How to visit El Bosque University without having to step on its facilities?

Have you ever dreamed of teleporting anywhere you want? Or see with your own eyes places that you can only imagine? Yes, we too, and while we think it’s a shame not to have science fiction technology –like Star Trek- at our fingertips, we can make you experience something almost as incredible. What is it about? Two words: virtual reality. For many, virtual reality is something unknown, a fantasy of writers and filmmakers or a crazy and expensive invention that only works for videogames. However, there is nothing further from the truth, a few know that it has great potential and there are already applications with this technology that we can use in our daily lives. In this article, we will tell you about a valuable virtual reality tool that we have developed in Perspektiva 360 together with El Bosque University for its applicants and students. But first, let us tell you a little about this technology so you can understand it better. Virtual reality is a computer simulation in which you will see the unimaginable. We can recreate an everyday experience and turn it into something fantastic, like taking you to sleep in your room and then waking you up in an underwater city.

The best part is that this technology wraps your senses and manages to fool your brain, making you believe that you really live in another reality. You may think that this marvel of technology is something new, but it is not, virtual reality has been the dream of many computer scientists for decades. Since the 70s, they have been developing devices that are becoming increasingly light, sophisticated and within our reach, just as it happened with computers and smartphones. And what are these devices to enjoy virtual reality? They are known as virtual reality glasses or headsets, although they look more like small binoculars to wear comfortably on your head and are usually accompanied by a pair or headphones. However, sometimes these glasses are not enough to start a simulation and you will have to connect them to a computer, console or smartphone. Although the glasses are designed so that you can see and hear in 360 degrees in a virtual reality, the experience doesn’t limit to those senses only. Just as you can connect a smartwatch to your phone, many glasses come with gadgets such as controls, gloves, surround sound systems and sensors, each with unique effects that will make you live a more intense experience.

Now that you know what this technology is, you are surely wondering, is El Bosque University a virtual reality? The answer is: Maybe one day, because, thanks to us, it is already taking its first step. This Colombian university will soon have a virtual experience that allows its applicants and students to visit, know and tour its facilities without setting foot in them. Think how great it will be to be able to visit the university of your dreams from wherever you are and imagine yourself in it without closing your eyes. How about finding your classroom easily on the first day of school without having to use a map? This is how many applicant and students of El Bosque University will be able to discover and get closer to their second home. Once the visitor puts on virtual reality glasses, such as the Oculus Quest, and holds the controls, the simulation will begin accompanied by the voice of Silvia, the university’s virtual assistant, who will give a spirited greeting to welcome the tour and will invite him to solve a mystery hidden in it. The visitor will be able to choose how he wants to walk around the university, selecting a tour mode: guided or free. This way, he will hear some stories on a guided tour or just explore at its leisure. In addition, at all times he will carry a compass and a pointer in his hands, designed to guide him, help him interact with objects and find the clues that will unravel the mystery.

Although the main intention of the university with this application is to develop a very attractive marketing for the new generations, the possibilities are as wide as we can imagine. El Bosque University may, for now, show its virtual reality version in events, exhibitions and inside its facilities, but is not unreasonable to think that perhaps in the future you or your children can study in virtual simulations, meet with classmates and experimenting in controlled environments, after all is not that how many pilots already learn to fly? In recent years we have learned a valuable lesson: when a pandemic stopped us, digital technology brought us closer than ever. For that reason, at Perspektiva 360 we create future from now, developing digital products that you can find on our website and are designed to help you adapt to a changing and unexpected reality, like virtual reality itself. Have you experienced a virtual reality yet? Would you like to learn in a simulated environment?