By Sebastian Stabinger (Own work) [CC BY 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons
This
year's E3, a showcase for emerging gaming technologies,
whetted the appetites of players keen on virtual reality gaming. As has been
the case with previous gaming innovations, this new tech has further
applications outside of video games. Diverse fields of human enterprise can be
potentially revolutionized with the introduction of sophisticated VR systems.
Health Care
VR has already been used to deliver medical treatment that's
superior to what was offered in the past. Phantom limb syndrome, a condition
whereby people experience pain in missing limbs, can be successfully treated by
using virtual reality simulations to give
patients control of a limb that isn't really there. Burn victims and others
undergoing painful recovery and rehabilitation can use VR as a means to escape
their woes and distract their minds. Soldiers suffering from PTSD have reported
improvements as they confront
traumatic incidents from their pasts inside a safe, virtual environment.
Entertainment
Rather than dealing with rude and obnoxious cinema patrons
or struggling to listen to a band in seats far away from the stage, VR may
permit you to have the full
movie or concert experience in the comfort of your own home. This is in
addition to actual developments in the media themselves, such as movies wherein
you're at the center of the action and can look in whatever
direction you want rather than current films wherein all the camera angles
and shots are set up in advance.
Education
Students are somewhat limited to the four walls of their
classrooms when trying to learn, but this could change in coming years.
Detailed virtual models of locations around the globe could make possible virtual
field trips to enhance to learning experience. Additionally, lecturers and
other public speakers can reach a wider audience through the use of this
technology to interact with an audience scattered around the world. While some
of this is possible today with videoconferencing tools, conducting educational
activities in a virtual setting may allow for greater interaction and
listener satisfaction.
Training
There are many tasks, such as handling expensive machinery
or operating on human patients, wherein any errors could be catastrophic. Due
to the sensitive nature of these endeavors, it's practically impossible to give
those preparing for them training that includes hands-on experience. That's
changing with the advent of VR. Surgeons
can operate on imaginary patients, and explosives experts can defuse bombs in a
consequence-free environment. Just as simulation programs have done for pilot
flight training, so too can virtual reality do for many other demanding or
dangerous disciplines.
Advertising
Product placement has hitherto been limited in scope to
objects that have a solid, physical reality or the appearance, in films and TV,
of having a solid, physical reality. But there's no reason why items that exist
only in virtual space cannot also be branded and thus advertised. Besides this,
providers of services and other non-tangible goods can give potential buyers a
sneak preview of what their service is like through the use of clever
VR implementations.
Space
Space exploration occurs in an environments that are quite
different from our terrestrial environs. In order to prepare astronauts for
zero-g conditions and somewhat spartan living conditions, NASA has already
begun to utilize virtual reality. Furthermore, much of the exploration to be
done in the coming years will likely use robotic or other unmanned systems.
These can be most effectively controlled by a user donning VR gear,
which can turn esoteric sensor data into a rich, detailed, visual and auditory
simulation.
Although some decry virtual reality as nothing more than a
toy or something of the future, the truth is that there are already serious
applications for it besides games. Thanks to recent developments in fiber-optic internet and hand-tracking
sensors, virtual reality is more involved with our current world than it
seems. As costs decrease and the functionality becomes richer and easier to
use, there's no doubt that many industries will be transformed for the better.
New fields of human activity, of which we have only vague inklings and
premonitions at present, will almost assuredly come into the fore as well.
Maria is a freelance writer currently living in Chicago. She
has a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from the University of Illinois at
Chicago with a minor in Communication. She blogs about environmentally friendly
tips, technological advancements, and healthy active lifestyles. You can follow her on Twitter @MariaRamos1889.
