A new virtual reality system has been used to give a pre-construction tour of a veterinary clinic in North Carolina, USA.
This week staff at the Triangle Veterinary Emergency Clinic put on goggles and stepped into the 3D virtual representation of the new 13,000-square-foot building. The technology gave extremely advanced tracking of head and hand movements and real time graphics, which some have said makes it a predecessor of the Star Trek holodeck.
All manner of movements were possible in the virtual environment, including flying and falling but if you would prefer you could just as easily walk through the virtual floors, walls, fish tanks and surgical stations.
Mike Grafinger, a veterinarian and co-owner of the clinic, said that the virtual environment allows the staff to master the design of the clinic.
He said, "You have to consider patients coming and going, actually walking through it, seeing how big your exam table is, helps you visualize the end product."
This is completely possible in the environment as it displays computer graphics of all the major structural and design features of the building.
David Fuller, the man responsible for the technology, said, "We can bring in different stakeholders and troubleshoot. This allows you to design better and more efficiently."
With such advancements in 3D virtual environments the technology may become a staple of virtual conferencing and large scale business presentations. Although this may not be present at the moment, the technology could make a dramatic impact for virtual desktop users in years to come.
Subscribe
