Virtual reality isn’t an everyday reality yet – but that day is drawing closer. Even Mark Zuckerberg thinks so! He was smart enough to acquire Oculus in March of 2014, thinking ahead to how VR would pair with social – and beyond.
Speaking at the 2015 Oculus Connect 2 developer conference recently, Zuckerberg underscored his belief that virtual reality “will be the next major platform.
“VR is such an immersive experience, and one day it will enable everyone to create, share and experience anything.” – Zuckerberg, Facebook Founder & CEO
And it’s certainly easy to believe that, in light of several other exciting developments Oculus announced at the conference:
1. A consumer edition of Gear VR, the mobile VR product developed with Samsung, will be available this holiday season
2. Partnerships with Netflix and Twitch as part of an expanding arsenal of VR video options – including Facebook 360 Videos which will be available in Oculus Video in November
3. Minecraft on Rift and Gear VR, shipping this spring
4. Oculus Medium – a 3D sculpting tool that enables collaborative art creation inside VR
Of course we at Heartwood have always believed VR – and its sibling, 3D interactive technology – have a place in the world. And we know that VR has much more going for it than just social and gaming applications – for example, workplace training.
And the excitement generated by Oculus is good news for all companies in the simulation training space – just like the iPhone was good for all mobile initiatives, paving the way for the smartphone revolution.
It is true that the VR experience offered by Oculus Rift and the like is more immersive than most simulated learning as it exists now, and the doors that these VR technologies open will in turn increase acceptance of 3D interactive training in all forms – web, mobile, tablet, and even augmented reality. It’s all part of the same larger vision of making training visual, interactive and portable.
“Virtual reality is not a technology; it is a destination.” – Frank Biocca, Taeyong Kim, & Mark R. Levy, Communication in the Age of Virtual Reality
The Good will get even Better
Better training at a lower cost will become the norm, instead of something special. And as VR technology continues to develop, we at Heartwood (and our peers), will be able to offer more immersive learn-by-doing experiences that make training memorable and efficient.
This means safer workplaces, and higher productivity and job satisfaction. Given that badly trained workers tend to be unhappy and move on to other jobs – spending more on recruiting and training their replacements – that’s a big deal.
We’re not there yet, of course. VR hasn’t quite become an everyman technology – but it’s going to. Meanwhile, companies don’t have to wait to experience the benefits this developing tech can offer their training programs. You can start with 3D Interactive Training for web and mobile devices and ALL the development work can be ported over to VR when the time is ready.
Want more information on how you can plan your training technology roadmap? Reach out!
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