7 Ways virtual reality will change our lives

We live in world driven by technology. In fact, technology has improved nearly every part of our business and personal lives. And while technological advancements have reached dizzying heights today, the prospect of what tomorrow has in store might sound even more boggling even for the most ingenious minds. Whether it’s self-driving cars, space tourism, artificial intelligence or virtual reality, our future is—without a jot doubt—promising.

Virtual reality will remarkably change the landscape of virtually every industry—military, healthcare, entertainment, gaming, education, fashion, and business just to name a few. In fact, nothing in life and society will be unaffected by virtual reality. In the first two months of 2016 alone, investment in virtual reality and artificial intelligence crossed a whopping $1.1 billion mark. Leading tech companies, which consider virtual reality the next big thing, are constantly investing in the technology.

Here are just a few ways VR will change our collective futures for the good.

Gaming

While the most obvious use of virtual reality is gaming, it’s not the only industry that benefits from the technology. When played through virtual reality platform, video games can be far more engaging and interesting. It hardly needs pointing out that the experience of playing games through VR headsets are compelling and addictive, for the games you have on your device can never give you as much fun as you will encounter on VR games. That’s exactly the reason that a number of people still prefer to go to game houses when they have more than five games on their device.

In addition to video games, virtual reality can be used for entertainment in many ways. Universal Studios, for example, provides infinite fun with their virtual tour rides, with some scenes in the ride requiring VR headsets while many others don’t.

Watching Films

Watching films, a highly entertaining activity in itself, will become more enjoyable with virtual reality. VR will give you the IMAX experience at home, providing you with a gigantic screen in front of you, while there’s none. Quite a few cinemas now provide viewers with VR headsets before watching a movie. Movies become a thrilling and engaging experience when viewed through VR headsets. And to add to the whole movie-viewing experience, some cinemas install heavy speakers in various parts of the cinema hall, giving viewers are very immersive experience. In fact, you feel like being part of the film. That’s precisely why horror movies are 3 times scarier when viewed on a VR headset. Besides fear, the anxiety and suspense also increase manifold on VR platforms.

Addiction is a little challenge when viewing a movie via a VR headset. After enjoying a movie on a VR headset, you will find watching films on conventional TV sets quite boring.

‘Visiting’ Places

Doesn’t looking around the world on Google Maps sound compulsive? Now spare a thought for the overwhelming feeling you’ll get when you would be able to do the same through your own eyes—kind of!

With world travel being a pretty expensive undertaking, immersive virtual reality technology comes across as an amazing alternative, providing you the opportunity to experience some of the world’s exotic places without spending a lot of money. Only by downloading free VR apps and buying a headset for your Android or iPhone smartphone, can you turn your phone into a virtual reality device and can find the 360-degree videos of different cities. Virtual reality also comes in handy for the real estate agent or owner to provide a virtual tour of the property to their clients and help them visualize the architectural plan better. Virtual reality also allows the customer to get a 3-D view of the house they are planning to buy or rent.

Virtual Shops

While online shopping is a boon for many, one of its drawbacks is missing the joy of navigating the aisles and picking up your favorite products. Virtual reality is the solution. All you have to do is put your VR goggles on and you will instantly be transported to a virtual shop, which is actually customized for you.

Health Care Industry

The health industry is constantly introducing new and cutting-edge technologies to improve patients’ lives. And virtual reality will further help surgeons and medical experts with a highly interactive, accurately modelled samples through a VR interface. Virtual reality also helps treat people with mental and psychological issues by creating calming environments and simulations. A lot of marines and soldiers, when they get back from battlefields, have to deal with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and virtual reality is a great tool to threat them. The technology will be used to help them get over the stress and begin to lead a normal live.

Teaching People To Fly

Following the rapid growth of virtual and augmented reality devices in the home-entertainment market, this fully immersive technology is now making its way into the aviation industry.

Flight simulators already help pilots learn to fly, but with virtual technology, they could really do something much more remarkable and realistic to further hone their skills.

Eve: Valkyrie—a game that lets you take the role of a spaceship pilot—immediately comes to mind. The level of excitement the game, which seemed real to the core, brought reflects the scope of virtual reality even in the field of aviation. Thanks to the exponential growth of the virtual reality (VR) market in the last few years, aircraft manufacturers and airlines such as Boeing, Lufthansa and Air France are heavily investing in virtual reality.

Improving Quality Of Life

Disability or poverty can take away everything from an individual, depriving them of a quality life in which they can explore, experience the wonders of the world, and live happily. But like the able-bodied or the privileged, they too deserve to live well.

VR offers a solution to the woes of such people, allowing them to enjoy the best things in the world and live their lives to the fullest. There’s nothing that can be more comforting and satisfying than this.