The rise and popularity of virtual reality will soon affect technical and professional communication. This technology has been on the rise for several years, but has been too expensive for consumers. According to an article on entrepreneur.com, HBO recently “created a completely immersive experience for Game of Thrones fans using the Oculus Rift © headsets”.
These headsets are made to totally immerse an individual in the experience behind the mask. 3D movies, and D-Box movie theaters have tried to master this technique for large groups of people, but in comparison the Oculus Rift, and other such technologies give a more in-depth experience to the viewer.
As the technology becomes more affordable, and comprehensive its use in the workplace will become more versatile, and more well known. The video game, and social media sectors have already started work in exploring the market for virtual reality among their consumers. The tagline for Oculus is “let your mind explore”. After securing the device to your head the goggles are designed to take you through an interactive experience. For example the games, Eagle Flight, Valkyrie, and RIGS: Mechanized Combat League have already partnered with Playstation © to market the technology to their users. The games are made to feel like you are in them, and experiencing the action as if your physical body was there. \
A problem that has been faced by marketing developers is that commercials make the user of the headsets look alone, and detached. In newer promotional videos the camera swoops inside the goggles and takes the potential buyer on the virtual reality journey.
Another game, Job Simulator, takes the player to 2050 to a world where robots have replaced all of the human jobs. You step into the “job simulator” and learn what it was like “to job”. The game is set-up for you to play out all sorts of job’s and relive the “glory day’s of work”. In the year that this game has been out it has won 10 awards, including Bester VR Experience from The Game Awards 2016 and Best Interaction game from Proto Awards.
As technical and professional communications advance I can see this technology being used in meetings to explain new ideas to clients and board members. The potential for a “virtual reality meeting” is limitless in the sense that you can show your clients how a new building will look by walking them through a simulation, or you can show them how a product will be utilized by their customer base through a simulation.
In the newest ad campaign Oculus Touch say’s “Reach Out and Touch The Future”. For the world of business virtual reality may become a reality as it begins to market products with the technology, hold meetings with the technology, and immerse virtual reality into everyday business. For engineers, designers, doctors, and healthcare professionals virtual reality could affect the way they do their job. As simulations progress, we could potentially see holograms and figures used to create parts, or medical procedures. Just like Iron-man does when he creates his suit. The virtual reality becomes a reality when we can see, feel and touch the objects we are working with. It goes farther than 3D printing, by allowing the user to adjust parts of the hologram with with a program.
Virtual reality is quickly becoming a reality for many business sectors. In the future we can look forward to more innovation as the technology becomes more affordable and widely used.
Erin M. Dimond 