A local company is taking the authentic South African experience to anyone in the world - from the comfort of their couch.
While Virtual Reality has been a buzzword in the tech industry for several years, the technology has sprung into the spotlight in recent months, given that it is set to become a strong component of the looming digital world - the Metaverse.
Despite this, a local software company, Virtual Reality Durban, has already begun digitising the city by offering authentic local experiences to anyone in the world through the power of VR.
Virtual Reality Durban is the brainchild of a VR veteran with over 20 years of industry experience, Gerald Ferreira, who told Network that the technology is set to disrupt various industries by allowing the simulation of real scenarios.
“In theory, VR can simulate various industries such as manufacturing, where automation machines can be built and trialled without having to be built physically,” Ferreira said.
“Faults can be stumbled upon so that engineers can skip this process.”
To date, Virtual Reality Durban has digitally recreated various highlights of the province and the rest of the country, including the Reed dance, a zip-line tour in the Drakensberg, a surfing experience on one of the city's beaches and an aerial tour of King Shaka International Airport and the Dube Tradeport, among others.
Ferreira believes that, eventually, these kinds of VR tours and experiences could lend themselves easily to the Metaverse.
How VR works
While still in its infancy, the versatility of VR paves a bright future for the adoption of the technology, with scores of applications set to disrupt various industries.
At present, the technology is very simple, with users being able to experience VR via smartphone by either scrolling the virtual layout using their fingertips or through motion by moving the device around in a room.
VR users can then view virtual recreations of landscapes and experiences like those offered by Virtual Reality Durban.
More advanced use of the technology is experienced through VR headsets for smartphones and gaming, which form the initial ways VR will take users into the Metaverse.
VR and the Metaverse
Set to be the next step in the evolution of social networking, the Metaverse is being strongly driven by the parent company of Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp - Meta.
While a fairly new concept, a study into the country's current social networking trends - the SA Social Media Landscape Report 2022 by Ornico Group and World Wide Worx, reported that in 2021, 16.1% of adult South Africans accessed some form of a 'metaverse' or virtual world - with gaming being the main driver.
Potential in VR
With the Metaverse set to bolster the use of VR, its applications are already being applied to various industries.
Ronald Ravel, South Africa B2B director at laptop manufacturer Dynabook, said the future manufacturing businesses could expect to see efficiency gains over the next five years.
“With assisted/augmented (AR) and VR technologies making inroads into the market, manufacturers are finding ways of incorporating it into their everyday practices," Ravel said.
Ravel added that the ongoing digital transformation of the manufacturing and logistics industries were using increasingly sophisticated technologies such as AR and VR to improve processes.
“Enterprise smart glasses adoption is not only predicted to grow in the coming years, but that growth will accelerate as spending starts to transition away from mobile augmented reality and towards head-worn, hands-free, augmented reality," he said.
IOL Tech