Most people would not necessarily see the correlation between the Oculus Rift and a library. That is coming to change very quickly though, as public libraries are experimenting with VR technology. To be more specific, Oculus is looking to enhance the public library experience with a new educational initiative. For now, the company plans to put 100 VR headsets across 90 Californian libraries. An interesting decision, but can it succeed?
Oculus Brings VR Headsets To California
It will be quite interesting to see how Oculus’ new educational venture plays out. Public libraries are often an oasis of peace and quiet. The environment is quite spacious, which somewhat lends itself to a VR experience. However, people using these headsets will make quite a bit of noise, which may annoy other people at the library. It is a fine line to walk between marketing, education, and annoyance.
That being said, the Facebook-owned company will put several dozen VR headsets in Californian libraries very soon. All of these systems will become available over the course of three months. The main purpose of the library-based VR experience is education. This means the available content will include Google Earth VR, Mars Odyssey, and a few other educational titles. It is quite an interesting decision, although it may not necessarily make consumers warm for virtual reality right away.
Even so, this venture will provide Oculus with some valuable information. For quite some time now, VR companies felt the technology could accelerate learning. Providing a hands-on experience with educational material seems to yield far better results compared to a textbook-oriented approach. Both virtual and augmented reality can play a big role in this regard. It is impossible to gauge their impact without bringing the technology to the masses, though.
Anyone living in California can check out the Oculus VR experience at one of the participating locations. Considering how nearly half of all California’s public libraries will participate, it should not be too hard to experience the virtual reality for yourself. Whether or not this effort will pay off, remains to be seen. Then again, companies such as Oculus can use some public PR like this in the quest to persuade more consumers.
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Missed opportunity to link to wherever lists the participating locations.