Virtual reality is a viable classroom technology for (at least) two reasons. The first is that it provides students with up-close insights into incredibly detailed scenes they otherwise would likely never be able to see in person. The other is that there is a semi-decent chance they could be using it in their future careers. As time goes by, virtual reality is becoming more than an insanely cool way to play video games or watch movies. It’s helping train STEM professionals and prepare people for the workforce and some of the common uses that could soon be a regular part of virtual reality.
Air Travel
If we told you virtual reality was going to be used more to simulate air travel, it probably wouldn’t surprise you much. This probably will, in fact, be the case. Virtual reality could, however, soon be used during air travel by stewards and stewardesses to improve the in-flight experience for passengers as well. Air New Zealand has recently launched efforts to try just that by equipping their stewards with the Microsoft HoloLens on some flights. Like so many other tech enthusiasts and smart businesspeople, they have seen the potential of virtual reality in enhancing everyday operations and have begun using it to provide their stewards with better information, which enables them to provide passengers with a better flying experience.
Everything a passenger experiences during a flight can be relayed to a steward wearing the VR headset. This starts with food and drink orders and continues on to displaying a seating chart. One of the most important reasons they have adopted virtual reality on flights is to ensure correct food orders and avoid any cases of passengers accidentally eating something they’re allergic to. The HoloLens can display nutritional information to the stewards and indicate if that passenger has special dietary needs. The HoloLens is also capable of reading the passengers’ moods and relaying that information to the stewards as well, so they can reassure them if they seem nervous about flying. We’d like to see that one in action.
What the use of virtual reality offers the stewards in this case is greater efficiency, but, more importantly, what it offers the passengers is more personalization. It could also help stewards get to know the passengers better while on long flights—something that has certainly not always been possible. VR can also display icons over each passenger’s seat indicating the meal they have ordered or maybe even their name so that stewards can better serve them, which we find to be pretty cool. It could even indicate if somebody is a first-time flyer so that the stewards are aware that they might need extra assistance or if somebody has a health condition, like diabetes, for example. It may seem a bit unnecessary, especially to those who aren’t technology natives, but virtual reality technology could soon be infiltrating our daily lives in a big way and this includes when we’re miles up in the sky.
Mental Health
Physical ailments, like heart disease and cancer, as we know, are horrible conditions that affect millions of people around the world. What most people fail to realize, however, is that mental health conditions affect far more people than do these physical conditions. Some mental health patients are treated without drugs using various therapies, which are often very effective in overcoming certain phobias, anxiety, OCD, PTSD, and panic disorders without harsh side effects. One of the other technologies that is being developed to help combat the effects of mental illnesses is virtual reality. VR has the potential to minimize reliance on pharmaceutical drugs for people with mental health issues by allowing patients to enter a world that is authentic enough that it triggers their mind and body to believe it is real.
Using VR to simulate conditions acts as a form of exposure therapy that’s becoming increasingly common as safe type of therapy to combat disorders. Referred to as VRET, virtual reality exposure therapy helps provide patients with relief without accumulating large medical costs or requiring them be actually be put into high-stress situations. Now that virtual reality has become much more mobile, specifically with the introduction of the Samsung Gear headsets, it has become possible to use what’s being referred to as ‘telemedicine’ to treat patients affected by mental illnesses. VR therapy could also be used in clinics and doctor’s offices, but offers patients the chance to treat themselves on their own at home, which would be a valuable addition for using this technology to improve their quality of life without even needing a therapist to be physically present.
As of right now, virtual reality is certainly being looked at as a valuable tool for treating mental illnesses, but more data is needed before it’s cemented as a bona fide treatment option. Like any new form of treatment, it must go through and pass strenuous sets of tests and control groups. The results will need to show clear proof of its efficacy before it becomes a commonly turned-to option in the healthcare field. As soon as that is complete, we could very well be seeing a boom in the emergence of virtual reality apps that are able to digitally and mobily treat various types of mental health disorders. When it comes down to it, virtual reality is capable of reducing anxiety-related stimuli by employing a safe and controlled approach and could soon be counted on to combat the effects of various mental health problems in a revolutionary way.
Museums
Museums, since most of us have been to one, are known for displaying artistic and aesthetic feats as well as ancient artifacts and so on. The problem with these is that they are not interactive; there is only one direction of activity and that is the object being seen by the viewer. Now, of course many museums around the world have created more interactive content in the forms of slideshows, videos, skits, and more, but the problem with these is that they don’t hold the attention of museum-goers, particularly students, for very long. Enter virtual reality. VR can help students enjoy new depths in their experiences—ones they would not be able to access otherwise. In order to create a museum experience that’s as interactive as possible, virtual reality could soon become the norm.
For museums that feature virtual reality as part of their galleries, it is simply being used to augment the viewing experience, not replace it completely. Otherwise, students would be traveling to a VR museum rather than a regular museum and, last time we checked, VR is pretty much still in its infancy rather than something that’s museum worthy. What it can offer students is the opportunity to enhance the ways in which they interpret and understand the art they are looking at by providing exciting new angles, up-close exploration, and even real-time commentary to help give them more context when they are looking at displays. Ultimately, if a museum is going to incorporate virtual reality into its exhibits, it should be deepening the messages visitors receive rather than creating a distraction and it needs to have a welcoming effect rather than resulting in turning people away from the exhibit.
If there ever comes a time when museum exhibits as we know them are replaced with virtual reality, some certain things will have to happen. First and foremost, the VR experience will have to, in some way, make the invisible visible. Everything from the acoustics to the exhibit design would need to be considered too as well as the likely lack of familiarity with virtual reality that most museum-goers would have. Some even may be afraid to don a headset or fear they might experience motion sickness. In this case, it might be best to maintain the exhibits in their original forms to offer different options for visitors. As long as people are willing, however, using virtual reality to enhance museum experiences has a ton of promise. It can allow more people access to more experiences, skyrocket immersion, facilitate active learning, and, in a lot of cases, increase understanding. It may not be for everyone, but virtual reality in museums could be coming faster than anyone realizes.
Surgeries
If you’re a fan of any of those medical shows, you know that doctors are incredibly resourceful and the tools they have at their disposal are improving seemingly by the second. Many of today’s most innovative doctors and surgeons have already made huge strides with using 3D printing to enhance outcomes for their patients. Now, they figure to have another resource with which to work as virtual reality seems poised to make its mark on the medical field as well. What’s more is that these two fields appear set to merge and create an environment in which doctors can use both virtual reality and 3D printing to create the best possible surgical experience for their patients. And, this merger is only just the beginning.
Virtual reality helps doctors in a number of ways, especially as they are preparing and practicing for surgeries. It offers a 3D view of the body that they cannot get from flat MRI images or from CT scans. Aside from that, virtual technologies afford surgeons with the opportunity to provide high-tech solutions for patients with increasingly unique health issues, essentially allowing doctors to efficiently create a customized treatment program. The tandem of VR and 3D printing also enables surgeons to increase accuracy as they interact with virtual models during their trial runs, which, of course, helps perfect their skills before they enter the operating room. Using VR, doctors can get an enhanced look at each patient’s anatomy and then use a 3D printer to construct custom solutions—anything from a new heart valve to a new tooth.
The benefits that these two technologies provide for surgeons are both relevant and easy to see. They help create improved communication among members of the surgical team and, as we mentioned, enhance pre-surgery planning due to the interactive understanding of the patient’s unique anatomy it provides. Virtual reality can also be used to create mirror-image modeling and 3D printing can be used, as a result, to create reconstructive templates. Outside of the operating room, doctors can log their practical hours by partaking in virtual workshops while also fine tuning their skills. And, finally, virtual reality offers new levels of immersion—much like it does for students—so that patients can become better educated about their condition and about exactly what will unfold during their surgery.
Television
We already know that virtual reality headsets, like the Oculus Rift, permit users to view all sorts of lifelike images and videos when they put in on. This includes full-scale video games, videos, and television shows as well. What if VR headsets enabled us to watch live TV, though? Could it become a replacement for a television set? Would we be discussing it if the answer to that question was ‘no’? Probably not. One of the most exciting applications for VR-enabled television is sports viewing. Watching in VR opens up the action so fans can see all angles and still receive the traditional broadcast experience with commentary and statistical graphics. Only now, they would be totally immersed in the game—as close to being there as possible.
The NBA actually launched a program this past regular season in which they live streamed one game per week in virtual reality. The program was hosted by the service NextVR and allowed users to live stream the select games using both the Samsung and Oculus platforms. This marked the first time any professional sports league has scheduled recurring VR broadcasts, but we can assume it will not be the last. While the VR games were only available to customers who subscribe to the league’s streaming service, the concept of watching sports in virtual reality is incredibly fascinating. If you do have an NBA League Pass account, all you need to do is sign in and then download the NextVR app. With the NBA Finals in full swing, it might be worth looking into whether or not the service is still running.
With its season-long commitment to VR broadcasts, it appears the NBA is serious about streaming games in virtual reality. This is good news for the average basketball fan or the average VR enthusiast, who has no desire to pay for the subscription service. They do, of course, still have to purchase a VR headset, but it sounds like that might be worth it. The broadcasts featured full production, their own set of announcers, multiple camera angles, and optimized VR graphics to make the viewing experience unlike anything else. And, if that’s not enough, those watching in VR have been treated to 360-degree, in-arena views that you wouldn’t get from a standard broadcast. It sounds pretty awesome to watch sports in VR and we have no reason to think other professional leagues won’t be jumping on this bandwagon in the very near future.
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