How Virtual Reality is changing the world for the better

Virtual Reality is probably one of the biggest buzz words in technology right now. You’ll hardly find any tech exhibition or event without at least one station in which attendees get the chance to try out a full hands-on 360°-experience. But mind you: VR nowadays is much more than shooting Zombies and enjoying surround-videos.

When Virtual Reality was introduced in the early 90s, with big, lumpy headsets that slipped and controllers that didn’t really control much at all, it was easy to laugh it off as one of those things that was never going to work. And back then it really didn’t (did we hear someone say “Nintendo Virtual Boy”?). But as technology has advanced, the entertainment industry decided to give it another go. Today, VR is a totally different story. The level of a sophistication it has reached is unprecedented. Modern VR Headsets, like our very own Dell Visor, offer crisp images and great 3D-accuracy. This way it is not only possible to sit right next to your favourite race car driver or spend a day living with a pride of lions, but it is possible to experience videogames like never before. We are especially curious what the current Electronic Entertainment Expo (or “E3”) is going to bring us in that respect.

However: Entertainment, even if it may be the birthplace of our current hype-wave, is only one area in which Virtual Reality is changing the game for good. In fact, as VR deployments have entered areas we have never before imagined it really has the power to change the world for the better.

Not only does it have the power to create awareness around issues concerning our planet when explorers such as Mike Libecki invite you along on their expeditions letting you see first-hand the devastating impact of human activity on our “Mother Earth”, but it can also be used for education: astronauts at NASA are able to train spacewalking without risking their lives, technicians can practice repairing complex infrastructure without potentially doing harm, and medical students can get hands-on experience of surgical procedures without putting their patients at risk. Speaking of healthcare: Virtual Reality is already in use to treat people with anxiety, PTSD and other neuropsychiatric disorders. And then there’s architecture, construction and product development — or just about any discipline using computer-aided design and computer-aided engineering — where VR applications can immerse project stakeholders inside life-sized 3D simulations of their creations so they can work out design issues and limitations before sinking large amounts of capital into building or manufacturing.

All this needs a strong IT backbone though. The infrastructure must be ready to cope with the massive amounts of data, Virtual Reality applications are bringing to the table. But naturally, we are already offering the right solutions to enable you to take the next step into the virtual space – and they are already enjoying wide acceptance. Innovative creators like Mike Libecki leverage the versatility and power of our durable Dell Latitude Rugged machines to create amazing experiences on to go. And then there are partners like Sony Pictures or Jaguar Land Rover, which are given all the computing power they need to bring their visions to life. Built on Dell Precision workstations, rendered on Dell EMC PowerEdge servers and stored on Dell EMC storage solutions, our expertise and offerings in raw power allowed not only for the movie Spider-Man: Homecoming to become reality, but also realize the world’s first VR product launch for Jaguar’s I-PACE concept.

More than that: together with Qualtrics, we surveyed 500 business decision makers around the world who were either currently working on a VR project, or who had already completed one, in order to reveal real-world implications of using VR within your business.

The resulting ”Making VR Real” report showcases the potential of virtual reality in 2018 and provides a unique insight into one of the world’s most innovative industries.

About the Author: Dell Technologies