While different forms of entertainment are the most visible route to casual users, there’s a different approach when inciting interest in virtual or augmented reality within businesses. We’ve seen a few different companies embrace AR and VR solutions, from Caterpillar using AR for maintenance support to L’Oreal training beauty professionals with volumetric capture in VR, and those partnerships are usually built on ideas that enhance productivity and efficiency. WorldViz is developing a communication platform for businesses and it is built on those same ideas.
Called “Skofield”, WorldViz CEO Andrew Beall explains that the communication platform is an immersive method to communicate ideas with groups and/or individuals that may be working remotely.
“Accurately conveying visual ideas to remote decision makers is still a huge challenge for companies,” he says. “We see it all the time – modern communication technologies such as telephony, video conference calls, and PowerPoint sharing simply can’t bring people together in a collaborative setting or enable decision makers to experience complex concepts, designs, and spaces first hand.”
Companies have gotten by with phone calls and video conferences up until now, but Skofield is aiming to take advantage of the unique elements of VR to make the experience feel more personal. The platform allows users to invite others into presentations using tools that lean on immersion. By having items that can be interacted with, in addition to PDFs and slides with crucial information, Skofield is one of several solutions (like MiddleVR) that aim to bring remote people together for more effective collaboration than just video conferences.
If you want your company to test the software, WorldViz is offering a beta sign up page at www.worldviz.com/skofield.
