Why VR is Not a Gimmick
By Xander Townsend | Misfit Media Editor
As someone who spends a lot of time communicating with clients/potential clients looking to utilise VR software within their businesses, I can comfortably say that 90% of my job is convincing people that virtual reality (VR) is not 360 degree video. What I mean by this is that VR is perceived as this completely static and flat medium with no more capacity beyond showing someone google maps but ‘‘in 3d’’ when it has more poetical then people are willing to comprehend. VR has the capacity to simulate dimension to a degree that would completely reshape how we instil training, education, and medical practices just to name a few. The one word I've heard more than any other within this context, is that VR is ''gimmicky''. I couldn't agree less.
A gimmick is defined by Cambridge as ''Something that is not serious or of real value that is used to attract people's attention or interest temporarily, especially to make them buy something''. Now one thing I can say with absolute certainty, especially with my academic experience, is that virtual reality presents a plethora of 'real value' across several fields in copious practical implementations. VR is not those seated pods you see at the arcade or the cardboard pop-out that you can put your Samsung in.
I've done pieces on the ethical logistics of VR as a medium, as well as how virtual characters in VR have the capacity to instil empathy in others.
These pieces present the cognitive investigations that can be conducted and I would definitely consider these 'base level' compared to other elements I could investigate/hope to investigate in the future. But the main argument I have proving that VR isn't a fad, is its ability to create a zero consequence environment. When you put someone in VR, there are zero consequences for their social and physical actions (apart from accidentally throwing a controller due to the strap not being tight enough around your wrist). A person has the capacity to test the limits, commit social atrocities, learn new skill sets without ridicule, and manoeuvre hypothetical equipment without causing harm. You can teach a new employee to manoeuvre a piece of multimillion dollar machinery used in mining for example with absolutely no risk of destroying equipment, causing injury, or even disrupting production. You can put someone who suffers from PTSD in an environment associated with their trauma with the sure knowledge they are in no physical danger whatsoever, and you as a clinician has complete control over the severity of stimuli. You can even put autistic children in simulated social situations and allow them to test the limits of interaction as well as understand their actions with no harm being caused at all. Zero consequence is a magical thing.
With all this being said, VR still has a long way to go in terms of hardware capacity especially with regards to mobile devices (no tethered cables or PC required). It is an extremely difficult medium to optimise currently and it is the most volatile technology I've ever worked with.
All I know is if enough resources are put into VR as a medium especially at an industry/company level, I know it has the potential to completely change how we conduct ourselves technologically in every field we use in modern society. Just think about how the computer changed the world, let's do it again.