Oculus, HTC, Google, Samsung, Sony. These may be the most well-known developers of VR-headsets. Virtual Reality (and Augmented Reality also) has thus far mainly served as entertainment, being the platform for a whole range of games with new mechanics. This novel technology is now seeing new usage in different sort of sectors, per example the healthcare sector, the real estate sector and architecture sector. More and more companies are trying to find a way to implement VR.
But why would we want to implement VR/AR? Alex Hern from the newspaper The Guardian tried working in VR for a day and reported a lot of uncomfortable moments and unpleasantries. Still, you could argue that indeed some sectors can really benefit from the implementation of VR in the workspace. Such as 3D modelling; imagine being able to walk around the object you are developing and adjust the model in real time. Or corporate wise; imagine video calling where you are able to see peoples hand gestures, and other non-verbal communication.
So far, the three most prominent technical pitfalls for the implementation for VR in the work field are the following; computer power, connectivity and available applications/software. VR requires the computer to do a lot of calculations, and for everyone to be using a high-end computer would cost the company a lot of money. Secondly, if we were to use VR to control machines remotely -lets say a crane- the connectivity must not lag, since this could create dangerous situations. Maybe with the rollout of the 5G network this problem could already be solved in the near future. Lastly, the development of VR-software is still in its infancy and so far no real software’s have been created which could support corporations in the implementation of VR. These types of software will have to be build from the ground up. Yet, a lot of companies see potential in it, so the development of software should eventually not be an pitfall anymore.
Imagine doing your work and meeting people in VR, from the comfort of your home. Do you think this to be realistic or is this something beyond the scope of VR?
References
https://www.lbbonline.com/news/how-virtual-reality-can-help-working-from-home
https://www.techradar.com/news/vr-is-the-future-of-remote-working
Hi Maik,
Thank you for this sharing this interesting article. Even though I cannot yet imagine working from home while using VR, I think this process really needs to be accelerated with the current COVID-19 pandemic. It is not desirable to work from home on a long-term, but if this will be the new normal we might as well optimize it for the better. So, yes, I would indeed say it is realistic to be using VR while working from home. Would you be comfortable in a situation like that?