Six large tech-related companies directly or indirectly manufacturing virtual reality devices have banded together to form the Global Virtual Reality Association (GVRA) to promote “responsible development and adoption of VR” technologies around the world.
The committee is a joint effort between Google, HTC Vive, Oculus, Samsung, Sony Interactive Entertainment, and Acer Starbreeze. The organization now holds an official website and released a press statement last Wednesday.
The non-profit organization looks to contribute to the expansion of virtual reality technologies in various fields, not only entertainment.
They will make an effort to promote dialogue between public and private VR-related industries and plan to serve as a resource for any institution interested in adopting VR devices.
What is the GVRA’s mission?
Jerry Kao, CEO of Acer Starbreeze, the company responsible for producing the StarVR headset, wrote in a short statement it was important to increase dialogue among stakeholders to continue innovating in the field of virtual and augmented reality.
Jon Wiley, from Google, reiterated the importance of the organization as a way to make virtual reality more accessible and enjoyable. The company is currently working on the Daydream project.
HTC’s Rikard Steiber wrote the need for an organization that established a set of good practices and valuable resources for the field was paramount since the VR industry is set to surpass $120 billion in revenue by 2020.
Jordan McCollum, for Oculus at Facebook, stated he was looking forward to working with others to solve the problems currently suffered by VR headset manufacturers.
Tae-Yong Kim, President of Samsung, echoed the ideas and sentiments above and added that his company was pleased to join this effort for more responsible VR development.
Virtual Reality will affect many fields in the futures
The organization looks to ensure that VR technologies undergo development with nothing but the maximum benefit of the end user in mind. Virtual reality has a future in fields like medicine, education, design, and many others.
The GVRA’s auto-designated goal is “to promote the worldwide growth and development of the VR industry,” using many means including the ones described above. They have not clarified, as of yet, what methods they will take to ensure that this happens.
Members of the GVRA will organize international research forums, create educational resources for all institutions, and both host and participate in discussions that are relevant to the role and the future of virtual reality devices on human life.
Source: GVRA
