Promising eLearning future for VR and AR

New York | Currently, VR and AR are primarily associated with entertainment. However, it is not only consumers who increasingly appreciate the technology, but companies are also increasingly using it. Deutsche Bahn, for example, has been using the technology in recruiting since 2015 to give applicants as realistic an insight as possible into their future field of work within a few seconds. According to a recent report by the US company Zion Market Research, the total global VR market in 2016 comprised 2.2 billion US dollars and, based on the same market research forecast, is expected to generate annual sales of 26.89 billion US dollars by 2022.

The investment bank Goldman Sachs also expects strong growth for VR and AR in the coming years. The use of VR and AR in eLearning is only one of several market segments, but is expected to increase from annual sales of USD 300 million in 2016 to USD 700 million in 2025, reports the bank’s analysis.

The overall view so far shows that the use of VR and AR in corporate eLearning has so far been reflected primarily in pilot projects. At the same time, however, there are numerous reasons to believe that an immense expansion will take place in the coming years. The expansion is likely to be reflected above all in the currently increasing corporate investments in VR and falling hardware costs. The central obstacle to the use of VR in companies has so far been costs. These are playing less and less of a role. Today, VR or AR applications can even be projected with conventional smartphones, which means that hardware in the form of glasses is not necessarily required, especially in test projects.

As shown, there are many indications that VR and AR are gaining in importance in in-company training. Particularly in user experience, the use of VR should bring decisive advantages over other eLearning techniques.

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