AR/VR startups

Forbes Forecasts VR as the ‘Next Big Thing’ in Meetings & Conferences

August 29, 2021 From affinityvr

The adoption rates for Virtual Reality are rising every day, the technology moving closer to occupying a place of prominence in the mainstream with each new use case. This meteoric trajectory has caught the attention of many business publications and pundits, including sectoral forerunners like Forbes.

Forbes has recently taken stock of the Meetings & Conferences landscape, labelling Virtual Reality the ‘next big thing’ set to disrupt the market. The hybrid style of working that has become prevalent in the last few months has spurred an influx of players in the digital communication market; while employers continue to weigh their options, it is clear that Work-From-Home is at least partially here to stay.

VR stands to revolutionize this hyper-connected way of working. In the linked piece, Forbes details the improving perception of VR Tech in corporate spaces; while Virtual Reality has had little difficulty establishing itself in the entertainment space, its uptake in business has been slower owing to the significant shift in workflows required. The benefits of using VR in the workplace, however, are many – and corporations are warming up to the idea of making Virtual Infrastructure a part of their holdings.

Image Courtesy: aijiro from Adobe Stock

VR in the Office

A Virtual Reality office may appear to many a phenomenon still in the making. Yet, the VR Tech heavyweight Facebook has already beaten everyone to the punch – silently releasing the ‘Facebook Horizon Workroom’ on their Oculus Quest 2 as a free app.

FHW marks the third iteration of virtual workspaces by the global giant. The application allows users to enter virtual office meetings with up to 50 other users, share their screens, operate in-app presentation boards, and interact via 3D customizable avatars. Given VR’s capacity for mimicking reality, the creation of a shared virtual environment such as an office promises to offset the traditional costs of leasing and maintaining physical premises.

Going forward, corporations can now go fully-virtual without facing the repercussions of lacking a shared workspace – especially those associated with cultivating a shared mission among teams. Large organisations operating internationally can also use VR to mitigate the logistics of flying their leadership to common destinations for important internal seminars.

Image Courtesy: DragonImages from Adobe Stock

VR Conferencing and Meeting – NextMeet

VR’s ability to create interactive and immersive environments lends itself to large conferences as well. Events such as scientific symposiums, auto shows, ComicCon etc. were previously inaccessible to most people living outside metropolitan pockets. Even in the big cities, a variety of other logistical challenges, including the paucity of space and accessibility of environs, diminished potential attendee pools.

However, through VR, these events can be made open to all. Virtual attendees can become a part of these experiences through true immersion, enjoying a far richer experience than live camera broadcasts and visitor streams can accord. As the number of visitors rises, advertising revenue also increases – offering a much higher RoI to event organizers and sponsors. On all fronts, virtual reality events promise a win-win situation.

Avatar-based platforms like NextMeet are building on this premise, providing their users a host of immersive and interactive virtual conferencing and meeting venues. In NextMeet, users can free-roam across a range of interconnected virtual spaces, and interact with each other using realistic spatial audio. Event organizers, at their end, can also tailor the virtual environment to streamline event messaging, rope in product sponsors, or even reinforce brand recall.

Image Courtesy: NextMeet

With the growing case for VR events, offices and conferences, the time is ripe for organizations to switch to fully-digital operational models. These cost-effective yet as-rich-as-real-life experiences are the pragmatic way forward for gatherings of all sizes.

3 Major Differences Between VR Camera And 360

August 27, 2021 From affinityvr

Virtual reality is a crucial filming reality that takes users into a digital world. Still, the 369 videos are live-action. The 360 videos would capture 360-degree cameras that can view on 360 devices device-related with various apps, computers, or smartphones, where the 360 cameras are the technology that continues to grow and improve. The 360 videos are more affordable, and the differences between the 360 video or VR have wowed. The experiences are significant to enjoy the adventure, and it provides a 1080p HD video camera that works great and new reality tech.

Discuss Virtual reality camera?

It is the experience that replaces the real world with an alternate one. It gives the interaction with the alternate world with six degrees of freedom that is always required.

In VR, there have pretty many years of popularity in the gaming industry. Some of the applications were outlines in the VR. You will see that the VR environment will engage the ordinary five senses that include taste, smell, touch, sight, and sound. Virtual reality relies on the degrees of freedom offered.

Discuss 360?

It has a spherical video that allows the viewer to look in all directions and has no freedom to interact with or move through the imagery.

In fact that you might watch someone on your phone while scrolling through the Instagram feed, using a finger to move and scroll the feed to get the 360-degree perspective. Perusing YouTube videos and using the mouse to gain 360 views must be wearing a VR headset to feel immersed while video playing.

While aside from sound, you lack other sounds. You are missing other senses that are lacking absolute freedom. Not being able to move in a 360-degree environment, you are not having the six degrees of space required for VR. While using 360 videos, you are not allowed to interact with the environment.

Differences between Virtual reality and 360?

	Virtual Reality	360 video
Photography	Digital environment	Live-action
Mobility	It is related to the world whereas, you can walk around as long as you are connected with a computer and not tethered.	It gives a 360-degree view from the camera’s perspective limited by the filmmaker’s camera movements.
Video timeline	Here the video can progress a series of experiences that can be simply existing or that the user can explore	Here the video can progress a timeline created by the filmmaker’s camera’s movements.
platforms	The complete kind of experience is needed to require a VR headset that can tether.	Here the 360 compatible players include a YouTube, including a desktop and mobile.
Story	The story is a filmmaker where it does not control the viewer’s physical location in the environment and must be capture attention and helps to motivate the user to travel in the direction of the events of the story.	The story is a filmmaker controls the camera’s physical location but must capture the viewer’s attention that helps to direct the story as well.

Conclusion:

Hopefully, the details related to the article named 3 Major Differences Between VR Camera And 360 would help you understand the topic carefully. Some of the details associated with the differences between the VR camera and 360 are mention in the article. After knowing the differences, you would understand that both play a significant role in their perspective and are being used essentially in the world nowadays. Markets are being successful with the experience with VR and 360 cameras and videos. To hold onto these experiences, you need to have knowledge related to VR and 360.

Forbes Forecasts VR Meetings & Conferences as the ‘Next Big Thing’

August 26, 2021 From affinityvr

Image Courtesy: aijiro from Adobe Stock

VR in the Office

Going forward, corporations can now go fully virtual without facing the repercussions of lacking a shared workspace – especially those associated with cultivating a shared mission among teams. Large organisations operating internationally can also use VR to mitigate the logistics of flying their leadership to common destinations for important internal seminars.

Image Courtesy: DragonImages from Adobe Stock

VR Conferencing and Meeting – NextMeet

Avatar-based platforms like NextMeet are building on this premise, providing their users with a host of immersive and interactive virtual conferencing and meeting venues. In NextMeet, users can free-roam across a range of interconnected virtual spaces, and interact with each other using realistic spatial audio. Event organizers, at their end, can also tailor the virtual environment to streamline event messaging, rope in product sponsors, or even reinforce brand recall.

Image Courtesy: NextMeet

Indian Government’s Digital Drive Helps AR/VR Startups – Here’s How

July 31, 2021 From affinityvr

India has been taken over by the startup craze in recent years, with multiple unicorns emerging in less than a decade. Their meteoric rise has created massive ripples across the country, tapping into a dormant entrepreneurial spirit. Educational institutions are not untouched by this wave, with top institutes like IIM, IIT and NIFT launching their own incubator and accelerator programs.

This increased interest in fostering the next generation of tech leaders and disruptors has resonated with the government as well. Recently, the Ministry of Industry formalized its support for NIFT Kangra in setting up an incubator at the institute, complementing the state-of-the-art AR/VR design studio on campus.

Image Courtesy: s_l from Adobe Stock

Owing to low rates of digital literacy in the country, budding tech like AR/VR has struggled with establishing a strong foothold in Indian markets barring a few urban pockets. Low per capita income and general market volatility have added further drag to the adoption of these technologies, making the space hospitable only to innovators & investors with a large appetite for risk.

Institutional and organizational support signal the end of this uncertainty. Government bodies are taking note of the ways in which AR/VR technologies are changing everyday life, and responding with their own initiatives to drive the change pan-India.

Government schemes for AR/VR startups in India

Since the flagship Aadhaar project – creating common database stacks of public information, in order to better dispense services – the Indian government has taken a keen interest in developing the country’s eGovernance infrastructure to improve the reach and efficacy of its programs. The result has been a marked boost in the nation’s digital literacy, from streets vendors adopting eWallets to a whole new cohort of micro investors and speculators.

To spearhead the nation’s digitization drive, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) has launched ‘Digital India’ – an initiative supporting tech-based SMEs and startups in their ventures. The goal, set by the current Prime Minister, is ambitious – carving out a trillion-dollar share for India from the global digital economy. While MeitY focuses on digital literacy across the country, state-level programs are approaching the flipside of the coin – fostering innovators and investors.

Image Courtesy: daniilvolkov from Adobe Stock

One such project supporting the growing tech-sphere is the VARCoE initiative by the Odisha government. Aimed at developing IIT Bhubaneshwar as a virtual reality hub, the VARCoE initiative is an important display of confidence by state authorities in the promise of ARVR technologies. Many more government bodies have been quick to follow in Odisha’s footsteps – a trend that has important implications for consumers and creators alike.

Future of VR in India

The number of Internet users in India has risen from 30 million in 2011 to a whopping 700 million in 2021. Along with the growing awareness of AR/VR tech and the improved ease of doing business in the country, state-sponsored digital drives are setting the scene for investors and innovators to take a leap. There are presently 250 AR/VR startups in the country, with many more on the way. Their offerings span a variety of sectors, with proptech, edutech and virtual conferencing being prominent amongst them.

In the virtual events & conferencing space, especially, offerings like NextMeet are filling the gap created by video conferencing tools. By completing the immersive experience of a VR-compatible 3D platform with spatial audio and avatar-based UI, these mass-market offerings are a great example of how a fertile startup ecosystem will drive user-centric innovation across domains.

Just as competition grows in the market, state governments too are working towards establishing themselves as frontrunners of the AR/VR revolution. These trends are shifting the power back in the hands of the consumer, bringing forth new options and opportunities with every passing day. All said, it is an exciting time to be an ARVR enthusiast in India.

5 VR Tools and Software to Try Today

July 23, 2021 From affinityvr

Whenever virtual reality is mentioned in a conversation, people commonly picture big and bulky headsets. Yet headsets and hardware are only a part of the story – VR tools and software are the essence of the virtual experience. Quite literally, the code is the magic behind the machinery.

As interest in AR/VR tech increases, so does the influx of entrepreneurs making VR tools. VR solutions have permeated every industry, and are trickling down fast into consumer markets. Here’s a shortlist of VR tools you can try today:

VR Meeting and Conferencing – NextMeet

Virtual meetings were already catching on before the pandemic gripped the world and catalysed the mass adoption of remote working tools. Just as quickly as the world caught on to using online meeting applications like Zoom, Microsoft Teams and Google Meet, there has been a growing understanding that multi-feed UIs and flat audio outputs are not ergonomic. This gap has led to a drop in participants’ engagement.

Image Courtesy: NextMeet

NextMeet is an avatar-based immersive platform that enables real-time virtual conferencing and networking in a 3D environment. A mass market offering, this platform is PC and mobile-friendly. Offering virtual meeting spots, seminar halls, expo spaces and even an art gallery, NextMeet mimics the hallmarks of in-person communication to make online interaction less dreary.

With ergonomic features such as realistic spatial audio, a 3D interactive environment with customizable elements, and advertising spaces, NextMeet is an especially effective VR tool for corporate meetings as well as events. The virtual reality software is available for free download.

2. VR for Asset Design – unityXR

We’re living in the golden age of digital assets, and the evolution of new forms of creative output and the tools used to produce them are two sides of the same coin. Unity 3D has been the industry leader in digital assets creation software for a long while, and they have brought their expertise to XR tools as well. Unity XR is an expansion to the Unity graphic engine that allows users to develop their own AR, VR and XR assets.

Unity XR offers users a variety of features such as Native VR support for devices, API tool kit compatibility with all major VR headsets, and the ability to develop XR modules easily. The UI is simple, intuitive, making it easy for designers to start creating in XR. Unity also offers forward compatibility, making it one of the best VR software for PC to download.

Creative designers with XR expertise will soon be high in demand. Foreseeing this, Unity is also offering classes in AR/VR/XR to help designers onboard the tech trend.

3. VR for Real Estate – VirtualSpaces

Despite the sweeping changes made across the world by the digital revolution, the real estate sector has lagged behind on adopting future-ready practices. Pictures and videos don’t typically occupy prime status in the sector – real estate is driven by personal inspection, consumers only believe it if they see it. This tendency has influenced everything from design practices to sales activities.

Image Courtesy: thisisengineering from Pexels

Virtual Spaces is a VR tool for the real estate industry, catering to both ends – clients and developers. This mobile VR app helps its users perform all steps of property development and client servicing remotely. Using VR makes it possible to show properties to buyers from the safety of their homes, crucial in an increasingly remote world. Unlike pictures and videos, immersive virtual reality can render any property without loss of perspective or detail, reducing logistic costs and sales conversion time for designers, developers and agents.

While the full potential of this app is yet to be realized, it can be accessed upon request on the Oculus Store.

4. VR for Presentations – Present4D

For every business pitch, the presentation is an essential part of the communication. Demos and eye-catching presentations boost client interest; in a world where the movement of people can be a public health hazard, VR presentation tools can help deliver the immersive experience of a live demonstration without compromising safety.

Present4D is VR software for PC that helps its users in creating 360 based virtual presentations. The output can be customized for the client, covering as wide a ground as interactive documentaries and school presentations. The VR tool is especially suited to create product demonstrations using 360 pictures and videos. Present4D is easy to use, and comes with preinstalled graphic modules for the ease of new users.

The VR software is available to solo users as well as enterprises. While its price may restrict its use to businesses, it offers a free license for non-commercial uses that solo users can avail.

5. VR for Education – HistoryViews

Of all sectors, VR has taken the firmest roots in education. With distance learning being the need of the hour, current online meeting applications are falling short of supporting long-term student-teacher engagement. VR tools for education are a great middle path between the personal connection of classroom teaching and the convenience & safety of distance learning.

HistoryView is a unique VR-ready archive for schoolgoing children, focusing on their cultural and extracurricular growth. This VR tool takes children on virtual visits to important cultural sites and museums around the world – taking the concept of distance learning one step further with virtual field trips. Accessible via PCs, Chromebooks and VR devices, HistoryView makes it possible for students to broaden their horizons without being bound to their location on the map.

Image Courtesy: Norma Mortenson from Pexels

As AR/VR solutions diversify, more and more users are joining the fold. While many of these solutions may be a tad too expensive for the casual user, there is no dearth of free VR tools and trials that can help consumers make up their mind before making a purchase. Until VR tech reaches critical momentum in terms of costs and applicability, these tools and software will continue to be a critical gateway to the market – a win-win for new users as well as VR tech developers.

Apple Music launches Spatial Audio for all ft. Dolby Atmos

July 21, 2021 From affinityvr

The world’s favourite entertainment and computer technology giant, Apple, has broken new ground on mass releasing cutting-edge technology. On May 17th, they announced the launch of spatial and lossless audio for all subscribers of Apple Music for their existing library of songs. This mass launch was powered by the spatial audio format Dolby Atmos, the only other format in the market for spatial audio being Sony 360 Audio.

Apple Music, in the same press release, announced its massive plan of overhauling its libraries for higher quality audio. They plan to release close to 75 million songs with lossless audio – 20 million of which will be done by the end of the year; on the other hand, spatial audio upgrades will be available for all titles.

The upgrade in audio quality of one of the largest music libraries of the world is big news, for reasons that will affect much more than just the music industry.

What is Lossless Audio and Spatial Audio?

Lossless Audio and Spatial Audio are two formats of audio files, which elevate the music listening experience in different ways. Lossless Audio refers to hi-fi audio formats, which can record all the audio ranges in a track without any compression losses. The hype around a good wax vinyl record is due to the lossless quality of its playback. Due to technical reasons such as instruments used in old records being lost to time, Apple is releasing a limited number of lossless audio files.

Spatial Audio, on the other hand, refers to audio files that can produce a surround sound through speakers – creating the effect of multiple and distinguishable audio sources, just like real-life performances. Spatial Audio has been a large part of the gaming and cinema industries, but Apple Music’s release of spatial audio files for their entire library is a first from such a large record distributor.

Image Courtesy: Brett Jordan from Pexels

The catch with Apple Music free upgrade is that lossless and spatial audio quality is not supported by all Apple products. Specifically, lossless audio can not be played back by any Apple earphones yet, nor is it supported by the older generation of products. As for spatial audio, while a larger number of older generation products can utilise this massive upgrade, not all users will be able to avail the newer experience to begin with. In fact, a major user base like India has only just received access to the audio quality update for their Apple Music libraries after months of waiting.

Why does Spatial Audio matter?

Unlike lossless audio, which is simply higher quality music, spatial audio can be a key component in creating virtual environments. Technologies like Virtual Reality can utilize the potential of spatial audio to create immersive 3D virtual experiences.

Image Courtesy: cottonbro from Pexels

Platforms such as NextMeet employ spatial audio for users to interact with each other in a 3D virtual convening ecosystem. Users can listen to each other and interact freely, with the audio being filtered according to the distance and direction in which other users are standing. These geospatial cues are what make physical meetings and conferences click – even conventions borrow from the chatter and murmur of the crowd to create excitement and engagement. Recreating that effect in VR opens up an entirely new realm of possibilities, the effects of which are best experienced in person.

As technological breakthroughs occur in every field, the breadth of what we can achieve in AR/VR expands as well. Spatial audio is simply one such technology, capable of integrating seamlessly with a virtual landscape to enrich user interaction.

SOUNDSCAPE VR LAUNCHES MAGIC MIRROR w/ DESERT DWELLERS, DESERT HEARTS, GOOD TV & MORE.

June 23, 2021 From affinityvr

DENVER, CO, June 22, 2021–Today Soundscape VR (SVR) is announcing the
launch of Magic Mirror, a new way to experience traditional 2D audiovisual
content in virtual reality.

Magic Mirror provides a platform for content creators that brings the entire
universe of 2D content into virtual reality, from music videos, concert footage,
visualizers, to live streams and more. Building off the beautiful soundscapes of
the SVR platform, this “digital drive-in” brings music lovers together from around
the globe and is designed to scale infinitely, with no limit to the number of
viewers who can take part in this shared musical experience.

Magic Mirror is launching with special performances from The Desert Dwellers,
Desert Hearts Mikey Lion, Porky, Lee Reynolds, Marbs, RYBO, Carlo and Good
TV’s VNSSA, Walker & Royce, Ardalan and Option 4 with more artists,
performances, and limited content being added regularly.

To experience Magic Mirror, users can go to Oculus or Steam and download the
free Soundscape VR software.

“Magic Mirror offers the ability to supercharge any piece of traditional music
content by merging the two-dimensional and three-dimensional worlds,” said
Founder Eric Alexander, “We’re really excited to launch this new experiential
pipeline with a collection of forward thinking, innovative, artists, like The Desert
Dwellers, who definitely get the marriage of music and virtual reality.” Amani
Friend from Desert Dwellers said, “Soundscape VR is truly a revolutionary
platform and virtual festival space that brings people together through music,
visionary art and celebration. The magic of this technology can unite people
around the world, beyond borders!”

For more information about upcoming Magic Mirror content and events in virtual
reality, users are encouraged to follow the company on social media and visit
the website where a complete compendium of content available in Magic Mirror
is available.

About Soundscape VR: As a groundbreaking music, arts, and gaming VR
platform enabling a new generation of live concerts, music experience, and
sound visualization; Soundscape VR (SVR) has paved the way for the next
technological expansion of the music industry. Friends across the globe can
listen, fly, paint, explore, watch, dance, compete, and more – with infinite groups
of players together in a sonic-visual adventure functioning as a 24/7 music
festival. SVR’s Sonic AI allows the software to visualize any genre of music
automatically from Electronic to Jazz, deeply integrating the music into the
audio reactive environments provided by SVR. Engineered by an independent
collective of artists, musicians, and developers to be the premier destination for
musical and artistic virtual reality content, SVR is regarded as one of the most
immersive and technically impressive virtual reality apps in the world.
Soundscape VR is part of the Soundscape Universe, a collection of virtual,
mixed, and augmented reality software developed by Groove Science Studios
(GSS). For more information please connect on Facebook, Instagram or visit
https://www.soundscapeuniverse.com

About Desert Dwellers: Desert Dwellers is the convergence of music
producers Amani Friend and Treavor Moontribe, who honed their individual skills
in the mystical deserts of New Mexico and California, long before electronic
music reached the mainstream. Amani and Treavor combine the raw sounds of
the natural world, wrapped in dancefloor and chill-out productions, blending
deep bass, earthy percussion, etheric voices, and cross-cultural instrumentation
into a sonic incense for the mind and body. Desert Dwellers’ unique global
sounds are a bridge between worlds, and their label Desert Trax has become a
platform to spotlight similar alchemical artists. Learn more about Desert
Dwellers at https://desertdwellers.org

PandaMR: The Place Where the World eMeets

June 16, 2021 From affinityvr

What is PandaMR as a virtual event platform?

PandaMR (Panoramic District Alternative – Mixed Reality) is a mixed reality platform for organizing, hosting, or participating in any scope and scale virtual events. Crammed with a variety of real-life event components, it came to life to conform businesses to a broader community and adjust them to the required co-working flow.

When depending on specific circumstances a business environment needs to turn virtual and be something different than just a video broadcasting, there should be a method to keep those ‘present’ engaged during the whole event, and implement all this with no venue and attendees on the site.

Virtual User Types and Their Adaptation

PandaMR virtual platform is geared toward 4 main user profiles.

Those are organizers, responsible for conducting, arranging and coordinating a virtual event;
Exhibitors, who come as interested parties willing to present their products, solutions and brand in general on the medium;
Visitors, the end-users in our chain who attend the exhibition, discover all benefits provided by the platform and enjoy their unique experience, and finally,
The help desk crew, which is supposed to be a part of an event organizer’s staff and is responsible for the informational and technical support of the event attendees.

From the Organizers’ perspective, virtual reality events can be organized with thousands of participants. They can use the platform anywhere anytime, make sponsorship recruitment, and create virtual ad placements. Also, promote their event through a dedicated event website and reach out to broader audiences.

Any scale Exhibiting companies have a wide range of opportunities within the platform, namely; limitless design 3D stands, where their attendees can interact with each other via in-app channels and functionalities, network by making connections, exchanging virtual business cards, and many more.

Visitors can see their favorite speakers and participate in world-scale conferences, conventions, and other events sitting comfortably at their homes, without worrying to fit into the conference hall, visa, flight, time zone adaptation, and other traveling challenges.

Virtual Features and 3D Components

Mixed Reality Interior

In the MR space participants may find 3D

Conference rooms,
Public and private meeting rooms,
Party zone,
Stands, and

Secondary Features

Dedicated Event Website
Floor Plan
24/7 Support

Communication

After the closer exploration of the innermost parts of the platform, comes the most popular question “FINALLY, HOW DO PEOPLE INTERACT IN SUCH A CLIMATE”?
PandaMR Platform integrated all the possible content transmission channels namely;

– Text Chatting (Group and Private)
– Video Calling
– Real-time Voice Communication

Also, in the Contacts section of the PandaMR app, one would have the possibility to collect Virtual Business Cards and lately dispatch to the provided email.

Events

On a weekly basisPandaMR holds worldwide events from a variety of industries from IT, iGaming (East & West Virtual), blockchain and finances (iFEX Virtual and CIE Virtual) to underground music & art (UNDERVR).

The World’s First Underground Music & Art Fest is taking place on PandaMR from May 31 to June 18. In the frame of PandaMR’s UNDERVR project, the electro-queen Nina Kraviz rocked the virtual space and brought hundreds of streamers to one place. Those who were not able to attend the event watched it via the platform and enjoyed the same atmosphere, because the virtual venue with the lighting effects, sound and the spirit is exactly one-on-one.
The next electro, minimal techno and microhouse music genre guru Ricardo Villalobos will be LIVE on PandaMR on June 18, promising another unparalleled virtual experience.

The VR in PandaMR

PandaMR currently offers its users a mixed reality experience, that is a new environment visualization created through merging real and virtual worlds. The participants exist and interact in real-time in a space where physical and digital objects co-exist.

Soon the users will be able to apply VR headsets and share what the virtual industry full-pack offers.

The Emerging Tech Evangeliser working towards building a Future ready India

May 20, 2021 From affinityvr

We are in the greatest technological transition witnessed in human history courtesy of “Industrial Revolution 4.0”.

The convergence of emerging technologies will make our world unrecognizable in the next coming decades from self-driving vehicles, flying cars to colonizing mars, technologies such as artificial intelligence, Synthetic biology, nanotechnology, Augmented Reality/Virtual Reality, Blockchain, Quantum computing will redefine mankind taking us to the next step in human evolution, Like Yuval Noah Harari’s best-selling book suggests “Homosapiens to Homo Deus”.

Change is the only constant and we cannot become what we want by staying who we are.

Fear of the unknown holds back the majority but it also brings out the best in a few and truth be told those are the few who are most likely to change the world.

The Pandemic has disrupted the entire world but it also created opportunities.

every challenge, every adversity holds the seeds for opportunity & growth.

Today we again stand at the edge of the mountain and I believe exponential technologies is the tool that will help us take the leap of faith & lay the building blocks for a world with inclusion & diversity at its core, an equitable world, where we transition from the current notion of scarcity to a future of abundance for all.

We are fast moving from science fiction to science fact & you too can play a role in building a better future because we are all capable of greatness.

Start from breaking the shackles of limiting beliefs, traditional & narrow thinking, become lifelong learners.

The Transform Impossible & XROM podcast are two platforms where I encourage inquiry, thought, and intelligent conversations with change-makers, disruptors, policymakers & exponential tech entrepreneurs on pragmatic steps to build an equitable future for all.

Subscribe, Support, ring the bell & spread the word because Change happens only when we all come together.

www.youtube.com/thetransformimpossiblepodcast

www.youtube.com/xrompodcast

Eddie Avil: Is a serial Entrepreneur, AR/VR & Emerging Tech Evangelist

Founded: IMMERSION- India’s 1st & Largest AR/VR ThinkFest

http://tiny.cc/vr5zgz

Founded: VR Storytellers – Dir/Prod India’s 1st Stereoscopic, Award-Winning VR Film-CRACKLE

https://tinyurl.com/dmhf735k

Founded- XROM – India’s 1st & largest AR/VR Marketplace

www.xrom.in

Founded: Change Transform India / The Transform Impossible

Email/Connect: https://in.linkedin.com/in/eddieavil

How VR Technology is driving much needed business transformation in 2021

May 8, 2021 From affinityvr

The long term business impact of Covid has reinforced the need to innovate to boost productivity, build customer bases and future proof businesses. And adopting immersive technologies such as virtual reality may hold the key to success.

How can VR help businesses?

As immersive hardware becomes more widely available and affordable, coupled with advances in software technology such as remote collaboration platforms, VR has tangible and demonstrable business benefits, from helping to improve productivity, through to connecting with customers in new and unique ways, and ensuring that businesses are employing the right people, with the right skills. VR can also help reduce costs and improve a company’s environmental credentials.

VR TRAINING

Learning by doing is a tried and tested way of effectively training employees – and virtual reality takes this to the next level. VR training takes place in risk-free, virtual work spaces, where a variety of realistic scenarios give employees the chance to take a hands-on approach to hone their skills.

From highly intricate techniques required by trainee surgeons, through to procedural practices for field technicians or even soft skills training, VR training experiences facilitate practical learning. Collaborative training experiences are also possible, where interdependent team skills can be developed from anywhere in the world.

There are also many numerous benefits that virtual reality training can bring to employees’ professional development and motivation levels. This coupled with increased efficiency, a reduction in downtime and potential budget savings means that VR is a fantastic tool to support businesses dedicated to long term success.

A recent report by PWC found that learners in VR trained 1.5 times faster than e-learners and were 3.75 times more emotionally connected to content than in the classroom. Learners were 275% more confident to apply skills learned after training and four times more focused than their e-learning peers.

BUSINESS MEETINGS IN VR

Businesses who use VR can build strong remote teams globally. VR has moved remote teamwork onto the next level. VR remote collaboration platforms offer collaborative spaces where team members can interact with each other. Employees can meet and work with their colleagues in the same space in real time. The potential to connect teams in one working environment, coupled with the lower unit cost of VR hardware such as the HTC Vive and Oculus Quest 2, means that VR solutions offer cost effective ways to facilitate collaborative remote and streamline workflows.

HEALTHCARE

VR has the power to significantly improve a number of areas of healthcare including medical education, training, pain relief and trauma therapy. US insurance companies are now issuing codes for VR treatment. One can imagine in the not too distant future how VR headsets will become more of the norm both for training and treatment in the UK too.

MARKETING AND COMMUNICATIONS

VR provides a powerful tool to communicate with clients and market products and services to potential customers.

VR has the potential to capture attention and wow audiences and provoke active responses, making them an ideal marketing tool. Location-based VR can help to create meaningful experiential marketing experiences that reinforce positive brand messaging and strengthen engagement.

PRODUCT DESIGN AND DEVELOPMENT

Creating ways to design and develop products faster and in a more cost-effective way is a driving force for business innovations across a broad range of sectors. Businesses choosing to use VR can significantly accelerate the product development process and get products to market in less time.

Advances in VR means that research and development (R&D) teams can fail fast and learn quickly. This is made possible by remote collaboration platforms which provide virtual spaces to test concepts and develop prototypes, without having to invest time and money in physical prototypes. Traditional workflows are thrown out the virtual window as interdependent tasks can be carried out simultaneously, significantly speeding up the development process. R&D teams are free from expensive and time-intensive physical design processes and are given more freedom to think differently, test new ideas and innovate.

EDUCATION

Curriculum-focused, school-based virtual reality content provides great lessons to be learned by the inspirational immersive experiences that are leading the way in innovative approaches to education.

Other education initiatives have been developed to bridge the gap between academic learning and practical experience, to help to prepare students for their potential future careers. For example, A 11-18 year olds are now encouraged to learn in context for working in design and engineering in the construction industry. This includes bringing the site to the classroom through VR. By giving students the chance to gain hands-on, practical experiences of real life working situations (but in a safe environment), students are able to get inspired and gain an understanding of the realities of working in the construction sector.

The future for VR and Businesses

The VR/AR industry is predicted to grow to an $80bn market by 2025, as the introduction of kit such as Oculus Quest 2 paves the way for widespread adoption and has the potential to become a part of all our everyday lives.

As VR becomes more prevalent, the case for introducing virtual reality into businesses future corporate strategies is even more compelling.

Author – Tim Fleming, CEO, Future Visual

Tim is CEO and co-founder of Future Visual who are experts in producing award winning VR and AR content on their collaboration platform VISIONxR™. Clients and partners including ESL One, IATA, Peugeot and John Lewis.