Recently, I came across a new music video by Icelandic performer Bjork. The video, for her song 'Stonemilker' has received a lot of attention because it's shot in YouTube's newly supported 360 degree video format - which is, effectively, virtual reality content. The video was, in fact, viewable in VR headsets as part of Bjork's recent MOMA exhibit. And while the video itself is nothing amazing - it's mostly just Bjork dancing around on a bleak looking beach - it has served as something of an awakening, a reminder that virtual reality isn't too far away from being commonplace. Right now, that probably doesn't mean much to you - the introduction of home-based VR will probably only benefit gamers and those who seek out cutting edge visual experiences, right? Well maybe not. There may be more to virtual reality than it may, initially, seem.
"Welcome to the World of Tomorrow"
Virtual reality has always been a future-tech pipe dream. Ever since the inception of the old 'goggles and gloves' type devices it's been regularly referenced in movies and TV shows but it's never been a real, actual thing, in the sense of it being a home device. It's one of those inventions that's used as a symbol of the future, like flying cars or robots - throughout the history of virtual reality, as a concept, it's never been a tangible device.
In some respects, little has changed, it still feels like some far-off, future concept. But the latest advances have brought virtual reality closer to our actual reality than many people realize.
More Than Just Boxes...
At the recent Google I/O event, the search giant unveiled the next generation of Google Cardboard, an invention they'd actual released a year earlier, at Google I/O 2014. Cardboard is a novelty - it's a flat piece of branded cardboard that can be folded, orgami-style, into a ready-to-use, virtual reality headset. You just slide your Android phone into the viewer, download a compatible VR app and there you are, you now own a virtual reality machine.
Mostly, people were confused as to what Cardboard actually was - was this a real product or a joke? At I/O 2015, Google re-affirmed that Cardboard is no joke, releasing a new and updated version that's compatible with a wide range of smartphones (including iPhones) and showcasing some of the latest innovations and projects they're working on for Cardboard and virtual reality more widely. Among those was a classroom set of Google Cardboard headsets which would enable teachers to take teachers on virtual excursions to places they'd never be able to experience in real life. That, in itself, got people thinking that maybe this VR things is for real, then they announced another innovation called Jump, a camera set that users will be able to purchase to make their own 360 degree videos. Suddenly, virtual reality didn't feel so distant - the technology was right there, in that room, that would enable everyday people to create their own virtual experiences.
Of course, many in the tech world have known this was coming, but to those outside of such circles, the Google I/O announcements were an awakening - and when you couple these releases with the announcement that YouTube now supports 360 degree videos for all users (which happened in March), the whole concept started to come to life. Now creators were thinking of what they could do with this, what the possibilities of 360 degree videos might be. But creators aren't the only ones who'll be able to use this tech. Marketers, too, will have a whole new medium for outreach.
Facebook's Reality
When Facebook purchased virtual reality company Oculus in March 2014, the move took many by surprise. Why was the world's leading social network looking to get involved in VR? From a future tech perspective, there was some logic - in his announcement of the deal Mark Zuckerberg wrote of how virtual reality is a new communications platform, and in future you can imagine that, if all goes as planned, VR could play a part in our wider connection process. But Zuckerberg also made an interesting note in the end of his announcement, something that flagged where he saw Oculus headed:
"Virtual reality was once the dream of science fiction. But the internet was also once a dream, and so were computers and smartphones. The future is coming and we have a chance to build it together. I can't wait to start working with the whole team at Oculus to bring this future to the world, and to unlock new worlds for all of us."
This week, Oculus VR held an event they called 'Step Into the Rift' where they showcased what the actual Oculus Rift device will look like. What's more, they took the opportunity to announce a new deal with Microsoft, in which the Oculus Rift will be made compatible with the Xbox One, and will support Windows 10 out of the box. The deal is a major one - not only does it ensure Microsoft stays competitive with Sony's PlayStation, who, themselves, have announced VR functionality for the PlayStation 4, but it also gives Facebook connection to a whole new wave of Oculus headsets that are going to be headed into people's homes in the very near future. Of course, gaming is the focus right now, Facebook has always said that interactive games will be the first stage of the Oculus' evolution, but Facebook also knows the strength of getting traction with consumers when they're young.
Look at Facebook's dominance in younger demographics, how younger users have come to rely on Facebook as a key part of their social interactions. That type of reliance is habitual, it becomes engrained into how they go about their day-to-day lives. Getting a whole new generation started on VR is the first step in developing VR into a whole new platform for commerce. How, you ask? Strangely enough, that may actually be the easiest part.
The Future of Retail?
In their 2015 Reinventing Retail report, media relations company Walker Sands examined the state of online retail in the US. For this, Walker Sands surveyed more than 1,400 US consumers to get their perspectives on how they shop, how often the purchase things online, whether they take reviews into account, etc.
In the back-end of the report, there's a section which looks at emerging technology, with a specific focus on virtual reality and how the technology might will change the shopping experience. Their findings were very interesting.
"More than one-third of consumers (35 percent) say they would shop more online if they were able to try products on virtually."
On top of that, 66% of respondents said they'd be interested in virtual shopping, 63% percent said they expect the eventual roll-out of VR will change the way they shop. And in what may prove to be another blow to traditional retailers, 22% of respondents indicated that they would be less likely to visit a physical store if they were able to simulate the buying process via virtual reality.
But the key stat is the 35% - 35% of people would shop more online if they were able to test products virtually. That's pretty big motivation, pretty strong reasoning for companies like Oculus to get their product out into people's homes.
But again, this feels a way off, right? It still feels like we're not really close to being able to simulate a physical shopping experience via virtual reality. Right? Pretty soon, there's going to be a heap of Oculus headsets plugged into home gaming consoles across the world. Kids in schools will be going on virtual expeditions via Cardboard viewers. People will be uploading their own virtual reality videos and content, straight to YouTube, inviting us into a whole new experience, a whole new world of audio/visual stimulation. And once those experiences are embedded, e-commerce via VR is the logical next step. The devices will be in place, people will be more than familiar with the process.
What once seemed like a distant reality is now closer than you might think.