How Virtual and Augmented Reality tools can improve your quality of life

Many of humanity's inventions (if not practically all of them) have had the aim of improving people's quality of life . Today it is unusual not to find new tools with the same purpose, as is the case with virtual reality and augmented reality. At INVELON we want to review the applications of these discoveries and explain how, little by little, they are entering our daily lives to improve them.

What Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality are and how they differ

Although at first they may seem the same (many people believe so), Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality are different.

• Virtual Reality: this involves recreating a complete environment, with different objects and settings, which people enter virtually. A good example is those games in which you take part as if you were on the battlefield, even though you are actually in your living room at home.
• Augmented Reality: in this case layers of visual information are added to the real world. The famous (in their day, now more forgotten) Google Glass are the clear example. Remember that, among many other applications, they let you follow the route you are walking while out on the street, pointing out shops or restaurants, for example.
  

In which industries these tools are being applied

The programmes and devices created with these new technologies are present in everyone's daily life. Perhaps the best-known applications are those aimed at leisure such as video games or tourism, such as virtual visits to museums. But little by little they are entering far more serious fields such as healthcare, education or industry.

How we benefit from AR and VR APPLICATIONS to improve our quality of life

Let us set aside the applications of these technologies created specifically for the workplace. Virtual and augmented reality can help us in our daily lives, substantially improving our quality of life. Here are some examples:

• Walking down the street when you cannot leave a hospital bed. Imagine you are an inpatient and for a few months have seen only your room or the little of the outside world you can see from the window. Thanks to Virtual Reality you could take a walk down your favourite street. In this sense, you will also be able to visit the Louvre without travelling to Paris, enjoy the northern lights while having a hot chocolate on your sofa, or dive into the depths of the sea without getting wet.
• Treating phobias. They say the best way to overcome fears is to face them. The best example of this is Bruce Wayne, who was afraid of bats and decided to create his alter ego, Batman, inspired by them. With virtual reality, those who are afraid of spiders will not have to shut themselves in a room full of them as shock therapy. They will simply be able to work on it little by little without any real contact, thanks to Virtual Reality.
• Trying on clothes and accessories. More and more people buy their clothes and accessories online. Can you imagine being able to see how a dress fits you, or how the fabric hangs, directly on your body as you do in a shop, but without leaving home? Thanks to augmented reality, you will be able to.
• More efficient mobility. Thanks to Augmented Reality technologies, you will be able to get more information and improve your journeys, making them quicker and discovering alternative routes in the event of a traffic jam or an accident.
• Learning lessons by being part of history. Experiencing the capture of Granada or the discovery of fire first-hand? This is possible thanks to virtual reality. It has been shown that, thanks to this immersion, the knowledge acquired will be better engraved in students' minds.
• Safety and ease at work: Not only in our daily lives, but also in our companies we can benefit from Virtual and Augmented Reality. As an example, we can mention Virtual Reality as a tool for learning and training ourselves better, or even Augmented Reality for obtaining additional information about the objects and machinery we are working with.
  

Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality are already part of our daily lives

All the VR applications that we described in the previous section are already a reality. You have probably tried some of them already, and there are others you intend to try as soon as you can.

Virtual and augmented realities and all their applications have come to improve our lives in many ways. From the workplace, making our work easier, to health, sport or leisure. And everything points to other tools continuing to appear that will replace tasks we carry out every day, reducing or optimising the time we spend on them and allowing us to enjoy our special moments more.

At companies in the sector such as INVELON we are working on ideas that will make it possible to apply new technologies in business to improve people's daily lives. All you need to do is keep an eye out for new developments to be among the first to enjoy the advantages of these alternative realities.