Different Ways Companies Are Using Virtual Reality in Employee Training

Designing Digitally

11/27/2018

Virtual Reality Training

The use of smart technology and computers, also known as eLearning, has integrated into the traditional education system well over the past decade. The concept of eLearning has become so widespread that future-thinking countries, like the UK and South Korea, have already begun thoroughly integrating the concept into their current education systems.

Virtual reality is the next step for eLearning. When combined, the two form a new concept in the business world known as virtual learning. For the uninitiated, VR is the use of computer software and graphics cards to simulate real-world environments and objects. Once relegated to video games, the technology has advanced to the point where it is now seriously being considered for professional use in some very high places.

Large corporations like Conquer Mobile, Google, and Microsoft have fully embraced the technology. Virtual reality has had such an impact on these companies that they have begun developing their own, in-house versions of the tech to avoid outsourcing costs. Google, in particular, has invested heavily in the field, pouring as much into their virtual reality research efforts as they have into their AI programs.

Even NASA has begun using the technology. And considering the dangerous, often nonexistent margin for error NASA employees find themselves working with, the effectiveness and potential for virtual reality training speak for itself. Virtual training environments are poised to see extremely rapid adoption and advancements in the coming years as more large companies and governments realize the technology’s value.

Virtual Training Environments

A virtual training solution is the use of the digital environments created by virtual reality software to supplement field experience for those in dangerous fields. Virtual training solutions are already employed by companies like Apple and are slowly gaining traction in non-tech spaces, like the medical field.

Pilots, surgeons, astronauts, and engineers find themselves in precarious positions when its finally time to gain some field experience—how exactly can you safely and effectively practice open heart surgery? Virtual reality offers the solution. By simulating high-stress scenarios with lifelike realism, professionals can gain invaluable field experience without putting themselves and others at risk. Additionally, this can save companies thousands of dollars in replacing valuable machinery and equipment that has the potential to be damaged during training. A plane crash during a test flight in real life is a horrific waste of resources, where a plane crash that takes place in one of many different virtual training environments is instead an invaluable learning experience for the pilot.

The realism of VR technology is expanding at a remarkable pace. Companies like Microsoft, Apple, Google, and many federal governments are investing staggeringly large sums into development. These companies see the immense potential that simulation has even in its conceptual infancy.

In the coming decades, eLearning paired with virtual reality will be par for the course for education across the entire world. Grade schools all the way up to universities will see exhaustive integration with virtual reality technology, and the results will be overwhelmingly positive for the world as a whole.

eLearning Moving Forward

Without question, eLearning is poised to be one of the greatest technological advances of the last century. Virtual training solutions have the potential to benefit such a large number of industries that there isn't any reason why they shouldn't adopt the technology. Virtual training solutions are a more cost-effective, safe, and practical solution when compared to all of their traditional equivalents.

As computational capacities increase with time, so too will the realism—and by extension, effectiveness—of virtual reality training environments. What is currently cutting-edge will be seen as laughably rudimentary in as little as few years. As such, the simulations themselves will begin to border on lifelike. And with that concept comes a vast world of new possibilities for virtually every aspect of modern life.

In the near future, it won't be uncommon for surgeons, astronauts, and pilots to be educated entirely with virtual reality training. What reason do these industries have to use older alternatives when virtual training solutions surpass them in every regard. Virtual training solutions are even poised to expand into industries that don't currently seem compatible, like fitness. Think about it—with VR, a personal trainer can guide you through your workout regiment right from your home. The possibilities are as exciting as they are vast.

The potential for the technology is nowhere near its limit, and it will continue growing as value becomes more apparent to the general population. Expect to see this technology expand into every industry imaginable. The ways companies are using virtual reality to train employees are intuitive and ingenious, and those are two facts that only stand to become truer as time progresses.

If you are interested in learning more about the possibilities of virtual reality training solutions and how your company could be benefitted, book a free consultation with one of our experienced team members today!