How We Can Use Virtual Reality Today

A world inside our own??? Yeah, that is basically Virtual Reality. Slap on a pair of goggles, and you are practically good to go. Blogger Jake explores a few very unique ways that we use VR in medicine, product design, military, shopping, and events. –Alternate Realities Editor Hannah Hall

By Jake Sonderman

Many movies, like The Matrix, examine living in a reality created electronically that is not “real.” Today, we have at our fingertips the technology to immerse ourselves in a digital reality. But, instead of living in an alternate reality, we use virtual reality and augmented reality to better enhance the reality we live in.

Virtual reality has been around for longer than most people realize. The virtual reality we know today, the headsets and everything, was developed in the 70s and 80s by NASA as a training system (fi.edu). Virtual reality has been extensively studied since this time and is now accessible to everyone. But now, the first association most people make with virtual reality is video games. Don’t get me wrong: this is a great way to immerse yourself in another world or reality. But, there are many more practical uses for virtual and augmented reality.

Here are some of those uses:

Surgery

Vancouver-based Precision OS Virtual Reality Surgical Training Adopted by 10 Medical Institutions Across North America | T-Net News

Arguably the most meaningful use–VR is an invaluable tool for training surgeons. Mock surgeries can be created and implemented, but, also, resident or new surgeons can have a professional guide them in virtual reality during a real surgery. Some surgeries can even be performed by a robot being controlled by a surgeon using VR.

Other Medical Uses

There are many ways VR is being utilized in therapy, whether it be conquering phobias or treating PTSD. There is also the possibility of better virtual checkups (you know in case we all have to stay home for an extended period of time for some reason). Studies have shown that VR helps paraplegics learn to walk again because according to the Duke researchers that executed the study, “If you are confined to a bed or a wheelchair for a long time, your brain starts forgetting what it’s like to have legs and how to control them.” VR helps these patients remember.

Product Design

Developing prototypes can be extremely expensive, especially for small businesses and automotive manufacturers. VR is being used to design digital prototypes and save money in the process by not creating as many physical prototypes. Here is a link to Jaguar Land Rover’s Virtual Cave where they design new cars in VR. It is from 10 years ago but is still a good example of using virtual reality to enhance production.

Copy of Virtual Reality Centre_1_news post

Military and Handling Dangerous Materials

Soldiers to Get Advanced Virtual Training Tools Next Year, Army Says | Military.com

Of course we already use drones in the military, but VR has good applications for training teams in all branches. The military invests very heavily into developing VR technology. VR is also useful for handling dangerous objects like radioactive materials from a distance, through robots of course.

Shopping

One of the things I hate about shopping online, especially for musical instruments, is not being able to try something before I buy it. Virtual reality can help customers get a sense for what they want before they buy it. This is especially helpful for online clothes shopping. VR can assist in seeing how clothes will fit and look before you buy them, so that you don’t have to spend days waiting just to get clothes that don’t fit. Also, the automotive industry is beginning to use VR to show customers how a car will feel if they want to buy it online.

Events and Concerts

Especially during Quarantine, concerts in VR began to get some traction. Unfortunately, the phenomenon didn’t go too mainstream due to a relatively small number of people having a VR headset, but it is still a cool innovation. This is especially cool for audio because believe it or not, audio for VR is also very complicated. This is because if you are in a virtual room, software has to model what the audio will sound like in the exact spot you are standing based on the acoustics of the virtual room and where the audio source is coming from. But an added plus is that you can choose to watch the concert in solo mode and see your favorite artist up close.

I find this very interesting since I plan to major in audio engineering, and many cool VR products for audio have come out of the university I plan to go to (the University of Miami)–one of which was a VR program that spots the acoustic imperfections in your home studio.

The amount of technology an everyday citizen has at their fingertips today would amaze someone 30 years ago. That being said, I’m sure 10 years from now we will all be utilizing technology hundreds of times more powerful. To me, it seems like VR is a technology we will all be using in the future, and man that is exciting.

Alternate Realities Editor: Hannah Hall

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