Virtual Reality South Africa

Virtual Reality in South Africa has a Rich history going all the way back to 1998 when Gerald Ferreira captured the first known street view when he walked through the streets of Klerksdorp with his DSLR camera capturing klerksdorp in its entirety. 1998 might not seem to long ago but seeing as Google maps has only been developed 7 years after Gerald Ferreira first executed it, it is clear that South Africa has been involved since the beginning of Virtual Reality.

Virtual Reality has evolved exponentially since then, from street view to fully interactive games where you are immersed in a whole new world.

Virtual Reality has so much to offer South Africa’s various fields of business some of which is listed below listed below :

Gerald Ferreira from Virtual-Reality.co.za once said: “If you can think of it we can build it.”The possibilities of Virtual Reality are endless and only limited by your own imagination.

What is Virtual Reality

Virtual Reality, also known as (VR) can be described as an experience where one is immersed in a virtual computer generated world, free to do most things you are able to do in real life. Although, when you step into VR you remain in the safety of your own home which can be critical, especially during difficult times such as the COVID-19 pandemic.

With regards to a more detailed description, it is important for readers to note that there are two categories of VR.

Benefits of Virtual Reality regarding South Africa’s Tourism

South Africa is home to numerous Tourist attractions such as Table Mountain, Kruger National Park, Drakensberg, The Cradle of Mankind and many more. Virtual Reality could be a great asset to South Africa’s tourism industry.

Across the world people can be made aware of the South Africa has to offer when they virtually look up at the great Table Mountain, taking in the view as they make their way to the summit from an iconic cable car. Who knows, maybe it would even convince them to visit our stunning country and experience Table Mountain in real life.

Virtual Reality isn’t there to satisfy their need to experience South Africa’s Tourism, it is there to market it in a way that no other platform can by immersing the user into a simulation leaving them wanting more, wanting the real thing.

The University of Cape Town (UCT) , Stellenbosch University ,University of the Western Cape, University of Johannesburg, University of Pretoria, North West University and more can all benefit from using Virtual Reality in their syllabus.

Virtual reality is an asset to be used alongside methods of education and training. It could be used as an intermediate step to help The Faculty of Medicine prepare students practice surgery, it could provide a modernized version of test taking.

It could even help new students familiarize themselves with campus, through a 3Dof Virtual tour where they could explore campus, view residence options and visit the different faculties from their own smartphones at home. The possibilities are endless.

Benefits of Virtual Reality regarding South Africa's Architecture

South Africa is a breeding ground for architectural firms in accommodating almost 30 Major firms such as Paragon, R&L, JMA, GAPP, SAOTA etc. There are thousands of possibilities and benefits for Architectural firms to incorporate VR.

Virtual Reality can help Architects and clients visualize apartments, houses, high-rise buildings or even entire developments giving them the opportunity to do what has never been possible before, to reconvene and make changes before it has been built making real time changes to the finishes possible such as floors, walls, windows, doors, lights etc.. Then, what you see is what you’ll get.

Visualizing the space in VR can produce a much more positive reaction from clients who may not be able to understand 2D renderings as clearly as the professionals.

It is time for South Africa to take advantage of what Virtual Reality has to offer in order to stay on top of cutting edge technology and the 4th Industrial Revolution.

Virtual Reality is still new technology who knows what could be possible in 20 years