You've probably seen those 'tilt & rotate' videos on Facebook or different versions of virtual reality headsets. VR is becoming popular and once the initial excitement of 360 videos and photos wears off, you'll realize that there can be many more applications.
When you put on a VR headset, it blocks all the ambient light and distractions so that your experience is not ruined. This makes VR a great option for watching videos and movies -- it can actually make you feel as if you are sitting in a movie theatre, complete with seats and a screen.
Netflx already has a VR app, compatible with Samsung's Gear VR headset. It shows content in 720p HD resolution.
This is one area where VR has been used since the 1990's. However, 2016 is pegged as the year when VR gaming might actually take off. There are so many games already available for different VR platforms.
A number of developers including Valve and Sony have announced support for VR and are set to announce dedicated games.
Improvements to smartphone displays and processing have also opened up the way for smartphone connected VR headsets for gaming.
Since VR shows a 360-degree view, using it for virtual tourism is a no-brainer. VR demos of monuments, museums and popular tourist destinations likely number in the thousands.
You can get started with the most basic Google Cardboard (or similar headsets) and your smartphone.
Just search for VR in the app store and you'll find what you need. Will it affect real tourism?
Maybe -but at least it's a lot more affordable than actually travelling the world!
VR has the ability to put you in a different place and time. This is perfect for crime scenes because it can help find and analyse something that was missed earlier.
Scenes can be photo graphed in 360 with advanced cameras and a series of events can be reconstructed at a later stage. The investigator will be able to put on a simple set of VR glasses and look around to discover more clues.
This is even more important when a crime scene's integrity will not last such as on a busy street or in side someone's home.
Many automotive enthusiasts would like to visit different car showrooms -- take in the ambience, sit inside, start up the engine and so on. Apps like Relay Cars are already available and you can do exactly that.
Step inside, look around, view videos about the car and even start up the engine to hear what it sounds like.
The sounds are sampled from the actual cars so what you hear is what you get. Once adopted by mainstream manufacturers, you'll be able to visit a bunch of showrooms without leaving your home.
Since many VR headsets use your smartphone as a display, you can use them to access local content. For instance, a free VR Cinema app automatically splits videos stored on your phone to a side-by-side view so that it is viewable in a VR headset.
Similarly,You can play 3D movies from your device on a VR headset. An app called Seene lets you capture 3D images with your phone that can be later viewed in VR.
We always recall the OnePlus VR live stream of the OnePlus 2 smartphone. All you had to do was install the app and you could instantly view the launch event in 360 degrees using a Google Cardboard or similar headset.
Samsung also offered a taste of VR at the Samsung Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge launch in Barcelona a few weeks ago.
Going ahead, this looks like a trend in the making. Viewers from all over can see events while sitting at home.
CT scans can pinpoint anomalies with great accuracy. The problem is, doctors have to view these scans on flat screens and prints. With VR, doctors can see scans in much greater detail and manipulate them in 3D space at will.
This will mean a faster and better diagnosis. Other applications in medicine include remote surgical tools, risk-free training of health care professionals and in some cases, even treatment of patients.
Urban areas are rapidly moving to a delivery-only model. From clothes & shoes to groceries, everything is moving to apps. The next logical step is VR shopping.
Large retail chains are already experimenting with virtual shopping where you could `walk' into a store, search for and examine the products you want and add them to your basket.
They will be delivered home without you ever leaving the couch. This could also progress to a mall which will have multiple shops under the same virtual roof.
What makes the perfect soldier? It's training -- as much as possible. VR can supplement the actual training, putting soldiers in a safe environment while simulating all possible situations and enemies.
This is currently being done with flight simulation and battlefield simulation. Advanced moving VR rigs can also place soldiers on moving platforms for better simulation.
Drones are hot property and despite the ambiguity around their use in many parts of the world, numbers are only increasing. VR provides a way to control a drone even when you can't see it.
It is now possible to send a drone on a reconnaissance mission -- it will send a live feed from its cameras to your VR headset so that you can remotely control it.
Companies like FLYBi, Ghost Drone and CloudLightFPV have consumer-ready products out in this space.
- Movies
When you put on a VR headset, it blocks all the ambient light and distractions so that your experience is not ruined. This makes VR a great option for watching videos and movies -- it can actually make you feel as if you are sitting in a movie theatre, complete with seats and a screen.
Netflx already has a VR app, compatible with Samsung's Gear VR headset. It shows content in 720p HD resolution.
- Gaming
This is one area where VR has been used since the 1990's. However, 2016 is pegged as the year when VR gaming might actually take off. There are so many games already available for different VR platforms.
A number of developers including Valve and Sony have announced support for VR and are set to announce dedicated games.
Improvements to smartphone displays and processing have also opened up the way for smartphone connected VR headsets for gaming.
- Virtual tourism
Since VR shows a 360-degree view, using it for virtual tourism is a no-brainer. VR demos of monuments, museums and popular tourist destinations likely number in the thousands.
You can get started with the most basic Google Cardboard (or similar headsets) and your smartphone.
Just search for VR in the app store and you'll find what you need. Will it affect real tourism?
Maybe -but at least it's a lot more affordable than actually travelling the world!
- Crime scene reconstructions
VR has the ability to put you in a different place and time. This is perfect for crime scenes because it can help find and analyse something that was missed earlier.
Scenes can be photo graphed in 360 with advanced cameras and a series of events can be reconstructed at a later stage. The investigator will be able to put on a simple set of VR glasses and look around to discover more clues.
This is even more important when a crime scene's integrity will not last such as on a busy street or in side someone's home.
- Virtual car showrooms
Many automotive enthusiasts would like to visit different car showrooms -- take in the ambience, sit inside, start up the engine and so on. Apps like Relay Cars are already available and you can do exactly that.
Step inside, look around, view videos about the car and even start up the engine to hear what it sounds like.
The sounds are sampled from the actual cars so what you hear is what you get. Once adopted by mainstream manufacturers, you'll be able to visit a bunch of showrooms without leaving your home.
- View your own content
Since many VR headsets use your smartphone as a display, you can use them to access local content. For instance, a free VR Cinema app automatically splits videos stored on your phone to a side-by-side view so that it is viewable in a VR headset.
Similarly,You can play 3D movies from your device on a VR headset. An app called Seene lets you capture 3D images with your phone that can be later viewed in VR.
- Live streaming of events
We always recall the OnePlus VR live stream of the OnePlus 2 smartphone. All you had to do was install the app and you could instantly view the launch event in 360 degrees using a Google Cardboard or similar headset.
Samsung also offered a taste of VR at the Samsung Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge launch in Barcelona a few weeks ago.
Going ahead, this looks like a trend in the making. Viewers from all over can see events while sitting at home.
- Advanced healthcare
CT scans can pinpoint anomalies with great accuracy. The problem is, doctors have to view these scans on flat screens and prints. With VR, doctors can see scans in much greater detail and manipulate them in 3D space at will.
This will mean a faster and better diagnosis. Other applications in medicine include remote surgical tools, risk-free training of health care professionals and in some cases, even treatment of patients.
- Adding dimensions to home shopping
Urban areas are rapidly moving to a delivery-only model. From clothes & shoes to groceries, everything is moving to apps. The next logical step is VR shopping.
Large retail chains are already experimenting with virtual shopping where you could `walk' into a store, search for and examine the products you want and add them to your basket.
They will be delivered home without you ever leaving the couch. This could also progress to a mall which will have multiple shops under the same virtual roof.
- Military training
What makes the perfect soldier? It's training -- as much as possible. VR can supplement the actual training, putting soldiers in a safe environment while simulating all possible situations and enemies.
This is currently being done with flight simulation and battlefield simulation. Advanced moving VR rigs can also place soldiers on moving platforms for better simulation.
- Drone control
Drones are hot property and despite the ambiguity around their use in many parts of the world, numbers are only increasing. VR provides a way to control a drone even when you can't see it.
It is now possible to send a drone on a reconnaissance mission -- it will send a live feed from its cameras to your VR headset so that you can remotely control it.
Companies like FLYBi, Ghost Drone and CloudLightFPV have consumer-ready products out in this space.
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