How Virtual Reality is Changing the World Beyond Gaming

For decades, virtual reality, also known as VR, has been a major part of the gaming industry. Over the years, developers have figured out how to help gamers go from watching the action on a screen while controlling it with a handheld controller to truly immersing themselves in their favorite games.

As technology continued to evolve, developers realized that there were more virtual reality applications than simply letting gamers put themselves in the middle of the action.

In 2024, VR has opened the door for humanity to start reaping practical benefits from this technology.

If you’re not a techy, or you simply want to learn more about this revolutionary concept that has changed the way that we do almost everything, you can learn more about some uses for virtual reality today.

Changing the World of Learning

Virtual reality has completely revolutionized the way that people learn, whether it’s children in early elementary school or college students who are pursuing a higher degree.

By offering immersive learning experiences that simply cannot be matched by traditional learning methods. By no means is VR a replacement for traditional teaching, but there are proven benefits associated with it.

Students are more apt to retain information when it’s presented in a way that triggers more than one of their senses. For instance, by allowing students to see things in a three-dimensional space, they’ll be better able to visualize mathematical concepts.

Multiple schools, including high schools and colleges, have implemented virtual reality when it comes to laboratory work and even some field trips. By using technology to help students better understand what they’re learning, a generation that’s been raised with technology all around them can take full advantage of these opportunities.

Healthcare Innovations

If it sounds too far-fetched to think of the impact of virtual reality on the healthcare industry, you only need to think back to the year 2020, when the world as we know it came to a screeching halt.

The COVID-19 pandemic restricted travel, not only beyond international borders, but out of our homes, as governors across the country installed stay-at-home orders that would keep people in their homes for months, unless they were going out for an approved purpose.

While going to the doctor was certainly an appropriate reason to leave your home, many people who didn’t have the virus simply didn’t want to go sit in the waiting room alongside symptomatic patients.

Telehealth had been around before that point, but it surged in popularity during the pandemic. Routine checkups, which made up a large majority of annual visits, were conducted online, allowing the patient to converse with the doctor while the two looked at one another through the screen.

The practice has also been proven useful when dealing with some types of rehabilitation therapy, particularly for stroke victims and those dealing with PTSD and other mental problems. By tapping into the power of virtual reality and harnessing the power of technology, people can get access to the healthcare that they need without having to leave their homes.

The Changing World of Real Estate

It wasn’t all that long ago when potential homebuyers had to spend hours driving around with a real estate agent, looking at houses that may or may not fit their criteria.

Then, they would have to meet with a loan officer, an inspector, and other professionals to finish the process, all in hopes that nothing happened to mess up the financing at the 11th hour. If that happened, there were more hours spent driving from one home to the next, hoping to find the right property.

That’s simply not the case any longer.

Today, thanks to the wonders of virtual reality, potential homebuyers can now take detailed tours of homes without ever having to leave their current address. These tours use a mixture of high-quality photos and video to create an immersive experience that allows those shopping for homes to see properties that they’re considering in great detail.

This technology has also proven beneficial for building developers and home builders who can create digital renderings of properties before they actually get built.

That industry focuses so heavily on preselling properties that having the ability to show potential clients what the finished product is going to look like can often be the difference between a business failing and succeeding.

Corporate Training Goes VR

More and more companies, especially those at or near the top of every Fortune list imaginable, are turning to virtual reality for their training programs.

Instead of trying to gather employees at a set time, stalling production and forcing employees to sit through hours of seminars and speeches, employers are using virtual reality to help their employees get the training they need at a lower cost than ever before.

Fortunately, this lower cost hasn’t turned into lower quality. This is especially true in fields like manufacturing and construction, where employees can go through a virtual hands-on training that gives them the benefits of traditional training at a fraction of the time and expense.

Many companies are also using virtual reality to train their customer service agents. By setting up hypothetical situations and real-world scenarios, customer service reps can learn from the mistakes that have been made in the past.

The implementation of virtual reality I the world of corporate training allows for a more consistent education. Instead of having different speakers and managers present information “their way,” companies can establish a single training program which creates a seamless onboarding process and ensures that current employees all have the same training.

Tourism: Virtual Visits to Destinations Abroad

One area that many people don’t think about when considering the ongoing impact of VR’s evolution is tourism. For generations, travel companies would print up brochures of destinations from all over the world, and people could decide where they wanted to go based on what sort of pictures were in the brochure.

Today, those same companies are offering virtual tours that allow travelers to “visit” destinations online without ever taking flight.

This is perhaps the most exciting area that’s been touched by the invisible hand of VR, as some technology allows people who are considering different spots to enjoy immersive experiences that put them at the foot of ancient ruins or lets them virtually hang glide over a beautiful ocean scene.

An Overhauled Shopping Experience

Many retailers are implementing virtual reality into their websites, allowing customers to enjoy a comprehensive shopping experience from the comfort of their own homes. While it’s not quite as widespread in retail as it is in some other industries, virtual reality has completely revamped how some companies offer their products, especially when it comes to clothing.

Many retailers are now offering virtual try-ons that allow you to see what you’re going to look like in a particular outfit. This is great news for those who hate going to a store and hauling armloads of clothes into a cramped changing room.

Now, you can see what your nearest store has in stock, upload a picture of yourself, and get a better idea of what it’s going to look like on you.

What Comes Next?

The only constant about technology is that there are no constants. Just a decade ago, people would’ve deemed it impossible to take a comprehensive tour of a home without ever seeing it in-person.

Now, it’s common on virtually every real estate app you can download on your phone. What does the future hold when it comes to virtual reality? The options are limitless.