Virtual reality may prove a ground-breaking technology trend of 2016. Ascent of Everest, for example, came courtesy of the HTC Vive VR headset and a game developed by the Icelandic firm Solfar Studios. A group of children, who are long-term patients, take a tour of the Dulwich Picture Gallery without leaving King’s College Hospital where they are Facebook, Sony and HTC have invested hugely in virtual reality. The HTC Vive providing the best VR experience, should join Sony’s PlayStation VR and Facebook’s Oculus Rift headset on the market in the next few months.
Two London psychologists, Dr Ashley Conway and Dr Vanessa Ruspoli have developed Virtual Exposure Therapy, a system that uses Oculus’ Rift headset to treat patients with phobias.
Dr Conway explained, “You get a physiological reaction. It’s a really good bridge between not being able to do something and doing it in the real world.”
Google’s Cardboard VR headset may provide most people with their first virtual reality experience.
Estate agents will be able to give virtual tours of properties, kitchen designers will be able to give customers a better idea of what they are buying.
