A new technology has arrived that changes the way we humans work, live and play. Instead of interacting with data through a telephone or a computer you can now go inside the data. It’s a cross between Virtual Reality (ultra-realistic images) and AR or Augmented Reality (which applies data to images that can be either real or virtual). A good way to think of this is as virtuality – a cross between the two technologies.

When you are in virtuality mode you have the data delivered to you via a headset or other display device such as a multi projector room. These mechanisms make data feel real because they excite certain brain neurons which are otherwise mainly dormant.

The first economic sector to really take on board this advanced interactivity has been the gaming industry where inexpensive immersive headsets are becoming essential attire. However, the real future of virtuality is much bigger than that.

Using virtuality means that you have a realistic version of the data environment around you, so a product or even a whole city appears real. An example of this is found among smartphone manufacturers who 3D-print new products to make accurate forms that have the correct weight and texture then use VR and AR to apply realistic user interfaces. This means they can effect changes to the interface as the tester tries it out making it easier to use or adding functions to produce a better user experience. There is no need for a real phone or real application software to thoroughly test new concepts. Virtuality can even provide ambient backgrounds so the phone can be tested in various environments for contextual realism.

In the automotive sector people interact with potential cars that only exist in digital form. Wearing special glasses that retain accurate perspective regardless of movement means anyone can get inside the virtual car, use the controls and get the feel of it. There is no need to make a physical car or even a prototype.

Using data this way means that for example, a vehicle dashboard digitally simulated in CATIA or SOLIDWORKS can then be 3D printed and have realistic working instruments virtually presented via a headset or projectors. Product behaviour data can be added along with the software operations of the car to give an ultra-realistic impression of the finished item. This means that everything can be checked by anyone within or outside the company. Pre-production customer testing is not only realistic but the feedback is also more accurate when a tester’s reactions are measured digitally. This way manufactures are able to gauge and incorporate customer feedback into new product designs before any physical entity exists.

Not surprisingly new and innovative business units are emerging to reap the benefits of this technology in many sectors. In education and training for example it has been discovered in tests at Queen’s University Belfast that virtuality not only allows people to learn faster, but to remember content longer and with greater accuracy. This means applications that have been developed by very skilled people can be easily understood by others and used to improve production and maintenance output.

In the commercial sector there are significant opportunities to connect makers and final buyers of products using virtuality so that purchasers needs can be better understood and reacted to. This leads to better purchasing decisions, fewer returns and more satisfied customers. New forms of retailing are developing where smaller spaces in prime districts, or totally virtual shops, can hold vast virtual stocks. A car showroom might have just one car but with every option demonstrated virtually. With thousands of options available virtual reality is the way forward for brands that want to really show their wares and use that capability to upsell. In non-retail sectors the same advanced selling methods can be delivered with virtuality. This represents a significant shift in customer relationships that brings buyers and sellers, businesses and consumers together in new ways.

As an enabler of commerce virtuality can accurately gauge customers’ acceptance and maintain communication between customers and retailers so that their specific on-going needs can be properly addressed. For manufacturers, virtuality reduces risk by ensuring that decisions about materials, colours, interfaces or any other product characteristics match customer demand. The technology also lets them see how products might look in virtual surroundings beyond the development lab.

Marketing values are going upstream into design and production environments and people everywhere are having fun with virtuality. The results are already spectacular both in terms of production and marketing. With technology of this power and magnitude readily available, many traditional enterprises and a new generation of tech savvy entrepreneurs are revolutionising their businesses to harvest the rewards that virtuality offers.