"We combine the world of virtual reality and healthcare"
Where did Virtual Reality start and what has it become?
The term VR (virtual reality) is most widely credited to Jaron Lanier, who is described as the first person in the late 1980s to design a device – a head-mounted display and a special glove – that made available the user experience we have come to call virtual reality.
Jaron Lanier in VR goggles, 1989 / NASA Ames VR PR, 1990. Credit: https://bit.ly/3zoH0WJ
From discovery to use
This technology is basically the same today: the VR hardware in present day’s world is still based on a headset with mini monitors in front of the user’s eyes. This can be combined with a sound system, various controllers and different motion sensors.
The hyper cycle of innovation…
Since the 1990s, the trend that has been observed in the case of new products has been clearly visible.
For VR, the Hype-cycle started to rise rapidly from the second half of the 1990s and peaked in the early to mid-2000s.
Credit: https://bit.ly/3Zuf7ag
Potential breakthrough innovation starts at the “innovation trigger”. Basically, this is what the media advertises. The product is not commercially viable yet and may not even be ready for practical use. From then on, the early adopter tries out the new technology and adds to it, developing it until interest peaks. Then this strong interest wanes and eventually dies down.
And stop here!
At this point, if early adopters do not believe in the product, it ceases to exist. Those who keep the product alive through application, experimentation and finding ways to exploit it are increasingly starting to spread the word about the innovation. Then, as people begin to understand how it works, the technology finally reaches its infamous plateau and is ready for widespread, mainstream adoption.
Fortunately for VR, after the discovery of this innovation, many sectors – from industry to healthcare to education – understood the practical benefits of this innovation and predicted a great future for it. The pace of progress in electronics and IT has probably contributed to this. Of course, the entertainment industry, including computer games, has also discovered the technology for itself, and for the average person this is probably the area they associate with VR, if they associate it with anything at all.
Computer gaming and entertainment in general is undoubtedly one of the sectors where VR has taken root. However, comparing trends 30 years ago and now, several different sectors mention possible VR hotspots in both eras, among others:
1) Health
a) Physiotherapy and rehabilitation
b) Treating phobias, promoting mental health
c) Training, simulations, surgical planning,
d) Information, telemedicine and distance healing
2) Industry
a) Specifically focused on the food industry
3) Military
4) Architecture
5) Entertainment
6) Education
7) Transportation/The highway code
Alongside the term VR, we also see the term XR (extended reality). This includes VR, AR (argumented reality), MR (mixed reality) – collectively called generated reality. While VR technology focuses primarily on vision and auditory stimuli, XR also involves the other senses (smell, touch, possibly taste).
MR technology can be seen as a further development of AR, in that the virtual objects that appear in MR are much more a part of the perceived reality, and can be controlled rather than just passively perceived.
The figure shows the relationship and interconnection of the technologies.
XR will also be complemented by IoT (Internet of Things) and AI (artificial intelligence) tools.
“Whoever stays out misses out “
The saying is true, but VR/AR/MR/XR should not be an end but a means to an end in business.
It’s worth thinking, reflecting and finding the area where we can use these new technologies effectively, taking into account the return on investment, whether we are working in the health, industrial, architectural or educational fields.
Solutions based on AR/VR/MR/XR technologies operate in a stand-alone, island-like manner. Their efficiency can be maximised, for example in the HR and training field, if the tracking data of the use of different devices can be collected in a database or training platform and their possibilities can be complemented in a customised, adaptive way with traditional eLearning, mixed-hybrid or fully offline, on-site training elements. In this way, real, measurably effective, complex competence development can be achieved.
This will be discussed in more detail in a forthcoming article.
The slogan “Whoever stays out misses out!” should therefore be an open idea, to which we will find the answer and the right methodological and technological experts and implementers in joint discussions.
Background articles and professional materials used: