Oculus Rift: Disruptive Technology

Oculus Rift has been the toast of the gaming world for a few years now, even though it’s still in its infancy. Of course the world of video games is waiting for this revolution, but what else is in store for the 3D headset?
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg is known to enjoy playing Civilization, but it’s fair to say his primary focus is a long way away from gaming. His vision of Oculus Rift, which angered many of the donators to the 2012 Kickstarter campaign that breathed life into the concept, is a world away from first person shooters. Zuckerberg took to his Facebook page to announce the Facebook takeover.
“Imagine enjoying a courtside seat at a game, studying in a classroom of students and teachers all over the world or consulting with a doctor face-to-face – just by putting on goggles in your home.
“This is really a new communication platform. By feeling truly present, you can share unbounded spaces and experiences with the people in your life. Imagine sharing not just moments with your friends online, but entire experiences and adventures.
“These are just some of the potential uses. By working with developers and partners across the industry, together we can build many more. One day, we believe this kind of immersive, augmented reality will become a part of daily life for billions of people.”
The Facebook CEO laid out the future very clearly. Instead of tapping out messages to each other on a screen, Facebook will become a fully interactive communication device where users can do everything but touch friends and family. That alone will change lives and the way people communicate.
So what could the future be for a world with Oculus Rift?
Oculus Rift could also take people into the homes of their favourite celebrities, or even historical figures. Dinner with Kanye and Kim will keep some happy, while others will seek out an audience with Gandhi or Socrates.
Business travel could become a thing of the past as meetings will take place in Virtual Reality. Workers will be able to stay at home and make full use of the working day, effectively being in the office without setting foot in the building.
With the additional information available in the VR world then it will almost certainly overtake real-life interactions as the best way to do business.
These are just two potential uses for Oculus Rift, though. It will go so far beyond these ideas that it will probably become a part of daily life. Suddenly 1 million people will be able to buy ringside seats for a big fight, or centre court front for the NBA finals. How’s about a tour of the locker room? A chance to shoot some hoops against Kobe? A global million dollar shot? It can all happen.
Viewers will be able to take their part on the field in the Superbowl and there will even be a huge industry in playing fictional versions of the major sporting events as they happen. It will be a blend of real life voyeurism and actual gaming. It’s a dream for the sponsors, who have been searching  for a way to bring the public deeper into the experience.
There are other advantages to a life with virtual reality, too. Flight simulators are hugely expensive bits of kit, but pilots could be trained with the help of Oculus Rift. What about driver training for new drivers before they get out on the road? That one application alone could save thousands of lives every year.
Soldiers can experience the battlefield from a training room, saving more lives and vast amounts of expenditure on training exercises. Police officers could go through as many scenarios and challenges as possible before they hit the street, which will make our world a safer place to be.
Doctors won’t just give face-to-face consultations from afar, but will potentially be assisted by wearable tech that hands over critical medical information. Surgeons will learn the latest techniques and practice endlessly on virtual bodies to ensure that they are at the top of their game. Engineers can experience total meltdown in controlled conditions, too, so will learn what to do when disaster strikes without the pressure.
Children will be educated in a new way, as ancient worlds and the human body leap off the screen or page and become immersive 3D worlds, that will engage them in ways that traditional teaching simply can’t. If the headsets are cheap enough, or Zuckerberg is that much of a visionary after all, this may even be a way for impoverished students to receive the world’s best education. When they’re old enough, too, they and 1 million others could attend Harvard or Yale from the other side of the world.
There are no limits to Oculus Rift, in truth. It is the key to a new dimension, a new way of life. One thing’s for sure, it’s going a lot further than gaming.