It used to be a hobby for geeks. Today, virtual reality edges towards the mainstream. The VR industry is expected to break the $1bn barrier for the first time this year, according to Deloitte; and with Goldman Sachs predicting the market could be worth $80bn by 2025, the opportunities are only going to get bigger, taking the industry to new heights.
However, the strongest selling point of virtual reality is not only taking us to new heights or places, but turning us into someone else. It has the power to influence our physical and emotional responses to reality by letting us experience this reality – in a virtual world. All we have to do is to give it the access.
Earlier this year, at South by South-West (SXSW) – the big film, music and interactive trade fair, festival and meet-up in Austin, Texas – Per Poulston, chief innvoation officer of Serviceplan Group, had a chat with Bruce Vaughn, the former chief creative executive at Walt Disney Imagineering. He told him about what the Imagineering labs call “Portals”.
He used the gate to Disneyland as an example: It’s a simple gateway you go through to enter the Main Street in Disneyland. On it there is a sign saying: “Here you leave today and enter the world of yesterday, tomorrow and fantasy”. And that is what people do. They simply and immediately accept being in a world where giant mice are completely normal, where trash collectors routinely break out singing and where the small shops on the street are not fierce competitors but best friends. “Portals” allows us to transport people into a whole new world, a whole new experience.
Once regarded as a science fiction fantasy, the idea of a virtual environment is now a very possible future and it works because it puts people at the epicentre of an experience and has the potential to dramatically change the way we approach education and the world of business.
When it comes to education, VR creates a sense of presence to help students vividly absorb and remember what they’ve learned. Technologies such as Leap Motion ensure that users can utilise their gestures and hand movements whilst in a VR experience, maintaining the sense of being in a classroom scenario.
We at Serviceplan Middle East have partnered with Samsung to envision and create an easily deployable VR educational platform in the schools of the UAE. We want to enable future generations to grow up supported by VR experiences in both the classroom and the workplace – which is very much in line with Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum’s vision of wanting to provide “new generations with the skills needed for the future”.
By advocating for virtual classrooms, our philosophy is deeply rooted in enabling. We would rather train children to seek and to explore, to teach and to learn from each other, rather than simply being tutored. We would rather have them creating than consuming; innovating rather than just listening. The world of VR means that students have all the information they need right in front of them, without the need to interrupt the experience to reference external materials.
But this is more than just a novelty. Students in developing nations can also benefit from the same immersive experience. VR hardware is slowly becoming more affordable and, like the PC and smartphone before it, manufacturers will seek to produce more affordable options. These devices can then be distributed to developing countries, where students can gain access to the same level of high-quality education as their peers throughout the world. This furthers the democratisation of education, putting students across the world on an equal footing from the outset.
Perhaps the most utopian application of this technology will be seen in terms of bridging cultures and fostering understanding among young students, as it will soon be possible for a third-grade class in the UAE or USA to participate in a virtual trip with a third-grade class in India or Mexico.
Innovation is in Serviceplan’s DNA. In fact, our CEO, Florian Haller, reinvented the art of keynote speeches at our recent innovation day In Munich by taking a free fall from a helicopter whilst inviting guests to experience an array of 360 and virtual experiences on showcase by our clients and partners, as a bold statement towards our future in innovation. The full clip can now be viewed on YouTube, while the virtual showcase can be experienced – first hand – at our Dubai offices in the upcoming Festival of Innovation. Visit serviceplan.ae to book your seat.
Unnikrishnan Kurip, General manager and head of digital at Serviceplan Middle East
