The Path From Virtual to Virtual Reality: Shifting From Videoconferencing to VR

Reposted from Medium.

During this time of physical distancing, humanity’s need for contact and connection has become even more obvious, and perhaps, more necessary. Use of video services like Zoom are skyrocketing, and not just from people working from home, but also due to the need for social interaction, events and entertainment. Innovation in this space is occurring rapidly. Major tech companies are acquiring other companies and launching products to prepare for a new normal as the economy shifts even more from the physical to the digital.

If people were not accustomed to using the word virtual before the COVID-19 outbreak, they are now. From online conferences to live-streamed concerts, the global pandemic has increased the need for connecting virtually — that is, digitally over physical distances. These are now essential services as we quarantine and distance ourselves physically. But how close are we to moving beyond video to virtual reality?

A Path to Virtual Reality

For those less familiar, virtual reality (VR) content is created for use in a headset, otherwise known as Head-Mounted Display (HMD). This, combined with spatial (or 3D) content gives the user a feeling of presence and immersion — in other words, it feels more real. Because VR has limited adoption compared to smartphones, many VR experiences today are made to be consumed on laptops and mobile devices as well.

Many articles have expounded on the benefits of VR including the ability to produce scenarios that can be infinitely repeated, creation of spaces that can’t exist in reality, and as previously mentioned, the feeling of immersion — like you’ve been transported to another place.

VR has been growing for several years. With physical distance now a requirement for the foreseeable future and both the economy and human habits fundamentally changing, now is the time for VR to shine, but it will take some work before mass adoption occurs.

Similar to the recent increased usage in videoconferencing, chat, and live-streaming, the appetite for meetups and conferences in VR has grown in a very short period of time. Not unlike video platforms, VR companies are quickly making adjustments to handle this additional use. As one example, Mozilla recently launched the ability for organizations to host private and customizable AWS-hosted virtual spaces.

Taken in Laval Virtual 2020

Over the past six weeks I’ve participated in more VR events than in the past year — with varying degrees of success. Though the platforms and hardware aren’t ready for mass usage, this is a great opportunity to work through some of the challenges, embrace a higher development cycle and improve our ability to connect digitally.

How Do We Get From Video To VR?

Mass adoption of VR events will grow as companies improve cost, comfort, and content for users. These challenges are far from insurmountable, but they will take time and effort.

Cost. Here is some good news — with the price of headsets decreasing to less than that of a phone (from $800 + gaming laptop 4 years ago to $400 for a 6 DOF standalone headset today), headsets are finally affordable both for enterprises and at home consumers. In the past year, sales have soared. Unfortunately, headsets manufacturing and distribution has been disrupted, but is starting to return. Fortunately, much content is also available through a browser and/or on connected devices, but VR content is really best viewed in a device that is designed to visualize spatial computing and block out reality. Interestingly, some 3D and avatar based events like Laval Virtual are only available via mobile or desktop application. This transitional type of application will smooth the way from video to VR by helping users get comfortable with moving and interacting in a virtual environment before needing to wear a headset.

Comfort. Physical comfort, and usability, is key to adoption and sustained usage. More than 30–60 minutes in a headset is still uncomfortable for many — potentially causing headaches and neck pain for some. With further R&D, increased processing power and more focus on headset comfort, this will improve in the next iteration of hardware. In addition, many non-gamers find hand controllers awkward. Facebook’s Oculus has announced hand tracking capabilities for their latest headset, Quest. For virtual events this feature is critical to enable users to interact more naturally.

Oculus Quest Hand tracking

Ease of use is equally as important as comfort. Several of my recent virtual world experiences required 20+ minute set-up time before entering the event. For mass adoption the interface should be as simple as possible. This includes loading and entering an event, determining how to move around and communicate with others.

Especially for virtual events, audio is key, and most current VR venue platforms seemed to have some form of audio issues. This spanned from not being able to hear, hearing too many people, or not being able to have others hear me. At the very minimum the ability to mute should be easy. Further, there are few design standards yet, which means each experience has a learning curve. With overall VR development, and specifically venue/event space maturing, the standards will form, just as they did in the mobile and internet eras.

Content. VR virtual venues and remote work platforms are booming. HP and VR Voice recently expanded to a second full day highlighting the latest companies in VR spaces. Companies, some described as videoconferencing on steroids, are being funded because investors see the value in digitally placing people in rooms together where they can interact with 3D models, and connect in ways that are far more immersive than video conferencing.

Taken in Mozilla Hubs

Even as an active VR user, the significance and benefit of having a shared space with others continues to be surprising. In a recent VR event, it was obvious by the gestures and movements that the avatar approaching me was my fund partner, even though she didn’t look like herself or significantly differentiated from others in the room. (As added plus, with avatars as the social interface, not only do clothes become irrelevant, but so is the need to fix one’s hair.) This presence cannot be underplayed as significantly different from video, flat screen connections.

It is true VR event platforms and hosts have much to learn and grow for many to feel as comfortable using VR as video. Some VR experiences have performance issues, challenges in scale, and imperfect resolution. Avatars can be cartoon-like, under represent diversity or have uncanny valley effect. Social interaction still needs moderation from trolls. Content heavy presentations with slides run smoother over video streams.

Because of digital presence, VR is currently more suited for networking and demos of virtual spaces. Similar to the growth of the web and mobile apps, initial VR event space will likely emulate reality, expanding use cases as the technology becomes more familiar.

Is Now The Time for VR?

Market downturns spur innovation, and virtual reality is one of the emerging technologies that will benefit from this trend. Now is exactly the time to build, invest and experiment in VR.

Are we ready to move massive conferences and all video interaction to VR platforms today? No. But, the potential is vast for VR to enable immersive connection and in-person presence. Even in a post-pandemic world, the way we communicate and do business will be fundamentally changed. The path from video to VR requires faster innovation to give us easy-to-use digital presence — to connect and interact in ways that video can’t provide.