Virtual Reality Is About To Change Everything

This year, virtual reality will finally come of age. The headsets won’t just be worn by gamers: this revolutionary technology is set to change everything. From booking a holiday to visiting the doctor, our lives are about to get a whole lot more virtual...

- Jamie Carter

HOW VR WILL CHANGE… ENTERTAINMENT

Device makers are queuing up to produce VR headsets, principally for gaming. The frontrunner is Oculus Rift, which will go on sale in spring 2016. It attaches to a computer’s USB slot, and comes with wireless Oculus Touch controllers to track hand movements. It works with Xbox One, while a competitor, PlayStation VR, will soon be launched, too. Other high-tech headsets include HTC Vive, Avegant Glyph, Samsung Gear VR and the Microsoft HoloLens. On the simpler side, the Google Cardboard supports a smartphone in front of your eyes. After all, modern phones broadly contain the same tech used by VR headsets. Cue VR apps for phones that are accessible to all.

However, VR is not just about gaming. “Films, sporting fixtures, gigs and events will be so much more immersive…the next best thing to actually being there,” says David Haynes, a specialist in 3D mapping and VR. Oculus is owned by Facebook, which bought it for $2bn in 2014. But why did Facebook want it?

“Manchester United selling the best seat in the house to every one of its supporters around the world, who could watch at home as if they were inside Old Trafford, would be worth significantly more to them than the current TV deals,” says Haynes. Will we one day watch TV only on VR headsets? Think tigers stalking your sofa, film sets you can walk around and having a front row seat to a live music concert.