Uses of VR
A part of the reason why VR is a topic of conversation in this modern age is because of its wide range of current uses: gaming, entertainment, medical training, military training, space training, medical therapy, and even sports.
Gaming
Gaming is currently the most well-known and popular use of VR. Players commonly use a headset and a pair of joysticks to move around and interact with their environment. Some more advanced VR systems include a treadmill-like machine that equips users with leg movement in all directions, allowing the player to walk and run, further enhancing the emersion. Players can be put into worlds they will never experience in real life, go on adventures with their friends, and go to battle against dragons or other players.
Entertainment
For entertainment, VR provides interactive cinematic experiences. Similar to 4-D movies, VR places the watcher in the movie, enhancing the view experience.
Training
VR also allows new recruits in the medical, military, and space fields to be trained under safe and controlled environments. Upcoming nurses, doctors, and surgeons can practice interacting with and operating on people without the risk of harming them. New soldiers will be able to combat train in dangerous conditions without endangering their lives. Unexperienced astronauts can learn about space conditions and operate expensive machinery without ever having to go to space or the need of a physical machine or tool, drastically saving money.
Medical
VR has even been used to provide medical therapy to stroke victims as well as assist in other clinical practices (Schmid, Glässel, & Schuster-Amft, 2016). Although those results have been positive and shone promise, further advancement and research in this realm of VR is needed.
Sports
In sports, VR is used to aid in training in sports such as golf, cycling, and skiing. It’s used to help assess technique and measuring athletic performance. When compared to control conditions, VR has also been proven to improve exercise adherence, aid in training race pacing techniques, boost effort, improve mood and enjoyment, and better cognitive functioning (Neumann, 2016).
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