Virtual reality (VR) is being adopted more and more in organizations. As a reference to this fact, Oculus Rift, one of the biggest developers in the world, was acquired by Facebook last year for 2.3 billion dollars, and companies such as Sony and Microsoft are investing large sums in the technology.
60 years ago, virtual reality was used by the military in the form of a flight simulator. In the 90s, VR was introduced to the world of video games, although without much success. In recent years, VR has grown so much that at the beginning of 2016 it is expected to be launched for consumers.
We are firmly convinced that virtual reality will bring impact in most industries. For example, a real estate agent who spends a good part of a week on the field, viewing potential clients; as a customer, you would rather spend your evenings with an Oculus and “viewing” apartments than driving from location to location.
Working in the field of teambuilding and training, we have often thought about what the impact of virtual reality could be and we have come to the following conclusions:
SIMULATIONS
Incidentally, probably the most obvious aspect. It is often mentioned that the best way to learn is through an experience and what is the best method if not through virtual reality? Imagine an oil company that wants a training in which it simulates a force majeure situation. The simulation can be created around an exciting experience but offered under safe conditions.
BRING PEOPLE TOGETHER
Studies have shown that the best method to unite a team is to provide them with the framework for face-to-face interactions. Most of the time this is not practical or profitable, especially if the team is spread in all corners of the world. Virtual reality does not offer traditional face-to-face interaction, but places people in a virtual world where they can interact with each other, perhaps even in a team building activity. Also, imagination is the only limit in the case of a virtual teambuilding.
LIMITS OF THE TRAINING ROOM
It will not happen in the next 5-10 years, but we will definitely be surprised if the traditional system in which 20 people come to a specific place to take part in a training will change. Similar to the previous point, it is not always practical to move to a specific location for a few hours of training, when you can simply use a pair of glasses and join other people in a training session.
For these aspects to happen, many things have to change, but if you consider how many things have happened in recent years, together with the exponential growth of the industrial sector globally, you think that things will not change in this industry?
At Internet & Mobile World 2015, we were able to enjoy the Oculus Rift experience and we are extremely excited that in a few years we will include it in our teambuilding experiences! 🙂
Article translated and adapted from the blog a> our colleagues biz-group.ae.