Although the Samsung Galaxy Gear VR was initially launched mainly for entertainment uses, many companies are finding it useful in the restaurant, travel and hotel sectors.
The Samsung Gear VR, the virtual reality gaming and multimedia headset, is ‘gearing up’ to move into other realms. Users of the Gear VR are already comfortable with the plug-and-play device’s ability to transport users into new gaming arenas.
But, it turns out, the Gear VR has valuable uses over and above individual enjoyment.
“The Gear VR paired with Samsung devices delivers an entirely new level of immersive virtual entertainment,” says Craige Fleischer, Director of Integrated Mobility at Samsung Electronics South Africa. “Consumers can now download a collection of games, multimedia and movies in HD quality with a 360° view.”
The Gear VR is already bringing new entertainment dimensions in terms of home movies, games and numerous app capabilities. Where it really shows its flexibility is in the spheres of business and education.
The Samsung Gear VR is adding value to the business industry in sectors such as restaurants, travel agencies and hotels, while the possibilities for educational use keep rising. Giving students of all levels the opportunity to interact with content in 3-D learning environments can be enormously productive, whether looking at school-level science pupils ‘walking with dinosaurs’ in 3-D or medical students learning how to perform a delicate surgical procedure.
Futurists have been predicting the rise of immersive virtual reality headsets as instructional tool. The Samsung Gear VR, through its personal engagement with the student, helps to make learning even more meaningful. It can ‘bring the world’ to learners wherever they might be. Significantly, it also allows students to become creators of content and not only consumers.
The Samsung Gear VR has the ability to enhance business performance as well. For example, a major credit card company is discussing how it might use virtual reality technology to give customers insights into places they are considering visiting and hotels where they might like to stay. Similarly, this thinking can be extended into the areas of real estate and luxury brands, offering potential buyers a truly enhanced preview of property or items they might be interested in buying.
Another futuristic business opportunity lies in fine dining. By adding in a virtual reality facility, restaurants can enhance the sensory experience of dining even further. Instead of only enjoying the taste of a region’s food, you could enjoy a meal while ‘looking’ around the area from which it originated: Imagine eating French-inspired food while gazing at the vista of a Paris café setting, for example.
“The technology offered by the Samsung Gear VR offers more than simply individual enjoyment,” says Fleisher. “We are seeing that the possible scope is no longer limited to gaming and consuming multi-media. Today, we are becoming ever immersed in creating content and using virtual reality to provide business and education solutions as well.”
*The Gear VR is compatible with the Galaxy S7, S7 edge, Note5, S6 edge+, S6, S6 edge
