From buying a house to… just about anything

We have the technology, now what are we going to do with virtual reality?

An article in The Guardian entitled “Goggles on, checks away: how virtual reality is reimagining real estate sales” shows how some upscale real estate agents believe they can sell properties by providing potential buyers a 3D experience instead of showing them round a real home.

There are any number of virtual reality experiences out there at the moment. From high-end 3D imagers such as the Oculus Rift or HTC’s Vive and that come with all sorts of kit, to models made out of cardboard along the lines of a camera oscura using a smartphone screen, an approach being pushed by Samsung at one end of the scale, and by cheaper products with no external controls, sort of “swimming goggles with a place to slide the phone”, that provide a very limited experience.

Either way, virtual reality glasses are fast moving away from being a specialist item to a whole new range of uses.

It makes sense to “show” people homes using 3D glasses, and however expensive developing programs in three dimensions might be, it has to be significantly cheaper than building a show home or transporting potential buyers to other countries.

A virtual reality experience is always going to be better than simply looking at a video, a brochure, or God forbid, those wretched artist’s impressions. Buyer beware, of course, because the 3D movie of your dream home may bear little resemblance to what is eventually built. We will doubtless soon hear stories of lawsuits brought by angry and disappointed home buyers.

The property sector is just one, albeit potentially important, sector where we will see virtual reality playing a role.

We can certainly expect them to be provided by airlines looking to offer passengers a more exciting movie experience during their flight. The key question here is that the public becomes used to the idea of wearing virtual reality glasses for other things than merely entertainment. Have a think about the sector you work in: does virtual reality have a place there?

(En español, aquí)