16 Experts Predict the Future of Virtual Reality

Remember this picture from a VR conference which Mark Zuckerberg shared, and it went viral?

Some said the photo was creepy, like a glimpse into a dystopian future where people are cut off from the real world, opting instead to spend their time in VR.

Here’s what Mark had to say when people doubted the future of Virtual Reality:

“I think people tend to be worried about every new technology that comes along. Critics worry that if we spend time paying attention to that new kind of media or technology instead of talking to each other that that is somehow isolating. But humans are fundamentally social. So I think in reality, if a technology doesn’t actually help us socially understand each other better, it isn’t going to catch on and succeed.

You could probably go all the way back to the first books. I bet people said ‘why should you read when you could talk to other people?’ The point of reading is that you get to deeply immerse yourself in a person’s perspective. Right? Same thing with newspapers or phones or TVs. Soon it will be VR, I bet.”

So, is Virtual Reality a “platform of tomorrow”?

It is certainly a new communication platform and here’s some data to prove that VR is hotter than ever:

Source: Statista

We sincerely believe that the hottest topic for technology to discuss these days is ‘Virtual Reality’. So, we reached out to some VR experts and asked them their opinions about the future of VR.

Here are the two questions we asked these VR experts:

1) What does VR look like in 2016?

2) What are the most popular use cases emerging for VR that’s changing the world?

Without further ado, here are 14 VR experts on the future of VR:

#1 It is an exciting time of discovery

Robert Scoble, @ Scobleizer , blogger, technical evangelist, and author

VR is at its beginning in 2016. We are just getting our first headsets. Watching our first movies. Trying out our first video games. It is an exciting time of discovery.

#2 Virtual, augmented and mixed reality technologies are on pace to be a $150 billion market by 2020

Michael D. Gallagher, @ ESAGovAffairs , President and CEO, Entertainment Software Association (ESA)

We’re on the precipice of widespread adoption of one of the most engaging, fun, and truly groundbreaking innovations of the last two decades.

Virtual, augmented and mixed reality technologies are drawing millions of dollars in investments, and are on pace to be a $150 billion market by 2020. Moreover, these immersive technologies are poised to transform entertainment and to dramatically influence industries as diverse as healthcare, tourism, sports, education and manufacturing. In fact, NASA is using the technologies to train astronauts and to share a walk on Mars.

When your technology is headed to space, and bringing space to our class rooms and living rooms, you know it’s something big.

#3 Virtual Reality in 2016 is the story of humanity mastering our senses

Foo Conner, @ iwasaround , Social Media Entrepreneur, CEO at Jekko

What does VR look like in 2016?

Virtual Reality in 2016 is the story of humanity mastering our senses. Editing, scope, and sound, everything in story telling is new again. It’s a revolutionary leap like radio to television. It takes time to master these new tools. We’re collectively sharpening our skills laying down the groundwork for tomorrow’s VR Masterpieces.

What are the most popular use cases emerging for VR that’s changing the world?

Imagine being in the pit of your local symphony. Virtual Reality places you there. Not mono, not stereo, but hundreds of movable points of sound. Want to hear that violin? Move closer. Companies like Harmon Audio are working with VR developers making it sound as good as it looks. The experiences being developed today give surround sound a new meaning and it’s music to my ears.

#4 We’re still waiting for the killer app that is going to drive VR engagement on a daily basis

Kent Bye, @ kentbye , Host of Voices of VR Podcast

What does VR look like in 2016? The consensus that I hear from a lot of VR analysts is that VR will still be gathering a lot of momentum in 2016 with early adopters in gaming and entertainment, but VR won’t really start to cross the chasm into the mainstream until 2017. To me, virtual reality is like the Gutenberg Press of the 21st Century because it’s a new medium that captures human experience in a new way, but we still don’t have the equivalent of the 1454 Gutenberg Bible, which was an inflection point of adoption. We’re still waiting for someone to create a killer app that is going to drive VR engagement on a daily basis beyond gamers and enthusiasts, and right now social VR is the mostly likely use case to do that since it could connect to your friends and family in a new way. Right now our culture is just at the very beginning of shift from the Information Age to the Experiential Age where our attention will be primarily focused on experiencing visceral emotions rather than consuming vast data streams of information. Snapchat as the fastest growing social media platform is one early indication of this shift, and virtual reality, augmented reality, and mixed reality experiences will be helping to drive this new Renaissance where technology more accurately reflects and amplifies the full breadth and complexity of the human experience. What are the most popular use cases emerging for VR that’s changing the world? I’ve asked over 400 virtual reality pioneers on the Voices of VR podcast what they think that the ultimate potential of virtual reality is, and I’ve found that their answers can be categorized into one of twelve different categories.

Ultimately Virtual Reality is going to impact every dimension of our lives, and so I’ve started to think about the VR landscape in terms of these different domains of human experience.

VR has the potential to more fully express and explore the full complexity of the human experience, usher us from the Information Age to the Experiential Age, and catalyze a new renaissance that unlocks the latent potentials of our creativity and imagination.

#5 Consumers will finally get a peek at the extraordinary promise of this powerful medium

Nonny de la Pena, @ ImmersiveJourno , Founder of Emblematic Group, aka ‘Godmother of Virtual Reality’

What does VR look like in 2016?

While the purchase of Oculus Rift set off a chain reaction of explosive activity in the virtual reality world, 2016 is the year in which consumers will finally get a peek at the extraordinary promise of this powerful medium.

Access to headsets like the Vive, which tap into Valve’s massive Steam community (the headsets sold out shortly after going on sale this month), and the penetration of the Playstation, portending mass adoption of Sony’s Morpheus in the fall, means that the energy, which up until now has been limited to events, conventions or press hype, will suddenly spread and morph into something real.

What are the most popular use cases emerging for VR that’s changing the world?

Because VR offers the audience the sensation of “being there,” it creates a visceral connection to the events unfolding in front of the viewer.

This whole body connection can generate a sense of empathy because viewers feel the action as if they are actually on scene. By standing in a street Syria when a bomb goes off, you comprehend the plight of Syrian refugees. By standing next to two sisters as they unsuccessfully attempt to protect a third sister from an ex-boyfriend’s fatal attack, you understand the true horror of domestic violence and guns.

By watching the brutal beating of a handcuffed immigrant with your own eyes, you question border patrol Use of Force protocols. This type unprecedented access will continue to be utilized for important stories alongside entertainment experiences.

#6 VR won’t supplant all traditional education methods but it will augment them, just like the internet did

Will Mason, @ WBMason , Co-Founder & Editor-in-Chief, UploadVR

What does VR look like in 2016?

VR in 2016 is at the beginning stages. The motion picture camera was invented years before Hollywood became the place we know it to be, that is where we are with VR. We have hardware that works and works well, and is cheap enough that it can make it into homes – now we need more compelling content to give it a reason to stay there.

Content on a new medium is shaped by the medium itself, just as McLuhan said “the medium is the message.” The killer apps and stories are coming – we just need to finish learning the language.

Related: Looking for a technical cofounder? Here’s how to find one.

What are the most popular use cases emerging for VR that’s changing the world?

There are a number of big ones, education and social are two really big ones. VR provides a visceral way to engage with information, providing novel and unique ways to explore data and learn new things. It won’t supplant all traditional education methods but it will augment them, just like the internet did.

For social it is about three letters NVC, non verbal communication. Approximately 92% of our communication is non-verbal, all or most of which is lost in online communication, but as we all know there are many benefits to communication without physical boundaries.

VR allows for the benefits of face to face communication – things like physical collaboration and emotional expressiveness – to be combined with the benefits of not having to share the same physical space. AR and VR are the logical evolution of global communications.

#7 Virtual Reality isn’t a new technology, but accessibility to both devices and tools sets 2016 apart

Virtual Reality, at it’s core, isn’t a new app idea or technology – iterations of the platforms have been around since the 1950’s. VR has come in and out of popularity over the past few decades, but what sets 2016 apart is how accessible both devices and tools are for creators. 2016 is the first year where there have been a variety of virtual reality systems available for anyone to purchase, and the options for experiencing immersive content are growing almost daily. There is variety- you can spend $2000 for a desktop and a Rift or a Vive, or you can pick up a $10 Cardboard headset and use your phone – and there are multiple options throughout that entire spectrum. For developers and content creators, the tools to get started with building VR applications are widely available and, oftentimes, free, making it easier than ever to get started with building immersive applications. Facebook and YouTube support 360 degree videos. You can buy VR apps for your smartphone on app stores. Even our browsers are beginning to support virtual reality websites – it’s an entirely new era for VR, and it’s just starting. Even in it’s youth, today’s VR ecosystem is already changing the way we interact with technology. We’re starting to see advances in healthcare that fundamentally impact how we use technology to solve problems. A surgeon saved a baby’s life using a Cardboard headset and a smartphone, and multiple startups and research institutions are investigating VR for phobia treatment and other therapies to help people deal with fears and traumatic experiences. How we think about technology in education is also changing with VR – when you’re able to be fully present in a different world, seeing foreign countries, outer space, or the depths of the ocean from your own perspective as if you were there, it becomes clear just how powerful of a tool virtual reality is for teaching. And that’s just the beginning – we’re going to see VR shape industries over the next few years in ways we haven’t even thought about yet – it’s an incredible time to be a part of it all. #8 VR is like the first iPhone – a small number of people are extremely excited about it, but it’s true power still hasn’t been created