Category Archives: Virtual Reality

You might think youve experienced VR, and you might have been pretty impressed. Particularly if youre a gamer, there are some great experiences to be had out there (or rather, in there) today.

The Future Of Virtual Reality (VR)

But over the next few years, in VR, as in all fields of technology, were going to see things that make what is cutting-edge today look like Space Invaders. And although the games will be amazing, the effects of this transformation will be far broader, touching on our work, education, and social lives.

Todays most popular VR applications involve taking total control of a users senses (sight and hearing, particularly) to create a totally immersive experience that places the user in a fully virtual environment that feels pretty realistic.

Climb up something high and look down, and youre likely to get a sense of vertigo. If you see an object moving quickly towards your head, youll feel an urge to duck out of the way.

Very soon, VR creators will extend this sensory hijacking to our other faculties for example, touch and smell to deepen that sense of immersion. At the same time, the devices we use to visit these virtual worlds will become cheaper and lighter, removing the friction that can currently be a barrier.

I believe extended reality (XR) a term that covers virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), and mixed reality (MR) will be one of the most transformative tech trends of the next five years. It will be enabled and augmented by other tech trends, including super-fast networking, that will let us experience VR as a cloud service just like we currently consume music and movies. And artificial intelligence (AI) will provide us with more personalized virtual worlds to explore, even giving us realistic virtual characters to share our experiences with.

VR in education and training

VR is already making great inroads into education, with a large number of startups and established companies offering packaged experiences and services aimed at schools. Engages platform is used by the likes of Facebook, HTC, and the European Commission to enable remote learning. And one study published in 2019 found that medical students trained using VR were able to carry out certain procedures quicker and more accurately than peers trained using traditional methods.

These new methods of teaching and learning will become increasingly effective as new technologies emerge. One that is likely to make waves is the Teslasuit, which uses a full-body suit to offer haptic feedback, enhancing the immersion through the sense of touch. It also offers an array of biometric sensors enabling the user's heartbeat, perspiration, and other stress indicators to be measured. The suit is already used in NASA astronaut training, but its potential uses are unlimited.

For training, it could be used to safely simulate any number of hazardous or stressful conditions and monitor the way we respond to them. For example, Walmart has used it to train retail staff to work in Black Friday situations, instructing them on how to best to operate in busy shop environments with long queues of customers.

As well as training us for dangerous situations, it will also drastically reduce the financial risks involved with letting students and inexperienced recruits loose with expensive tools and machinery in any industry.

VR in industry and work

The pandemic has changed many things about the way we work, including the wholesale shift to home working for large numbers of employees. This brings challenges, including the need to retain an environment that fosters cooperative activity and the building of company culture. Solutions involving VR are quickly emerging to help tackle these.

Spatial, which creates a tool best described as a VR version of Zoom, reported a 1,000% increase in the use of its platform since March 2020. In total, the value of the market for VR business equipment is forecast to grow from $829 million in 2018 to $4.26 billion by 2023, according to research by ARtillery Intelligence.

Communication giant Ericsson (which has provided Oculus VR headsets to employees working from home during the pandemic for VR meetings) has talked about creating the "Internet of Senses." This involves developing projects involving simulating touch, taste and smell, and sensations such as hot or cold. It predicts that by 2030, we will be able to enter digital environments that appear completely real to all of our five senses simultaneously.

This will lead to the advent of what it calls the dematerialized office where the office effectively vanishes from our lives as were able to create entirely interactive and collaborative working environments wherever we are in the world, simply by slipping on a headset and whatever other devices are needed for the task at hand.

VR in socializing

There are already a number of VR-based social platforms that allow friends or strangers to meet up and chat or play in virtual environments, such as VR Chat, Altspace VR, and Rec Room. As with VR in other fields, the growing level of immersion that is possible thanks to new technological developments will make them more useful and more attractive to mainstream audiences throughout the coming decade.

This year Facebook, which has long had a stake in VR due to its acquisition of headset manufacturer Oculus, unveiled its Horizon platform. Currently, in beta, it allows people to build and share collaborative online worlds where they can hang out, play games, or work together on collaborative projects.

While we will always make time for meeting up with friends and loved ones in the real world, as our working and school lives become increasingly remote, its likely that more of our social interaction will move into the online realm, too. Just as we are no longer barred from careers or educational opportunities due to an increasingly virtualized world, we will have more meaningful ways to connect with other humans as technology improves in this area.

And of course VR in games and entertainment

The killer app for VR is gaming, and the reason the technology is developing at the pace it is, is due to the large market of people willing to spend money on the most impressive and immersive entertainment experiences.

Sandbox VR operates real-world VR centers where equipment that it simply wouldnt be practical or affordable to use in our homes offer some of the most immersive experiences yet created.

Using full-body haptic feedback suits, they offer five games one licensed from Star Trek that let groups cooperate or battle it out in deep space, aboard ghostly pirate ships, or through a zombie infestation.

CEO Steve Zhao describes the experience his company has created as a "minimal viable Matrix or holodeck." In a recent conversation that you can see here, he told me, "the outcome is that you believe in the world it's very real, and in order to progress, you and your friends have to communicate and work together. One of the best ways to describe it is that you are the stars inside your own movie that's basically what we created."

It makes sense in many ways that there could be two markets for consuming VR entertainment at least in its early days. While the most immersive and impressive tech is big, expensive, and requires technical skill to operate, it's more viable to offer it at dedicated venues rather than as an in-home experience. As with movies, the stay-at-home offerings will provide something perhaps a little less spectacular but more convenient at least until we get to the point where we can have full-size Star Trek holodecks in our own homes!

Excerpt from:

The Future Of Virtual Reality (VR) - Forbes

");},//Default http error handling, note this function only applies to http errors not form processor errors, for that please override "handleErrors"handleHttpErrors: function (jqXHR, textStatus, errorThrown) {if (this.settings.region in submissionFailedErrors) {this.$formErrorMessages.show().text(submissionFailedErrors[this.settings.region]);} else {this.$formErrorMessages.show().text(submissionFailedErrors['en_us']);}},//Default error handling, note this function only applies to form processor errors, NOT http errors, for that please override "handleHttpErrors"handleErrors: function (response) {var formID = response.formIDvar fields = response.data;var errors = [];for (var field in fields) {if (fields.hasOwnProperty(field)) {var datum = fields[field];if (datum.status != 'SUCCESS') {errors.push({name: datum.name, value: datum.value, errors: datum.messages});}}}//Find and show outstanding errors$.each(errors, function (index, error) {if (error.errors.join) {$('#' + formID + ' .fp-field-error-' + error.name).show().html(error.errors.join(''));}$('#' + formID + ' .fp-field-error-' + error.name).closest('.fp-container').addClass('fp-container--error');});//Show any form level errors that we might haveif (response.messages.length > 0) {this.$formErrorMessages.show().html(response.messages.join(''));}}});//Wire up the jquery plugin$.fn[pluginName] = function (options) {return this.each(function () {if (!$.data(this, "plugin_" + pluginName)) {$.data(this, "plugin_" + pluginName, new Plugin(this, options));}});};})(jQuery, window, document);(function ($, window, document, undefined) {"use strict";var pluginName = "addFormProcessorErrorElements",defaults = {};function Plugin(element, options) {this.element = element;this.$formElement = $(element);this.settings = $.extend({}, defaults, options);this._defaults = defaults;this._name = pluginName;this.init();}$.extend(Plugin.prototype, {init: function () { var that = this;that.addMainFormError();that.addFieldErrors();}, addMainFormError: function () {this.$formElement.find('#fieldList').before('');}, addFieldErrors: function () {var that = this;this.$formElement.find('input[type=text], select, input[type=hidden], textarea').each(function () {var $this = $(this);var name = $(this).attr('name').replace("[]", "");$this.after('');});this.$formElement.find('input[type=checkbox]').each(function () {var $this = $(this);var name = $(this).attr('name').replace("[]", ""); var id = $(this).attr('id');$this.next('label').after('');});}});//Wire up the jquery plugin$.fn[pluginName] = function (options) {return this.each(function () {if (!$.data(this, "plugin_" + pluginName)) {$.data(this, "plugin_" + pluginName, new Plugin(this, options));}});};})(jQuery, window, document);jQuery(document).ready(function ($) {var $form = $('.fp').addFormProcessorErrorElements().formProcessor({handleSuccess: function (data) {//console.log(data);//console.log(data.formID);if (data.formID == "FP_20180209_Design_And_Visualization_News") {//console.log("Test2");$('.fp').replaceWith("

" + data.messages.join(". ") + "

Link:

Virtual Reality (VR) For Professional Workflows | NVIDIA

Fictional representations of the technological concept of virtual reality

Virtual reality in fiction describes fictional representations of the technological concept of virtual reality.

Many science fiction books and films have imagined characters being "trapped in virtual reality" or entering into virtual reality. Laurence Manning's 1933 series of short stories, "The Man Who Awoke"later a noveldescribes a time when people ask to be connected to a machine that replaces all their senses with electrical impulses and, thus, live a virtual life chosen by them ( la The Matrix, but voluntary, not imposed). A comprehensive and specific fictional model for virtual reality was published in 1935 in the short story "Pygmalion's Spectacles"[1] by Stanley G. Weinbaum. Other science fiction books have promoted the idea of virtual reality as a partial, but not total, substitution for the misery of reality, or have touted it as a method for creating virtual worlds in which one may escape from Earth. Stanisaw Lem's 1961 story "I (Profesor Corcoran)", translated in English as "Further Reminiscences of Ijon Tichy I",[2] dealt with a scientist who created a number of computer-simulated people living in a virtual world. Lem further explored the implications of what he termed "phantomatics" in his nonfictional 1964 treatise Summa Technologiae.

A number of other popular fictional works use the concept of virtual reality. These include William Gibson's 1984 Neuromancer, which defined the concept of cyberspace, and his 1994 Virtual Light, where a presentation viewable in VR-like goggles was the MacGuffin. Other examples are Neal Stephenson's Snow Crash, in which he made extensive reference to the term avatar to describe one's representation in a virtual world, and Rudy Rucker's The Hacker and the Ants, in which a programmer uses VR for robot design and testing. The Otherland series of 4 novels by Tad Williams, published from 1996 to 2001 and set in the 2070s, shows a world where the Internet has become accessible via virtual reality. Virtual reality stories based upon video games have also become popular in recent years, such as the 2011 novel Ready Player One by Ernest Cline, which is about a virtual reality system called the OASIS that people use to escape from the grim reality of a dying Earth in 2045. Other recent examples include Conor Kostick's 2004 children's novel Epic[3] and Louis Bulaong's 2020 sci-fi book Escapist Dream.[4][5]

The concept of virtual reality was popularized in mass media by movies such as Tron (1982), Brainstorm (1983), and The Lawnmower Man (1993). The .hack multimedia franchise is based on a virtual reality MMORPG dubbed "The World". The French animated series Code Lyoko is based on the virtual world of Lyoko and the Internet.

See more here:

Virtual reality in fiction - Wikipedia

1. Meta will release a new consumer-grade VR headset next year  TechCrunch
2. Meta plans to launch consumer-grade virtual reality headset next year  Business Standard
3. Meta: the future of virtual reality  The Cryptonomist
4. Meta confirms a new Quest headset is coming next year  Protocol
5. Meta Visualizes a Business Use for Its $1,500 VR Headset  ThomasNet News
6. View Full Coverage on Google News

More:

Meta will release a new consumer-grade VR headset next year - TechCrunch

The global virtual reality market size was valued at USD 11.64 billion in 2021. The market is projected to grow from USD 16.67 billion in 2022 to USD 227.34 billion by 2029, exhibiting a CAGR of 45.2% during the forecast period. The global COVID-19 pandemic has been unprecedented and staggering, with experiencing lower-than-anticipated demand across all regions compared to pre-pandemic levels. Based on our analysis, the global market exhibited a decline of 42.2% in 2020 as compared to 2019.

The study includes devices and software such as Quest 2, Google Cardboard, Microsoft HoloLens 2, PlayStation Headset and Move Motion Controller, Unity Virtual Reality Development Software, among others. Virtual reality provides simulated experience to the customers and offers vast applications to industries such as retail, healthcare, automotive, gaming, and entertainment, among others. The industries are adopting this immersive technology to conduct virtual training, assistance, marketing, engineering and maintenance, designing, and simulation activities with their employees and workers. Also, the advancement in the 5G technology and infrastructure is driving the virtual reality market growth. The key market players are extensively focused on offering advanced hardware and content to improve customer experience. For instance,

Vast VR Application Across Industries Amid COVID-19 Pandemic to Boost Market Growth

The production and manufacturing plants of components, devices, equipment, and other hardware products have been severely impacted owing to the coronavirus outbreak worldwide. The temporary shutdown of industries, limited number of in-house staff, sealed country borders, and more have significantly impacted the supply of components and the delivery of final products. Thus, initially, in 2020, owing to the limited stock of virtual reality products and services, the market witnessed a small dip in its year-on-year trend, and this has impacted the overall global market.

However, in many industrial applications, the technology emerged with a true potential to support the pandemic crisis. The demand for VR technology increased in industries apart from healthcare, such as education, gaming, entertainment, manufacturing, retail, military, and defense, among others. For instance, in the initial phase of 2020, the Kansas City University Center for Medical Education Innovation integrated immersive technology for medical student's training using fully immersive simulations. Thus, amid the pandemic, the VR demand in commercial industries has increased significantly, and its advancements have surged its potential for future applications.

Request a Free sample to learn more about this report.

Growing Potential in Healthcare Industry to Fuel Market Expansion

As per the virtual reality statistics and industry experts analysis, the healthcare industry is expected to witness significant disruption across the industry with VR applications. The technology has showcased potential in improving the healthcare provisions, patient care system, planned surgeries, and medical training, among others.

Its stimulated experience of reflecting the real-world environment is expected to surge the demand in the healthcare industry. The assisted robotic VR is helping the healthcare providers by assisting during surgeries. It also helps by providing surgical training to develop required skills. For instance,

Thus, the trending applications of virtual reality are expected to boost the market expansion.

Growing Live Virtual Entertainment to Drive Market Growth

The concept of live virtual entertainment is evolving worldwide. Today, people are preferring at-home entertainment by adopting technology to access live events or shows. As the technology offers an immersive and real-world environment to the users, its demand for live music concerts, live events, or sports is growing significantly. The concept of live virtual entertainment is evolving worldwide. Today, people are preferring at-home entertainment by adopting technology to access live events or shows. As it offers a virtual world environment to the users, its demand for live music concerts, live events, or sports is growing significantly.

Thus, the growing demand for virtual live entertainment is expected to boost the market expansion.

Requirement of High Power to Hamper Market Growth

The technology demands robust hardware components and high computing power for the proper functioning of devices. However, the majority of current desktop accessories are not compatible with applications. Similarly, most head-mounted displays are wireless and consume high energy, requiring high-energy batteries for long-duration operations. In industries such as gaming and entertainment, it is necessary to have devices with long battery life. Further, the highly connected devices and components require high-speed network bandwidth such as 5G. Thus, lack of suitable speed and power for operating the system might challenge the market growth.

Growing Investments in Advanced Hardware Offerings to Drive Market Growth

Based on component, the market is categorized into hardware, software, and content.

The hardware segment is expected to dominate the global virtual reality market share during the forecast period. The key players are highly investing in the launch and innovation of hardware. For instance, in May 2021, Axon launched its VR-based wireless simulator to provide hands-on training-focused solutions.

The software segment is likely to gain traction owing to the rising demand for immersive technology. The increasing application such as gaming, entertainment, live events, and more is enhancing the software demand. The content segment is likely to witness steady growth during the forecast period due to increasing demand for interactive environment virtual sessions. The industries are demanding new content for applications such as marketing, training, entertainment, gaming, and other sections.

To know how our report can help streamline your business, Speak to Analyst

Capability to Offer Immersive Environment to Fuel Head Mounted Display Demand

Based on device type, the market is categorized into Head Mounted Display (HMD), VR simulator, VR glasses, treadmills & haptic gloves, and others.

HMD is expected to lead the market as it offers the most immersive environment. With technological development, the demand for smartphone-connected virtual reality headsets is growing due to low-cost investments such as Googles low-cost drawing board-based headsets. The adoption of HMD is significantly growing in industrial applications such as training, marketing, entertainment, and more. For instance, in April 2021, Vajro and VRM Switzerland were officially qualified by the European Union Aviation Safety Agency for virtual aviation training. The companies in collaboration have built a human-eye resolution-based headset for pilot training.

VR simulator is getting highly implemented for training, designing, and prototyping across industries as it helps reduce expenses. For instance, in March 2019, Nissan collaborated with Haptx to provide a realistic car designing virtual simulator to reduce time and investment. Similarly, with the increasing demand, gaming and entertainment industries are vastly adopting treadmills and haptic gloves. This is likely to ensure a highly immersive environment for customers. Therefore, the adoption of VR glasses for training and education is expected to grow during the forecast period.

Growing Investments in Advanced Training Tools to Boost Virtual Systems in Automotive Industry

Based on industry, the market is segmented into gaming, entertainment, automotive, retail, healthcare, education, aerospace & defense, manufacturing, and others.

The gaming and entertainment segments are expected to dominate the market during the forecast period. The existing and new players are highly investing in developing content, software, and hardware specifically for gaming purposes. The rising demand for theme parks, virtual museums, and gaming arcades is further boosting the market growth. Similarly, the retail and education industries are steadily adopting technology for various applications. This is likely to boost the VR market in the near future.

The adoption of technology in the automotive industry majorly caters to the training and education of engineers and technicians. Similarly, the implementation of VR simulators for test driving is boosting showroom customer engagement. For instance, in September 2020, Mercedes-Benz announced a partnership with Microsoft Corporation for its HoloLens 2 VR goggles and Dynamics 365 Remote Assist to improve its customer experience.

The technology has been effectively implemented across the healthcare industry. It provides visual and controlled environments for healthcare workers to perform or diagnose the issue. For instance, healthcare providers are using virtual simulators to understand Alzheimer, help autistic patients, detect impaired vision, and other applications.

North America Virtual Reality Market Size, 2021 (USD billion)

To get more information on the regional analysis of this market, Request a Free sample

The global market scope is classified across five regions, North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, the Middle East & Africa, and Latin America.

North America is expected to dominate the market share over the forecast period. The significant presence of key players in the U.S. is driving the market growth in the region. Also, various start-ups are entering the U.S. market and offering industry-specific solutions. For instance, in October 2020, California-based small company, Sixense Enterprises Inc., launched a VR-based physical rehabilitation system called the REAL Immersive System. The U.S. government is also investing in virtual technology, which is likely to boost the market. For instance, the U.S. government and its army invested USD 11 billion in providing virtual, augmented, and mixed reality training sessions to its officials.

Asia Pacific shows rapid growth during the forecast period due to the increasing demand for immersive technologies in emerging economies. China is likely to gain maximum market share, as it is one of the major distributors of head-mounted VR devices and other hardware. Also, the developments in 5G networks and infrastructure in China are expected to boost the market opportunities. On the other hand, India is likely to witness significant growth owing to government initiatives and funding. Also, industries, such as entertainment, retail, automotive, education, and more, are collaborating with market players to implement the technology to enhance customer experience. For instance, in May 2021, a Real-Time Engagement (RTE) provider, Agora, Inc., collaborated with HTC VIVE to implement the technology with its RTE to offer an improved experience to businesses and customers.

Europe is likely to show significant growth during the forecast period. The region is the early adopter of virtual solutions in the automotive industry. According to the report published by the European Commission, the European virtual and augmented reality AR industry is expected to increase its production value to USD 38 billion by 2020. The U.K. and Germany are likely to gain traction owing to increasing investment in the market.

To know how our report can help streamline your business, Speak to Analyst

Latin America is expected to gain steady growth owing to increasing government focus on advanced technologies and rapid installation of 5G infrastructure. The growing interest in virtual gaming and entertainment users boosts the demand in the Middle East & Africa.

Focus on Global Expansion with Innovative Products to Boost Market Share

The prominent players in the market are aiming to provide advanced virtual solutions to improve the consumer experience. The key market players such as Microsoft Corporation, Google LLC, Sony Corporation, Unity Technology, Samsung, HTC VIVE, Oculus Quest, Nvidia Corporation, among others, are offering new and innovative products applicable across industries. With the new product launches catering to the maximum application sectors, the market players are expanding their customer bases worldwide. Similarly, the key market players are entering into strategic partnerships, collaborations, and acquisitions to expand their business and product portfolio.

March 2022 Unity Software Inc. announced partnership with live music creator Insomniac Events to expand into the virtual environment from the physical world. The companies aim to offer live entertainment to the next generation's target audience.

February 2022 Sony Corporation introduced the new next-gen system, PlayStation VR2, along with its new controller PlayStation VR2 Sense. By incorporating the latest technology in the hardware, the device offers a higher range of sensations to the players.

An Infographic Representation of Virtual Reality Market

To get information on various segments, share your queries with us

The global virtual reality (VR) market forecast report highlights leading regions across the world to offer a better understanding of the user. Furthermore, the report provides insights into the latest industry and market trends, and competitive landscape and analyzes technologies deployed at a rapid pace at the global level. It further highlights some of the growth-stimulating factors and restraints, helping the reader gain in-depth knowledge about the market.

ATTRIBUTE

DETAILS

Study Period

2018-2029

Base Year

2021

Estimated Year

2022

Forecast Period

2022-2029

Historical Period

2018-2020

Unit

Value (USD billion)

Segmentation

By Component, Device Type, Industry, and Geography

By Component

By Device Type

By Industry

By Region

View post:

Virtual Reality [VR] Market Size & Share | Forecast Report, 2029

VIRTUAL REALITY IS REVOLUTIONISING THE HEALTHCARE INDUSTRY.

At Visualise, we believe that immersive technologies are the key to transforming the healthcare industry.

Forward-thinking healthcare professionals and technologists are pushing boundaries every day, and weve seen huge increases in demand for cutting-edge digital platforms such as Stamfords Virtual Heart or bespoke VR Training simulators to bring clinical examinations and teaching tools to life like never before.

And with the global virtual and augmented reality healthcare market projected to reach $18.7 billion by 2028 now is one of the most exciting times to be a part of the vanguard of this new era.

Below we discuss some of the ways we can help bring your healthcare AR and VR visions to life.

Virtual Reality has the ability to transport you inside and around the human body, to access and view areas that would traditionally be impossible to reach.

Using hyper-realistic CGI, virtual models can be displayed in real-time, allowing clinical practitioners to show patients vital information in greater levels of detail, helping them to visualise their conditions and see how therapies and treatments will work.

Patients are better equipped to learn about and understand their conditions from their own homes, and the highest quality medical consultations can be delivered to the most remote locations without any travel required, freeing up valuable medical manpower along the way.

Interactive digital models give students and teachers access to advanced ways of visualising human anatomy that are vastly superior to traditional cadaver and book-based anatomy lessons.

Clinical examinations (such as OSCEs) can be replicated, taught and examined to match curricula. And bespoke surgical procedures can be simulated with zero patient risk, creating safer environments, and much more cost and time-effective way of bolstering learning.

Virtual models can also react in dynamic ways that no prosected specimen can. Allowing students and teachers to experience a seamless journey from the macro (e.g. a virtual full-body cardiovascular examination) to the micro level (CGI lipid molecules contributing to luminal occlusions). All contributing to a more holistic understanding of physiology.

Even complex pharmaceutical concepts can be explained more easily using visualised Mechanisms of Action.

By using 360 video and Unity-based virtual worlds, mental health can delivered in ways and places that far outreach old school methodologies.

No longer does atherapist need to accompany a client to a crowded shopping centre, or up a tall building. Situations that are impractical or impossible to recreate e.g. a fear of flying, or the harrowing events that can lie behind PTSD can be conjured at the click of a mouse.

The in-situ coaching thats so effective for so many disorders can now be delivered in the consulting room, with the simulations and exposures controlled as necessary.

One of the most powerful aspects of virtual immersion is its ability to create empathy. Pharmaceutical research & development company AbbVie created an experience to raise awareness amongst healthcare professionals of the daily struggle of patients suffering from Parkinsons disease.

The AbbVie Parkinson's experience

The experience was demo-ed at an industry trade show where people could put on a headset and experience first hand as a Parkinsons sufferer navigates a virtual supermarket, encountering awkward moments when coming into contact with other people.

VRs healing capabilities arent just limited to psychological issues. The University of Washington Seattle and the UW Harborview Burn Centre showed that VR immersion for those undergoing physical therapy after a skin graft reduced pain levels for the patients. And VR for physical therapy has also been shown to be effective in speeding up recovery time. Allowing the patient to do their prescribed daily exercises in a virtual environment makes the activity more fun, keeps the patient focused, and helps them keep their spirits up during what can be a long recovery period. Even stroke rehabilitation is possible in the realm of VR.

VR is being used for physical therapy

More than just exciting new technologies, AR and VR have been proven to have positive impacts on immersive learning across the healthcare spectrum.

In the coming years, Immersive Technologies such as Augmented Surgery will be used more and more to improve the accuracy & effectiveness of current procedures. Peoples capabilities both as the care-giver and the patient will be enhanced, and access to life-saving information and vital skills will be delivered in ways that no other technology can match.

The potential for VR in the healthcare sector is limited only by the creativity & ingenuity of those creating and applying the technology. Virtual reality tools will bridge gaps, not widen them, and in the end, the virtual will help make us all become more human.

If youd like to discuss how we can bring your Virtual Reality Healthcare project to life, please get in touch below.

The rest is here:

Virtual Reality in the Healthcare Industry - VISUALISE

The border between the virtual and real world continues to break down, providing breathtaking experiences that, a short time ago, could only be found in the imagination of sci-fi writers.

Virtual Reality (VR) has been the next big thing for several years, but its time has finally come as a way to generate realistic images, sounds, and other sensations that put you smack in the middle of a spectacular imaginary world. Augmented Reality (AR), which adds virtual stuff to your real world environment, is contributing to the buzz, and both technologies should become a big part of our future. With Mixed Reality (MR), you can play a virtual video game, grab your real world water bottle, and smack an imaginary character from the game with the bottle. Imagination and reality have never been so intermingled.

So much is happening so fast that the differences between VR, AR, and MR can seem a little puzzling at first. Each of these spellbinding technologies are accessible to almost everyone, but before you throw down your hard-earned money for the latest head-mounted display, lets take a closer look at what youll need for an amazing VR, AR, or MR experience.

Weve been trying to capture Virtual Reality for much longer than just the past five to ten years. There were popular peer-through toys in the 1950s and enclosed flight simulators debuted in the 1960s, but theideaof VR goes back even further.

As early as the 1930s, science fiction writers, inventors, and tinkerers dreamt of an environment where you could escape from reality via art and machines. We were weighing questions about Virtual Reality vs. Augmented Reality vs. Mixed Reality long before we had the technology to make them possible.

Technology has caught up to fiction, and market researchers predict rapid growth for the VR industry.

First things first, lets define the terminology. Virtual Reality can be used as an umbrella term to describe other technologies similar to, but different from, an actual Virtual Reality experience. But what's the difference between Augmented Reality and Mixed Reality? Here are some more details:

VR is the most widely known of these technologies. It is fully immersive, which tricks your senses into thinking youre in a different environment or world apart from the real world. Using a head-mounted display (HMD) or headset, youll experience a computer-generated world of imagery and sounds in which you can manipulate objects and move around using haptic controllers while tethered to a console or PC.

AR overlays digital information on real-world elements.Pokmon GO*is among the best-known examples. Augmented reality keeps the real world central but enhances it with other digital details, layering new strata of perception, and supplementing your reality or environment.

MR brings together real world and digital elements. In mixed reality, you interact with and manipulate both physical and virtual items and environments, using next-generation sensing and imaging technologies. Mixed Reality allows you to see and immerse yourself in the world around you even as you interact with a virtual environment using your own handsall without ever removing your headset. It provides the ability to have one foot (or hand) in the real world, and the other in an imaginary place, breaking down basic concepts between real and imaginary, offering an experience that can change the way you game and work today.

From gaming, to movies, to medicine, the uses for Virtual Reality, Augmented Reality, and Mixed Reality are expanding.

There are many, many VR headsets available, all with varying performance levels and prices. Entry-level gear, such as Google Cardboard*, uses your mobile phone as the screen, whereas PC-operated devices, like the HTC Vive* or OculusRift*, are immersiveproviding a premium VR environment.Microsoft has their Windows* 10 Mixed Reality platform that uses fully immersive headsets offered by Acer, Asus, Dell, HP, Lenovo, and Samsung.

Some AR headsets are available on the market today, with more rumored to be coming in the future. The Microsoft Hololens*, Google Glass*, and the Meta 2* headset are great examples.

Every PC-connected HMD will have different system requirements, so if youre buying a new Virtual Reality headset, make sure you check with the HMD vendor for their recommended and minimum system requirements.

If you are looking for a new computer and youre interested in VR, youll need something that can handle heavy loads. When it comes to high-end desktops or laptops for Virtual Reality (and other advanced tasks like gaming or video editing), the CPU, GPU, and memory are the most critical components.

Without these high-performing components working in sync, you could have a pretty miserable experience. A powerful system will ensure that youll have fun as you lean in, stand up, or walk around. VR that lags makes it impossible for the virtual world to respond as you expect, which can lead to more than just disappointment; it increases the risk of motion sickness.

A high-end processor assists in positional tracking and controls how real and immersive your virtual environment will be, so you'll enjoy a deeper experience in a higher-fidelity environment. For a great VR experience, consider the latest generation Intel Core i7 processor.

A discrete graphics processing unit (GPU) is recommended, or in the case of Oculus Rift*, HTC Vive*, and Windows Mixed Reality Ultra*, it is required. The GPU is responsible for rendering the high resolution, immersive images needed for VR. Oculus, HTC, and Microsoft all have profiler tools that you can download from their websites, and you can use to run on your PC to determine if it meets the minimum requirements for their VR headsets.

New VR and AR technologies and products continue to come to market, making new environments accessible to the masses. Virtual, Augmented, Mixedthe choice for a new reality is up to you. Let your imagination, and your readiness to try new gear, enhance your experience!

Go here to read the rest:

Virtual Reality vs. Augmented Reality vs. Mixed Reality - Intel

Many people are familiar with the term virtual reality but are unsure about the uses of this technology. Gaming is an obvious virtual reality application as are virtual worlds but there are a whole host of uses for virtual reality some of which are more challenging or unusual than others.

Here is a list of the many applications of virtual reality:

Some of these will be more familiar than others but visit any of these to find out more about a particular use of virtual reality.

There are many more uses of VR than first realised which range from academic research through to engineering, design, business, the arts and entertainment.

But irrespective of the use, virtual reality produces a set of data which is then used to develop new models, training methods, communication and interaction. In many ways the possibilities are endless.

The only stumbling blocks are time, costs and technological limitations. Virtual reality systems such as a CAVE system are expensive and time consuming to develop. Plus there are issues of ergonomics, specifically the need to design systems which are user friendly and not likely to cause problems such as motion sickness.

But if these problems are solved then there is an exciting future for virtual reality.

Continue reading here:

Applications Of Virtual Reality - Virtual Reality Society

The Global Augmented Reality & Virtual Reality In Manufacturing Market size is expected to reach $27.9 billion by 2028, rising at a market growth of 27.9% CAGR during the forecast period  GlobeNewswire

See original here:

The Global Augmented Reality & Virtual Reality In Manufacturing Market size is expected to reach $27.9 billion by 2028, rising at a market growth...

Virtual reality has been touted as the next big thing since the 1990s. About a year ago, Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg renamed his company Meta and announced his plan to invite users of his social media platforms into a "metaverse" based on VR technology.

But since then, the metaverse has "had a rocky start," in the words of a recent New York Times story. When Zuckerberg posted a picture of his own virtual avatar, Facebook users mocked it as cartoonish.

To those of us who don't even own headsets, the concept of a metaverse may seem a little out there. Are humans really built to interact in virtual environments? Don't we spend enough time on Zoom already? For a closer look inside our potential future, I turned to We Met in Virtual Reality, a 2022 documentary from 23-year-old director Joe Hunting that was nominated for a Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival and can be streamed on HBO Max.

The documentary takes place entirely inside VRChat, a series of interlocking virtual environments that people access using VR headsets or desktop computers. Within this digitally animated world, users manifest as avatars of their choice anime characters, aliens, animals, even Kermit the Frog. They interact socially as they might in real life, using full-body tracking sensors that map their real bodies onto their virtual ones to perform activities such as dancing, sign language and holding hands.

Shot in 2020, the film follows several users as they find a refuge in VRChat from the isolation of pandemic lockdowns. Jenny, who teaches sign language on the platform, speaks about her real-life suicide attempt. Dust Bunny, who teaches belly dancing, discusses her romantic bond with Toaster, a user who "unmuted" himself just to communicate with her. A montage shows the pair frolicking in a virtual amusement park. DragonHeart and IsYourBoi, another couple who met in VRChat, stage an elaborate wedding.

We Met in Virtual Reality is as immersive as VR itself. Rather than delivering an introduction to VRChat for newbies, Hunting sums up the nature of the platform in a single screen caption and tosses us into it. He shot the film via his own headset, using a "virtual camera" to create cinematic effects such as rack focus.

What we see may remind us of Saturday morning cartoons stylized, brightly colored figures with exaggerated human features, dramatically flowing hair and (often) tails. By contrast, the low-key murmur of overlapping conversations feels distinctly adult, as if we're spying on a private cocktail party.

Some of the environments where users interact are as generic and ugly as a bad website. Others are beautifully designed to imitate natural settings, complete with soundscapes. No one would confuse this VR with reality, though: Grass blades rustle in eerie synchronicity, and the clouds don't move.

The film's overall effect is, in a word, trippy. Although avatars sometimes look at the camera and answer the director's questions, We Met in Virtual Reality often feels more like cinema verit, allowing us simply to observe.

And what we observe is, for the most part, sweet and moving people discovering community, freedom of expression and even love in VR. (Director Hunting found romance with Jenny, who's at the center of the film, he told Time magazine.) Unlike most of the internet, VRChat appears (key word) to be free of political rants, thinly veiled advertisements or users who are there to leer at the many scantily clad female-presenting avatars.

As depicted here, the platform carries on the utopian mission of many early online communities: It's a place where you feel safe being your true self. User Toaster puts it best: "You can, in a way, start over [in VR]. Nobody cares who you are [in real life]; nobody cares who you were; they just care how you treat them. That's now you."

That sense of possibility is powerful and empowering. Still, as I watched, I couldn't help asking myself pesky questions: What happens when the couples who fell in love on VRChat meet in real life? Do they always successfully adjust? Does it take a toll on people's physical bodies to do so much of their socializing in a virtual world?

Hunting doesn't address those issues. In a review on Inverse, Willa Rowe notes known problems with VRChat that the film also doesn't broach, such as "racism and other problematic behavior" and the looming specter of commercialization.

Because it offers so little context for what we're seeing, We Met in Virtual Reality is best viewed as one slice of virtual life, crafted by someone who's clearly in love with the platform. While it didn't make me any more eager to enter Zuckerberg's metaverse, it did leave me with more hope for our virtual future.

eXistenZ (1999; Pluto TV, rentable): The Matrix got all the hype, but David Cronenberg was in on the early VR fascination with this trippy, underrated film about a game designer trying to fight her way out of her own creation.

Belle (2021; HBO Max, rentable): A shy high schooler becomes a star in a virtual world in Mamoru Hosoda's acclaimed animation.

"Q: Into the Storm" (six episodes, 2021; HBO Max): Cullen Hoback's documentary series about the roots of QAnon is a deep dive into the dynamics of online communities as immersive as any VR world.

Read the original here:

We Met in Virtual Reality Explores the Potential of the Metaverse - Seven Days