Virtual reality isn’t limited to the rarefied realm of military development. Relative to what the technology used to cost, it is much more affordable and can be produced quickly for an immediate return on your investment. VR Simulation’s chief technology officer, Tim Gifford, offers these ideas on ways to use the technology in your business-media applications:

>> Trade Shows
Give visitors to your trade-show booth a chance to interact virtually with your less-than-life-sized—or oversized—product, whether is it a silicon chip, surgical tool or piece of construction equipment too large to bring into the convention hall. Once you’ve got someone hooked up to the head-mounted display, curious attendees will line up for their turn, driving traffic to your booth.

>> E-Learning
Virtual reality is a flexible training medium, and most simulations can be repurposed as online training. Conversely, says Gifford, anything that has been animated with traditional 3D or CAD tools can usually be turned into a VR application.

>> Dangerous Training
A simulated environment can save money, time and lives if your employees’ work consistently puts them in harm’s way.

>> Marketing
Sometimes nothing makes more impact on your customer than the thrill of a good immersive game. Many companies, including VR Simulation, offer pre-produced games that feature a blank spot on the simulated projection where your company logo can be dropped in at a moment’s notice. Or consider a custom game that will hook your audience with a shared inside joke or let them vent in ways impossible to do in their professional lives. VR Simulation once created a game for anesthesiologists, for example, in which participants were asked to inject a simulated patient with the proper amount of fluid. When users went too far—which they learned to do quickly—the patient “exploded.” —B.M.