More CTOs are being tasked to assess the commercial applications of augmented and virtual reality technologies. These systems are increasingly being applied, due to their ability to provide immersive training environments, accurately simulate dangerous situations, and avoid costly travel and equipment-related expenses.
In many cases, consumer electronics Virtual Reality (VR) headsets, controllers, and tracking systems can be used in commercial settings with few modifications. That being said, it's likely that ruggedized versions of these products will be introduced for these situations.
Commercial VR Market Development
According to the ABI assessment, industries with high-risk working environments -- such as energy, industrial and manufacturing or construction -- are currently the early adopters of enterprise VR training applications.
Technician training in industries such as the energy sector can be perilous, mainly due to the nature of the job where technicians work on offshore rigs, or in the utility sector where technicians work with power distribution systems.
"In heavy industries, VR training prevents risks associated with training hazards such as safety of trainees in the dangerous work place or accidental damage of equipment. It can save time and money for the companies by providing realistic hands on experience to trainees without any work downtime," said Khin Sandi Lynn, analyst at ABI Research.
Aviation and Maritime are other, more well-known, areas that also use virtual reality training programs for simulated training. Virtual reality can also provide immersive experiences which has an important role in keeping trainees, across all industries, engaged in their training.
ABI reports that companies which deploy VR based training programs have experienced a time savings up to 80 percent. Moreover, the effectiveness of VR based training is already recognized by retail and marketing businesses.
In fact, one of the world's largest retailers, Walmart, has deployed VR technology to train its staff. Based upon the result of their pilot project, Walmart is planning to deploy the technology in its 200 training centers by the end of 2017.
Outlook for Commercial VR Apps
Although VR training applications are still at the early stage of deployments, they have strong potential in the entire enterprise training space; tourism, sales and marketing, and athlete training are just some of the segments where VR training applications will expand.
ABI Research expects that the enterprise VR training market will grow concurrently with the continued advancements in VR headsets, controllers, motion trackers and associated software applications. ABI Research forecasts that the enterprise VR training market will generate $216 million in 2018 and grow to $6.3 billion by 2022 -- that's at CAGR 140 percent in the next five years.
In many cases, consumer electronics Virtual Reality (VR) headsets, controllers, and tracking systems can be used in commercial settings with few modifications. That being said, it's likely that ruggedized versions of these products will be introduced for these situations.
Commercial VR Market Development
According to the ABI assessment, industries with high-risk working environments -- such as energy, industrial and manufacturing or construction -- are currently the early adopters of enterprise VR training applications.
Technician training in industries such as the energy sector can be perilous, mainly due to the nature of the job where technicians work on offshore rigs, or in the utility sector where technicians work with power distribution systems.
"In heavy industries, VR training prevents risks associated with training hazards such as safety of trainees in the dangerous work place or accidental damage of equipment. It can save time and money for the companies by providing realistic hands on experience to trainees without any work downtime," said Khin Sandi Lynn, analyst at ABI Research.
Aviation and Maritime are other, more well-known, areas that also use virtual reality training programs for simulated training. Virtual reality can also provide immersive experiences which has an important role in keeping trainees, across all industries, engaged in their training.
ABI reports that companies which deploy VR based training programs have experienced a time savings up to 80 percent. Moreover, the effectiveness of VR based training is already recognized by retail and marketing businesses.
In fact, one of the world's largest retailers, Walmart, has deployed VR technology to train its staff. Based upon the result of their pilot project, Walmart is planning to deploy the technology in its 200 training centers by the end of 2017.
Outlook for Commercial VR Apps
Although VR training applications are still at the early stage of deployments, they have strong potential in the entire enterprise training space; tourism, sales and marketing, and athlete training are just some of the segments where VR training applications will expand.
ABI Research expects that the enterprise VR training market will grow concurrently with the continued advancements in VR headsets, controllers, motion trackers and associated software applications. ABI Research forecasts that the enterprise VR training market will generate $216 million in 2018 and grow to $6.3 billion by 2022 -- that's at CAGR 140 percent in the next five years.