Virtual Reality is often associated with gaming, but this technology is also increasingly used in other industries including healthcare. For example, in 2019 the company VRrelax launched a VR technology designed for healthcare. It is a scientifically validated relaxation tool and can provide a solution for patients with stress, insomnia, anxiety and depression or also as a distraction from physical discomfort and medical procedures. The app offers relaxation and distraction by taking users to virtual environments, such as beaches or forests, or where they can do interactive exercises during medical treatments for distraction. The tool is widely applicable in healthcare, including hospitals, mental health institutions, elderly care and for people with mild intellectual disabilities. It is therefore very versatile!

the Department Psychiatry of the University Groningen studied the effects of VRelax on psychiatric patients The results of this study showed that VRelax can provide a much-needed, effective, easy-to-use self-management relaxation intervention to enhance psychiatric treatments (Veling et al ., 2021).

In addition, the product can also be used to combat burnouts, absenteeism and health problems (VRelax, 2024)). Figures show that stress, burnout and physical complaints are increasing rapidly, especially among young people Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport, 2023). With the VRelax, users are taken to a beautiful and relaxing interactive world. This brings relaxation without effort (VRrelax). Research shows that VRelax reduces stress by as much as 40% within 10 minutes. VR therapy is also used in this way by the police. They must deal with intense situations in their work, are constantly on and function under high pressure ((Vels, 2022).

Virtual Reality can play a crucial role in the healthcare industry in the future. Very  important to mention is the fact that these kinds of innovations focus preventing health problems instead of curing them. With the current shortages in the healthcare system, this could be THE solution for the future! Healthcare currently focuses much more on healing, but prevention is certainly not less important. Products such as the VRelax are widely applicable, relatively cheap and easy to use!

There has also been an huge increase in the demand for demand for cutting-edge digital platforms such as Stamford’s Virtual Heart or VR training simulators for clinical examinations and teaching tools (Visualise, 2022). These global virtual and augmented reality project in the healthcare market are projected toreach $18.7 billion by 2028. These new studies and project are making this now one of the most exciting times and I am very curious to see where these new developments will lead!
References

Ministerie van Volksgezondheid, Welzijn en Sport. (2023, November 15). Steeds meer beginnende mentale klachten onder jongeren door werkstress. Nieuwsbericht | Rijksoverheid.nl. https://www.rijksoverheid.nl/actueel/nieuws/2023/09/05/steeds-meer-beginnende-mentale-klachten-onder-jongeren-door-werkstress

Veling, W., Lestestuiver, B., Jongma, M., Hoenders, H. J. R., & Van Driel, C. (2021). Virtual reality relaxation for patients with a psychiatric disorder: Crossover Randomized Controlled trial. Journal of Medical Internet Research, 23(1), e17233. https://doi.org/10.2196/17233

Vels, E. (2022, December 30). True-to-life, low-stimulus VR environment protects workers from burnout. IO. https://innovationorigins.com/en/true-to-life-low-stimulus-vr-environment-protects-workers-from-burnout/

Visualise. (2022, October 24). Virtual reality in the healthcare industry. VISUALISE. https://visualise.com/virtual-reality/virtual-reality-healthcare

VRelax. (2024, February 15). VRelax – Ontspannen bij stress en pijn. https://vrelax.com/

While following the Information Strategy course, I was busy with my upcoming move, the entire house had to be redecorated. Because the house is in the city center, it is relatively small, therefore we must deal with small living- and bedrooms. During the Information Strategy course, we focused a lot on GenAI, and I quickly realized that this could help me in making decisions on how to furnish my new home.

I soon saw that IKEA had launched a new AI-driven digital design experience, IKEA Kreativ in June 2022 (IKEA Launches New AI-powered, Digital Experience, 2022). This new technology gives customers the opportunity to design and visualize their own rooms from their computer or smartphone. Since the bedrooms  would mostly be furnished with IKEA products, I thought this tool could help us visualize the room, so I started working with IKEA Kreativ.

My experience with visualizing the bedrooms in IKEA Kreativ was positive in general. You can scan your own room, after which various Ikea products could easily be placed, you can easily move and rotate these products. With the help of GenAI it is also possible to remove existing furniture in your scan (Marr, 2024). As a result, it was very nice to see how you could best arrange the room, and which furniture fits well together.

I also experienced a few things that could be improved when using Ikea Kreativ. Firstly, you can only make a scan of your own room from one angle, this makes it harder to fully visualize whether the furniture will fully fit in the room. If you could scan and design your whole room, according to the dimensions of the room it would help a lot. Designing your room according to the size of the room is possible when you design a PAX wardrobe. I think that integrating these systems would be useful, in order to increase the consumer experience. In addition, only furniture that is sold by IKEA is added to the AI ​​tool, so it was not always possible (for example in the living room) to get a realistic picture of what the space will look like when fully furnished.

Ikea reports that they are just at the beginning of integrating GenAI into their consumer experience, and just launched a new Generative AI tool: AI digital assistant (Marr, 2024). I am curious about what extra features IKEA will add in the future!

References

IKEA launches new AI-powered, digital experience. (2022). IKEA. https://www.ikea.com/us/en/newsroom/corporate-news/ikea-launches-new-ai-powered-digital-experience-empowering-customers-to-create-lifelike-room-designs-pub58c94890

Marr, B. (2024). The amazing ways IKEA is using generative AI. Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/sites/bernardmarr/2024/04/05/the-amazing-ways-ikea-is-using-generative-ai/