What's the point?

[drewsuruncle]

I am really having a hard time understanding what the big deal is with VR/AR/MR. Outside of gaming (which I think could be cool), and a few other niche areas what purpose does it serve?

Obviously I haven't really used it other than about 2 times with my Idol 4s, and a google cardboard thingy. What am I missing? TIA.

 

[T Moore]

This is the first one I found and it is over a year old.

Beyond Gaming: 10 Other Fascinating Uses for Virtual-Reality Tech

https://www.livescience.com/53392-virtual-reality-tech-uses-beyond-gaming.html

 

[onemoredave]

I'm going to chime in here because VR has had a profound effect on me personally.

I remember the first night I got my Vive headset, I downloaded a few things, my wife went to bed and I woke her up a few hours later to tell her that I'd just been to the moon and it was awesome. She didn't understand until I put her into the Apollo experience the next day and she came out crying.

After 15 months with a VR headset, VR for me is about exploration and content creation tool. I can travel the world or create a masterpiece or a funny youtube animation. With free software like Welcome to lightfields you can sit in the actual space shuttle challenger....or with the spaceman experience you can spend some time as the SpaceX spaceman.

I've played some games which I loved, but my attention has largely been focussed on creative tools like Mindshow, blocks and tiltbrush. My wife is doing Architecture in Uni and we often build her creations in VR to let her wander through the structure to get a feel for the place.

The creative tools in VR (for me at least) has unlocked a part of me that I didn't know existed, a creative side that now has me uploading to youtube animated videos and sharing my creations on a weekly'ish basis. I'm not particularly talented and I won't ever be a youtube star but I love it.

That's my .02, I love it and would miss not having this creative outlet
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iM9zyghQ6ZE

 

[badelhas]

I agree, most of us here are gamers but I can forsee many uses for VR and AR, in many areas and businesses. This is just the tip of the iceberg...
Cheers

 

[Cale Hunt]

For me it's mostly about gaming. There seems to be a push toward using VR for productivity, but it's still not something I want to use on a daily basis to get my work done.

 

[Ryujingt3]

VR went round once, failed, and came back again. AR is promising, at least for games. I'm not sure about from a business perspective. I suppose learning, e-commerce (virtual fitting rooms) and location based services could be improved by this. For VR, gaming and porn are the two main things everyone thinks off (let's be honest).

VR would be good for interviewing candidates, previewing the design of a new office building, meetings or training sessions. So they both have valid uses, both personal and professional. The issue is will it be adopted by the masses properly or not. So far, VR is a niche, and outside of gaming, AR doesn't seem to hold much weight for most of us.

 

[onemoredave]

I'm not sure about from a business perspective.

Ummm…. Real estate, Architecture?, Travel, online shopping for furniture, Security services? VR/MR is already starting to move the dial. I toured an large multinational office today...they handed me a HoloLens :-o

Architecture firms are already able to upload their CAD drawings into VR to allow clients to wander the halls of as yet unbuilt buildings. Real Estate firms in my suburb offer virtual tours of the homes that are up for sale.

Ikea will already let you place their furniture in your home before you buy it.

The Oculus go, Vive standalones along with the Apple ARKit, Android ARCore and WMR provide a hint as to where this tech is going. VR/MR capabilities are going to be in every tablet, every phone and every set of smart glasses yet to be produced

"Business" is not just Word, Excel and Powerpoint anymore.

 

[drewsuruncle]

Thanks for the replies. I can see how architects, designers, and such could make use of it all. I think it will be interesting to see the other ways that it will develop.

"Business" is not just Word, Excel and Powerpoint anymore.

Of course, business isn't limited to MS Office, but there are a lot of people that work with spreadsheets and numbers. Personally, I have an accounting firm and do financial planning so maybe that's why it's difficult for me to see where AR's place is.

 

[badelhas]

Thanks for the replies. I can see how architects, designers, and such could make use of it all. I think it will be interesting to see the other ways that it will develop.



Of course, business isn't limited to MS Office, but there are a lot of people that work with spreadsheets and numbers. Personally, I have an accounting firm and do financial planning so maybe that's why it's difficult for me to see where AR's place is.

Exactly. For designers, doctors, photographers, projects that can be worked by people who are in different places... I can think in many uses.
I look forward for the technology and graphic processing power to give us real life "images" of us Gaming or working together. Nowadays it's just simple avatars, like Rec Room. It's funny but not realistic.

 

[cprice27]

I looked at the article and it is really interesting. The one I found most interesting was that virtual reality could be used in the courtroom. Instead of jurors just looking at 2D photographs, they could see a crime scene in virtual reality to really get a sense for the case.

 

[Ryujingt3]

Ummm…. Real estate, Architecture?, Travel, online shopping for furniture, Security services? VR/MR is already starting to move the dial. I toured an large multinational office today...they handed me a HoloLens :-o

Architecture firms are already able to upload their CAD drawings into VR to allow clients to wander the halls of as yet unbuilt buildings. Real Estate firms in my suburb offer virtual tours of the homes that are up for sale.

Ikea will already let you place their furniture in your home before you buy it.

The Oculus go, Vive standalones along with the Apple ARKit, Android ARCore and WMR provide a hint as to where this tech is going. VR/MR capabilities are going to be in every tablet, every phone and every set of smart glasses yet to be produced

"Business" is not just Word, Excel and Powerpoint anymore.

Very well put and good examples. VR needs time to mature, no doubt the end result may be something out of Ready Player One.

 

[badelhas]

Very well put and good examples. VR needs time to mature, no doubt the end result may be something out of Ready Player One.

I truly hope so. I am eager to see photo realistic representations of each others when in VR but there's no processing power for that yet.

 

[Manus Imperceptus]

VR brings Google Earth, and by consequence holiday preparation, to another level entirely.

AR, when incorporated into some manageable device like standard size glasses or even contact lenses in some still far future, will give you a computer interface regardless of your situation; that will revolutionise our computing in a way that will dwarf the emergence of smartphones in the late 00's...

 

[pkcable]

Has anyone mentioned shall we say "adult fun" THAT is my favorite VR activity! lol

 

[DRDiver]

I remain in the camp that, outside of gaming and some 3D modelling, VR is largely useless. I don't find watching movies in VR enjoyable at all compared to watching on our 60" screen. I just don't. The advantages of gaming in VR is really the immersion. Until media consumption becomes TRULY immersive (I do NOT count 3D as immersive), it makes little sense in VR. Using Office products, etc., while in VR is annoying at best, and I do not like this weird drive to place me into a house or loft to work with programs. It's VERY restrictive.

Now, AR, which is different from VR, could be a different story. Particularly in mobile. I LOVE using City Lens on my Lumia 1020. That is an example of useful Augmented Reality. Introducing virtual content to enhance what I see/interact with in the real world can be quite useful. What Microsoft is doing with HoloLens is where I think the future practical use is. VR replaces reality and can bring with it some very dangerous consequences. AR can also bring hazards (Pokémon GO! showcased that), but since it does not separate you from the real, it can be more useful in many instances.

<edit> I forgot to add that the game I play in VR is Elite Dangerous, and that since it does replace reality, it's quite immersive. Almost too much. I get a harsh bout of motion sickness when driving an SRV on a planet's surface. I have to take Bonine to combat it.

 

[fdruid]

I am really having a hard time understanding what the big deal is with VR/AR/MR. Outside of gaming (which I think could be cool), and a few other niche areas what purpose does it serve?

Obviously I haven't really used it other than about 2 times with my Idol 4s, and a google cardboard thingy. What am I missing? TIA.

Personally I think that not only MR gaming will evolve beyond the current gimmick state of imitating or adapting proven game styles and mechanics, the breadth of MR experiences will have more applications outside of gaming.

If you think of it as a new way of interacting with digital elements, one that means a leap outside 2D and into a way of displaying 3D elements that's also contextual and interacting with the real world, you'll see that this entails a whole revolution.

Even today, fields like architecture, design, education, training, treatment, home furniture and basically any retail that sells objects already can benefit (and some are starting to do it) from MR technologies. It's just the difference between seeing something in a flat 2D screen (which has proven popular these days, heh) to seeing it in your world.

 

[Hirox K]

A few thing people should know.
MR without the spatial mapping (environment scanning) is practically a VR.
Even if MR uses the same spatial mapping AR use, their usage is still different. With mapping, you can render 3d tables, avatars or cylinders as placeholders for real tables, real people or cans. It is still dangerous for user to really run around and interact with objects or environments (unless we can truly map and render objects 1:1 scale).

* right now, WMR functions pretty much the same as Vive or Oculus without the spatial mapping. The differences… WMR doesn't need the external camera setup and you can flip the eye piece up with those WMR headsets.

For gaming @ home. VR has various physical limitations, that is why devs can only deliver floor-moves-you-don't-move, the arcade style rail shooter game or racer (is still a on-rail typpa game).

For non-gaming @ home. AR has a better future than MR, MR has a better future than VR.

In the arcade... none can really work without a companion standing right next to the device. Maintenance and explanation is one thing, hygiene is another. You need someone hand the hygiene mask to customers. And if you start assigning people standing next to those headsets... it's an amusement park setup.

In a meeting room (virtual team is getting popular nowadays, holoportation could be useful) or a product demonstration spot, all 3 typpa headsets are fine if you don't really move around. But if you wan to interact with other people... AR is the better choice. e.g. sales and customers can walk around the product freely and they can all interact with the product at the same time in the same space, and they can see each other, you can write some note, walk away, grab a drink and come back.

In the construction site... say we mapped a virtual structure onto the site 1:1 scale, and we'd like to offer a tour to our clients, would you prefer a transparent visor or you'd prefer to put a monitor in front of your eyes?Despite that we can totally render objects to cover all your vision, a transparent visor, is still transparent. One thing VR/MR does better than AR is that you can shut yourself away from the real world.

Answer: Yes, Hololens's FOV is not a problem to programmers. We don't need to re-code anything if future Hololens suddenly offers wider FOV.

 

[AccentAE86]

Like DRDiver, I too am not sold on VR, but I think the applications for leisure and productivity are ENDLESS for wearable AR like HoloLens. I'll bet HoloLens version 5 will be unbelievable by then. But the proof of concept (which is what version 1 really is) really shows it's potential.

 

[todd7900]

As many have described here there are endless applications for VR/AR in business, education, military, and law enforcement. Where I'm have difficulty finding what use, other than gaming, is for the average consumer.

 

[Richard King5]

Porn!