Source: Onalytica
Daniel Corey – Author of MORIARTY & RED CITY for ImageComics, owner at DangerKatt
“My company, DangerKatt, focuses primarily on creating graphic novels and developing their transmedia potential. Virtual Reality is opening up an entirely fresh avenue of ideation, where we can create storyworlds in traditional media and then use VR to immerse ourselves in those worlds. Whether you’re playing a VR game based on one of our books, or actually walking through the pages of a storytelling experience, VR is giving us revolutionary and unique ways to showcase and expand our properties.”
Rob Crasco AKA “RoblemVR” Co-Owner/Content Developer at Cyber Adept
“Virtual reality is going to change the way that we experience the world. Don’t think of it in terms of applications or games but in terms of experiences. You are going to have relationships with people that you have only ever met in VR. You will be able to relive captured experiences, like your wedding or your child’s birthday as if you were there again. You will experience real destinations around the world, from the past, or ones that are pure fantasy. I’ve laughed at live standup comedy and ran across the face of Mars with groups of people from around the world, without actually leaving my home. These experiences and others I have had in VR are as important and “real” as any other memory. We are just at the beginning of the experiential age and it’s going to be amazing.”
Eva Hoerth – Virtual Reality Design Researcher | Community Builder at Ratlab
“We are riding the wave of a new medium–that doesn’t happen very often! Every day we witness the transformation of “VRgins” to VR enthusiasts and creators, and that’s pretty damn incredible. As for the future of VR, who knows what it holds! There are so many possibilities that have yet to be explored. I wouldn’t say that VR is going to replace existing platforms, but will rather strengthen industries such as health and education that can greatly benefit from the embodied experiences that VR provides. It’s not hard to get excited about VR hardware, but the tech is going to change very quickly. So rather than trying to adapt a design to a particular type of headset, it’s more valuable to think experience first and stop to ask ourselves why we are choosing to build for VR versus other platforms? Alongside that, in order to generate a diversity of VR content, we need diverse content creators. Anyone from any gender, background, or level of expertise needs to be welcomed. I am working to bring more women into the VR/AR space and there’s already been an incredible amount of support for this initiative. The resurgence of VR is generating a ton of excitement among people from all sorts of backgrounds, and I see this as a great moment in time to embed diversity into this industry!”
Bob O’Donnell – President and Chief Analyst at TECHnalysis Research
“Virtual reality and augmented reality are bringing a much needed boost in excitement back to the devices and key semiconductor markets. The opportunities it enables now and, more importantly, the path towards which it is headed offers new opportunities and new experiences for consumers all over the world. There are still some tough hurdles to overcome, but it’s the kind of technology that creates a level of enthusiasm that we haven’t seen in some time.”
Brennan Spiegel, MD, MSHS – Director, Health Services Research at Cedars-Sinai Health System
“Virtual reality is like dreaming with your eyes open. As a healthcare provider, I view VR as a compelling technology that opens our imagination to a new class of therapeutic interventions. At Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, we have seen first hand how VR can meaningfully reduce pain scores without any medication or drugs. We’ve seen patients “escape” the four walls of their hospital room which, to some, can feel more like a bio-psycho-social jail cell than a place of healing. VR can temporarily transform the hospital into fantastical and healing environments. I’ve watched as patients and their families cry tears of joy during the VR experience. Yet, there is still tremendous work ahead. Not all of our patients want to use VR, and others need highly tailored experiences that support rather than threaten their sense of self at a vulnerable time. Our research team is actively working to solve these problems and bring VR to patients who need it the most.”