Strategy Analytics attended the Virtual Reality World Congress (VRWC) in Bristol, UK on12th April 2016. Virtual Reality (VR) is one of the hottest technology trends in 2016 and although the high profile VR headset launches are grabbing much of the attention so far, ultimately it will be the use cases and content that determines the technology’s future.  At VRWC, experts discussed the future of virtual reality, shared perspectives about the future use cases for VR and examined the type of challenges faced by content creators. This blogpost highlights some of the more interesting use cases that our analysts came across at the event.

There were many different use cases presented by exhibitors at VRWC this year. The most common examples of VR usage we have seen so far are for video gaming but apart from that there are many more VR use cases now available on the market ranging from social applications, real estate showcasing, education and advertising. Strategy Analytics analysts experienced a wide range of demonstrations at the show but we have highlighted a few unique experiences of the virtual world from VRWC.

vTime VR Social Network

vTime –presented what it calls the world’s first mobile virtual reality social network, an application that allows users from anywhere in the world to socialise in a virtual environment using a Smartphone based VR headset and headphones. vTime allows for up to four users to socialise in the virtual world; users are also able to choose from different environments (12 different destinations) and personalise their own avatar’s appearance for the virtual world. The vTime application for the Samsung Gear VR offers one of the best user experiences being intuitive and easy to use. In order to get an optimal experience users require good internet connectivity otherwise they face the prospect of lag during interactions.   

vTime virtual world social application

The free application has more than 10,000 users and is currently available for the Samsung Gear VR and Google Cardboard.

Property Scape

Property Scape is a virtual reality service for property developers and estate agents. Users are provided with a virtual tour of their future home from anywhere in the word. Content is delivered in three easy steps (Create + Upload + Access).

Property Scape’s three easy steps for content delivery

The content can be created using two methods. For new construction projects take the CAD (Computer-aided design) material from architects and designers and transform into virtual reality content using the 3D modeling software. If the properties are already built then capture the 360 video and transform into 360 4K virtual reality video tours. The content is then ready for transfer and made available on an application. Once the content is ready, consumers can see the property in real time as if they are walking through it.

Property Scape showed a very impressive demo at VRWC

The application is designed to increase engagement and improve the interaction between the seller and buyer. The service is not cheap however but for practical reasons we can see that VR has the potential to play a significant role in future real estate transactions.

VRGO

VRGO is a new firm that brought its motion controlled sculpted seat and high friction pads prototype to VRWC. VRGO allows users to move within the virtual world with natural body movements and users are also able to store their virtual reality headsets inside the VRGO. The VRGO can be used wirelessly with a PC/Mac and with smartphone virtual reality headsets via Bluetooth.

VRGO Prototype at VRWC: VRGO works with PC & smartphone based virtual reality headsets

VRGO is a good accessory for VR headset owners and has 5 hours of battery life as well. The biggest downside is that the VRGO chair is not comfortable for long viewing sessions and users face the risk of becoming disorientated in the virtual world and falling backwards from the device. VRGO haven’t announced pricing yet but those who gave more than £400 to the Kickstarter project will receive the device. Pricing will have to be carefully considered as consumers using PC based VR headsets will have already spent a large amount on their VR headsets and will not likely spend another £400 for what is essentially an accessory. The VRGO devices were expected to start shipping to Kickstarter backers from April 2016 although delays have been reported.

For more analysis of the Virtual Reality Headset market, please see our latest “Global Virtual Reality Headset” forecast.