Context Based Approach to Applying Virtual Reality

Abstract

It was Ivan Sutherland, nearly 30 years ago, who introduced the modern concept of VR in his thesis work (Sutherland, 1963). It has been 14 years since Jaron Lanier (1996) coined the term virtual reality to collectively present such ideas as formulated since Sutherland. Since then, VR has been offered as a one-stop solution for tackling issues as diverse as ranging from manufacturing and design to tourism. In fact, the liberal usage of the word virtual, often drawn from the term VR, is best summed up by Professor J. Vince when he says, “today we have virtual universities, virtual offices, virtual pets, virtual graveyards, virtual exhibitions, virtual wind tunnels, virtual actors, virtual studios, virtual museums, virtual doctors—and all because of VR” (Vince, 1998, p. 1). Unfortunately, even such worldwide media attention has been unable to help VR penetrate and broad-base itself across all market segments as had been predicted. This article builds upon the above-mentioned issues while specifically focusing on: a. Finding and understanding the reasons for an overall lack of enthusiasm for VR usage in the Cost Sensitive Organizations (CSO). b. To develop and present a VR application methodology specifically for CSOs based on the findings of point “a”.