One of VR’s most promising working platforms has just taken a big step forward, entering beta testing stages.
That platform is Envelop VR, a software solution that wants to bring all aspects of the workplace into headsets like the Oculus Rift and HTC Vive, moving away from the computer screen setup we’ve been using for decades now. Last week the Bellevue-based company behind the app launched its beta testing phase, complete with a form to fill out for anyone that wants to take part. Testing is limited to Windows for now, and you’ll have to tell the company which headset you plan to use for the beta and what PC configuration you have.
Envelop VR basically hopes to be the platform that realises several of the potential industrial applications of VR that we’ve been talking about for years. It offers a number of services that aim to keep you working inside your VR headset and replace traditional 2D screens that have a limited ability to properly communicate 3D information. Its applications span a variety of different industries, from architecture to game development.
Through the platform, for example, you can build 3D renditions of products that retailers can then host on their websites to offer customers more detailed information, or create a virtual version of a new building before work on it starts, fine-tuning specific elements on the fly.
It also allows for 3D data visualization, turning charts and graphs into more vivid, interactive displays. Envelop even wants to take a shot at VR videogame development engines like Unity, allowing for in-VR content creation similar to the services that these toolsets are currently working on.
It’s an ambitious piece of software and it will no doubt face stiff competition from other services like MiddleVR, but if it pulls it off then this could be one of the most important VR platforms to date.
Judging by posts on the company’s Facebook page, you may also see Envelop‘s work expand into mixed reality in the future, and the advent of position-tracked controllers like Oculus Touch will also vastly expand its capabilities. The company isn’t yet revealing when its beta testing will finish and the full product will roll out, but this is an important step towards making that a reality.
