Benefits of VR for the environment

A benefit of VR on the environment is the reduction of emissions from travel due to being able to travel virtually.

A company based in Germany that sold 3D printers reduced their annual trade show carbon footprint by 98.5% by switching to VR to showcase their products. The team calculated that due to the weight and size of their machines and having to transport them via truck and air freight only, they were creating an average of 96.1 Tons of CO2 per round trip. With the XTAL VR system from VRgineers, Multiphoton Optics cut their average trade show CO2 emissions down to only 1.4 Tons.

Another benefit of VR for the environment is promoting and developing an understanding in the issues we face. Putting users in the environments themselves allows users to gain empathy.

Stanford University researchers took a virtual reality experience into various educational settings, including high school classrooms, to test the impact on awareness and understanding of ocean acidification. A short immersive VR experience boosted knowledge by 150%, and the information was found to be retained for weeks after.

Small Space, Big Experiences

One of the most significant benefits of VR as a technology is that it offers amazing, limitless experiences within only a small footprint.

Seated and standing VR experiences technically have no minimum space requirements. Whereas to have some form of roaming or interaction around 2m x 2m minimum is usually asked for.

If you did want to offer an experience using a lot of movement or physical exploration, many VR headsets could be used free-roaming with wireless capabilities. Using room tracking technology, VR can even use the room’s boundaries as the boundaries of the environment, creating a digital reproduction of the physical space with limitless possibilities.

With technology, physical items can be brought into the virtual world to allow for touch to play a role in the immersion of the experience.

Of course, one of the benefits of VR being so compact is that it can be used even where space is at an absolute premium and create experiences that far exceed the physical boundaries available.

Accessibility, Adaptablity and Inclusivity

Virtual reality offers a platform of accessibility for people who would otherwise be unable to access experiences due to physical barriers.

Another benefit of VR is that, as with a lot of technology, there are substantial opportunities for adaptability and accessibility. Whilst VR does have some limitations, such as the wearing of a headset, and it also has the benefit of being able to be used sitting or standing

Michigan State University created an app for Oculus Quest VR headsets called ‘A Mile in my shoes’ to help to fight unconscious bias and promote diversity, equity and inclusion efforts. The app immersed the user in real-world scenarios that show how harmful racism and unconscious bias can be.

Cost Effective, Scalable and Multi-Use

With one single VR setup to run multiple experiences, it can prove very cost-effective compared to alternatives. Entirely new experiences can be launched with no change in hardware and setup.

Purchasing quality virtual reality equipment ensures longevity, with new versions launching far less frequently than other technologies to provide a stable foundation to build your experiences upon. A great example is the HTC Vive Pro system, whichÊ

Software produced for VR can also easily be ported for use elsewhere. Whether that be exported to a store for access from home, converting to an interactive online environment for access from a web browser or using the individual elements in a new project to save costs and time.