The Evolution of Virtual Reality

Virtual Reality has come a long way in recent years, many Architectural firms have invested in Virtual Reality technology, further utilizing their Design Models. The benefits are numerous, and in some cases surprising. When I first introduced VR into our office in 2014 I want to create a buzz around this technology by having all levels of staff experience VR. My thoughts were to utilize this visualization tool as a design validation tool, having our clients virtually experience the space to gain a better understanding of the design intent, and that worked well, I think most design firms utilize VR for this reason.

What I didn’t expect was the overwhelmingly positive feedback from the Project Managers.

Project managers really enjoyed walking through the digital model of their project, they would inspect crucial design area’s and after experiencing the space was able to make improvements and minor tweaks to further improve the design.

Jump to 2018 where Virtual Reality has progressed to the next level, multi-user VR.

In the past Virtual Reality has been a single user experience, no one else was able to interact with you directly within the VR environment. That has now changed, Virtual Reality companies like IrisVR have developed Multi-User platforms where numerous people in a variety of locations can come together in a VR environment to engage and discuss the design.

What a great opportunity to bring together people who are engaged in an international project, working together across great distance.

I recently set up a test of IrisVR’s Prospect (Multi-User platform), so I contacted Sam who is a IrisVR Customer Experience Associate to set up a challenge for him. I contacted my colleagues in Sydney, Australia, San Francisco USA and Stuttgart, Germany and had Sam, who is located in New York to set up a live demo for me.

Here’s some of the feedback I received.

“In general, the experience has me more enthusiastic now more than ever of what VR can do to transform how we think about and approach collaborating!”

“This was an exciting moment when I was able to 'dial in' using Virtual Reality goggles combined with bluetooth headphones to both review and speak directly with the team. The computer wifi was able to keep up comfortably with the call and actions during the review process.”

“The VR Meeting worked really well and it was very responsive. Super easy to set up.”

“You can talk with the other attendees, see where they are looking at, where their hands are and also what they are pointing at.”

“It certainly felt like we were in the same room together.”

If you want to learn more about IrisVR’s Prospect click the LINK here.

I love this technology, anything that further utilized our Building Information Model is great!

Sc.