Canon and Flickr are the latest companies to take a chance on the future of virtual reality.
Flickr, the photo storage platform long loved by pro photographers, is previewing an immersive way of going through panoramas that works with the Oculus Rift headset.
Canon has gone one step further. The camera company offered tech publication Engadget a sneak peek at a headset it is building. Though clearly still in the very early prototype stages, the headset boasts two 2560x1440-pixel resolution displays, making it one of the highest definition devices out there, regardless of development state.
Just like the hybrid car, virtual reality has existed in some form or another for decades but it has done so very much away from the consumer limelight. As marketing intelligence firm Tractica points out, businesses have been using VR since the 1950s.
And while it is only just becoming fully illuminated as a concept, product or medium for multi-media consumption -- thanks in no small part to Facebook's acquisition of Oculus VR -- it seems as if every week, there's a new entrant, app, or device related in some way to the technology.
As well as Canon and Yahoo-owned Flickr, September has also seen the announcement of a VR trial at Marriott hotels where guests can summon a Samsung Gear headset to their rooms and enjoy a virtual tourist trip. And for those that can't afford a mini break at an upmarket hotel chain, Kellogg's has announced its latest cereal box toy will be a do-it-yourself VR headset that can be constructed from an empty Nutri-Grain box, a compatible smartphone and an accompanying app.
Research firm MarketsandMarkets puts the total value of VR market at some $15.89 billion by the end of the decade -- that's based on annual growth of over 60 per cent.
However, while everyone appears to be talking about the technology and its potential value, very few are currently trying out VR for themselves outside of commercial enterprises, anyway.
"Virtual reality will take hold first in enterprise and industrial applications that benefit from powerful and versatile visualization tools," said principal Tractica analyst Craig Foster. "As the technology matures and costs decline, VR will increasingly be utilized for more mainstream commercial purposes such as marketing and advertising, travel and tourism, and retail."
But for the tech to break out, it has to be accessible and affordable. According to Tractica and many other commentators, simply getting the average consumer to try a VR headset and feel comfortable with it is a huge challenge.
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