Virtual Reality — The Future is Here
by Andrew Jiang
Virtual Reality has been promised to be the next exciting revolution that will change the way we work, live and play, but its critics has been just as vociferous and vocal as its proponents. What exactly, then, do we have to gain from virtual reality technology?
Broadly speaking, Virtual Reality technology (VR) is used in the gaming, entertainment, medical, industrial, aerospace, defense, education, and in many other applications; companies such as Google, Facebook, Microsoft, Sony and others are currently heavily invested in research and development of VR.
As we can see from the chart, the VR market is experiencing rapid growth and projected to reach $70 Billion USD by 2020, a mere four years from today.
As a specific example, Google has recently lead a $542 Million deal in virtual reality startup Magic Leap, which has broken records as one of the largest venture capital deals in business (see table). Magic Leap is a startup that is developing its own augmented reality wearable device, designed to project computer-generated images over a real-life setting, and envisioned to be a new interface that could replace PC monitors and smartphone screens.
Another technology titan of today, Facebook, has also made an ambitious acquisition in 2014 of virtual reality firm Oculus for $2 Billion, again one the largest acquisitions in Facebook’s history and twice the amount it paid to acquire Instagram. At the press conference, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg said to reporters that putting on Oculus’ VR device was “different from anything I’ve experiences in my life”.
Why are these firms spending much? The answer is because virtual reality isn’t just about the niche gaming market, but has far greater implications for our lives. VR will soon transform hospitals and medical institutions, allowing patient and doctor interactions across geographic barriers. Videoconferencing will become obsolete, because VR provides the experience of meeting someone face-to-face. Virtual reality will revolutionize education and the learning experience, as professors will be able to teach simultaneously in classrooms all over the world. Training for dangerous tasks are made easy through VR, such as decommissioning nuclear-power plants and military operations.
Critics of VR have brought up some risks such as physical side-effects of severe eyestrain, nausea and motion sickness, as well as behavioral risks arguing that virtual reality environments offer the same potential for rudeness, harassment and stalking.
Firms believe these risks can be mitigated, and even more recently in October 2015 the e-commerce giant Alibaba has reached out to Magic Leap for a potential investment of around $200 million. Meanwhile on Facebook’s side, they have announced shipping in March 2016 of the Oculus Rift to customers who have pre-ordered the device at $599, and projected that the Oculus will drive significant revenues for Facebook.
To conclude, virtual reality is on the very brink of becoming mainstream, and many internet icons of today such as Google and Facebook are placing big bets and have even bigger ambitions for the potential of virtual reality. Soon, the virtual revolution will come to sweep us off our feet and upwards to a brighter future.
