Four ways virtual reality will change our day to day lives

Virtual reality (VR) is on the cusp of entering the mainstream. Throughout 2018, we will see the scale and scope of the technology fully explored; developers will bring new uses and applications to market, while improved hardware will hit the shelves and at a more affordable price.

It is still early days for VR, but already we are seeing ways in which it can improve our day to day lives, from how we socialise and entertain ourselves, via workplace training and improved safety. Over time, VR will continue to blur the lines between real and digital environments, bringing people closer together.

The potential uses for VR are almost limitless, from allowing realtors to offer virtual viewings of houses, to training soldiers for combat, via making movies more immersive and bringing toys to life. While some of these are a little way off becoming reality, below are three ways VR is already impacting society:

Socialising:

The way we communicate with our family and friends is changing. We now mix and match physical interaction with social media and instant messaging platforms. Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp and even Snapchat are, for some, their primary tools for interaction. Virtual reality, however, is now bringing physical and digital communication together.

Facebook, the largest social network worldwide, recently launched Facebook Spaces – a VR application that allows you to chat with friends within a virtual setting full of dynamic interactions. Regardless of physical location, users can interact with their peers in the same space. As Facebook says, VR will not isolate the user from the real, physical reality, but allow them to interact with their friends in a different, digital world.

Facebook believes virtual reality will come through as a new format of social networking. As the technology continues to improve, and innovators such as Facebook invest in discovering its full potential, it’s easy to see how VR will continue to change the way we socialise and communicate with family, friends and even work colleagues.

Working:

Virtual reality has already made its way into the work place, but in the coming months and years it will really change the way businesses are structured and operate. It will allow those who work remotely to better engage and interact with their colleagues via a virtual office environment or meeting room. This will help businesses build truly global workforces, and recruit based on talent and not proximity to their headquarters.

For businesses with multiple offices around the world, it will also allow them to put all the key decision makers in one “virtual” room at the same time. Sure, tools like Skype and Slack allow employees to communicate and interact regardless of location now, but VR will really bring this to life. This, in turn, will take productivity to the next level.

An additional use for VR is training. Companies will be able to train staff regardless of where they are located. They won’t have to wait to book them on courses, or undertake expensive training exercises. All that will be needed to provide effective and efficient training is a pair of VR goggles and a dedicated computer program or application.

Surgeons, for example, will be able to hone their skills in a digital environment that accurately mirrors the real-world, and this includes a fully functional (albeit virtual) human body. Driving instructors will be able to teach on virtual roads without putting other motorists in danger, while bomb disposal experts will be able to practice their craft in high pressure environments specifically created to test them, but without the real-word risk of being blown up.

Entertainment:

Virtual reality has already made its mark in the gaming and gambling industries. Indeed, these sectors are the natural home for VR technology, porting players to new and exciting worlds and fully immersing them in the action. Video games developers such as PlayStation have already launched VR headsets and compatible games that bring the experience to life, offering players more authentic and true-to-life environments.

The same applies for those who like to wager and gamble online. In a post on its blog, online casino operator 888casino.com says it envisages a world where players will be able to walk around a virtual casino environment, playing slot machines, chatting to the blackjack dealer, interacting with other players and even entering the sports bar to watch a football game being broadcast live. In short, VR will deliver an authentic casino experience to players, but from the comfort of their own home.

But the future imagined by 888casino is already here; SlotsMillion.com is the first virtual reality online casino to go live. Set in a sleek skyscraper environment, players can walk around the gaming floor where they will find clusters of slot machines as well as a lounge where they can relax and interact with other players. Players are also encouraged to peak out of the window and look down to the ground – the immersive nature of the VR environment makes some feel queasy!

The mass adoption of virtual reality is still a good few years away, but it is already clear the technology is going to make a huge impact on our day to day lives. We are seeing how it can help us socialise, work and play. As the price of hardware and goggles drop, and developers launch more apps and programs that deliver unique and engaging VR experiences, it won’t be long before we are all using it.

It’s time, it seems, for a new reality.