Are immersive experiences evolving?
Imagine watching your favourite cooking show and being able to smell the fresh bread as it’s pulled out of the oven. Or how about smelling a new perfume before you purchase your next bottle online?
Smell-O-Vision, also known as OVR, has landed, and it’s here to stay, according to tech experts across the globe. In 2023, users will not only be able to enter a 3D reality visually but transport their sense of smell to an immersive location too.
This sparks the question, are immersive experiences evolving? While we’ve seen a VR-focused gaming industry take off in the last few years, what could the future hold for healthcare experts, classroom learners and warehouse manufacturers over the next decade?
As each industry evolves, immersive tech continues to shape its tomorrow. Let’s have a closer look at why Smell-O-Vision could be just the start of a digitally enhanced world to come.
Introducing Smell-O-Vision
Smell-O-Vision is the newest immersive headset created by Engineers at China’s Beihang University and the City University of Hong Kong.
With a futuristic design and the potential to emit more than 30 alternative odours when used, their newest Smell-O-Vison project hopes to enhance immersive experiences in a way we’ve never seen before.
“Recent human-machine interfaces highlight the importance of human sensation feedback, including vision, audio, and haptics, associating with wide applications in entertainment, medical treatment, and VR/AR,” engineers said in their most recent statement. “Olfaction plays a significant role in human perceptual experiences, which is equally important to visual and auditory feedback.”
Using tiny pads constructed from paraffin wax, a number of scents ranging from coffee to lavender can be attached to VR headsets before being released using an attached electrode. This could be a game-changer for augmented gaming, remote learning and even the healthcare industry, as it continues to add a new dimension to an immersive experience, allowing the user to not only visually enjoy a new environment but physically feel present too.
According to engineers at China’s Beihang University, OVR can go as far as even helping amnesiacs recall memories using the power of smell. While reliving an emotional experience using a VR headset, OVR has been known to aid patients in remembering significant information by releasing a smell that they associate with a particular memory.
“Some odours generated from the olfactory interface system could be used for smoothing users’ emotions,” scientists at Beihang University say. “As odours could arouse human emotion by leading to the recall of emotional memories, the olfactory interface could be adopted for smoothing users’ depressed mood from the stress.”
Is immersivity evolving?
The VR market alone is predicted to reach more than $252 billion by 2028, making it one of the fastest-growing tech markets of the decade.
As we see the gaming industry grow, mixed reality healthcare evolve, and remote learning blossom, we’ve only seen the tip of what VR/AR technology has to offer.
So what should we expect next in a digitally enhanced world?
Instant immersion
Immersive tech has been historically centred around clunky headset devices and specialised platforms and applications. However, the birth of 5G could allow us to access a 3D word in seconds.
As 5G-powered smartphones are rolled out across the globe, the processing of virtual imaging becomes a little bit easier. As AR and VR-infused applications require high data transfers, they have been known to be slow running with poor performance on standard smartphones. As we introduce 5G to the mix, developers will be able to improve the projection of immersive environments and make it possible to interact with AR/VR using much cheaper headsets and devices.
Better still, the introduction of WebVR to the tech scene is also pioneering the way forward for instant immersion and the widescale adoption of virtual technology. Leveraging WebVR, users can now access 3D worlds on a desktop or smartphone without even downloading native apps that power an AR/VR experience.
More live events
Travis Scott’s concert on Fortnite in 2020 saw over 12 million people in attendance, and remains one of the metaverse’s largest VR-powered events.
The question is, what could be next for immersive concerts, seminars and live broadcasts? According to a recent study by Goldman Sachs, live events alone could expand the video games sector by $18.9 billion, rendering it a leading innovation in a new immersive world.
One industry in particular that has begun to use immersive live events to its advantage is the sporting industry. As big sporting companies continue to invest in VR/AR experiences, we could enjoy a future where entering a football arena could be as easy as tapping in via our smartphone device.
Take Meta’s partnership with the NBA as an example. Allowing fans to watch over 52 NBA season games in Horizon Worlds, live sporting was quickly transformed. Not only could fans enjoy front-row seats from their sofa, but Meta played each game for free in immersive, monoscopic, 180-degree video.
Mixed-reality healthcare
Technology continues to pave the way forward for new treatments, improved training and patient care, but could the sector now enter an immersive realm?
VR technology is quickly evolving. With better haptic control and powerful sensors, its ability to transport a user to any augmented environment has become a game-changer for healthcare professionals.
In the mental health sector alone, VR tech is now being leveraged in treating patients for phobias, anxiety disorders and neurodivergent conditions. Acting as a home-based virtual therapy tool, users can face their greatest fears in 3D and experience exposure like never before.
Not only does this free up slots for practitioners to take on more patients, but according to studies, VR could even speed up anxiety recovery.
What’s next?
From teaching to travel, there is no industry that VR hasn't touched in one way or another. As of 2023, there are 65 million VR users across the globe, and this number is rapidly growing.
For many industries, immersive experiences are no longer a privilege but a norm. Therefore, as we become more comfortable with the possibilities of AR/VR tech, it’s only natural that we will continue to demand more.
“VR is a very exciting facet of technology that has a lot of potential for the future,” says CEO and co-founder of LinkMe, Net Kohen. “I'm very confident that we'll see major improvements in the next five to 10 years to make it more comfortable and practical for everyday use. You can think of the Meta Quest Pro as the first iPhone. I'm excited to see what we'll have 10 years from now.”
