VR The Future: Virtual puzzles, games and flying!

At the Queen Elizabeth Prize for Engineering, we champion innovation and creativity.

We’re always on the lookout for new developments in engineering and technology, so we were pleased to be able to attend virtual reality event ‘VR The Future’ this week. The event, organised by technology website Gadgette and VR marketing specialists Virtual Umbrella, promised to introduce us to a range of virtual reality experiences with the latest hardware.

Virtual reality is a major new development in technology, with consumer devices to become available in 2016. The equipment includes a headset which covers your eyes, headphones, a controller and various sensors placed around you to detect your movements. The aim is to completely immerse you in the world created by the software so that you really feel like you’re part of the game.

There were various headsets to try at the event, including the Samsung VR Gear, Oculus Rift and HTC Vive. Whilst the different headsets looked similar, there was a wide variety of different types of games we could play. They ranged from a space-based mission to a Strictly Come Dancing simulator, with various puzzle games in between.

Talking to the developers, we discovered that there are huge possibilities when it comes to the future of virtual reality. One of the developers compared the launch of consumer VR devices to the launch of the first iPhone – people will be astounded by what they can do. VR also has revolutionary applications in medicine and the military. As technology advances, it seems likely that VR will spread widely across many industries, both as a training tool and in other specialised applications.

Many thanks to Gadgette for tickets to the event. You can visit their website here.