Positive Social Implications | Twcvirtualreality

Positive

Social Implications

Enhanced convenience

Virtual Reality, when incorporated within the daily lives of Man, can be used to promote convenience. In the example of Word Lens, an augmented reality app that allows users to translate text between different languages, travelling is made easy with the functions of virtual reality. The built-in cameras on smartphones and similar devices scans and identifies foreign text and then quickly translates and displays the words in another language that the user is familiar with on the device’s screen. The translation is performed in real-time without connection to the Internet, allowing users to easily and instantly read road signs in foreign countries or decipher menus displaying foreign cuisines without the need to approach others for help or to flip through limited translation books to attain important information. This greatly enhances the convenience of Man and demonstrates the positive social implications of using virtual reality.

Teaching our needy members of society how to interact

Virtual Reality is being used to help autistic children and adults develop the necessary skills to be able to perform tasks independently, something most of us take for granted. A virtual environment is a safe way of teaching these skills to provide the autistic person with the security that they need to believe that they can carry out the tasks independently which will encourage the autistic person to embark on such tasks in the real world. One example of this is a virtual reality system developed by a team of researchers at The University of Haifa, Israel. This system features a number of scenarios which are all designed to teach autistic children how to cross a road. The simulation shows a street with traffic lights and cars which the child interacts with. The child learns to cross a road safely in this virtual reality which can be easily controlled and hence does not place them in danger or cause undue stress. Virtual reality is also used to help autistic children with social attention problems. One example of this is a system developed in the US which aims to improve social attention in autistic children. The child wears a head mounted display (HMD) which shows images from a virtual classroom. This classroom contains a set of 3D virtual people or avatars who deliver an individual presentation. But each of these avatars starts to fade if the child looks away or loses interest.

Saving Lives

As can be noted from the training applications of virtual reality, the safe, controlled environment provides the trainee with as much leeway to make mistakes as possible. The customisability of the content allows for greater degrees of difficulty and skill level as the trainee progresses. As the simulations provide the trainee with the next best thing to real-life experience, they result in being more dextrous and able than their non-VR trained counterparts. For instance, a study published by the British Medical Journal showed that those who had undergone VR training in laparoscopic surgery could finish their surgeries at a median average of 12 minutes while the traditionally trained group finished theirs at an average of 24 minutes.

Anticipate Risk

Simulators would also be able to calculate the amount of risk that is faced in a possible situation which is useful in training disaster rescuers on the path that they should take in a disaster scenario which would pose the least risk to both them and the victims. Also, it could allow surgeons to anticipate the possible risks that could occur during a surgery or even for car manufacturers, it would allow them to test their cars in every situation imaginable to check the safety of the car under different conditions. This would allow them to take the best course of action.