Artificial intelligence has played a very important role in many industries. One of the biggest changes AI has created is the rapid evolution of the virtual reality industry. Liverpool is one of the cities that has invested heavily in VR technology, which wouldn’t have been possible without new developments in AI.
AI Creates a Thriving Virtual Reality Industry in Liverpool
AI experts have talked in great detail about the link between AI and virtual reality. Becoming Human wrote a great article on the impending popularity of immersive virtual reality and its link with AI.
Many companies are investing in immersive virtual reality, but new cities are starting to look towards it as well. As the UK government continues to support the regeneration of the north, Liverpool has quickly become one of the most promising, exciting and lucrative areas in the country going forward.
As the city constantly develops, with regeneration projects all around the area, technology allows us to get a glance through the looking glass into what the city will look like when these projects are completed. Not only are businesses engrossed in cities such as Liverpool benefitting from this technology, but there are also a ton of uses for the tech with regards to attractions and entertainment.
Are you interested in how technology is changing the way we look at Liverpool? Here are some uses of Virtual Reality and Augmented reality throughout the city, in terms of business and entertainment.
VR and AR “ A brief glossary
- Virtual Reality (VR) is a modern tech development that allows users to get a fully immersive, 3D view of an area, real or imaginary. While its origins are in video games and entertainment, there are a plethora of different uses for this revolutionary tech, including even training astronauts and surgeons.
- Augmented Reality (AR), the distant cousin of VR, takes an existing camera view on a landscape, using everyday ubiquitous technology such as smartphones, and overlays additional or altering imagery onto it, thus in essence augmenting’ the world around us. One of the most common and mainstream uses of this tech that you might recognise was in the Pokémon GO smartphone app, which took the world by storm in 2016 when it launched. Local businesses in Liverpool saw an increase in visitors when people were out in their droves, in search of the digital creatures.
Another way that you might see it in your everyday life around the city is in QR codes “ little black barcode-esque symbols that are commonly dotted around on posters and advertising. Holding your phone up to these will transform them into an interesting piece of information about the surrounding area, or an interactive element that might not be possible through traditional means. Many companies use these strategies to get us more engaged in any advertising message they’re trying to convey.
Business
Liverpool is on the rise in terms of development and regeneration, and there are a ton of different projections on the horizon as the population expands. Property investment company RW Invest, who have a range of off-plan developments and apartments all throughout the city, offer virtual reality viewings to investors, giving them a glimpse at what both the city and their potential purchase will look like upon completion in the near future.
This level of immersion not only allows investors to view the area from afar if not local to the area, and it gives them peace of mind in their decision by helping them to visualise their investment in a way that previously wasn’t possible with mock-up imagery and blueprints.
Entertainment
In the Liverpool ONE area currently, the popular shopping centre complex in the heart of the city, a Zombie Outbreak’ can be interacted with via AR on a smartphone app. Dotted around the city are warning signs and interactive points, adding a great bit of Halloween fun to the area that proves popular with visitors. This isn’t the first time the city has done something like this, as they released a Dinosaur themed experience earlier in the year too, giving kids something to do while shopping in the summer.
VR, while available fairly widely at a consumer level (and dabbled with by many people through proof-of-concept mobile devices etc.), is not something that most people have in their homes, perhaps due to the high barriers of entry, such as expensive cost and the amount of space required to set it up in the home. For people that want to experience a high-end VR unit, but without the hefty price tag, specialist arcades such as VR Here in Liverpool allow you to hire the units and play specific experiences as and when you please.
