This Week in Virtual Reality, 4 July 2016

This week’s top Virtual Reality stories: virtual surgery training, real-time disaster relief, drunk driving simulations, and more!

Virtual Reality has never been bigger than it is right now, and it’s one of the most exciting new areas of technology. VR offers an incredible experience for users, and for creators, it presents an unparalleled amount of freedom to experiment with new ideas and applications. We’re seeing exciting developments in the field every day, so to help you keep pace with everything that’s going on, we’ve created This Week in Virtual Reality, a curated list of key stories in the space. New posts will be published here first, and previous posts are archived on the Udacity blog.

Whether you’re already in the field, considering a VR career, or just interested in the subject, This Week in Virtual Reality is sure to have something to inspire you!

Healthcare

Rush University Medical Center announces that 24 incoming doctors in its residency program will train on virtual reality simulations rather than on animals.

Media

SMART News Agency releases a virtual reality documentary titled Nobel’s Nightmare, covering ongoing rescue operations in war-torn civilian areas of Syria.

Emergency Response

DARPA develops a real-time virtual reality system to allow emergency responders to safely explore disaster areas before beginning live rescue efforts.

Military

NATO, in collaboration with other organizations, begins a large-scale virtual reality simulation of an emergency situation in Târgu Mureș, Romania.

Tourism

Nonprofit Honor Everywhere uses virtual reality to allow veterans to visit war memorials, while One Caring Team develops VR experiences for use in nursing homes.

Food & Beverage

Alcoholic beverage manufacturer Diageo create a virtual reality simulation of drunk driving to help educate customers on the dangers of driving while intoxicated.