With the limitations of traditional video conferencing becoming more apparent, businesses are turning to VR meeting technology to fill in the gaps
Since the onset of the pandemic, video conferencing has seen rapid growth, with video communications giant Zoom alone witnessing a skyrocketing active user population of up to 300 million people.
With millions continuing to work remotely or following a hybrid model, companies are relying more and more on video conferencing tools. However, the limitations of traditional video conferencing becoming more apparent, with many businesses are turning to VR meeting technology to fill in communication and cooperation gaps.
While virtual communication tools have been trying to make up for in-person collaboration, those channels have come with their own restrictions – the nonverbal cues that make in-person meetings useful are difficult to recognise on Zoom and there is no virtual equivalent for ‘water cooler’ chats.
VR business meetings and collaboration platform MeetinVR is enabling companies to meet and collaborate in interactive VR spaces, combining the flexibility of online meetings with the interactivity of in-person meetings.
“In 2016, we started MeetinVR, which was one of the first virtual reality company in Denmark, and also one of the first VR collaboration solutions in the world,” said Cristian-Emanuel Anton, founder & CEO of Meetin VR.
Maximising the capabilities of VR, users will be able to share and review media together and will have access to tools to enhance creative collaboration, making it easier for companies to brainstorm, sketch and prototype ideas together, explained Anton.
“The whole space around you is like a canvas and you can use your super apps to create three dimensional maps created for agile meetings, presentations and brainstorming sessions. Every interaction is designed to be more effective than in real life for optimal teamwork and collaboration – meeting in VR could better than real,” said Anton.
“Metaverse is basically the next evolution of the Internet….it’s a more immersive way to experience the internet through connecting into the virtual world in a way that you can’t from your computer or phone,” he added.
The metaverse is also strengthening the case for a decentralised internet, in which Andreas Baand Larsen, VP of sales at MeetinVR, added: “our product of defining what the metaverse is…we are helping build its foundations.”
“When people aren’t burdened by the limitation of computer screens, and they have access to an entire virtual space, their creativity is enhanced accordingly and getting work done becomes an adventure, not labour,” he added.
The Copenhagen-based company also aims to address “Zoom fatigue” and help maintain high team spirit for those working remotely.
“It gives employees motivation to socialise, especially for those who have social anxiety, because they’re kind of protected by their avatar appearance…they tend to socialise much more, it’s an environment which kind of facilitates a bit of fun,” Larsen said.
“We see a lot of potential in social VR and enterprise collaboration. With Covid-19, we’ve had a lot of inbound requests and an insane amount of organic traffic” said Anton said.
Throughout the pandemic, interest for MeetinVR’s solutions has surged. Last year, the company raised $500,000 from a list of Nordic angel investors and Vækstfonden (the Danish Growth Fund), bringing its total investment to date to $1.5 million.
Looking to expand into the Middle East market, MeetinVR, in collaboration with experiential tech agency Kanousei Middle East, recently hosted an event in Dubai that introduced 16 new regional companies to the metaverse.
Quelle:
https://www.itp.net/emergent-tech/how-the-metaverse-is-reshaping-the-future-of-work