Virtual Reality Trends

A New Look on Virtual Reality

Some of the latest trends of Virtual Reality are going to be pathbreaking innovations and business pivotal factor that is leading to some unimaginable applications. Some of the great Virtual Reality Apps that have made impact recently are:

1. NYTVR – Virtual reality stretches those boundaries, and enables the viewer to experience the news, to feel like they are a part of it.
2. InVR – an “art” style virtual reality.
3. InCell VR – is a spiffing-looking recreation of human cells, with the twist that you’re flying through them
4. AltspaceVR – AltspaceVR is a place to meet up with friends using VR and play games & interact with your friends and dear  ones.
5. immersion vrelia – A VR app containing immersive video for teleporting people to different tourist places.
6. Bublcam –  The world’s first 360 spherical camera. The Bublcam delivers a level of innovative content delivery poised to help advance the world of VR.
7.  SPACE – SPACE is a computer operating environment for the future of work; a virtual reality application which allows users to view, manipulate and interact with multiple screens of any content (e.g. web pages, videos, native Windows apps, 3D models) within the VR headset without the constraints of a physical monitor.
8. Facebook 360 – A stunning and captivating way for publishers and content creators to share immersive stories, places and experiences with their fans.
9. Marxent’s VisualCommerce™ is the virtual products platform, designed to empower retailers and manufacturers with next-generation Augmented and Virtual Reality visualization tools. A fully-featured 3D virtual reality design studio and showroom, our product visualization platform gets large-scale and semi-custom products into the hands of prospective customers without the costs, complications and physical limitations of tangible samples

VR using cloud and SaaS are making entire 3D product inventories accessible and configurable within real-world environments for the ultimate product visualization experience. Using Virtual Reality views and advanced content management, VR Commerce can be used as a powerful sales tool designed to empower shoppers with design tools and assist high-consideration purchasing.

Virtual Reality Domains

1. Mobile VR: Daydream is a platform for high quality mobile VR, and it will encompass many VR devices, not just one specific headset or controller.
2. 360 Photography : 360 Video for improving value of Care for inpatients and reduce the stay in hospital
3. VR Ecommerce: Consumers can view and manipulate a product from every angle, helping them to make more informed purchasing decisions using  VR in e-commerce.
4. VR Education : Virtual Reality has been used for training and education for many years by the military, law enforcement, research labs and even Space technology. Lecture VR is a tool to allow anybody anywhere connect with everybody everywhere to convey ideas, hold meeting, record and provide live classes. Think of us as a type of networked Virtual Reality PowerPoint with immersive educational lessons, simulated environments and tools that make educational content fun and intuitive.
5. VR Social App: VR Social Apps offers an endless collection of social VR experiences by giving the power of creation to its community. Whether you’re looking for new VR experiences or have an idea of your own, VR Social Apps is the place to be.

Applications of Virtual Reality

Human simulation software

One example of this is the HumanSim system which enables doctors, nurses and other medical personnel to interact with others in an interactive environment. They engage in training scenarios in which they have to interact with a patient but within a 3D environment only. This is an immersive experience which measures the participant’s emotions via a series of sensors.

Virtual reality diagnostics

Virtual reality is often used as a diagnostic tool in that it enables doctors to arrive at a diagnosis in conjunction with other methods such as MRI scans. This removes the need for invasive procedures or surgery

Virtual robotic surgery

A popular use of this technology is in robotic surgery. This is where surgery is performed by means of a robotic device – controlled by a human surgeon, which reduces time and risk of complications. Virtual reality has been also been used for training purposes and, in the field of remote telesurgery in which surgery is performed by the surgeon at a separate location to the patient.

Virtual reality and the design cycle

In some cases, virtual reality can be used from the start of the design lifecycle, e.g. the initial concept through to the build and implementation stages. This is reviewed at stages to check for faults, structural weaknesses and other design issues.

VR simulation demonstrated the kitchen as a cooking and informational hub, showcasing how VR smart technology will help a family cook, clean and care in the near future.

Virtual reality and rail construction

Virtual reality engineering is employed by Balfour Beatty Rail, a rail infrastructure contractor who includes this as part of their design process. It is used for planning, prototyping and construction purposes, and helps with project realization.

Virtual reality and car design

Car manufacturers use virtual reality for prototyping purposes during the design process. This enables them to produce several versions which are then tested and changed as per the results. This removes the need to build a physical prototype and speeds up the development stage. The result is a cost effective streamlined process.

An example of this can be seen at the JLR Virtual Reality Centre in the UK. This is state of the art virtual reality – both semi-immersive and CAVE systems – with advanced tracking and projection facilities which is used to help design the next generation of Land Rovers.

Virtual fashion show

There are situations in which the boundaries are blurred between fashion and technology, for example, the use of virtual reality as part of a live fashion show. In that scenario, a 3D image was projected into a real world setting, i.e. a catwalk as part of the show.

Second Life fashion

Another example is where fashion is influenced by technology, in particular virtual worlds such as Second Life. The models and clothes are based upon avatars in that environment.

 

Girl games and fashion

The meeting of fashion and virtual reality can be seen in games which are designed for girls. These games combine fashion, music and technology in a way designed to appeal to the interests of teenage girls.

Virtual reality performance

The athlete uses this technology to fine tune certain aspects of their performance, for example, a golfer looking to improve their swing or a track cyclist wanting to go faster in the individual pursuit. Three dimensional systems can pinpoint aspects of an athlete’s performance which require changing, for example, their biomechanics or technique.

 

Driving equipment design and innovation

Another popular use is sports manufacture: virtual reality is used in the design of sporting clothes and equipment, e.g. running shoe design. Innovation is a key factor in this industry as the bar is raised higher and higher in terms of sporting achievement.

Sportspeople are constantly looking at ways of gaining them that edge which can mean being faster, stronger, better endurance etc. They are constantly pushing boundaries as regards what their bodies can do which drives the sports clothing and equipment industry. This industry has to keep pace with this constant drive for sporting perfection and uses the very latest technology to do so.

Bringing the sporting event closer to the audience

Virtual reality has also been used to improve the audience’s experience of a sporting event. Some systems allow the audience to walkthrough a stadium or other sporting location, which helps them when purchasing a ticket to an event.

And then there are virtual reality games with a sports theme which allow the player to become part of the competition. One example is an interactive football game which projects this match onto a real world surface.

Virtual Reality Marketing

Demand for virtual reality is expected to surge in the years ahead. Research firm IDC expects that more than 110 million VR headsets will be sold in 2020, up from 9.6 million headsets in 2016.

The global augmented reality & virtual reality market is expected to grow at a substantial growth rate especially in training and infotainment market. Heavy penetration is the wide spectrum of application areas for these technologies.

Investors looking to add exposure to the trend have a number of stocks to choose from, including both NVIDIA (NASDAQ:NVDA) and Facebook (NASDAQ:FB). But while those companies may offer attractive upside, their shares certainly aren’t cheap, trading for about 40- and 69-times trailing earnings, respectively.

According to those surveyed, 66 percent of Steam users own an HTC Vive while 27.75 percent own an Oculus Rift. The survey also asked if users owned an Oculus Rift Development Kit 2 (DK2), and 6.25 percent said they did. Even when combining the consumer Oculus Rift with the DK2, that comes out to 34 percent, a little over half of the market share HTC has claimed.

Sony shares have firmed up noticeably of late. A new virtual-reality headset for the PlayStation 4 game console has lifted hopes for earnings growth, as has the company’s plans to re-enter the robotics field.

Finally VR technology has evolved dramatically in recent years, companies like Samsung, Sony, Google and Oculus and HTC are now all names associated with VR for gaming, social and mobile platforms. As with most new technology the devices are still quite expensive, so in order to give them mass appeal they would need to become more affordable. In the coming months we will see how the new tech fares with public opinion.