Top 10 Virtual Reality Applications Beside Gaming

The future is bright... just put on this headset and see for yourself.  Welcome to WatchMojo.com, and today we’re counting down the Top 10 Virtual Reality Applications Besides Gaming. For this list, we’re looking at the most intriguing and exciting things being done with VR technology. Obviously video games have been a driving factor in bringing Virtual Reality to consumers, but the exciting potential applications out there are many and varied.

Research suggests that many young people are turning away from traditional sex in favor of pornographic stimulation. That trend is only likely to increase with the incorporation of virtual reality. Some reviewers have called it too creepy and unnerving to be enjoyable, while others have firmly declared it to be the future. The porn industry has historically been quick to adopt new technologies, ever seeking to improve their product’s quality and accessibility, but virtual reality is arguably its greatest leap yet. A quick Google search reveals countless online subscription porn sites already offering this new, immersive content.  Porn aside, coupled with smart sex toys, VR can also provide people in long distance relationships the ability to have simulated virtual sex. 

After the failure of the 3D television, virtual reality needs to tread carefully as it convinces consumers that a VR headset is the next “must have” addition to their lives. Virtual Reality has the potential to become the new standard in home entertainment systems, possibly replacing the standard home theater. While an affordable cardboard VR headset might not convince you to sell that 60-inch flat screen, the Oculus Rift or Avegant Glyph might. Multi-perspective 360 streams of live events are currently broadcasting, but drastic changes in the way film and television are made would be necessary before we get mainstream 360 scripted content. Scripted VR television is already in the works, however, with series like “Halcyon” and “Invisible.”

The potential applications of Virtual Reality to the medical field are extremely promising. Virtual Reality has been heralded as an absolute game changer for employment training across the professional spectrum, but no application is more vital than in medicine. VR is currently used to enable doctors to practice complex, life or death procedures in medical simulations. But virtual reality is looking to not only revolutionize surgical training, but also the procedures themselves. With robot-assisted VR surgery, doctors will be able to control a much steadier hand than their own, and arguably perform less invasive, microscopic surgeries from a virtual, internal perspective. This technology can also be used for quick and effective diagnoses of internal medical problems.

#7: VR Shopping

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Robin Sparkles’ Canadian hit single “Let’s Go to the Mall” is about due for a modern reinterpretation. But we predict that whichever teenybopper takes the mic will be cruising a virtual mall in his or her music video. A number of 3D avatar-based virtual shopping malls already exist online, which allow you to peruse e-commerce stores in a mall environment. But that’s just scratching the surface of what’s to come! Trillenium is promising high quality digital scans of products in stunning 3D spaces to make online shopping more engaging than ever. It’s only a matter of time before 3D virtual malls incorporate Xbox One’s shopping features, which allow customers to try on virtualclothing. Going to the mall without leaving the couch... where do we sign up?

Some people may find them old and stuffy, but even in our current age of technological wonder, museums persevere as a testament to our interest in the past, bringing together the collective cultural history of human civilization. Travelling to France to visit Le Louvre, or New York to go to the Metropolitan Museum of Art isn’t always an option; but luckily, VR can help you out. Many museums offer VR tour experiences through a partnership with Google, such as the Google Art Project and Google Expeditions, allowing you to see scans from museums from all over the world. With Google Expeditions, just use the Google Cardboard viewer, and your learning goes WAY beyond the classroom… without ever having to leave it.

The world of hard-hitting journalism is all about conveying truth, no matter how harsh certain realities may be. The same can be said for documentary filmmaking. Virtual reality is giving media outlets and documentary filmmakers the opportunity to shake up the way information is consumed and digested through immersive journalism, which is less about telling and more about showing. Nonny de la Peña’s “Project Syria” first drops viewers in the scene of a bombing, before allowing them to explore a refugee camp. According to filmmaker Chris Milk, who, along with Spike Jonze, filmed the Vice News VR documentary “Millions March,” this process is about removing the middleman in journalism by placing the viewer directly in the specific moment or event.

Watching the big game will never be the same. Virtual reality now allows fans to enjoy professional sports as if they were sitting right there in the grandstands. One of the perks of watching sports in VR is the ability to change vantage points, something that’s tough to achieve at the actual event. NextVR is the leading company in the field, who began in 2009 doing trial broadcasts of NBA and NHL games and has expanded rapidly since. This experience is sure to change sports broadcasting, but it doesn’t stop there. Developers are experimenting with 360 cameras mounted to the perspective of athletes in extreme sports. The only downside to watching sports in VR? You can’t order any snacks.

Science fiction’s been exploring it for decades– a future where vacationing is as simple as putting on a headset. A “Total Recall” style full sensory experience is still a ways away, but virtual reality is already being used as a marketing tool to give people vacation previews. For the budget-minded, it’s becoming an affordable way to experience the many wonders of the world. VR tours enable people to quickly check out the Harvard College campus or visit buildings with restricted access like Buckingham Palace. Whether you’re interested in strolling through a celebrity’s home or an isolated natural space, virtual tours will make the world a more accessible place, especially for people with limited mobility for whom travel is difficult.

According to the CDC, as of 2008, one in ten Americans over the age of 12 takes prescription antidepressants or anti-anxiety medication. VR has grown in popularity over the past decades as a means of providing relief for people with anxiety disorders and phobias through soothing, immersive environments and activities. They have proven especially useful for individuals suffering from chronic pain and posttraumatic stress disorder. These settings allow patients to slowly expose themselves to triggers in a controlled environment and undergo reconditioning. With 7.7 million PTSD sufferers in the U.S. and countless more around the world, this could provide crucial relief and rehabilitation. Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions. - Engineering - Bedtime Stories - Interior Design and Staging 

Virtual reality will likely become an essential part of astronaut training programs, but similar to medicine, its greatest potential lies in allowing people to explore and operate in hard to reach places. VR space exploration can help rekindle the general population’s interest in space exploration by making space more accessible. SpaceVR, founded in 2015, plans to launch 360 cameras into low Earth orbit and charge subscriptions to the feed. But NASA has much bigger plans. Unmanned space exploration has thus far been a success, but has been hampered by limited control. NASA hopes that combined VR technology will allow astronauts to control rovers and other equipment accurately, in otherwise inaccessible areas of our solar system. Do you agree with our list? Apart from gaming, what Virtual Reality application most interests you? For more unbelievable top 10s published every day, be sure to subscribe to WatchMojo.com.