Virtual Reality to the rescue of health, education and events

This will become a year of technological advancement and, as explained by Laura Raya of U-tad in this article, will be the extended realities (virtual, Augmented or Mixed) those that offer solutions and allow society to move forward in these years of uncertainty.

The year 2021 starts similarly to how it ended 2020. Social distancing, avoid displacement, mass gatherings and family gatherings. Possibly, the last Christmas has been the most technological in history, since countless families have carried out their meetings through a laptop and the Internet.

The search for options to improve the user experience of these encounters has been incessant since the pandemic appeared.. People are looking for more realism, more interaction with your loved ones, better quality of service and new ways of approaching socially, maintaining physical distance. This is where Virtual Reality offers a new means of communication very different from all the above.. And it is in its use and its knowledge where a digital divide can be created between those who know virtual immersive reality and those who do not know that it exists..

It's in need of new software, that meets health requirements, taxes on a day-to-day basis, where the demand for new engineers who are able to design and develop virtual worlds will arise. And we'll see how, while professions and jobs are disappearing, other computer-related job opportunities are growing.

Everything technologically advanced to replace the limitations imposed is not enough. No se trata de organizar un congreso a través de Zoom, Microsoft Teams o Blackboard, donde la interacción personalizada con un asistente, conversaciones privadas o sesiones de networking se vuelven algo complejas de organizar.

Se trata de asistir a un evento con 300 personas en un mundo virtual, que dispone de diferentes entornos o salas modeladas de forma realista. Consiste en que cada asistente cuenta con su propio avatar caracterizado y personalizado por sí mismo. Implica que cada asistente, a través de su avatar, cuenta con la posibilidad de conversar, interact, hablar en privado, cambiarse de sala, abrazar o, even, bailar tras el evento, con otras personas en el mundo virtual. Ese tipo de eventos o congresos se han estado realizando con Realidad Virtual durante el año pasado.

Those companies that have known how to organize this type of actions in immersive worlds have continued with their activity in a better way than those that did not know about this possibility.

During the year 2020, exhibitions with company stands, congresses with networking sessions or, even, with parties as the end of the congress have been seen on platforms such as AltSpace, Facebook or Virbela in an immersive way.

No wonder that in this 2021 the trend is not to continue canceling events but to transform them into a virtual world where attendees can live an experience in a similar way, maintaining productivity and assistance and not causing such serious economic losses. It will be done, therefore, even more remarkable if possible, the difference between those companies whose digital transformation has already happened compared to those that have not been able to adapt to the new situation.

Teleworking or distance education are also two areas where widespread realities could offer their greatest advantages. There are many barriers that continue to appear to the idea of remote work, a face-to-face meeting or a remote lab class. However, there are also many possibilities to carry them out through technology. All you need is to know the possibilities offered by software and hardware.

No doubt, will be trending during 2021 the emergence of new ways of carrying out all these types of everyday actions, such as attending a meeting or training in academic content in a practical way without the need to have physical contact with shared resources. New applications will appear, new devices and new methodologies that adapt and facilitate the needs that we now see also not being met.

There is no doubt about. What, the more people are trying Virtual Reality, a greater number of applications are emerging. That's why, not only will it be a trend to create applications with Virtual Reality that help solve the current pandemic situation. During 2021, virtual reality will reach more companies and homes, so that more opportunities to use will have.

The predisposition to use virtual reality glasses in psychology clinics will grow. There are already different psychologists who have discovered in the sensation of presence caused by Virtual Reality a powerful tool to help patients overcome different types of phobias. There are already hospitals where the use of Virtual Reality as a pain distraction tool is offered as an option to their cancer patients during chemotherapy sessions.

New ways to attend musical concerts without moving, to travel to new countries without having to catch a plane, to play with friends more intensely, to do sports or, even, to meet new people.

This will be a year of technological advancement since the pandemic cannot continue to stop and damage the economy incessantly.. Será la tecnología y dentro de muchas tendencias tecnológicas, las realidades extendidas (Virtual reality, Realidad Aumentada o Realidad Mixta) las que ofrezcan salidas y permitan evolucionar la sociedad en estos años de tanta incertidumbre. Es por ello, por lo que es el momento de formarse en ellas.

Hace algunos años creció el pensamiento de que un casco de Realidad Virtual provocaría la desociabilización de los individuos, al estar cada usuario inmerso en su propia gafa inmersiva. Paradojas de esta vida que vaya a ser la Realidad Virtual quién permita y facilite acercar a las personas que no puede estar juntas en el mundo físico.

Laura Raya

Directora de Máster Universitario en Computación Gráfica, Realidad Virtual y Simulación; y Directora del Postgrado Experto en Desarrollo para RV, RA y Mixta en U-tad.

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