Demand For Virtual Reality Headsets In The Workplace To Soar
The popularity of virtual reality headsets for remote workplace meetings is set to ‘snowball’, one business expert predicts.
Joe Fitzsimons from the Institute of Directors told the BBC there will be a strong demand for the VR headsets as companies look to alternatives for Zoom and other videoconferencing tools.
“We’re likely to see it really take off quite quickly,” Fitzsimons told the Wake Up To Money programme.
“I think there will be a snowball effect of the benefits being so clear that organisations come to terms with it and employ it as fast as they can.”
The pandemic has changed the way workplaces view remote collaboration and global firms are scrambling to find ways to help employees interact and socialise safely.
Virtual reality is a booming industry many tech companies are already pouring big money into.
Facebook launched its standalone virtual reality headset Oculus Quest in 2019 and released a next-generation VR device in 2020.
Microsoft is also jumping on the VR bandwagon, after partnering with AI firm Mesh to bring virtual reality to a whole new level: holograms.
During the tech giant’s annual Ignite conference, Microsoft revealed how it plans to create a digital environment capable of sharing avatars, 3D models and data in holographic firm with the power of AR and VR.
Alongside Mesh, it is developing something called ‘holoportation’, which will allow the company to create photorealistic digital avatars of your body which can appear in any virtual space in the world.
It will use eye-tracking and facial-monitoring to allow the hologram to mimic a person’s facial expressions and eye contact.