Are there any uses for Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality headsets other than video games?

Porn. Not even kidding there.

I really don’t know much about augmented reality. As far as I can tell it’s not really something that’s caught on in the consumer market as of yet. But virtual reality hasn’t moved much beyond video games and porn. I have, however, see articles about virtual reality programs being custom made for the benefit of seniors how have little to no physical mobility left. These programs made be used to create virtual outdoor environs, or even recreations of their old neighborhoods, etc, that they can “walk” through.

They are already used in treating people for fear of flying. They help people get used to what it will be like inside of a plane, before they get to the point of being on a plane.

I imagine this type of simulated imagery would be quite useful for people who have undergone trauma, and now have PTSD.

I would think there is probably a lot of uses for it in the medical field, and for training astronauts and pilots, and other specialized fields where it helps to be able to “see” what an experience looks like, before actually having the experience.

It seems like it would be helpful for people who are unable to walk, or move, such as amputees, or quadriplegics, so that they may be able to experience dancing, or scuba diving, or ice skating, or even mountain climbing.

For augmented reality see this video demo of AR in vehicles from 2015 (warning the reporter is extremely obnoxious).

For VR, a big emerging market is for nursing home residents getting to enjoy virtual experiences.

Occupational Therapists are exploring the possibility of using VR and AR tech in situations when their clients/patients are in limited, dull environments.

I believe that the military has used it as a training tool for combat and tank operations to improve situational awareness in a ‘lab’ environment.

I got to test one out that was being developed by the Museum of Natural History for exhibit enhancements.

At one point I was thinking about buying a virtual reality headset for my iphone and then I forgot about. I was just considering it for beautiful scenery, like a travel channel sort of thing. Maybe a roller coaster ride for my husband who likes that sort of thing. I never researched what programs are available, but those were my assumptions when I first came across the possibility. I would like it to relax, but I guess most people think of it for fun and excitement.

Regarding the games, so can two people be in the same scene at once? That is pretty cool. My husband and I could both be at the beach together? Is that right? If it was a location app.

Word out is that Apple is slated to market a VR unit in about 18 months, and it will be a stepping stone to producing glasses similar to Google Glasses (but better).

I’ve actually wondered the same thing. We upgraded to 4k smart tv and blu-ray but I havent heard much about VR. I’ll do some research.

Although it’s uses are numerous, I’ve been holding out hope that AR will unlock another level of sports. Imagine football plays being changed on the fly and relayed seamlessly though a visor display, or a hockey forward on a breakaway might see a colored representation of the goalie’s expected trajectories, a baseball player could better able to track the movement and spin of a pitch, and have access to a pitcher’s complete history condensed into a few relevant numbers, labels or colors, fielders could see a shrinking circle of possible landing spots for a fly ball, with a changing color indicating when the ball will land: all kinds of tools to use the information available to take the competition to new heights.

I also can’t wait for attempts to overlay AR of a type onto live broadcast sport. Imagine the hot players red-shifting and the cold ones blue-shifting in front of your eyes, or catching on fire like NBA Jam. Imagine the change in the mental game if every player could see every other player’s performance throughout the game condensed into a color rating

@Darth_Algar I believe PORN was the driving force behind a lot of improvement in the Internet. And I can see how PORN may drive developments in VR and, maybe even, AR.

I can see the value of VR in all kinds of training apps. And I do see the value of VR in providing experiences for people who may not be able to get them like most of us.

@Kardamom Thanks for a great answer. You obviously know a lot about the subject. Do you work in that field? Or are you just morbidly curious. like me?

@gorillapaws I see what you mean about the reporter. That is an interesting concept. I wonder if AR could be used to train Full Self Driving based on actual data from a million cars.

@canidmajor Awesome. I hope they succeed.

@elbanditoroso he problem I have with all current training is that it shows people how to handle synthesized situations. It would be a lot better to use real life situations.

@janbb How was your experience?

@si3tech Yes, I can see some value in that.

@JLeslie Let us know what you find out when you research the market.

@zenvelo Correct. In fact that report is what re-activated my interest.

@KNOWITALL Let us know what you find.

@Smashley Awesome ideas! I am a golfer. One of the things coaches always tell you is: “Visualize your shot, before you play the ball”. Imagine if you could actually ‘see’ the shot.

@crazyguy – that’s true – I agree. My guess is that AR is a starting point, and eventually they take the soldiers into the field.

@crazyguy – Even just a simple grid overlay on the putting greens would probably change the game forever.

@Smashley That is an awesome idea!