Virtual reality is transforming what it means to work from home – Telegraph.co.uk

In the oil and gas industry Baker Hughes is using it to simulate its facilities within training rooms. BP has done similar in its efforts to recreate the conditions faced during drilling activities.

Meanwhile surgeons are making use of an extra pair of eyes through British-based Proximie. The VR kit allows surgeons from anywhere in the world to scrub in and share insights about the ongoing operation.

Consulting firms like PwC and Deloitte are also part of a host of big name businesses banking on the commercial success of VR.

"Because we use a virtual office, and because there are avatars, it does allow you to bump into colleagues in a way you can't do in organised video conferencing," says Ed Greig, Deloitte's chief disruptor.

When designing offices, people now look to increase the collision coefficient that allows different teams to bump into each other and have casual conversations that can often spark new ideas."

Deloitte's virtual officehas seen its usage spike since the start of the pandemic. Greig says the technology was "small-scale experimental" before the pandemic but that the pandemic had "massively accelerated" it use.

UK-based VR firm Mesmerise hopes to take advantage of the advent of remote working that has been driven by the pandemic.

We envisage a future where virtual reality is a critical part of working from home, says Andrew Hawken, the Mesmerise chief executive and co-founder.

So when you book a meeting or an event, youll have a VR headset on your desk and will be able to join a meeting in VR as quickly as picking up your phone.

In September, the company hosted hundreds of people in its Gatherings virtual space for the annual conference of financial services giant Morningstar.

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Virtual reality is transforming what it means to work from home - Telegraph.co.uk