Future of virtual reality showcased at Auckland expo – Newshub

If you'd like a bird's eye view tour through New York or a stroll through the Colosseum, but you're a bit of a homebody, don't worry about it.

The future is set up for people just like you and at the Magnify Technology Expo in Auckland, the changing way we experience the world was showcased.

All the big players from Google to Facebook are investing heavily in virtual reality, a rapidly-evolving technology.

The likes of Pokmon Go and Snapchat's filters are launching augmented reality into everyday life, while New Zealand-based company AugView is putting it in the hands of construction workers.

The New Zealand Fire Service is using virtual reality technology as a public-education tool by placing people inside a burning house, leaving it up to the user to escape the growing inferno.

"We think it's important to basically put the New Zealand public in a situation that they could otherwise not experience, and virtual reality allows us to put people in a burning home safely to help drive some key messaging," digital manager Craig Pearce told Newshub.

If it seems strange now, it won't for long.

"It's going to be ubiquitous in all of our lives, I think that eventually we're going to look at it just like GPS today and say, 'How did we live without it?'," Augmented Vision Works founder Barry Sandrew said.

But they just need to work out how to make those goggles look cool.

Newshub.

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Future of virtual reality showcased at Auckland expo - Newshub