These are not toys for you: how large companies use virtual reality technologies in business.

How to see what cannot be in the world at all? In the past, this could be considered insanity or magic, but today it is called virtual and augmented reality, and for this they do not burn at the stake, but pay millions of dollars.

It's all Pokemon!

Augmented reality technologies from the realm of fantasy and fiction have moved into everyday life and have become truly close to the general user with the advent of the sensational mobile game about Pokemon. The novelty of technology, deep immersion and physical presence in the space of a new reality - all this literally draws users into the game, and this interest can be used not only for entertainment. Large corporations have already appreciated how useful technologies (virtual reality) and AR (augmented reality) can be for solving serious problems.

A new era of advertising

Advertising agencies and their customers were the first to actively use the business potential of virtual reality. Advertising campaigns and promotions using elements of virtual and augmented reality are becoming more and more frequent. At the moment, the use of VR and AR in advertising and promotion of goods is more of an image moment, since virtual reality is understandable and not yet available to all potential buyers, and VR technologies are very expensive compared to other advertising means. Thus, companies create an image of a modern and advanced player for themselves, changing their positioning relative to competitors.

Striking examples - Volvo has launched an application that allows you to conduct a virtual test drive of the Volvo XC90, and Lexus offers to become a virtual passenger and watch the race from the side on the new Lexus RC F.

Virtual Fitting Room: Toy or Useful Tool?

Virtual and augmented reality technologies are tested and also used in marketing research - they can be used to get the opinion of users on products that do not yet exist. This way, potential buyers can visit an amusement park that doesn't exist yet, go shopping at the store where the company plans to place its products, and test how well the products are located. Such user polls using VR and AR allow us to improve the product and bring it closer to the tastes of consumers even at the development stage, which is much more convenient and cheaper than fixing the shortcomings of an already released product.

In the future, the technology could take online shopping to a new level, when shoppers in online stores can try on clothes virtually to decide if the item is right for them and avoid the frustration of shopping.

Virtual reality in production

Initially, the use of virtual reality was a marketing initiative to lure the buyer with new technologies and non-standard solutions. Later, large companies come to the implementation of VR technologies in production - they create virtual simulators for specialists and simulate prototypes for testing in production, for example, in industrial plants and entire plants in oil refining and metallurgy.

Companies are testing technologies using Hololens augmented reality, when you can see additional information directly on real installations and mechanisms, instructions on what to turn and which button to press. In this regard, there is no need to cram printed instructions for hundreds of pages, because the prompt appears directly in the process.

Construction and design

AR and VR technologies have also been adopted by design bureaus and construction companies. This creates new opportunities for working on construction sites. At the site where the object is under construction, using AR / VR, you can see through layers how the finished building will look. The same technique allows you to control the construction process itself. That is, you can superimpose this 3D object on what has already been built, see the progress of construction and compliance of the object with the plan, or simulate the interior of a future apartment in a completely empty room. Interior design and construction company DIRTT (Doing It Right This Time) uses the Oculus Rift to virtually showcase its designs to clients. This allows them to make decisions even before construction starts and avoid possible mistakes or inconveniences,

Let's look at virtual reality from a new angle - today it is a very real tool for business to make tangible money. And for buyers - new products and convenient solutions. Well, Pokemon, of course.