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When Google Glass first appeared we were less than polite about how easily it would catch on. We wrote of people walking, blinking and winking into lamp posts, of people behaving in silly fashions in restaurants and various others situations that were ripe for ribbing.
Then, some time later, Google quietly withdrew Glass and we said ‘we told you so’ and became a bit smug.
A few months later, Glass was relaunched as an enterprise and medical tool, that would allow doctors instant access to information, colleagues and generally make them more efficient and more able to keep on top of every situation.
The same seems to be happening with VR.
The fanfare around VR has been intense. The demonstrations have been exciting, generally involving virtual journeys through fantasy scenes, or being in the middle of a fight with Captain America.
And now, VR seems to have hit a wall.
As Richard Windsor notes, even Oculus has quietly admitted that things are not on course for immediate success. Windsor believes that VR is still too expensive, the headsets are too clunky, the experience is just too damn weird and the content is just not good enough.
VR seems to be retreating from the consumer world, presumably to be rethought and then come back and try again at some point.
At the same time it seems to be gaining traction in the enterprise and medical sectors. According to a report by ABI Research applications will range ‘from pain and stress management therapy to medical training and surgical preparations’. They believe that while VR will only generate $8.9 million in the medical world this year, this should increase to $285 million in 2022.
Like many things that have been swept up in an updraft of hype over the last months and years (think AI, 5G, IoT and many other things) VR seems destined for a check, a rethink, before becoming part of the way that various industries grow and develop.
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