Amazing experiences that make you say “wow” just keep on coming. We recently covered the differences between Virtual Reality (VR), Augmented Reality (AR), 360 Degree Experiences and Mixed Reality (MR); you can read it here in case you missed it. While it’s not the year of hover boards yet, there’s no doubt that the “wow” factor of VR is still there. Here are a few trends in VR that continue to amaze us and make us believe the integration into marketing has only just begun.
EYE TRACKING
Eye tracking is going to be the next big thing that VR, AR, 360 and MR will all eventually implement. How does it work? Head mounted displays (HMD) have sensors that can detect where your eyes are looking. In reality, when you focus on something, the further you are from the object you’re focusing on, the blurrier it becomes. Eye tracking makes for a more immersive VR experience and it prevents the technology from having to do extra work of rendering objects you aren’t looking at.
Marketing Impact: Eye tracking advancements will help lighten the size of VR content files (because not everything has to be rendered), making it easier for businesses to implement and use VR technologies.
Click here to view an example of eye tracking technology.
TEXTURES
Humans are used to feeling what they are holding. Currently in VR, when you pick something up, there is no physical sensation of holding virtual object (besides your controller). But, you will soon be able to feel textures and weights of objects in VR with the help of special gloves. Don’t worry, you can still lift heavy objects with ease in VR, but you will have physical cues that make it feel more real.
Marketing Impact: Imagine a VR demo of your product that future customers can actually hold and “feel” before purchasing.
Click here to view an example of VR gloves.
EDUCATION
Advancement of VR technologies have led to innovative companies finding ways to put it to use to better society. A major area where VR is being implemented is in classrooms. Teachers use VR because it helps students learn in a unique and engaging way. Just as computers revolutionized education in the 1980s, VR is now giving students the ability to learn visually like never before. Consider the benefits that come with seeing VR models of dinosaurs or the human heart. Subjects that are difficult, or even impossible, to see in real life are now accessible with the help of VR.
Marketing Impact: Think about how much more interesting your own onboarding or customer training could be with VR components. If future generations learn with VR in school, they will likely want to learn with VR in the workplace too.
Click here to see an example of an educational VR platform.
We’re certain that the world of VR has a long way to go – with several trends to come and go along the way. As technology continues to advance, we’ll continue to be “wowed” by the possibilities and opportunities that VR presents – and how that “wow” can be put to good use in the marketing world.