Future Tech Ep. #4 - Is Virtual Reality ready for Corporate America?

In this episode we explore the world of virtual reality and its readiness for use within Corporate America. With use cases like the VR-enabled office and purpose-built VR conference ecosystems, how soon until this leading-edge technology becomes commonplace? Dive into the world's first Cyber Security Conference hosted entirely in VR as I share my experience during this 'mind blowing' journey.

The link to access the full Future Tech series is here.

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Video Transcript

It is April 21st 2020 and these are strange times. Most of the world is on lockdown due to the Coronavirus with many of us in the United States under ‘shelter in place’ orders. We are naturally social creatures and as such are struggling to find ways to interact with each other. A phone call is a good start, and a Microsoft Teams or Zoom meeting with video is a step up, but when will technology allow us to truly feel that we are physically interacting with other people when we are actually apart?

Many years ago I experienced early virtual reality technology and it was.. ok. I even tried Google Cardboard, remember that? There was very little non-gaming or non-demo content out there and there were no applications of VR that enabled social business interaction. Well recently, a few of my colleagues, Trenton Ivey and Sean Peterson, organized the world’s first Cyber Security conference, completely in VR. When I heard about this, I had to see for myself how VR had matured so I bought an Oculus Go VR headset.

I started my VR experience by attending virtual, instructor led classes on how to use my headset and how to navigate the virtual world that I now lived in. To be honest it was surreal, almost eerie, as I began to grasp the fact that each of the CGAesk avatars were in fact real people; people that I could walk up to, extend my hand, and introduce myself to. And by the way, the concept of social distancing is very much alive, even in the virtual world. I then explored the vast application ecosystem that was available for my headset that allowed me to watch high definition movies as if I were at an IMAX theatre, bring my virtual friends along as I traveled the world though a completely immersive and mind-blowing experience, and I experienced live music in a way that I would have never thought possible – on the stage with the band. I even toured the streets of Paris as it was a year ago and then I saw Paris as it was a month ago in midst of the pandemic. To put it bluntly, the ‘wow’ factor was so overwhelming for me that at times, I didn’t want to take the socially awkward, plastic tub off my head – I could have easily forgotten to eat.

Being completely immersed in the VR world, navigation quickly became second nature and I felt that I was finally ready to attend my first VR industry conference! What an experience! I attended some great sessions, I met industry professionals from around the world and to be honest, at one point, I had convinced myself that I was actually at a real, physical conference. I even attended an after party to further my professional network and was entertained by a live musician and a live DJ.

There are a few things that were 'not so amazing' to me during my conference experience. But first of all, I will admit that I didn’t care that I couldn’t see real faces. Seeing head nods, seeing hand gestures and being able to walk up and speak to someone was good enough. This limitation is not forever though, as I know this will be overcome as the technology matures. I do wish that we could have worn virtual name badges because I wasted a lot of time asking what the person did or where the person worked. This is a limitation of the app ecosystem though, not the VR technology itself. My headset also became a bit uncomfortable after hours of wearing it and I had to attach an external battery pack to it to keep it from dying. But all in all, I was completely amazed and entertained by the experience and I am looking forward to attending more of these!

So is VR, Future Tech? Well not really, it’s current tech, but enabling employees of corporate America to interact as if they were actually in an office, is almost here. Companies like ‘spaces.com’ are already coming to market with applications that enable a ‘VR office’ that not only provide for a rich, interactive environment but integrates with existing corporate applications like Skype and Zoom. The Coronavirus has definitely accelerated the VR innovation curve and I believe that we will see, pretty quickly, purpose-built ecosystems to support conferences where most human aspects of the conference experience will be virtualized. I can’t wait to experience these technologies as they evolve in addition to exploring more VR use cases as they are introduced into the market.

Equipment/Software used for this episode

Camera: Olympus OMD-EM1
Webcam: Logitech Brio

Rig: Alzo with Fotga Rail/Matte Box

Lights: Viltrox L116T

Mic: Sure SM58
Audio Interface: Focusrite Scarlett 18i8

Editing platform: Macbook Pro

Intro rendering: Blender

Post editing software: OpenShot & DiVinci Resolve