Business Modeling Using Virtual Reality

Wright State University Vis Lab which allows developers to outsource virtual-reality work without having to buy the technology themselves. Companies pay $1,000 a day to use the lab and its high-powered computers.

Those who have used the lab are impressed. The following are typical uses of such VisLab Research facilities around the world.

Oil Exploration

A Houston energy company fed seismic data into the center’s computers and using virtual reality, sank virtual probes through the virtual crust looking for salt domes that may hold oil deposits. The potential for millions of dollars in drilling costs and time to commercial production is obvious.

Building Construction

A civil engineering company used the labs virtual reality capability to lay out the floor plans of new factories for maximum efficiency

Manufacturing Design

An agricultural machinery manufacturer used VR to design tractors, mechanical cotton pickers and other farm equipment. Being able to test drive products before being built is a huge benefit for Farm equipment maker Deere & Co.
“These experiences help identify design problems with products or work environments that traditionally might not have been noticed until prototypes were built,” company spokesman Ken Golden said. “Our vision in VR is to have only one physical build of our products before we move into production.”

Car Safety

Mechanical simulation is also being used to predict the crashworthiness of new car design — is a $1.5 billion business a growing at 10 percent to 12 percent a year [ Gartner]

In all of these instances, using virtual reality is less expensive and quicker than building and testing complex prototypes.

For more information on that latest happenings at Wright State University Vis Lab

ALSO SEE: Directory of Global VisLab Research Centers