The Best OS Virutal Reality Projects

Once exclusive to the gaming world, virtual reality is becoming more commonplace in every facet of modern living.

Smart developers have noticed the trend in using virtual reality, and they are providing solutions to the challenges faced by consumers and practitioners today. Virtual reality is a tool that can be used to provide training for any job in any field.

Imagine going to a surgeon who has performed an operation thousands of times – virtually. Instead of buying a new garage door only to find out that it looks terrible with their house, homeowners can “try on” a new garage door with the aid of virtual reality. Travelers might take a field trip through the Grand Canyon by flying between the rock formations and splashing through the water of the Colorado River.

Virtual reality makes it all possible, but who makes the virtual reality? You can, if you’re ready to join the ranks of those working on some of the best open-source virtual reality projects available.

Travel and tourism

One of the largest industries in the world, travel and tourism contributes mightily to the world economy. More than one billion people travel each year. Many more would do so if it were not for their limited time and the prohibitive cost of visiting faraway destinations.

Virtual reality is changing that. We’re already scouting out the hotels where we want to stay by checking out 360-degree room views. We explore cities and neighborhoods with the interactive features in Google maps.

Now imagine taking that field trip or vacation via VR.

Google Earth has already mapped out 4.54 billion years of civilization. Where will you take this technology?

Interactive movies

Have many times have you watched your favorite movie? You know every scene change, and you can recite most of the dialogue, right? But what if you could be in the movie, with all the characters you enjoy watching?

One of the hottest trends in VR is the interactive movie space.

Get started with a real-time engine like Unreal Engine (free) to create cinematic-style experiences.

Virtual communities

A lot of people think that the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence, but now you can help them find out if that’s true.

Try a tool like Fusion 360 (free 3D CAD) for designing the neighborhood or city of the future. Although the software doesn’t have real-time engine capabilities, you and your visitors will be able to tour your creation.

Social networking

Back in the day, Second Life inspired millions of people to explore a 2D world by creating an avatar and interacting with other avatars. Flash-forward to the present, and avatars are exploring chat rooms and 3D worlds, but the possibilities for social networking don’t stop there.

Mark Zuckerberg is already working on what VR social media networking will look like. According to the Facebook CEO, virtual reality will advance social networking by creating an ideal world of perfect co-existence.

The challenge in creating these networking systems, however, remains in producing open-source environments and seamlessly connecting PC with VR consoles. You can begin by creating avatars with Pixologic’s Sculptris (free).

In summary

Whether you’re looking to get started in the virtual applications or you want to hone your skills for deep-dive VR projects, you have access to amazing open-source technology. Versatility with future applications will afford you the greatest benefits as you venture into VR projects with open-source tools.

See where your imagination and your skills will take you!