Once the virtual reality (VR) phenomenon explodes, India, with its huge
smartphone base, will be a key market - but VR players will have to
come up with low-cost options to entice the country's "digital"
consumers.
According to experts, head-mounted devices (HMDs) that
create an immersive virtual world for users is the future after the
successful touchscreen era.
Today, the market is flooded with VR
devices: Oculus Rift, HTC Vive, Sony PlayStation VR, Samsung Gear VR
(co-developed with Oculus), LG 360 VR, Google Cardboard, Zeiss VR One
and One GX and several other players soon going to join the VR fray.
But,
with a huge smartphone base of 160 million plus users that is likely to
surpass the US smartphone user base in a couple of years, what India
needs are low-cost VR headsets compatible with low-cost smartphones.
Only then will VR use truly explode in India.
"I feel that VR
adoption is currently at a minuscule level in India. Many firms like
Sony, Samsung, HTC, OnePlus have joined Facebook's Oculus platform in
the virtual reality space. But we are still far away from its widespread
adoption here," says Thomas George, senior vice president and head of
CyberMedia Research(CMR), a market research and consulting firm.
"But
going forward, thanks to India's rich demographic dividend, we may
witness VR finding its 'sweet spot' in the youth segment. The adoption
of virtual reality could see traction in the edutainment arena.
Applications like immersive learning and entertainment, especially
games, could kick-start its adoption sooner," George told IANS.
According
to the global research firm MarketsandMarkets, the international VR
technology market is expected to reach $15.89 billion (roughly Rs. 1,06,755 crores) by 2020.
With
VR technology, the user is isolated from the real world while being
immersed in a world that is not real, so VR, in a way, works better for
video games and social networking in a virtual environment.
But
for Rajiv Srivatsa, COO and co-founder of Urban Ladder, a curated online
furniture seller, VR can help complex purchase categories like theirs
engage more effectively with consumers and helps the consumers make
better, informed choices about the products they purchase.
"If the products are built right, VR has the power to revolutionise user-interaction," he told IANS.
Although
these are early days for VR, companies the world over - including in
China, from where low-cost VR headsets will soon flood the markets - are
now investing heavily in VR technology.
Facebook is credited with
taking an early bet on virtual reality by acquiring the startup Oculus
VR for $2 billion in early 2014. It is expected to start shipping
Oculus headsets - priced at $599 - in March this year and has already
started taking orders.
South Korean electronics giant Samsung has
also launched Gear VR - its flagship virtual reality headset - for
Indian consumers in January for as low a price as Rs. 8,200.
(Read our review on Samsung Gear VR here)
Apple
has reportedly hired experts in virtual and also augmented reality (AR)
to built prototypes of headsets that can one day rival Facebook's
Oculus Rift.
Technology adoption by vendors is rapid. What is
launched in the US and other advanced markets also gets due attention in
India and VR is no different.
"We may not be 100 percent ready
but definitely India should be seeing some activity around VR this year,
especially the introduction of devices with VR features. This small
step could in time serve as a 'big leap' and the start of more serious
adoption in the country," notes Faisal Kawoosa, lead analyst, telecoms
practice, CMR.
Several smartphones were launched in 2015 with VR
technology which, beyond gaming, has a potential to help young people
choose their careers too.
(Also see: Samsung Is Bringing Virtual Reality Tech to Roller Coasters)
"For example, a smartphone using VR
goggles can help a student virtually get a glimpse of a surgeon's career
in medicine by showing an immersive video on a surgical procedure or
helping him or her choose an alternate career video altogether," says
George.
It has implications in other sectors too. For example, VR
technology can be used to determine how people perceive their bodies, to
treat body image disturbances and to improve adherence to physical
activity among obese individuals.
(Also see: How Samsung Brought the Gear VR and Gear S2 to India)
"Virtual reality offers
promising new approaches to assessing and treating people with
weight-related disorders and early applications are revealing valuable
information about body image," according to researchers at the
University of Barcelona, Spain, who recently demonstrated how VR
environments can produce responses similar to those seen in the real
world.
(Also see: Virtual Reality Headsets Can Trigger Motion Sickness, Nausea: Study)
While we discuss VR, the next big thing coming our way is
augmented reality (AR) and it has better chances to thrive. Unlike with
VR, AR users continue to be in touch with the real world while
interacting with the virtual world (remember Google Glass!) and this
makes experts feel that AR has a definite edge over VR. (Let us keep a
discussion on AR for another day though.)
"Pretty soon we're going
to live in a world where everyone has the power to share and experience
whole scenes as if you're right there'," said Mark Zuckerberg while
speaking at the just-concluded 'Samsung Mobile World Congress 2016' in
Barcelona.
And when VR finally comes out in the open, with a
massive smartphone consumer base, India is going to be a key player in
the global VR ecosystem, say experts.
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Further reading:
Apps,
AR,
Augmented Reality,
Cardboard,
Facebook,
Gaming,
Gear 360,
Gear VR,
Google,
Google Cardboard,
HTC,
HTC Vive,
India,
LG,
LG 360 VR,
Mobile World Congress,
MWC,
MWC 2016,
Oculus,
Oculus Rift,
PlayStation VR,
Samsung,
Samsung Gear 360,
Samsung Gear VR,
Sony,
Sony PlayStation,
Sony PlayStation VR,
Virtual Reality,
VR,
VR Headsets,
Wearables,
Zeiss VR One
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