Success in any kind of business comes largely from staying one step ahead of the competition, whether it’s having the best properties, the best staff or the best tech. Now, we can’t see into the future here at Virtualoom, but we can say with certainty that we’ve only just scratched the surface of VR Technologies potential positive impacts.
As well as being fun, engaging and exciting, VR could have a very real, very positive impact on the environment. Hear us out.
What is VR?
Virtual Reality, or VR for short, is a computer-generated, 3D and fully immersive digital environment. This means you can interact with and feel like you’re inside a virtual, sometimes imaginary, place.
VR equipment can include headsets with screens inside, noise-cancelling headphones and gloves or clothing with motion sensors on them. Increasingly, however, VR is being used with simpler, multi-use gadgets like smartphones.
What are the practical uses?
Initially, VR was largely used for fun, with virtual reality games and virtual “holidays” gaining in popularity. Some businesses have already realised the more practical applications these gizmos can have, however.
From real estate agents offering VR tours to get a real feel for a home to corporate firms creating VR meeting rooms while working from home and tourism boards tempting holidaymakers with an immersive taste of life in their region, the possibilities are endless, and still relatively untapped.
How does this help the environment?
This is all well and good, but how can this help to limit our impact on the environment? We’re glad you asked…
1. Reduce travel
House viewings to office visits, there are countless reasons we have to get in the car or on a plane every year. But how many of these trips could we eliminate with VR?
For real estate, prospective buyers often spend hours on the road for properties that are not even close to being right for them. Agents can offer them a dozen VR tours off the bat, ruling out any definite noes before they even leave their house. That saves both their journey and their estate agent’s, reducing the carbon footprint of two parties several times over.
2. Reduce waste
In design, manufacturing and tech, VR technologies can be used to model prototypes without the need to waste resources. The is great for particularly less sustainable materials like virgin plastic. In real estate, agents have the option to virtually furnish properties without having to buy unnecessary items.
3. Improve education
Depending on where someone lives, and the resources they have access to, it can be difficult to connect with the natural world. While a virtual forest will never match the experience of being in a real one, VR can be used to educate people about the world we live in and what we can do to save it at a scale that just isn’t feasible in real life.
VR isn’t going to solve all the issues in any industry, let alone in all of them, but it will definitely become paramount in solving some issues in the near future. If you get onboard with VR first, you’ll get ahead of the curve and lead your industry into a smarter and kinder way of working.
