Virtual Reality; the next big thing in the world

Technology

Hi-tech analysts have described Virtual Reality, as the next big thing in the world.

The remarks were recently made during the World Mobile Congress in Barcelona.

Samsung pulled all the stops to show off its new gear Virtual Reality headset during the recent World Mobile Congress in Barcelona. They gave visitors the full experience complete with moving seats.

“There is definitely a lot, many more things we can do. Not only with our phones, but all the ‘eco-system’ that is being built now around the phone. We have seen a lot of new applications for virtual reality, in education, in training, in sales… but there will be more, it is just the start,” Jean-Daniel Ayme, Vice President of Samsung Europe said.

2016 will see the release of VR headsets by a number of major manufacturers, including Taiwanese phone maker HTC, which is launching its new ‘Vive’ platform, that offers a surprisingly realistic experience in the virtual world.

“We use laser tracking. So through the use of two-base stations that come in the box along with the unit control and the headset, laser tracking allows you to have a 360° room scale experience, which means you can walk around the room,” Jon Goddard, Head of marketing HTC Europe said.

The technology, however, comes at a cost, with the HTC headset, for example, costing a whopping 900 euros…and you still need the PC to go with it.

But Virtual Reality will certainly have many more applications than just gaming in the future.

“I think developers will work out in really clever ways to translate VR into beneficial, real world applications. So, that could be something like a simulator that allows surgeons to practice in virtual reality or to train people to do dangerous jobs, maybe deep sea diving or something else,” Jon Goddard added.

With virtual reality on course to become a 1 billion dollar global business, the race is definitely on for manufacturers to get ahead and come up with the most efficient and competitive offer.