HTC Showcases Enterprise Software For Its Vive VR Headset

HTC has revealed a spate of enterprise applications for its Vive virtual reality (VR) headset, signalling that the tech is not just for the consumer and entertainment world.

Not that there is any shortage of consumer software for the Vive, which has fitness, medical, education and mixed reality applications, adding numerous strings to its bow.

HTC Vive showcase

HTC championed six enterprise grade apps as its play for the enterprise. Starting with the 3DEXPREINCE platform and “Virtual Garage”, HTC noted how the Vive can be used by companies looking to market to consumers by creating experiences in VR using the software to build environments such as plane passenger cabins for people interested in travelling with a certain airline.

A similar approach can be seen with the Jaguar I-Pace Reveal app, which enables the car company to show off its first electric vehicle in an interactive VR experience rather than just rely on flat images, videos or other marketing materials.

The GE Store VR Experiences offer enterprise customers of the industrial firm to see how its various business units can work with them in the real-world while remaining in a VR environment.

IBM Speech Sandbox acts and an demonstration of how a speech interface powered by IBM’s Watson cognitive computing technology allows Vive users to build, manipulate and destroy a virtual world with your voice, something that could make development of things like architectural designs an easier and more interactive process for designers and engineers, and offers developers a new way in which to create VR experiences.

VR in the workplace

MakeVR offers a virtual reality 3D modelling application built on a professional-grade CAD engine with a 3D multi-touch user interface.

For designers and people creating product prototypes or models for computer games, the software enables said models to be 3D printed to be imported into a game engine.

Created by Autodesk, the VR Museum Experience software enables Vive users to play with objects in zero gravity, shoot bubbles, play instruments, and paint your surroundings; offering both an experience for consumers and a form of virtual sandbox for developers to use to explore the potential for VR experiences in their company and marketing efforts.

It is worth noting that so far most of the enterprise grade software HTC is touting for the Vive, tend to err on the interactive marketing side of things that enterprises can use to create captivating sales and marketing pitches.

There still seems to be a lack of any app that can directly benefit companies exploring the use of the Vive as a means to mix up office life, for example using it to host virtual and remote meeting like an advanced version of Skype.

This demonstrates that the long-term success of VR in both business and pleasure will be determined by the content made available for the Vive and other premium headsets.

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