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Virtual Reality Technology

Introduction

Virtual reality is a technology that uses a simulation generated by the computer.

It enables a user to interact with an artificial environment that is 3D using special three-

dimensional glasses or gloves fitted with sensors (Fernandez et al.). In this case, the

computer simulation feedback, looks real, and its users can hardly tell that they are

interacting with an artificial environment. It gives its users a different experience of

seeing and even feeling things in other places, so with virtual reality, you can travel

anywhere without limitations (Tham et al.). This discussion looks at how virtual reality

positions itself to gain and maintain a competitive advantage, all features and all other

things that make virtual reality a vital technology to use. Virtual real is also abbreviated

as VR.

VR Competitive Advantage

A company can create its competitive advantage by providing its customers with

a sustainable experience using virtual reality. When a company can make unique

positions and identities for their products, it enables their organization and product to

create more value than their competitors (Koch et al.). At first, in the field of architect,
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which is known to be very competitive, virtual reality has created a competitive

advantage for those companies that use it. Companies that use VR become unique and

different from their competitors (Noe et al.). Those companies that use virtual reality in

their branding attracts more customers. It is because it gives the customers a special

experience which they need.

Secondly, in the training and development of employees and students, eLearning

has been of great use, but it has failed to provide the social and experience needs

required to improve the outcomes. Virtual reality is used to provide the employee with

the necessary skills that they will have to travel to get and the experience they cannot

get even in a real-world environment. The companies that use virtual reality in training

equip their employees with the needed skills, increasing the outcome value. Some

companies like Pearson using virtual reality in their learning application have gained a

competitive advantage because most people will prefer using Pearson to other

companies that do not have virtual reality (Němec et al.).

Moreover, virtual reality has become an essential tool in the marketing and sales

of products. Many companies are now using virtual reality to showcase their product

through real-life experience (Noe et al.). Customers will go for the products which they

have experienced first without using them in real life. It helps those companies that use

virtual reality to maintain a healthy competitive advantage in the market. Therefore,

virtual reality has positioned itself to give a competitive advantage to the companies that

use it in their products.

Virtual reality features

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Four main critical elements enable virtual reality to be made and to exist as a

natural environment. Without too much adore the first element of virtual reality in the

virtual world. A virtual world represents the natural world by use of a computer-

simulated environment that has the physical appearance and space as the real world

has. The virtual world enables the user to feel and even move objects in a simulated

environment like in the real world. In virtual worlds, the imaginary environment exists

away from the real world as an independent entity. The simulation uses computer

graphics to create visual aspects that make the space visible in the virtual world (Craig

et al.).

The second element is that virtual reality uses so that it is hard to differentiate

from the real world using immersion. Virtual reality achieves immersion by placing its

users in an imaginary space and cutting them from the real world using sensors

(Radianti et al.). The virtual reality headset covers all the vision that the users see by

providing realistic images. The headphones provide the users with the sounds and

voices associated with the visual aspect. The users experience a real-life experience of

a three-dimensional world.

The third element which makes the virtual reality of being possible is sensory

feedback. The headsets that a user wears keeps track of all the position so that the

compute ca be able to make the necessary changes when the position of the user

changes in the virtual space. When the user changes his or her head, the position also

changes in the virtual environment. It is the case also with all other body parts like the

hands and the legs. The sensory feedback enables the users to move around the virtual

space as they move in the real world (Aoyagi et al.).

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Finally, the other essential feature of virtual reality is the user's interactivity with

the virtual object. Interactivity enables users to pick and move a virtual object the same

way they could in the real world. The users also can have a conversation with the virtual

subjects without noticing they are talking to artificial intelligence in a virtual environment

(Craig et al.).

Virtual reality design principles

Several design principles must be considered when developing a virtual reality

concept. When making virtual reality, the developer must first consider the comfort of

the user. Ensuring that the application is optimal and the users feel comfortable while

using it is the most challenging part of the development of virtual reality. Ensuring the

users enjoy and feel comfortable during head movements is the essential factor to

consider. The virtual reality application is supposed to view when the user moves his

head up and down to the right and left in the virtual space. Designers should always

know the visual depth and comfort zone between the users and the visual elements. By

doing so, it makes the virtual reality user maintain their focus mainly on the User

Interface. Designers should always consider the comfort aspect when developing a

virtual reality application (Sutcliffe et al.).

The other principal designers and developers should consider the interaction of

the objects in the virtual space. One of the things that can be used in interaction is the

use of reticle controlled by the head in the user controls. Also, using different colors

indicates the objects that can be interacted with (Sutcliffe et al.). Using head tracking

and other body parts enables easier interaction with the objects in the virtual

environment. Interaction is an aspect that makes virtual reality fun, and the user enjoys
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the experience and, therefore, should be considered when developing any VR

application.

Functions and application of Virtual reality

Virtual reality has a wide range of application in an era where technological

advancement is done every day. The first area where virtual reality is widely used is in

the military. Virtual reality has provided many simulations currently used by the various

armies like the UK and US military in training sessions. VR has proved to be very

effective while training soldiers because it puts the soldiers in several environments. It

also puts the soldiers in a different battle situation, thus helping to prepare the soldier

for the things that can be found on the battlefield. It also helps to train the soldiers on

how to communicate and interact with the civilians. Moreover, virtual reality is used to

treat the post-traumatic disorders of the soldiers who have come from the battle (Liu et

al.). Virtual reality helps to minimize the cost of training soldiers.

The other area where virtual reality is widely used is in the training of medical

students. During medical practices, virtual reality has been commonly used to perform

surgeries of virtual patients, thus minimizing the risk of those medics making mistakes

during an actual surgery (Li et al.). It has enabled to equip those students with the

required skills before applying them in real life. In recent times because of virtual reality,

the health practitioner has become highly qualified. It has made it easier and cheap to

train doctors in areas where it is used.

Virtual reality is also widely used in entertainment and gaming. In entertainment,

VR provides the users with an environment that makes them feel like they are actually
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in the movie they are watching. In gaming, the users play games and interact with the

objects that are in a simulation. For example, in the car simulation, a user can drive a

car and have the feeling as if it is in a real car. Even the acceleration, braking and

controls actuate in real-time. It makes gaming to be fun and gives the user a real-life

gaming experience.

Virtual reality response to the market

In the gaming industry, virtual reality is expected to grow by 32.75% between

2021 and 2026. Virtual reality has gained momentum in the last few years, and many

people adopt it in their businesses. It is estimated that the use of virtual reality games

will reach 216 million users by 2026. In 2017 alone the virtual reality attained a global

investment of 2.3 billion dollars. Although the prices of virtual reality commodities are

expected to decline in the coming years as the technology grows. It will make the virtual

product readily available to many people and users, thus widening its market growth

(Ghafel et al.).

VR gaming has created job opportunities in the vast and demanding markets

requiring designers, programmers, marketing managers, and developers. Job posting

for those who need programmers and developers have increased by 93% in recent

years. Many big companies like Facebook, Google and Sony are also exploring new

opportunities in the virtual reality market. Many VR users believe that the gaming

industry has the highest benefits from the advancement of virtual reality technology

(Fromm et al.).
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The uniqueness of virtual reality is what makes it different from other

technologies. Its ability to simulate real-life experience without changing the natural

environment makes it more preferable. Also, virtual reality can put you in a different and

imaginable environment that makes it fun and preferable in entertainment. All of this has

enabled virtual reality to have positive growth and use in the market.

Virtual reality recent changes and growth

In recent days, virtual reality has witnessed very many dramatic changes that

have made it more useful and advanced. The first change is the introduction of fully

immersive virtual reality. The fully immersive VR can take you anywhere you want. The

hearing, visuals, and sounds have been improved to increase the users' level of

experience (Logishetty et al.). Its position in the market has also changed because

many companies are now adopting virtual reality. These companies are using VR from

training their employees to even planning and marketing of products.

Virtual reality has increased its application and now even now been used to

create new car models in the manufacturing of vehicles. Virtual reality has now become

the most used eco-friendly technology in the computing sector. Its use in the gaming

industry has increased by 63%, which is a significant change recorded in that industry.

Virtual reality has changed from being just a commodity of entertainment to a tool for

training soldiers and medical students.

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Conclusion

Virtual reality has changed how we view reality. In the above discussion, we have

seen how virtual reality has revolutionized many sectors and even businesses. The

technology can succeed in the coming years. It is necessary to update the content and

always follow the trend so that the users cannot get tired of the same things being

offered to them every time. Also, developers should reduce unnecessary motions, which

makes some of the users who have motion sickness feel dizziness and nauseous.

Doing so will minimize the effects associated with virtual reality, thus increasing its

customer experience and market.

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Works cited

Li, Lan, et al. "Application of virtual reality technology in clinical medicine." American

journal of translational research 9.9 (2017): 3867.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5622235/

Fernandez, Manuel. "Augmented virtual reality: How to improve education

systems." Higher Learning Research Communications 7.1 (2017): 1-15.

Tham, Jason, et al. "Understanding virtual reality: Presence, embodiment, and

professional practice." IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication 61.2

(2018): 178-195.

Craig, Alan B., and William R. Sherman. "Understand Virtual Reality. Interface,

Application, and Design." (2018).

Noe, Raymond A., et al. Human resource management: Gaining a competitive

advantage. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Education, 2017.

Koch, Thorsten, and Josef Windsperger. "Seeing through the network: Competitive

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30.

Němec, Martin, et al. "Using virtual reality in education." 2017 15th International

Conference on Emerging eLearning Technologies and Applications (ICETA).

IEEE, 2017.
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Radianti, Jaziar, et al. "A systematic review of immersive virtual reality applications for

higher education: Design elements, lessons learned, and research

agenda." Computers & Education 147 (2020): 103778.

Aoyagi, Kei, et al. "Modified sensory feedback enhances the sense of agency during

continuous body movements in virtual reality." Scientific reports 11.1 (2021): 1-

10. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-021-82154-y

Sutcliffe, Alistair G., et al. "Reflecting on the design process for virtual reality

applications." International Journal of Human–Computer Interaction 35.2 (2019):

168-179.

Liu, Xinxiong, et al. "Virtual reality and its application in military." IOP Conference

Series: Earth and Environmental Science. Vol. 170. No. 3. IOP Publishing, 2018.

Ghafel, Kawtar, and Omar Mohammed. "UNDERSTANDING VR/AR IN MARKETING &

SALES FOR B2B: AN EXPLORATIVE STUDY." (2020).

Fromm, Jennifer, et al. "More than experience?-On the unique opportunities of virtual

reality to afford an holistic experiential learning cycle." The Internet and Higher

Education (2021): 100804.

Logishetty, Kartik, et al. "Fully immersive virtual reality for total hip arthroplasty:

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