VR Use Cases
VR Use Cases
When is a VR application your best bet?
On this page, we’ll go over various real-life as well as hypothetical Use Cases where a company has a challenge they want to meet and where VR turns out to be the best possible solution. The idea behind listing these as such is to potentially give you, the reader, additional insights into your own needs for a VR application.
Early Design of a concept in VR
Example: Engineers and designers at car manufacturers can use VR to design car components without physically having to create them and without the need to assemble a lifesize prototype. The cost of engineering is brought down significantly and the various team members are no longer required to work in the same physical location.
Benefits of using VR:
- Increased Efficiency
- Increased Safety
- Increased Productivity
- Costs Less
- Remote Work Possible
Virtual Training for Assembling/ Disassembling Components
Example: A factory needs to train staff so they will be able to perform procedures and operations to properly service, repair, and maintain equipment. Training them in VR removes any potential physical harm to the trainees and allows them to easily repeat the training over and over again in different circumstances. The assistance of a trainer is also no longer required as this task can be fulfilled by a virtual assistant.
Benefits of using VR:
- Increased Safety
- Costs Less
- Training can happen remotely
- Training can be repeated as necessary
Virtual Company Visit
Example: You want to show potential employees, clients or stakeholders around the premises of your company, for instance an assembly line at a factory. The visitors can take the tour whenever the time is right for them, without having to travel to the physical location. This eliminates the cost of travel and you don’t need to plan an entire visitation event nor is there a need to have someone be present to guide them around. In the case of hazardous work environments, you also don’t risk any harm coming to the visitors.
Benefits of using VR:
- Increased Safety
- Cost-Efficient
- Save Time
- Possible to organise it remotely
Architectural Work in VR
Example: An architect office is tasked with designing a new building, let's say: a football stadium. Using VR, they can conceptualize a few early designs and ask feedback from their clients. With the added benefit of being able to walk around the building as if you were really there, helping with the immersion and bringing across an accurate sense of scale, which is something a building model could never accomplish.
Benefits of using VR:
- Increased Efficiency
- Increased Perception
- Easier to make well-informed decisions
- Accessible remotely
Remote Viewing in VR
Example: Continuing from the above example, you could reuse the VR building model at a much later date and allow fans to spectate a match as if they were present in the stadium. It allows people from across the world to become immersed in the experience without having to travel miles just to see their favourite team in action. One big bonus is that you wouldn’t be limited in the amount of seats you can sell. A recent real-life example of this would be the digital editions of Tomorrowland.
Benefits of using VR:
- Accessible Remotely
- No Limitations in sales
- Cost-Efficient
- Visitors save time and expenses
Simulating Dangerous Situations in VR
Example: Firefighters constantly face potentially life-threatening situations. For this reason, they have to frequently train in simulated house fires and other dangerous scenarios. In VR, it’s possible to recreate events such as backdrafts or gas explosions, which would be too much of a risk to try and reproduce in a real training exercise. Another benefit is that the same exact situation can be repeated multiple times until they get it right.
Benefits of using VR:
- Increased Safety
- Increased Efficiency
- Costs Less
- Better for the environment
- Training can be repeated as necessary
Creating VR Experiences That Are Impossible In Real Life
Example: In Belgium, Gezinsbond has been building a “house of giants” that looks to emulate the experience of walking in a house full of dangers, from the perspective of a young child. To further enhance the experience we added some AR events that show what happens when things go wrong. It would also be possible to recreate the entire experience in VR and have adults see things through the eyes of a small child, and thus giving new insights in what possible dangers may lurk in an everyday household.
Benefits of using VR:
- Cost Efficient
- Accessible Remotely
- Increased Perception
Driving Vehicles or Piloting Airplanes in VR
Example: It’s a proven fact that you learn best by doing, but the trainee may not be ready to handle real-world situations from the start. In VR student drivers can safely practice until they have enough confidence to drive in traffic with a car or fly an airplane without any risk. The exercise can be repeated as many times as needed until certain aspects of it become muscle memory and you can do it at your own pace without impacting the schedule of a trainer.
Benefits of using VR:
- Increased Efficiency
- Increased confidence
- Accessible Remotely
- Training can be repeated as necessary
- Increased Safety
VR Training for Medical Personnel
Example: For doctors, nurses and surgeons to become better at their craft, they need to be able to train on people without risking the health of their patients. In VR, complicated scenarios can be created for them to learn from. They can better their treatment plans, learn how to perform better stitches and prepare for circumstances that you don’t have to face on a daily basis (eg: various injuries in the Emergency Room). Another major benefit is that it can help boost their confidence for when the day comes that a real person in their care faces the same symptoms.
Benefits of using VR:
- Increased Confidence
- Increased Efficiency
- Increased Safety
- Training can be repeated as necessary
House Viewing in VR
Example: The Real Estate business is an excellent example of an industry where VR could add significant value. When you’re trying to sell a house in which people are still living their everyday lives, it can be hard to plan an ideal moment for others to come over and view a house. With VR you no longer need to let strangers into your home, they can view the house both in daytime as well as nighttime and they could even go a step further and see the house without the furniture or by decorating it themselves (if the house is recreated in VR). It would also be useful when looking for a holiday location or an office space far away, eliminating the need for travelling there yourself.
Benefits of using VR:
- Accessible Remotely
- Less Invasive
- Time Efficient (for both parties)
Soft Training Employees in VR
Example: Bank of America aims to use VR to train their 50.000+ client-facing employees. They intend to use VR lessons for everything from notary services to fraud detection. They even have some long-reaching ambitious plans such as helping employees practice empathy with customers dealing with sensitive matters, like the death of a relative.
Benefits of using VR:
- Same lesson for everyone + easily scaleable to company size
- Training can be repeated as necessary
- Increased confidence
- Accessible remotely
Improving Knowledge Transfer Through VR
Example: The existing workforce is aging in the construction industry. Open positions remain unfilled, and new workers who replace retirees are sometimes perceived by experienced professionals as lacking the necessary experience and skill. Virtual Reality training could be used to modernize the construction industry’s traditional ways of transferring knowledge to next-generation professionals. Such trainings can be created with the help of experts and they can be repeated as many times as needed without taking up additional time from said experts.
Benefits of using VR:
- Training can be repeated as necessary
- Accessible remotely
- Increased confidence
- Increased efficiency
- Increased safety
