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5 Ways Virtual Reality is Used Every Day and 3 Cool Experiments You Can Try Right Now
When you closely observe the nature of things you realize on a fundamental level, it’s somewhat similar, if not exactly the same. A bacteria grows in size to ultimately split and reproduce. Humans give birth to continue generations after generations. Countries capture new territories to expand their land. Innovations extend their usage beyond their initial domain (the Internet was first developed for military purposes, and today we can’t imagine life without it).
These examples can only give us a directional clue of where the VR is headed. And it’s not only now that we see virtual reality being used in diverse fields, but from the beginning itself, it started expanding to new domains.
In 1956, cinematographer Morton Heilig created the first VR machine named Sensorama, a large booth designed to immerse the audience in the cinema. In 1966, Thomas Furness, a military engineer, created the air force’s first flight simulator. In 1977, MIT created the Aspen Movie Map. This program allowed users to virtually wander through Aspen city in Colorado, similar to Google Street View. And so forth.
Fast forward to 2020, and today we see new developments in virtual and augmented reality. We’ve come a long way, and we are going even further.
Some uses of virtual reality in everyday life.
VR in Mental Health
Virtual reality is proving to be a groundbreaking technology for psychological therapy. Patients can face their fears in a controlled environment, complete specially designed tasks, and re-enact a traumatic event. Studies have shown that VR can help people with psychotic disorders, anxiety, phobias, and PTSD (Post-Traumatic Stress Disorders).
VR in Sports
Virtual reality has many uses in sports such as training, measuring and analyzing performance, designing efficient sports gears, and improving the audience experience. By repeatedly simulating different scenarios, the athletes can be better prepared for different situations, realizing their strengths and weaknesses, and practicing accordingly. It can also help measure the athlete’s performance. Some broadcasters have even started broadcasting live games in VR—Fox Sports aired college football matchup between Ohio State and Oklahoma live through virtual reality for all Android and iOS devices. It can further be used to give an immersive tour of the stadium before the audience buys a ticket.
VR in Education
VR has great potential to improve education techniques. Wouldn’t it be better to learn about the planets being on those planets? Or learn a history lesson by watching it unfold in a life-like three-dimensional environment? Virtual reality can provide children an interactive learning environment where they can be more involved, attentive, and engaged in the topic of interest. It is also an effective platform for children with autism to practice social skills.
VR in Games
Virtual reality gaming puts the gamer in the first-person perspective. Where regular games show a perspective from behind the player, VR games provide an immersive experience making the gamer feel part of the action. Some popular virtual reality games you can try include Half-Life: Alyx, No Man’s Sky (PSVR), Defector, and Space Pirate Trainer.
VR in Real Estate
Virtual reality is used by developers and architects to give customers and investors intimate access to their projects. The prospect can take the virtual tour of the property/properties from the builder’s office or home. The immersive environment helps them experience those details of the property which a brochure can never provide. Want to create a virtual tour of your property? Click here (give the link to your contact us or 3 step section) Some examples of virtual reality and 360-degree experiments you can try right now. Access Mars This is a WebVR experiment made by Google in collaboration with NASA. The experiment is accessible in VR and 360-degree view. It shows the real surface of Mars, recorded by Curiosity rover. To see the experiment, click here.
Tabel
It is an experimental VR film. The film shows six storylines in a restaurant. You can choose to see any story by just facing that table, and if you wish to change the story, you can do so by just turning your attention to another table. See the trailer here.
Multiple Chrome Experiments
These are different experiments that turn your smartphone into a virtual reality device using Google Chrome and Google Cardboard. Try the experiments here. These are only some examples of virtual reality usage and the experiments done using the technology. Apart from these industries, VR is also being used for military purposes, recruitment and training, medical training, fashion, automotive design, and more.