Leisure and entertainment

The use of virtual reality in video games is the most well-known application that exists for the general public. It is also the fastest and most rapidly evolving market in the last three decades, and total immersion in the game can be experienced.

Education

The possibilities of virtual reality in the field of education are endless and it is changing the way we teach. One of the most common uses is the design of architectural models or the visualisation of parts of the human body. In the not too distant future, students will no longer have to sit in their seats in front of the blackboard or projector. On the contrary, they could put on a VR viewer and study prehistory by seeing themselves in the middle of a herd of dinosaurs, or study the Roman Empire with Julius Caesar as he fights the Gauls, or sail with Christopher Columbus to discover America, or study the human body from the inside, as if they were red blood cells.

But the use of virtual reality does not stop there. It will also influence architecture, allowing an architect to design a building while immersed in it; in fashion, allowing us to attend the most exclusive fashion shows without leaving home; in sport, watching a football match as if you were in the front row of the pitch; and even in business, having a “face-to-face” meeting while you are in Madrid, a colleague in Colombia and the manager in Berlin.

Virtual reality is changing the world and will continue to do so. At Optiva, we have been working with Virtual Voyagers to redefine the media industry with XR. Stay tuned to discover our off-road solution for telco and media companies thanks to our new project: VirtualXpanse