Virtual Reality: Any practical uses?

Foxhound5366

Foxhound5366

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Virtual Reality is one of those technologies that we all know is going to be a part of our future, but is there any compelling reason to make it part of our present?

Every single tech review of Virtual Reality and specific devices just seems to totally ignore what you can actually DO with something like the HTC Vive, if you owned one right now.

Obviously games (and I know Steam has a big VR component already), pornography (always innovating), 3D modelling (not used by my employer), VR chat (HeyImBee) and VR concert/sport experiences (seem pretty gimmicky at the moment and I don't think there are any local suppliers of content) ... anything else?

It feels like VR is waiting for the killer app to come along, and my guess is it will be productivity related.
 
I almost forgot about VR Tourism ... like Google Streetview on steroids ... where you can just travel anywhere and see anything without the crowds (oh how blissful that would be).
 
Using it as a learning tool is the thing I'm most interested to see. Yeah you could sit in bio class learning about the cell, or you could actually visit a virtual cell and interact with the parts.

Stuff like this:
 
saor said:
Using it as a learning tool is the thing I'm most interested to see. Yeah you could sit in bio class learning about the cell, or you could actually visit a virtual cell and interact with the parts.
Click to expand...
I totally agree - the possibilities for online education are breathtaking. But the question is, do any service providers for VR online training exist right now, or will we have to wait another ten years?
 
Foxhound5366 said:
I totally agree - the possibilities for online education are breathtaking.
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I'm envious of the kind of education awaiting future generations, assuming that's the direction it takes. I found textbooks and rote learning such a bore.
 
That is pretty decent, but a lot of what you could learn in such a way will be done by robots anyway. Everything is becoming automated.

If the VR experience could become even more real perhaps. Like taking a saw and physically doing a cross-cut on a piece of lumber and feeling the resistance of different types od lumber.

It is nice to see things like this and there are great Youtube educational videos out there, but unless you work the materials yourself you have not started learning yet.
 
Foxhound5366 said:
I totally agree - the possibilities for online education are breathtaking. But the question is, do any service providers for VR online training exist right now, or will we have to wait another ten years?
Click to expand...
I know there's a place in Pretoria which developed some stuff used in the mining sector. Went there once and saw a demo where you service a car through vr. Quite impressive.
 
HunterNW said:
I know there's a place in Pretoria which developed some stuff used in the mining sector. Went there once and saw a demo where you service a car through vr. Quite impressive.
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I think university of Pretoria was involved. Also know of a company in jhb doing it for training purposes. Also mining related

A large engineering company in Pretoria started using it to let client experience how the building / site will look like. They are also playing around with augmented reality
 
Watch BBC Click on Youtube to see innovations.

There are VR experiences for overcoming fears and for substituting expensive training.

Headsets are starting to come out with eye tracking which will open up more possibilities. Training to make eye contact with an audience exists.

Valve knuckle controllers will be released soon. By doing individual finger tracking and pressure sensors, further possibilities will come up.

I'm mainly interested in VR gaming because of my interest in gaming and endless possibilities which have not been exploited yet. There's definitely space for innovation even though the issue of free movement has not been solved.
 
Give it to the ANC, let them figure out how to uplift people by stealing from them in that virtual reality they live in.
 
SauRoNZA said:
Augmented Reality has a better real world application potential than VR.
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Can't wait for some unobtrusive AR tech. Even just for travelling having live translation overlays (and live audio translations) is going to be amazing. The game side of things too - being able to play live co-op games with some friends in a physical space and we're all seeing the same aliens. And then all the ways it'll change design & creativity etc. I'm far more excited for AR that VR right now.
 
Saw a TV show the other day where doctors where able to repeatedly practice a difficult surgery using a VR environment before doing the real thing. Computers simulated the results of the surgery to tell them if it had worked or not. It looked like something that was real and already in use in some hospitals that they included in the show.
 
You mentioned 3D modelling but an extension of that would be for Architectural design. Lots of architects use 3D modelling to visualize what a building will look like inside and out, that experience could be enhanced by having the client be able to walk through his home/building to better tweak design decisions.
 
schuits said:
Maybe the airforce is using VR to control drones?
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Why would you need VR for that instead of just using a live (reality) feed?

They already use VR-like headsets but it's not based on anything virtual at all.
 
Cray said:
You mentioned 3D modelling but an extension of that would be for Architectural design. Lots of architects use 3D modelling to visualize what a building will look like inside and out, that experience could be enhanced by having the client be able to walk through his home/building to better tweak design decisions.
Click to expand...

Yup same with industrial/automotive/aeronautical design.

I believe both Tesla and Kawasaki (at least) already use VR to design their vehicles.
 
saor said:
Can't wait for some unobtrusive AR tech. Even just for travelling having live translation overlays (and live audio translations) is going to be amazing. The game side of things too - being able to play live co-op games with some friends in a physical space and we're all seeing the same aliens. And then all the ways it'll change design & creativity etc. I'm far more excited for AR that VR right now.
Click to expand...

Multiplayer in the same physical space is already supported in some VR games. Even Arizona Sunshine does this. Some purpose-built VR arenas allow the physical space to come into play.

So... yea you may look forward to AR rather than VR... but from a software perspective, they are related very closely.

VR headsets contain a camera which can produce an overlay.
Whether the rendering is merged with camera input or projected on to glasses or your eyes affects practicality but not what is possible.
 
SauRoNZA said:
Why would you need VR for that instead of just using a live (reality) feed?

They already use VR-like headsets but it's not based on anything virtual at all.
Click to expand...

"Using a VR device to control an unmanned reconnaissance aircraft has many advantages over the traditional display and the joystick," says Maxim Chizhov, a VR expert. "An updated VR helmet gives the UAV operator a more realistic picture of the battlefield, allowing for faster decision making and more effective drone control at high speed."

Situational awareness I guess
 
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