Virtual reality increases productivity in research

Dr. Stephen Hilton / University of California College of Pharmacy

Scientists are exploring new possibilities for exchange and collaboration in virtual reality to communicate around the world and increase productivity.

Virtual reality removes the constraints of physical space, expands laboratories, removes boundaries and changes perspectives. A recent report shows how scientists are going beyond the physical lab and lecture hall to achieve more in virtual reality.

Virtual reality has unlimited potential

An article published in the scientific journal Nature explains how Virtual Reality Possibilities changed in search:

1. Global collaboration is easier in the Virtual Lab. Travel Restrictions Can Hinder Science Virtual Labs are removing that barrier.
2. Medical students can gain hands-on experience dealing with rare diseases in a virtual reality simulation. Dealing with unusual conditions is crucial to all-around training.
3. Productivity is increased when virtual reality is combined with robotics, speeding up tedious programming. Instead, these movements are provided with visual feedback and tested in virtual reality.
4. Language barriers and bias disappear as the avatar can have any appearance and uses body language, gestures and translated texts to facilitate communication.
5. Avatars can also change body image and self-esteem. For example, memory can be affected by the environment. Also, the laboratory is not usually the best place to remember details.

Virtual reality challenges in science

The biggest barriers to exploring science in VR are creating environments and applications. Creating virtual tools and spaces for scientific experiments, studies, and collaboration requires an investment of time and money.

Practical experience is possible for scientific training in virtual reality. | Image: Cronin Lab, University of Glasgow

However, the hardware costs are minimal. The article states that Meta Quest 2 is sufficient for virtual science and can be connected to a PC to enable interaction between VR and PC. The costs are low enough to provide researchers with multiple virtual reality glasses.

The number of companies and institutions working in virtual research, training and education is rapidly growing, so it is only a matter of time before VR becomes a ubiquitous tool for science.