The power of virtual reality is evident, and its benefits plentiful. Facebook allegedly has plans to use artificial intelligence to monitor its ad program and prevent fake news. Driverless cars are already underway, powered by AI. It will even start taking over the more dangerous jobs, where a shortage of workers is crippling the industry. With all this popularity, it’s easy to imagine why crowdfunding for VR products could have a future.
Infor, one of the best enterprise software programs in the world, said in a blog post:
Virtual reality has the potential to cut training cost and time down dramatically. A headset, controller and computer are the basic components needed, making it feasible to host training at your location. As usage expands, pricing for the technology is expected to fall.
With so many applications slated for the future of virtual reality, it’s difficult for consumers to understand its true potential. For now, the high-end development of mainstream gaming applications and headset devices are what today’s consumers understand best.
Though the future of heavy-revenue VR is based on B2B, the average person is still learning about virtual reality power through gaming applications. With that in mind, here are three virtual reality products that were founded on Kickstarter, all of which point to how powerful crowdfunding for VR can be.
Virtual Reality Companies on Kickstarter
Oculus Rift
Oculus Rift is not only one of the few VR products funded on Kickstarter, but one of the most successful campaigns ever launched on the Kickstarter platform. With a goal of $250,000, the company was able to raise nearly $2.5 million.
The Oculus Rift was the first fully immersive virtual reality headset for video games (other headsets had been developed, but weren’t as feature-rich), and it received plenty of accolades from dozens of reputable gaming sites and publishers.
Designed to take 3D gaming to the next level, the Oculus Rift features a wide field of view, ultra-low latency head tracking, and a high-resolution display. These technical features are what makes the product able to achieve such believable immersion. And because the product is open source, any gaming developer can design their games to be Oculus Rift-compatible.
Because of its open source, other products are being developed to support it, and to take its core features even further. Omni is another virtual reality product funded on Kickstarter which surpassed the $1 million mark. The device consists of a circular treadmill-like base and comes equipped with special shoes, which allows the user to strap into the device, pair the Oculus Rift, and perform the same movements in one central area.
“The Omni is the first natural interface for movement within a virtual reality, the Omni founder told Wall Street Insanity. We took months just in the planning stages, researching different ways to produce an omni-directional treadmill that would separate our device from what was available on the market.”
Unyte
Many of the benefits of meditation have been scientifically proven. Meditation has been known to decrease anxiety and depression, help restore health, and make you happier overall. Unfortunately, not everyone realizes the potential of meditation, and some have false beliefs regarding the true power of mindfulness. Traditional meditation and be challenging and deters some people from ever giving it a fair chance. Unyte designed a product to address this issue.
Unyte is a virtual reality device that helps people meditate in a fun, immersive way. It combines virtual reality, gaming, and biofeedback to create an effective meditation experience for practitioners of all levels. This interactive meditation program dives deep into relaxation exercises by teaching users various breathing techniques, helping them become more aware of their thoughts, and offering real-time feedback.
You’ll begin by connecting a sensor to your ear, which will monitor your heart rate and send it directly to your phone. Then, select from at least 50 different interactive meditation experiences. Finally, follow the guide and breathing indicator and receive live feedback. With an attached VR headset, you can meditate in dozens of different settings–from a relaxing beach to a mountainside meditation room.
Yaw
is considered the world’s most compact virtual reality motion simulator. It’s compatible with over 80 different simulator apps, and like Oculus Rift, is open source. It most excels in gaming applications that involve vehicle operation, from a car to an airplane. It comes with an adjustable pedal and steering wheel (or joystick).
Though the device moves with the motion of your movements, it makes absolutely no noise at all. Even sharp turns don’t cause the machine to emit sound. Speed is another powerful aspect of Yaw: in just one second, it can turn 160 degrees, on just 40% power. But most importantly, because it’s so compact and portable, you can take your gaming adventures from anywhere.
Kickstarter Helps Virtual Reality Succeed
In many ways, Kickstarted helped put consumer VR on the map and there’s no telling what kind of role it might play in the VR industry in the future. One thing’s for sure: Kickstarter users definitely have a whole lot of enthusiasm for helping the industry grow.