In the past years the world has been flooded with new innovative technologies that changed the way we live our daily lives. Is virtual reality going to be in this list of innovative technologies, or is this hype going to end before it has even started?
Virtual reality has great opportunities, but so far, they have not been fully explored. Facebook, Samsung, HTC they all have developed Virtual reality glasses in the past years. Facebook bought oculus in 2014, Samsung released its Samsung Gear in 2015 and in 2016 HTC followed. But currently the glasses are not selling well. The main reasons are that there is not enough content that supports the virtual reality glasses, that the gadget is not user friendly, and that it isolates people. People have to spend $100’s on a gadget which they cannot properly use. This has caused bad sales figures for the above mentioned VR glasses.
Despite these bad past figures I believe there is still hope for VR. When Social Media was initiated people were also skeptical at first, and now we cannot imagine life without it. However, If VR want to become the next big thing in technology some change is needed.
Firstly, virtual reality should become a more shared experience. One the main setbacks of virtual reality glasses is that you are isolated from your friends. The most valuable aspect of the current major technologies like smartphones and social media, is that it brings people together. Ken Perlin, professor in the Department of Computer Science at New York University, is currently developing robotic gadgets that can be used with VR to make the experience more collaborated. This can be of great value for the future of VR. Secondly, the image of VR as only a toy should be erased and the immense possibilities of VR should be better explored. VR can be of great value in many areas of business. An example is marketing; VR can be used to enhances the selling experience of buyers. For example, in the retail business it can be used to create the feeling that people are in a physical store, while sitting at home internet shopping. By exploring these options, VR will become more valuable to customers and to future investors, making it easier the attract the necessary funds for VR to become the newest technological hype.
https://www.fool.com/investing/2017/08/17/is-virtual-reality-the-future-or-another-disappoin.aspx
https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/innovation/what-will-it-take-get-virtual-reality-right-n811091
https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbesagencycouncil/2017/05/30/virtual-reality-the-future-of-media-or-just-a-passing-trend/#5dc733b17d8f
