Beyond Entertainment: Virtual Reality's Modern Applications

Modern Uses
A common misconception is that virtual reality is just for entertainment. As we contemplate about some of the technology involved in virtual reality, entertainment is generally the first thing a lot of people think of when virtual reality springs to mind, but here we will talk about some of the other areas that virtual reality has made some substantial differences.
Military
VR is extremely useful for training solders in order to prepare for combat missions or other potentially dangerous scenarios as this can help them learn how to behave when on the battlefield. VR enables them to do so without immersing themselves into a real life situation before they are fully ready, this removes any risk of injury of fatalities. For example

Seriously, this is going to change everything.” - Roy Taylor, a vice-president of the chipmaker AMD (Margolis, 2015)
With the advances in technology and the growth in understanding of the human brain, it seems that what was once thought to be only possible in science fiction could soon become reality. In the future, virtual reality will become more immersive and trick all your senses into believing the experience is real. Signals can be transmitted directly to a person’s brain which would allow them to see, hear or fell sensory input. This can be achieved through Brain-computer interface. (Grabianowski, n.d.).
Brain computer interface (BCI)
The least invasive method of BCI uses a set of electrodes attached to the scalp (Figure 3) to read brain signals however, to get a higher resolution, a chip can be inserted into the grey matter of the brain. (Grabianowski, n.d.) . The use of BCI has great implications for people with limited mobility and ghpeople who have lost limbs and has been used to control prosthetic arms. (Neurogadget,

Supports of virtual reality say that it will bring people around the world closer together and change the nature of communication. While others believe it will be used by people to avoid real-life troubles and they will withdraw into the online world. (Anon., n.d.)
Withdrawing from Reality
There is a real fear the people will become addicted to virtual reality. There has not been many studies into the effects of Virtual reality on the brain. But Psychiatrist, Keith Albow, writes that Facebooks purchase of Oculus Rift will make virtual reality technology available to everyone, including teenagers. He fears that it will be highly addictive and it will make people psychiatrically ill. He has called on government to carry out trials on virtual reality to ensure that people are aware of the side effects which may include “addiction, depression, attention deficit disorder, anxiety or delusional thinking”. (Anon.,