Virtual reality makes meetings sexy

Video conferencing via WebEx, Skype for Business or GoToMeeting promises time savings, more flexibility and fewer Travelling expenses. But online meetings have their limits. "The biggest problem with video conferencing in companies is the strong sense of isolation," says Christoph Fleischmann, founder of VR platform provider Arthur Technologies GmbH. The attention, creativity and productivity of the participants cannot be compared to a real meeting where complex topics can be worked out together.

According to Fleischmann, VR can help: "Virtual reality is the first technology that enables the feeling of a face-to-face meeting, no matter where the participants are. We meet together in a virtual space, feel that we and our colleagues are present and can work with our hands as we do 'in real life'. The combination of immersion, presence and natural interaction makes collaboration in VR incredibly productive and engaging for participants."

Fleischmann gives practical examples of the benefits of virtual reality: "In VR, I draw on whiteboards, point to documents with my hands or grab a 3D model of an engine block and give it to my colleagues."

The technical requirements for participating in a VR meeting are low. "All you need is a standard VR headset and a computer equipped with at least a GTX 1080 graphics card. This ensures the good performance of VR sessions," explains Mathias Wochnig, CEO of vr-on GmbH, the provider of STAGE, a solution for collaborative working in virtual reality.

Even participants without a headset don't have to be excluded: "It is also possible to take part in a VR meeting with regular PCs via desktop viewers, but then of course the VR experience is not available," says Wochnig.

Nevertheless, it doesn't make sense to want to bring every online meeting into virtual reality. "Basically, it depends on how you define online meetings," explains Boris Goldshteyn, CEO of VR platform provider ALLVR GmbH. "If you simply want to hold meetings at a virtual table, the added value is rather low. However, if you want to hold online meetings based on specific use cases or specific 3D objects by presenting virtual things, then VR is a good option."

Source: computerworld