Virtual reality is getting real

They say technology will never be as lame as it is today, yet I must admit the Oculus Quest just blew my mind as it gave a hint of VR’s potential to transform our experiences. This rather light-weight, fully wireless, setup-less device providing a full 6 degrees of freedom and interactive experiences is a giant leap towards making the worlds of dreams feel real. Come 2020, Facebook even plans to make the hand controller unnecessary, relying purely on hand tracking, potentially making interactions more natural. Although I’m curious how they will provide the haptic feedback lacking any controllers. In any case, the trend is clear; we are on the verge of being able to trick our minds into believing we aren’t here, but somewhere far and remote, or in our wildest fantasy, and only the battery capacity will set a limit. 😊

It is said that incorporating more senses leads to better learning, so I imagine these immersive VR worlds will enable entirely new ways of learning and gaining experiences without the risk of physical injury. Within a decade, I could imagine astronauts would be spending their free time in VR to help their circadian rhythm, to make up for any experiences they would miss, be it nature, open spaces or social activities. They could also train for upcoming challenges and keep perfecting their skills before the next vital part of the mission. In the meantime, down here on Earth, I could see MOOCs taking a new form with VR classrooms giving anyone access, not just to knowledge, but tailor-made, one-on-one courses letting you pick up skills as you do best. I’m convinced this will help bridge the gap between the skills of the workforce and the changing demand due to the rapid advancement of technology.