Virtual reality (VR) technology is still in its infancy. And as it develops, it finds applications not only in the games industry, but also in a variety of areas, ranging from industry to marketing and medicine.
Here are the top 7 unusual uses for virtual reality.
7. Virtual crime scenes
Scientists from Staffordshire University have conceived an unusual "criminal" project. It uses green screens, the latest virtual reality headsets and technology borrowed from games.
Researchers are experimenting with a variety of technologies, from laser scanning to unmanned aerial vehicles. The goal is to allow the lawyer and the jury to “walk” around the crime scene, where everything looks incredibly real.
6. Marketing
Advertisements are becoming more ubiquitous and intrusive thanks to the Internet. Most consumer-oriented marketing-related apps aim to eliminate these ads. But what if virtual reality makes advertising interesting and even desirable for users? For example, car giants BMW and Volvo have commissioned virtual test drives and races, and this is just the tip of the marketing “virtual” iceberg.
5. Entertainment
In late 2015, several Canadian theme parks began experimenting with virtual attractions. They used smartphone-compatible headsets to display scenes in sync with various attractions.
These attachments allow players to participate in the Independence Day game, fending off an alien attack and accompanying Superman as he repels Lex Luthor's attack on Metropolis.
4. Medical operating simulators
Using NeuroTouch Cranio, a brain surgery simulator, will help inexperienced surgeons learn from their mistakes without affecting the patient's health.
NeuroTouch Cranio can analyze its user's performance, make recommendations for improving it, and even assess whether the user has the necessary skills to be a neurosurgeon.
The simulator also features a Kobayashi Maru mode, named after a test from Star Trek. It is needed to assess the student's reaction to a scenario in which the patient always dies.
3. Treatment of phobias
A popular "anti-phobic" therapy is to expose the patient to fear, so to speak, dosed. Until the patient, under the careful guidance of the psychotherapist, takes control of him. And therapy of phobias in a virtual environment significantly reduces such negative effects of the method as stress and anxiety.
The University of West Virginia at Charleston offers VR programs that enable patients to confront a wide range of fears, from public speaking (where a virtual crowd starts throwing things at a patient) to fear of heights.
2. Providing assistance to the paralyzed
Second in the ranking of amazing virtual reality capabilities is the amazing technology created by neuroscientist Miguel Nicolelis and his team at Duke University. They use exoskeletons and VR headsets to allow paralyzed people to walk.
The experimenters placed the subjects in a virtual environment in which they could move around using manual controls. At the same time, physical movement takes place thanks to the exoskeleton.
After a year of therapy, half of the patients' health improved so much that their diagnoses were officially changed from "complete" paralysis to "partial".
1. Police training
Police and military simulators are nothing new. However, the system, dubbed VirTra 300, has become fashionable among hundreds of police agencies in the United States.
The system offers users unique virtual situations that can end in different ways. Each situation has many scenarios forks that trainers manipulate in real time. The aim is to steer trainees towards conflict de-escalation methods and to teach the use of force as a last resort.